Living With Lupus Pain

A lupus diagnosis typically doesn’t appear in a patient’s chart until after several years of battling painful symptoms that “might be” “could be” “though it was” a different disease. Lupus is a sneaky disease, often hiding itself within the body and resisting any form of treatment or diagnosis until well into the disease’s development.

Treatment

Treatment options for Lupus have come a long way in the past ten years. There was a time when a systemic lupus diagnosis came with a three year life expectancy. Today, lupus is not expected to end in termination of life, but living with the chronic pain and the difficulties are tremendously difficult and even terrifying. Lupus is a sneaky disease, traveling from one part of the body to another seeking out “enemy intruders” that are nothing more than normal bodily organs. A confused immune system can do a lot of damage, and learning to cope with the inconsistent and blind siding pain is a daily struggle.

Lupus is often misdiagnosed as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Unfortunately, treating lupus as any other disease doesn’t alleviate any of the painful symptoms nor does it cease the damage the body is doing to itself.

Treating lupus is a chronic challenge for any physician. Because the disease won’t “stand still,” doctors constantly have to alter treatment courses in order to catch up with the disease. A patient can effectively manage their symptoms and their pain for six months only to be struck out of the blue by another flare up at a different location throughout the body. This presents numerous challenges both for the patient and the physician.

NSAIDS pain relievers are often used to treat lupus discomfort. In some cases they work well and in other cases they simply aren’t very effective. Just because one treatment option works well for awhile, patients should be open to trying new treatment options if they begin to have difficulties down the road. After all, with such a slick disease, staying flexible and open to possibilities is the only way to manage the alterations in the body’s general health.

Immunosuppressant medications and Biologics are along the first line of defense. While immunosuppressant medications do not necessarily treat pain, they do help to alleviate attacks which in turn alleviate painful symptoms.

Corticosteroids may be prescribed to help quite the inflammation that coincides with lupus. Inflammation can cause just as much pain as any other pain source. When an organ is inflamed, it is highly irritated, to the point that normal functioning adds to the discomfort. For instance, an inflamed finger is going to look swollen, red, and it is going to be a constant source of pain for the body it is attached to. Inflammation also makes the finger sensitive to other touch, even touch that normally feels good. This is what is going on inside the body when an organ becomes inflamed. Inflammation is not usually given enough credit for being a legitimate pain source.

While medications can be an effective form of pain control, they also have their own risks, especially their regular use. Only the patient and a competent physician can determine whether the risks of the chronic use of medications are worth the benefits. After all, lupus is a disease with the potential to be degenerative, and it is vital that a person afflicted with lupus is able to maintain a standard of health that can combat the disease. Chronic corticosteroids can cause all types of damage, not to mention weight gain, facial puffiness, and even anger problems in sensitive patients. The use if chronic NSAID pain relievers also host a degree of risk including organ damage. While immunosuppressant medications are effective at keeping lupus under control, the obvious effect of this medication is a depleted immune system.

Patients and physicians alike need to keep in mind that an emotional state does contribute to the degree of health a patient may experience. While anger is normal when diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease, anger can also inhibit the patient’s ability to control their pain. There are numerous clinical studies which confirm that pain can be enhanced from chronic and extreme negative emotions. This in no way implies that the pain is in the patient’s head. It’s not. It is very real with a physiological cause. It implies that pain is harder to manage when a patient is depressed. Depression and anger are normal, but part of learning to cope with the chronic pain is also learning to recognize the psychological impact the pain has on a patient and the patient’s life. When a patient can learn to recognize their emotional needs, their physical needs are easier to treat.

Patients who have experienced many pain relieving options and have experimented with numerous alternative therapies do report that alternative pain relief therapies can be rather effective. Lupus patients who have tried both acupuncture and massage therapies aimed at pain relief have stated that their results often surprised them. One patient may respond better to alternative therapies because these techniques are quite personal and often help one pain over another, but when living with chronic pain a patient does get to the point that they are willing to try anything to alleviate it. In all fairness, a patient would accept a bottle of magic potion without question as long as it worked.

Chronic pain can be unbearable. Some patients report finding phenomenal relief via alternative therapies including Tai Chi and can recommend them to other patients. Discussing the significant pain associated with lupus as well as the unique challenges lupus presents, patients can learn to find a combination of traditional and alternative medicines that work just for their specific needs. There is no cure for lupus, only treatment. When patients can congregate and help each other find relief, they do more than simply relief intolerable pain, they empower themselves to take back their life by finding their own personalized solution.

David Freeman is a noted author with many articles on joint disease to his credit.

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