The use of Prednisone in Lupus Patients

Prednisone is one of those first lines of treatment administered to Lupus patients as they are initially diagnosed. Usually doctors opt to use prednisone in combination with immunosupressant.

Prednisone is one of those medications that no one likes due to side effects, which include and are not limited to weight gain, bloating in the abdominal area, propensity towards diabetes and palpitations, amongst other things.

For a lupus patient, prednisone is an easy solution that might drag in further consequences as it might develop cardiac problems and develop a propensity towards cancer in the most drastic cases. However, let's keep in mind that our doctors won't use this drug without a purpose. The main driver behind prednisone treatment is to offer immediate relief while the immunosuppressant does it job. As progress is recorded, the amount of prednisone can be decreased gradually under medical supervision.

What we can do is, modify certain things in order to avoid possible side effects, while the drug does its intended job. In my case, prednisone might lead to border line diabetes, so I watch what I eat, shutting down on foods rich in flour and sugar. At the same time it counteracts on that gaining weight effect, because it becomes minimal. I have also incorporated the use of Omega 3 oil to help with inflammation and to overcome that feeling of "prednisone withdrawal" when the medicine is regulated.

A prescription of prednisone is not a life sentence. This is one of those medications that, under a physicians supervision can be reduced to minimal dosages an even eliminated from a plan of treatment once it has served its purpose.I wish for all patients using prednisone to reap the benefits of the drug without side effects. Once your DS DNA, Sed Rate or CRP starts showing lower numbers, do not hesitate to ask your doctor about the possibility of decrease in prednisone. Of course last word resides with your physician, but this is one of those questions we tend to forget, especially when our appointments are kind of hurried.

Work along with your Doctor and let's ring on 2013 as the year Prednisone is going down!

The perfect Gift

Isaiah 9:6

“Because a child is born to us, a son is given, and a kingdom will be on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father and Prince of Peace.”

 

Christmas is upon us and to quote a few is the most wonderful time of the year. We flock to family gatherings and hold fast to friends, looking forward to a good time. Personally, I look forward to eat all those delicious treats I keep away from through the year.

We shop, it is madness, we will buy everything, for everyone, twice!

Anyway it is all in good spirits. In Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus (though he was not born on December 25^th , but that’s another story). However sometimes, through the whole dazed and sweetly confused holiday schedule we tend to forget about the one easy, free Christmas gift we can give one and other: a personal relationship with God. The best gift of all.

Once we believe, though Christmas  is still the dearest of holidays, it is but one day in 365 to express our relationship to God and showing His love in a practical way, to be aware of His plan in our lives. Opportunities to spread joy and friendship come around on a daily basis.

For us living in the United States, this Christmas season has been darkened by a national tragedy that turn most of our hurried shopping frenzies and holiday preparations in moments of quiet contemplation. In the midst of a chaotic world, God’s presence guides us and leads us to rest upon Him, even when we face circumstances that defy all understanding. God’s perfect domain has control of everything and His love lifts us to see beyond our tears. If there is something missing, something you can do to help us all heal, follow God’s voice and join in one of many acts of kindness meant to bring us together and cope.

 To all of you who are going through a difficult Christmas, be it because of illness, the loss of a dear, close friend or relative, loneliness, depression, or any other situation; getting close to God will help you to see yourself the way He sees you, as unique, valuable, but most of all, loved.

Let’s give some thought to this, most wonderful gift. Let’s pray for those who are going through a rough road right now. Sure, we all look forward to opening gifts, but let’s also share feelings, edifying words, strength of spirit. Let’s do it in memory of Him, who encompasses perfect love and perfect trust.

 Have a wonderful Christmas and may 2013 bring you beauty and health and the drive to keep on working for the goals we set for ourselves. May all be granted through God’s perfect will.

Thanksgiving

“Be thankful to the Lord, for he is good

And His Love is forever lasting” Psalm 106:01

 

Yay! Thanksgiving is almost here and along with it the beginning of holiday season. A time for family trips and mostly, FOOD!

Thanksgiving is one of my top holidays because it is the one day that I take to be with my extended family and be thankful to God for all my blessings.

 

Sometimes when we are ill, we tend to hold on to the bad experiences the cycle of our illness has brought us, because it is easier to track the bad rather than the good. If anything, take the chance this day brings to do it differently.

 

 If we are in remission, let’s be thankful. If we are going through the process, let’s keep in mind the hurdles we have cleared and be thankful for what is surely to come. After all there’s no better time that in which we are alive.

 

So, bring along the people you love, share your future goals; be thankful for the chance we have at life, for our struggles and our triumphs. Laugh! Try both the pumpkin and pecan pie, and be blessed!

 

 And of course I’m very grateful for all the wonderful people I have met through this blog, the people that keep in touch through Facebook and even my anonymous friends at the boards. God bless you all and know that you have had a great impact in my life.

The Change of Seasons

We watch the seasons mark the year round. I love watching colors fade and live again. Color me romantic, but I believe, seasons, as many other things on this Earth are intimately related to our being human. Seasons teach us a lot about change, the inevitability of it, also the wonder within it.

I don’t have a particular Season that is my favorite as I have found that each one is charming in its own way.

Most people live for an eternal spring and that splash of color, others love the chill of winter, the celebrations and of course the delicious, comforting food that comes with it. Summer brings sun and sand, and there’s no denying, for some of us, a lupus flare here and there, but we upgrade the sunblock and brave the day and get the tropical agenda going, because we are compelled to have a little fun. Last, but not least Fall, which we are going through right now; described by many as the most nostalgic of seasons. Our body screams for pumpkin lattes, a good book and those comfy loose sweaters.

In my opinion, I wouldn’t call Fall, nostalgic, lethargic, let alone depressing. I find change of Seasons have a parallel in our lives and there’s an open invitation to make the best of what change brings to our daily activities, even to incorporate the inevitability of change as the wisest of lessons. God compels us to make the best out of our seasons.

There are times in which we feel full of energy and times in which we are guided towards introspection. There are times in which we feel emotionally naked, with our last nerve exposed while we try to hold to our very last “leaf” and yet these moments of vulnerability are pathways to self- and analysis, a chance to review and renew. These little moments help us make the best of a sunny day, as we go out and soak of on life, feeling bright as ever.

What is important is to leave time and change in God’s hands. For His are all our Seasons.

Keep up in good spirit

 "A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit, who can bear?" Proverbs 18:14

More than once I have heard that high spirits and good disposition alone can’t cure an illness. It is true. Sometimes it is frustrating for people who are going through a situation to have to deal with the glass half full club who will come and cheer when they have never gone through a similar situation.

However, when it comes to staying positive and in good spirits, other people’s input is not as important as our own intention and will.

Lots of people see optimism and that need to cheer is something we need to receive from other people- and reject when we are not feeling up to par- but in order for it to work, it has to be borne from ourselves.

The book of Proverbs tells us that in order to overcome; the real strength will have to come from the inside. More than people cheering us on, it is fundamental for us to find that spark within ourselves.

 I’m by no means criticizing peoples who are harbingers of joy. After all, I am all for a network of support when it comes to illness. The worst would be, for us to have a wonderful outlook in life and be surrounded by people who will not support us. However, we will never fully appreciate what other people do for us, until we start working on it by ourselves. Most patients help their prognosis just by showing a positive attitude towards their illness.

If a patient sees things on a positive light, it is a lot easier to battle through what life throws at us.

I know a young woman who was diagnosed with cancer. She was a junior in High School at the time. I will always remember the initial shock and the tears. As much as I remember her pain, I will also be impressed with that relative “elasticity of feeling” that is characteristic to the very young. Once she discovered that crying won’t help but momentarily, she wiped the tears and quickly replaced them with a smile. Even facing the uncertainty of a treatment with a 50% chance of success, she didn’t give it a second thought. She asked for pictures. Yes pictures; of the activities she was missing out on. She had pictures of family and friend carrying on with their daily lives. She would look at them and visualize herself inside them.

Instead of looking at pictures that told her about a past without illness, she took these new ones and gave herself perspective. It kept her up, it made her smile.

 Her journey lasted almost a year and a half, but her attitude and good spirits never failed and were key to her success. She kept her eyes on Christ and today she is enjoying good health and can add cancer free to an ever growing list of personal achievements.

 As far as Lupus, we need to keep thinking that in spite of our chronic condition, we have to be grateful of alternatives of treatment that will allow us to live a normal life. Even those whose Lupus is severe, have found an alternative to improve their quality of life while searching for remission.

 So, let’s keep those spirits up, keep God as our guide and carry on!

Going for Gold

Philippians 3:13-14
New International Version (NIV)

"13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Through the last 17 days most of us were glued to the TV watching the London 2012 Olympic games. Well, at least I was. I've always been fascinated with the developments of competition and some of the interesting stories that athletes bring to the table.

It takes a lot of effort for an athlete to develop the abilities that secures them a spot on what is considered the ultimate sporting stage. at a given point in time they all meet on a particular place to compete for either gold, silver or bronze. Not all of them win, though. It has to be frustrating at least to train and not make it to the podium. That is the story of many athletes. However, just by not giving up, they certainly improve their chances to obtain a prize within the next four years.
As I see it, we need to go through the same trials in order to succeed. They might not be physical, but emotional, but believe me, they can be as taxing as any sporting event. i wouldn't dream to compare myself to an athlete, but I have goals to set and my own medals to win.

On the "Fighting Lupus Category" I have been excelling lately. after quite a rough patch I am asympthomatic and within remission. It took a lot of personal sacrifice and the support of a network of friends, family and health professionals, but I got there.

I like to see things as Paul saw them through his letter to Philippians. The best way to get ahead is forgetting about the stumbles of our past, be it for a professional runner or for a lupus patient, looking back will make you loose sight of your goal at best, stumble and fall at worst.

Training is never easy, but it guarantees results. Let's allow Jesus to lead the way, to lift a lot of our pressures and guide us to step ahead, and go for the gold.

Faith

 Hebrews 11:1
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.”
 Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him…”


Sometimes we ask ourselves what is the point of having faith. Some people see faith as a synonym top Religion, others as a belief system, and others as a force that keeps them going forward.
The way I see faith is as a daily walk in which we show both our compromise with God and to ourselves. Some people believe having faith implies not taking some kind of action in what they are hoping for, because God wants us to lay all into Him. Here’s something you might have not thought about before… God wants us to be active in our faith.

The bible tells us in the book of Hebrews that it is impossible to please God if we lack faith. Each of the stories we read on the bible about people who took a leap of faith implies these people reached their goals, no matter how improbable. Taking that leap implies acting on our faith. If we are going to apply this to a chronic condition, it means that we will need to take a step forward and visualized ourselves as healed, even if the road ahead looks difficult.

You’ll need your faith strong even to start a treatment, to see the results we are waiting for, to stay strong through a remission. It is all part of a process.

 What is God expecting of us?... you might ask.

He wants us to believe Him, to see ourselves whole, to walk in faith, to set goals and reach them.
This is in no way escapism. I’m not asking you to deny a pain that is obviously there. However, we are called to rise above it. Even in the midst of pain or any health related situation, we need to come to an understanding that it is all just a step along the way and in the bigger picture; there is a chance at overcoming.


 My hardest experience with lupus was not only my initial diagnosis, but the development of nephritis. Those were scary, painful moments. There was so much stress, pain and swelling that I could not even walk. Even through those times I saw myself getting better. Giving up was never an option. For three years I lived through the harshest of scenarios. Three years with high Sed Rate and DS DNA until it reached Nephritis. Those were also three years of increasing my faith, of not looking back or feeling sorry about my condition. I decided to hold on to my faith, follow my treatments and give it a fight. Today, I am in remission, symptom free and although I need to keep monitoring, so far the protein secretion is gone and my kidneys are functioning at a normal rate.

Talking about following treatment, we need to keep the faith even when taking our meds. Sometimes I received medications which secondary effects were enough to make anyone cry, but through that as well, I decided to tackle it with faith and give it time. Eventually I found the treatment that was best for me. I trusted my doctors and my medications, sure. My faith though kept telling me that through this, all ends well that is well. I felt the strength of my faith beach time I saw results improving. It pushes me to reach out to others as help them as well.

To have faith is to understand that we are bigger than our condition, stronger than we thought we were.

It is waking up every morning knowing that it all will pass, that we have a hope to act on; that illness is part of life, but that does not mean that God is not present at the moment of healing. In His mercy, He always stretches out his hand.

Acting upon your faith also implies a responsibility. As I always advise, once you get it, don’t take it for granted. Make sure to follow up and keep good habits that will prevent any fall back. Taking good care of ourselves and being responsible for our welfare, we see the culmination of our faith journey.
God will help us through, in all ways.