what is the diesease like lupus? fib something?

Question

it makes you hurt most of the time with joint,nerve and really your whole body. but i would like to find out what causes it and what all is involved in it?

Answer 1

Are you talking about fibromyalgia? Not sure that the cause is known. The site listed may help answer your questions. Good luck!

Answer 2

Fibromyalgia is the term you are looking for, I think. There are 11 tender points that help to diagnose you with it. They do not know of a cause, although there are a million theories. Some think it could be a physical injury, or mental injury. Others think it is something you were born with and it just shows up one day. The theories are endless.

Answer 3

Lupus is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disease in which the immune system, for unknown reasons, becomes hyperactive and attacks normal tissue. This attack results in inflammation and brings about symptoms.


How is systemic lupus diagnosed?
Physicians have to gather information from a variety of sources: past medical history, lab tests and current symptoms. They use a list of 11 criteria to help diagnose SLE. A person needs to satisfy at least 4 out of the 11 criteria before the diagnosis can be pinpointed (see list in What is Lupus? brochure). Some criteria, such as a biopsy diagnosis of kidney lupus, can carry more weight.

Of the 11 criteria, 7 relate to symptoms, and 4 have to do with lab tests. The ANA test is used as a screening test for systemic lupus. We know that 95 % of people with SLE have a positive ANA. Therefore, if a person has many symptoms of systemic lupus and their ANA test is negative, that's generally regarded as pretty good evidence against lupus being the explanation for the symptoms they are having.

If on the other hand, the ANA comes back positive, that IS NOT proof of lupus. The positive ANA is only an indicator; it is not diagnostic. A positive ANA can be found in a number of illnesses and conditions including:

Rheumatoid arthritis
Sjogren's (show-grens) syndrome
Scleroderma (sklare-a-derm-a)
Infectious diseases such as:
Mononucleosis
Malaria
Subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE)
Autoimmune diseases including:
Autoimmune thyroid disease
Autoimmune liver disease

Certain medications can also cause a positive ANA. About 20% of the general population when tested will have a positive ANA and not have any of the above mentioned illnesses. The ANA is only a test and like a high cholesterol value, a positive ANA doesn't necessarily equate having a disease.

How is lupus treated?
The majority of symptoms of lupus are due to inflammation and so the treatment is aimed at reducing that inflammation. This can be done through a number of different medications. There are four families of medications used in the treatment of lupus. They include:

* Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs - drugs such as ibuprofen (Advil & Motrin), naproxen, (Naprosyn & Aleve), sulindac (Clinoril), piroxicam (Feldene), diclofenac (Voltaren) to name a few.
* Corticosteroids - drugs such as prednisone, prednisolone, medrol, deltasone, cortisone and others.
* Anti-malarials - these have been found to be effective in treating the joint pain, skin rashes and ulcers that some people develop on the inside of their nose or mouth. Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) is probably the most commonly prescribed anti-malarial drug in the United States. There is no known relationship between lupus and malaria.
* The fourth family of medications, immunosuppressants (or immunomodulating) /chemotherapy, is generally reserved for those individuals who have the most severe flares of lupus; or to enable the steroid dose to be reduced. A severe flare is one that affects an organ to the degree that the function is impaired. When this happens something has to be done to preserve the function of the organ and that's when immunosuppressive or chemotherapy medications are prescribed. These actually suppress the over activity of the immune system brought on by the lupus, and help limit the damage and preserve the function of the involved organ. (Lupus is NOT a form of cancer).

The majority of people who have lupus are treated with the first three families of medications, the nonsteroidals, corticosteroids and the anti-malarial drugs. These may be used either alone or in combination. Since individuals respond differently to medications, it may take time before you are able to determine, through trial & error, which medication at which dose provides relief of the symptoms of lupus. Frequently physicians will try one medication see how it works and if it doesn't work, they may have to change the dose or switch to another medication.
References: see Brochures:
Medications Used in the Treatment of Lupus
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
Steroids in the Treatment of Lupus
Anti-Malarials in the Treatment of Lupus
Immune Suppressants and Related Drugs Used for Lupus.

I don't want to go on prednisone. Are there any other treatments available?
In addition to corticosteroids, lupus can be treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-malarial medications, and chemotherapy drugs. There can be situations where steroids are the best choice of therapy and the other medications are not indicated or are ineffective.

What can I do about the weight gain brought on by the prednisone?
Increased appetite is well recognized as a side effect of corticosteroid therapy. Often times, just being aware that this increase in appetite may occur with the steroid therapy, is the first step towards managing the potential weight gain. If you have to go on steroids or if you have to increase your dosage of steroids, you may want to consider planning out a healthy diet during the time you're taking steroids and making sure that you stick to it. During those times, however, when you're really hungry, here are some things you can do to combat the munchies:

* Drink a large glass of low sodium vegetable juice cocktail
* Eat a bowl of air popped or low fat microwave popcorn
* Eat a plate of raw vegetables dipped in fat-free sour cream
* If you can, go for a walk
* Drink a cup of decaffeinated flavored coffee with low fat milk

These are low fat substitutions, which can reduce your overall caloric intake and hopefully curb your weight gain. Taking steroids can also increase water weight gain. You can help to cut down the amount of fluid retention by reducing your sodium and/or salt intake. This can be accomplished by avoiding processed or convenience food whenever possible. If you are going to be eating convenience or processed foods, check the label and make sure that no item contains more than 200 mg of sodium per serving. Or if you are eating a whole frozen dinner, for example, try and stay between 500 and 700 mg of sodium. If you can avoid processed meats such as luncheon meats, sausages or bacon, you'll be reducing your sodium intake and that's good. If you have a choice among fresh, frozen or canned vegetables, stay away from the canned and choose fresh or frozen because they are lower in sodium.

Support groups and commercial weight loss programs can assist in weight control efforts.
Reference: "Eating Healthy When You Have Lupus," by Kristine Napier, MPH, RD. Lupus News, Vol 15, Number 1, 1995.

Do you recommend any herbs or vitamins for the treatment of lupus?
We do not recommend any specific herbs or vitamins. There is a great deal of interest in herbal medicine and vitamin therapy. However, this is an area that really requires further scientific study. There are many anecdotal reports of people who took a certain vitamin or herb and felt that it helped improve their lupus. However, you have to be careful because some herbs have been shown to contain dangerous contaminants. With vitamin therapy, you have to be careful of not overdosing.

In general if you are concerned about having adequate quantities of vitamins in your diet, you can take a single multi-vitamin per day. Calcium supplements, to prevent osteoporosis (bone thinning), are a good idea. Patients who are prescribed methotrexate are often told to further supplement their diet with folic acid.

35. Where is the BEST place to go for diagnosis and treatment of lupus?
There is no one single recognized center of excellence for the treatment and diagnosis of lupus in the United States today. The Lupus Foundation of America has no mechanism by which it can rate either hospitals or physicians. The general recommendation is to find a physician that is affiliated with a medical school -a university hospital for example. These health care institutions may have faculty on staff who are involved in lupus research, and are generally the most up-to-date on the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment of lupus. These are generally regarded as very good places to go for the diagnosis and treatment of lupus. Certainly the health care institutions with established reputations fit this description.

Answer 4

fibro myalga not sure if its spelt correct though