and toes to feel numb and cold in response to
temperature and stress, limiting blood
circulation. Basically they turn blue, which
over time can lead to tissue damage and even
amputation if untreated.
A few years back a new drug Benlysta to
treat lupus was approved, I cannot begin to
imagine the hope and elation in the lupus
community.
FELICIA’S LUPUS
TREATMENT
How effective are the medicines you’re on?
The medications help but they have their own
side effects which can be deadly sometimes.
But the benefits outweigh the risks. I have
been on prednisone on and off since I was
about 21. Eventually you feel like you’re always
popping pills which don’t make you better, but
give you stomach problems. All in all it’s not all
bad.
How many pills are you currently on?
I’m not on too many meds — six or seven —
just the main ones. I think I’ve tried all the
ones out there. I am currently on prednisone,
Imuran, plaquenil and a few others to manage
symptoms like vertigo which comes and goes.
We were all excited. My doctor started me on
the infusions and frankly I felt like a new
person — I was no longer tired all the time, I
felt amazing. Although the infusions were
unpleasant, I began to think I had my life
back. The side effects brazenly said death, but
I didn’t care I was feeling better.
Unfortunately it didn’t seem to work so well
in people of our ethnicity, and I was no
exception. I started to get these small
infections and occasional fevers to the point
where my doctor felt it wasn’t worth the risk.
So they took me off it. But before then, for
those few months I was Felicia again, not a
person with lupus. I still hope I can get back
on it sometime in the future but with better
results.
Besides prescription medications, what
other measures do you take?
One of the things that has helped me is
watching my diet. I try to eat all natural. I
don’t always do it, but I realize some things
are more in sync with good health and a
healthy diet is one of them. I take my vitamins
and I avoid people who are sick like the
plague(no offense).
Recently, I started medication to control
the raynauds syndrome — another condition
that accompanies lupus. It causes my fingers
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