I'm a 23 year old grad student living with systemic lupus erythematosus. I was diagnosed at 16, but was lucky enough to go into remission quickly. I was so grateful to finally have a diagnosis, that I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about the implications of that diagnosis. As a result, I never truly acknowledged or dealt with what it means to have this disease. Five years later, I went into a full-on flare. Suddenly, my concept of what it means to have this disease really changed. Trying to make it through an intense grad school program during this flare up is proving to be a constant challenge, but I'm doing the best I can. Meanwhile, my doctor has started treating me for fibromyalgia in addition to the lupus.
I started this blog for a lot of reasons, but mainly to help people who don't have lupus or other chronic illness understand what it's like to live with one. I've also found a lot of solace and support in connecting with other people who also have this disease.
I tend to switch between introspective posts and medical update/life update type posts... I think I've got some good rants going as well (don't we all?) I've tried to categorize my posts into what I think are useful categories. If you notice that they aren't or have any suggestions on how better to categorize them, please let me know! Speaking of... I really love to hear from my readers. I hate to feel like I'm writing on and on and nobody is actually reading it. So please leave comments, questions, agreements, disagreements and any suggestions about what you'd like to hear more about.
Welcome!! :)
