Thanks Alice did you stay on your meds when you had your c-section the surgeon wants me off and thats what scares me I am not worried about the surgery itself just afraid to go off my meds

hi jeni. this is alice i have been diagnoised since 1997 and have study on my condition lupus , did you know that there are 4 types that one can be diagnoised with ; if you would like more info. contact the lupus foundation and the arthritis foundaion in your area. , but getting back to your? sometimes the disease itself can lay dominent  for a matter of years like what happened to me , did you know that you can go into remission and have all your tests negative and still have the disease that why they take test called ANA and others to decide if that what you have but it is hard to tell. so by all means don't be afraid get knowledge.  good luck!!!!!!

Hi Cheryl - I also have Scleroderma and was a patient at Johns Hopkins.  Have localized form of Scleroderma (Morphea).  Have you had WLS?  I'm not crazy about getting Gastric Bypass and am really hoping I'll be a candidate for the Lap Band even though Scleroderma  is conrta-indicated for the Band.  But I was diagnosed over 12 years ago and have have ZERO symtoms since.  I even had a skin graft 3 years ago without any complications.  Obviously the scarring remains but I'm not on any meds at all.   Any would love to hear about your experiences. Thanks, Anne

Missy, These are all auto-immune disease.  We are particulary susceptible to auto-immune diseases due to nutritional deficiencies.  It doesn't mean that you will get them but it is just another good reason why we have to be extremely diligent about getting complete labs done regularly and getting the right supplementation for our body.  It is not enough to just take our supplements because we do have absorption issues. It may take switching and trying several different forms of a supplement to make sure that we have the right one that our body can absorb.   I find the vitamin supplementation the hardest thing that I have had to deal with since WLS.  Taking the vitamins is not at all hard for me.  I just don't like the fact that it takes a while to know if your body is actually absorbing what you are taking.  I look for changes in my body to give me an indication.  I have had to add several additional supplements based on different issues that have started to appear.  I plan on taking a Dexa Scan soon because I can't tell from the labs if my body is absorbing the Calcium supplements that I am taking.  I recently upped the dose due to developing general achiness in my back and shoulders.  I also recently started taking my Omega 3 oil again for the anti-inflammatory properties.

Hiya Lindy,  I also take Lortab 7.5/500's but I break them in half in order to take the minimum amount I need.  Please remember that the patch (like other narcotic/opiates) are addictive and you can build a tolerance to them.    I'm not saying that to scare ya, it's just my habit to give a PSA  LOL I took plaquenil for about 6-8 mos after my diagnosis and it didn't do diddly for me.  Since I was/am obese I avoided prednisone for a long time by going directly on MTX.  I started on pills, and without going through the whole history ended up giving myself a shot of it once a week.  It's a lot easier on my stomach (tho I still get side effects), and it was cheaper than the pills when I was without insurance for a while. Take care,  Toni