Medication

Treatment programs for lupus include medications, rest, being very careful about sun or light exposure or flare triggers.

Lupus is an unpredictable disease. Signs of the disease appear and disappear, sometimes for no apparent reason. Because lupus assumes so many different forms, finding the right balance of treatment may take time! Because of the unpredictability of lupus, your type and amount of medications will change often.

DO NOT start taking a drug, supplement or even vitamins without medical advice, it could cause you more harm, they could either interact with prescribed medications or cause side effects which might even mimic your lupus symptoms.

You may have a prescribed NSAID where even taking additional unprescibed aspirin will cause an overdose.

Basic Medical Treatments Used for Lupus

Some Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) can be bought OTC( over the counter), some are by prescription.

Sometimes the only medication necessary for a doctor to prescribe is aspirin. Aspirin is more than a painkiller. It is also a NSAID, a Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, making it helpful in treating the joint discomfort of lupus. Most nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) can cause some degree of stomach bleeding, stomach pain or diarrhea. For some people, other NSAIDs drugs may be more effective or better tolerated than aspirin. The following lists are just for example purposes, your doctor may have used other NSAIDs or medications depending on your individual medical history. Cox-2 Inhibitors have the same effect as NSAIDs on pain and inflammation but with a lower risk of significant gastrointestinal side effects.

Some NSAID brand names are: Motrin, Advil, Naprosyn, Aleve. Clinoril, Voltaren, Feldene, Orudis, Dolobid, Relafen, Lodine, Daypro, Indocin, Prilosec, Tolectin, Vioxx or Celebrex. Some NSAIDs are long-acting, a consideration in finding the right balance of treatment.

Aspirin and other NSAIDs can cause liver damage. NSAIDs may also cause an alteration in kidney function. Usually, any damage can be reversed when the medication is given in smaller doses or stopped .

The most common complications arising from the use of NSAIDs involves the gastrointestinal tract. Some patients may even start to suffer from erosions of the stomach wall, stomach ulcers, or bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract.

Follow directions!

The Antimalarial

No one knows just how the antimalarial drugs work in lupus. A common antimalarial used to treat lupus is (Plaquenil) Hydroxychloroquine . Plaquenil may be used alone or in combination with other drugs and is generally used to treat fatigue, joint pain, skin rashes, and inflammation. Extended plaquenil use is followed closely by your doctor and the opthamologist on your health team because a most dramatic and dangerous side effect can be plaquenil vision lost. Other milder side effects, include rash, nausea, and vomiting which can often be corrected with a dosage change.

Often the mainstay of severe lupus treatment are the corticosteroid hormones , a synthetic form of hormones naturally produced by your adrenal glands, which are located on top of your kidneys. Corticosteroids are the strongest anti-inflammatory drugs available. They can dramatically reduce pain and inflammation in a matter of hours. Also controlling many of the signs and symptoms of lupus. If one has skin rashes, you may be given creams or ointments containing corticosteroids.

Prednisone is perhaps the most common corticosteroid used for lupus.

Long term prednisone use also predisposes to infections, affects fat distribution, can cause cataract formation or eye problems, makes the skin thinner ,more disposed to bruises, osteoporosis(thinning of the bone), and may worsen or induce depression or psychosis. There is always a warning with prednisone-"DO NOT STOP OR REDUCE DOSAGE WITHOUT PHYSICIAN INSTRUCTION"

 It is a warning to be heeded.

Because prednisone is a synthetic form of hormones naturally produced by your adrenal glands, the body has to restart producing the amount of hormone you need to control your inflammation. (Remember your body was not producing what was needed in the first place-so don’t be discouraged if physician monitored reductions aren’t as low as you would like.)

Immunosuppressive Medications

Some lupus patients must use immunosuppressive medications such as methotrexate, gamma globulin, Cytoxan, Imuran, and mycophenilate mofetil (CellCept) or other immunosuppressive. Immunosuppressive medication is usually given to lupus patients who have major organ damage due to lupus. ( kidney disease, central nervous system disease, or inflammation of the blood vessels (known as vasculitis).) The immunosuppressive medications require frequent monitoring for toxicity.

So often lupus treatments can cause harmful side effects, so it is very important to report new symptoms to your doctor promptly. It is also important NOT to stop or change treatments without talking to the doctor FIRST.

Pain, Depression, and Fatigue are three of the chief concerns of many people living with lupus. Whether they are from the disease or the treatments and medications, Pain, Depression, and Fatigue substantially have an impact on quality of life. These things often have the impact of causing a lupus patient to fear symptoms more than the disease.