Lupus Community

OmGosh,, I have them same bumps on my fingers & I noticed it the last time when I was really stressed and now with mid-terms & everything with school it came back! I was doing some checking around & found I kept going back to Lupus. I don't know if I have it but I have ALOT of the symptoms. Kinda Scared but I made a DR. Appointment. How did you figure out you had this?

I was 14 and I had injured one knee the year before and needed surgery. Everything was fine but then a year later a lot had gone on and it was a really stressful and emotional time for me. I started having all kinds of joint pain. They tested me for everything, lyme disease, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, everything under the sun.
It took more than one test to check for lupus for me to be diagnosed. They drew blood and only 2 out of the 4 tests came back positive at first, but the pain kept getting worse and spreading then I had the bloodwork done again and they found the lupus test positive that time. My numbers were crazy out of whack. I didn't even think about the bumps occurring during stressful times. I just had my finals and a death of a close family member so that could have triggered it to.
I take on alot and keep myself busy so that I live my life the way I want to instead of letting the lupus control me. Don't be too scared, there are treatments, I've been on different medications for 7 years now and my lupus has flares but we're controlling it.
Go see a rheumatologist and just tell them your symptoms, don't tell them you think its lupus, that way they can do all the tests in case it isn't lupus. There are so many conditions that are cousins to lupus and have similar symptoms that you don't want to risk a misdiagnosis.

Yea, your right about that. I wouldn't want to be misdiagnosed. It's the joint pain,migrains & extreme exhaustion that gets me! I can feel fine one day than another day completely want to just do nothing because I'm in pain or just plain tired with a bad headache. It all seems to get worse when I'm stressed , which I just realized. But I thank you very much for being so open with me & helping me out.. I'm glad to hear your doing better & not letting Lupus control your life.

I'm glad I could help a little. Just remember even if you are diagnosed with lupus, there are medications to monitor it now. I hope you can get this figured out so maybe you can stop suffering.

My rheumatologist told me that the bumps on my hands are from the rheumatoid swelling that comes with lupus. And it will eventually go away on its own once my flare up is done.

Hi, maybe you can help me because right now I am freaking out. I never even thought about lupus because I didnt know the symptoms. Since the age of 13 i was breaking out in terrible hives and we went to the dermatologist consistently and couldnt figure out what it was. It caused me terrible hives and swelling in my lips and face and lower extremities. All this happened after sun exposure but I never put the pieces together until I was in college. Now i live the life of staying out the sun because more than 15 mins in it will cause terrible rashes and swelling that oozes a peels. Yuck....to make it worse I am allergic to all types of sunscreen so there is nothing that can help me.

Then in my college years i started my bouts of alopecia. I was losing hair and not understanding why, but I was getting injections to help with growth. Since then (10 years now) I have had constant struggle with thinning hair. Having children made it worst, as I was bald in half my head, and had to wear a wig to cover it until it grew back in. My hair always grows back but then it doesnt last long and will fall back out in the same areas.

3 years ago the joint pain started and I thought it was just age (30) catching up with me, but its hurts in my wrists and my hip joints. Recently I now have a terrible pain near my spine and it feels like someone stabbed me in the back and left the knife in. It gets worse at night.

On top of all this i just recently 2 weeks ago started itching like crazy and no one else in my house is. My hands and feet started first. They turn really red and itch, then begin to swell (fingertips especially). Sometimes I cant bare to walk on my feet. I thought it may have been bed bugs or something but it would have been contagious. I now have a terrible rash mostly on my buttocks that flares up and comes back worse. I turn red inside the palms of my hand, on my knees, around my ankles and under my feet.

Sorry this is so much but I am just looking for insight. I am going to the doctor asap. I think its possible I may have had lupus a long time ago and was never diagnosed.

I am new too, but had to post when I saw your comment. I get those little nodules on my fingers also. I got them way before I ever experiences any lupus symptoms and occasionally they return. They do hurt a lot for a bump so small! I am also having recurring tendonitis that jumps from one joint to another, currently it's my index finger. I have been to physical therapy 3x this past year for tendonitis in knee and neck. I am hopeful that someone has some other suggestions bc that is not really practical and does not help long term.

Hey Im 25 I was told I had lupus at 17 I had one flair when I was 17 and then no problems since then till Feb. 2012 . I have the same bumps on my fingers they are very painful I was told this is called raynods syndrome (Im sure I spelt that wrong ) but it is caused by bad circulation in your hands and feet and for me this only happens when I am in a flair . the Dr. put me on Imuran and they are gone my fingers and toes will turn wite or purple hopefully this helps you
Carla