Suggestions

I am doing all I can to research each additional medication that they give me or when they consider starting me on a new one; I will not take the medication right away and go to the Internet to do a cross reference of my own to check the interactions that an additional medication may have on my system. The best site that I use is:

• Drug Interactions Checker at //www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html (NOTE: you will need to click Agree) to continue into the section to compare the list of drugs that you are taking.

I will take the printed sheet with me to the doctor and ask them to clarify any of the contraindications that show sever, moderate, or minor conflicts that a new medication may have on my system.

It is vitally important to always take an up to date list of current medications that you are on to each specialist, doctor, hospital, appointment, check-up, etc. I even suggest keeping one on your person(s) at all time. Just as if we were diabetic, we would want the health professionals that may end up taking care of us in an urgent crisis to know exactly what diseases we have and the medications we are on to help alleviate any potential medication reaction. It is amazing to me, how easy it would be to be in a car accident and end up in an emergency room and they not know that there are so many medications that if given to me would cause severe seizures, allergic reactions, coma and/or even death. Just being placed under the overhead fluorescent lighting could cause a flare inside my body and attack my internal organs without any visible trauma. Sometimes the damage is done inside the body before the skin shows a visual toxic reaction to the fluorescent lighting.

There is no cure for Lupus and those of us who suffer are merely treated for symptoms. It is so humbling to me to realize the truth. I am hopeful in the next 10 to 20 years that there may be a potential cure for my children, but my living with this disease for the next 10 to 20 years is devistating to say the least.

In the meantime those of us living with Systemic Lupus (SLE) we just need to hold on and try to lessen the damage to our internal organs as much as we can to help prolong our lives until that point.

Stay out of the sun and use Sunscreen. Take care!