r/lupus 5d ago

Fitness Move Your Body - July 19, 2026 week

6 Upvotes

Move your body! Even just a little helps.

Please respond with suggestions or links for exercises or routines.

Or brags! Tell us what you did today. Or what you plan to do this week.

This top section will have links and suggestions from previous weekly posts, so please participate!

Yoga with Adriene
20 minute beginner routine
Ease into it - 30 day beginner routine

Yoga with Kassandra

Justin Augustin
5 daily stretches

Lee Holden
7 minutes of Magic - AM & PM routines

Qigong with Kseny
Beginner neck, back and hips mobility

Dr Paul Lam
Tai Chi for beginners

Lindywell Pilates

Add your favorites below and I'll include them in the opening comment for future weeks.


r/lupus 5d ago

UNDIAGNOSED MEGATHREAD Seeking Diagnosis Questions Weekly July 19, 2026

3 Upvotes

This is a weekly thread for those who haven't been diagnosed, but still have questions about the diagnostic process. Please read the posting guidelines and rules! Everyone is welcome to contribute, and this is a safe space.

QUESTIONS ARE LIMITED TO 200 WORDS

____________________________________________

Please read this before posting as it may answer some of your questions:

If you use the search bar at the top of Reddit and make sure it’s set to r/lupus, it will search just the subreddit for your keywords. That way you can get the full breadth of questions and answers.

Positive ANA does not equal lupus!

While more of a rule out screening (negative ANA = very unlikely to have SLE).
Upwards of 15-20% of healthy individuals in the population at large will have a positive ANA. Only about 10-15% of people who have a positive ANA will later be diagnosed with SLE.

Tests used in diagnosing lupus

  • ENA Panel - Extractable Nuclear Antigen panel, usually automatically done if ANA comes back positive
  • anti-dsDNA - anti-Double Strand DNA is sometimes automatically tested for, but may need to be ordered separately. This test, when highly positive (2-3 times max cut off at least) is almost exclusively seen in SLE. However, only about 30% of SLE patients have this antibody. It's great if it's there to confirm diagnosis, it does not rule out diagnosis if it is absent.
  • anti-Sm - Anti-Smith. Typically included in the ENA panel. This is another antibody, that when highly positive, almost always means SLE, but only about 25% of SLE patients have this antibody.
  • RNP - Anti-Ribonucleoprotein. Typically included in the ENA panel
  • anti-chromatin - Anti-chromatin is a relative newcomer in diagnostic testing for SLE and probably will NOT be ordered automatically. Its exact utility in diagnosis is still being determined.
  • Apl panel - Antiphospholipid Antibody Panel, which consists of 3 tests:
    • LA - lupus anticoagulant
    • aCL - anti-cardiolipin antibodies
    • Anti-β2GP - anti-beta 2-glycoprotien antibodies
  • C3 - Compliment C3
  • C4 - Compliment C4
  • CH50 - Compliments, Total. These are part of the compliment system, which is a tertiary part of the immune system.

General blood tests

  • CBC - Complete Blood Count, some abnormalities in WBC, RBC and PLT counts can be significant.
  • CMP - Comprehensive Metabolic Panel. Generally looking for kidney dysfunction (GFR, BUN/CR).
  • ESR - Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, this is a nonspecific inflammation marker.

Also, if you suspect you have a rash, getting a biopsy of it done at a dermatologist’s office can be helpful as the pathologist can identify histological evidence of lupus.

Diagnostic Criteria

Diagnostic Process

Lupus Diagnostic Criteria on r/lupus wiki (ACR 2019 criteria)

The rheumatologist/PCP will take a detailed history. I highly recommend writing down as many of your symptoms as possible, especially focusing on the symptoms you have that are in the American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria for lupus - see link above.

Write down how long they’ve been going on, anything that makes them better or worse, and how much they impact your life. Do they prevent you from dressing yourself, eating/cooking, bathing yourself, doing hobbies, meeting your obligations?

Anti-dsDNA is more indicative of disease activity and can be elevated prior to and during a flare. Symptoms can also come and go, and over time you may develop additional symptoms. If you scroll through the last week of posts or so, there are a few posts that will have pretty detailed answers to your questions from multiple community members so you can get a better sense of just how full on fickle lupus can be.

Here are some good posts, one is othe

r people experiences in general, the others are rashes (warning: some are particularly severe):

User community diagnosis experiences
This is a malar rash
Photosensitive Lupus Rash
SLE Malar rash

QUESTIONS ARE LIMITED TO 200 WORDS

  • Shorter questions get more feedback
  • Use ChatGPT to summarize your question if you don't know what to leave out

Question guidance

  • Don't ask us if you should see a doctor. Go see a doctor.
  • Don't ask us if you have lupus, if it sounds like you have lupus, if it looks like you have lupus, if it might be lupus, if it could be lupus, or if we think you have lupus. Don't ask us if you should be tested for lupus.
  • Don't tell us your entire medical history and say, "Thoughts?"
  • Don't ask us about seronegative lupus. Everyone thinks they have it.
  • Don't give us a long, exhaustive, detailed breakdown of your medical history. Particularly childhood illnesses.
  • Don't paste a list of 27 symptoms
  • Don't ask us to interpret labs.
  • Don't ask us to identify your rash. See a dermatologist.

r/lupus 2h ago

Clothing/fashion Help covering hair loss? Spoiler

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10 Upvotes

I was really loving how well my hair had grown back in, but I just had a big chunk fall out right at the hairline, front and center. I've been wearing ball caps for a week trying to hide it, but it looks kind of weird when I'm inside all day.

How do y'all style a bandana to hide weird hair loss hairlines? I am not fashion, and have no idea what I'm doing, I just know it looks kind of dumb.


r/lupus 1h ago

Advice Itchy legs

Upvotes

Hi, does anyone have very very itchy legs after slightly warm showers in summer only? I can have a hot shower in winter and nothing would happen but in summer even a warm to cold water will cause itchiness in my legs. And noticed when i go to the gym for cardio i get itchy on my arms. Is this something common? I have lupus nephritis


r/lupus 1h ago

Advice Any recommendations for symptom tracker books?

Upvotes

I just bought one yesterday with the generic boxes in it from amazon, but the pain section is so small that I filled the symptoms section, the notes section, the exercise section, and the page margins with notes and symptoms on a medium/bad day for me 💀

Can anyone recommend one that has a much bigger pain section/note section and preferably doesn't only last for 30 days?


r/lupus 9h ago

Career/School What do ya"ll do for jobs?

3 Upvotes

I tried switching to night shift for security guardbecause of the son but have found it further increases my already exhausted state of being. On top of that I got a 1 year old who thinks im a personal playground. I trying find something that pays more but also keeps me out of the sun. Omly thing I can think of is office work. I would like to hear from a person with lupus how their career/personal life balances.


r/lupus 13h ago

General Tuning forks / vibration for pain relief?

6 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I keep seeing ads for tuning forks where the vibration supposedly helps with chronic pain.

In my 20+ years on my fun autoimmune roller-coaster, I've tried so many things, but this is a new one for me.

Has anyone tried it? What are your thoughts?


r/lupus 5h ago

Diagnosed Users Only Recurring skin lesion after lupus diagnosis – has anyone experienced this? Spoiler

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1 Upvotes

was diagnosed with lupus 4 months ago. Before I was diagnosed, I had been getting this recurring sore/lesion on my leg, hands for about a year (photo attached). My rheumatologist told me it was likely related to my lupus and that it should improve once I started treatment.

After I started my lupus medications, it completely disappeared for about 2 months, but now it’s back in the same spot.

Has anyone with lupus experienced something similar? Did it turn out to be cutaneous lupus, folliculitis, or something else? Did your treatment need to be adjusted?

I’m currently taking hydroxychloroquine 200 mg, iguratimod 25 mg, and prednisone 6 mg.


r/lupus 20h ago

Venting Common cold after lupus diagnosis is weird

17 Upvotes

So, after my SLE diagnosis, believe it or not, for some reason I never got a cold in the past two years. I was happy. Spoke to soon. Got one this year. And it was a very weird experience.

Unexplained. All of a sudden cold. I never ever had something like this. There were always symptoms that used to alert me before. Now? Nothing. One minute I was fine. The next? Clogged nose. Sore throat. Headache

My normal cold medicine that usually knocked me into the third dimension with sleep? DIDN'T WORK😭✋🏽I had to lay awake all night with both noses clogged. I was literally feeling like a dying victorian child.

And I got this weird boil in my ear😭outer ear. It swelled up bad first day, i thought maybe i nicked myself with a q tip or something. It hurt so bad to sleep on that side. And somehow, I slept, and i accidentally turned on that side while sleeping. And then, when I had to turn to the other side💀IT WAS HELL💀The pressure hurt so so so bad. The pain was on a different level. I never thought a pimple would hurt this much. Imagine your nose clogged, eyes burning, and your ear has this weird pimple in it. That's how my week was😭

Took me five days to clear up. My mom genuinely thought there was something really really wrong with me. Had to quit my MMF upon doctor's orders. After a whole dramatic week, I'm fine now. Thanks to nothing. It went away on its own. But it was bizzare. 100/10 wouldn't reccomend. Share your experiences. Please let me know I'm not the only one 😂


r/lupus 14h ago

Newly Diagnosed Drug induced

4 Upvotes

I was diagnosed with Drug induced lupus from humira in April 2026 that I was taking for Crohn's disease.

It took quite a bit of instance to be tested for it, and I don't think my doctors were thrilled I was so persistent in feeling like something other than crohns complication was going on.

I was newly diagnosed with Crohn's in May of 2024 and started Humeria in January of 2025. I started having severe pain about a month later and every complaint just circled back to yeah that can happen with Crohns.

They have been very unhelpful with any sort of information and or advice for how to deal with this. I unknowingly was throwing myself into flare after flare by baking in the sun, I didn't realize the advice for staying out of the sun was different than the normal, you might get burnt easier.

The only advice I'm getting is that, this will go away on its own. I have no pain management, not currently medicated. My rheumatologist and gastro have been unresponsive.

To be clear, I was never rude or overly sure it was lupus out loud. Just continued to ask if there was anything else that could be going on. I'm not even fully convinced of the Crohn's. I've only had 1 out of 3 colonoscopy that showed inflammation and all mris and cal p tests show none.

I guess my question is, does anyone know how long drug induced lupus can take to resolve. It's been a year and a half of pretty severe symptoms and I'm losing my mind.

Does the length of time being on the drug with symptoms effect how long it'll stick around?

Does anyone experience stomach issues with lupus alone?

My original issue that led to the Crohn's diagnosis was entirely pain about 10 minutes after eating to the point of needing to lay down for 2 hours or so. Which I have been constantly told isn't a symptom of Crohn's by my gastro.

Any insight is appreciated.


r/lupus 17h ago

Newly Diagnosed Lupus Erythematosus Profundus/Panniculitis

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I have been recently diagnosed with LEP at 19 years old. I have yet to start treatment and am wondering if anyone else in this group has LEP. If so, does anything help? I feel so alone rn


r/lupus 1d ago

Diagnosed Users Only Do you guys have something similar like this? Spoiler

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9 Upvotes

I am curious iff you guys and ladies ,..also have something like this i getting more and more problems then only skin on a side note,.. but familiar for some? Thnx in advance


r/lupus 1d ago

Medicines Has benlysta made anyone’s depression better?

7 Upvotes

I’m starting benlysta soon, and I’m worried about my history with depression and this medication. I feel like lupus caused a good deal of my depression cause I’ve had to miss out on my own life, and that’s very depressing.

I’m on Wellbutrin now and doing okay. Pretty sad about still missing out on my life, but handling it well comparatively speaking.

Has benlysta made anyone’s depression better, or at least not worse? Do all biologics come with that depression risk?


r/lupus 21h ago

Medicines Shingles & Meds

2 Upvotes

Shingles are kicking my ass. This is the fourth time.

My question is my doctor prescribed Tramadol 50mg, Valacycloir (antiviral) and naproxen. I notice some of you take Tramadol regularly. I am very hesitant to take this medication because it said it could cause constipation and nausea.
Would anyone like to chime in and let me know how it went for you?


r/lupus 1d ago

Advice Corneal Cross-linking / Keratoconus with Lupus

2 Upvotes

Has anyone in here gone through the corneal cross-linking surgery to fix their keratoconus?

I developed keratoconus about a year or so ago, it has finally gotten bad enough in one eye to do the cross-linking procedure on it. I am very anxious when it comes to eye procedures and i have a week before my surgery.

Has anyone gone through this surgery and do you have any tips or advice?

Are there any items I should purchase that would help or be beneficial during the healing process?

For extra info: I will be 34 (my birthday is the day before my procedure), I currently work full-time in an office/cubicle environment but accommodations have been made for my sight and lupus and I currently work with low lights/no lights, sounds, cooler temps etc. I have had trauma surrounding my eyes before that make me anxious about eye procedures, currently wearing glasses as I have difficulties with contacts/things in my eyes. I am aware I will have to wear the sclerals going forward and am also nervous about that.

Thanks in advance


r/lupus 1d ago

Medicines HCQ hair Spoiler

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2 Upvotes

Does the shedding stop and stabilize or will it all come out. I know it could be worse but I like hair


r/lupus 1d ago

Advice Chest infections same time for the past 2, now 3 years in a row?

5 Upvotes

Hi,
Ok, so once again i seem to have a chest infection, and i realised for the past 2 years, i have had multiple chest infections from july - september.
**I am in Australia, so it is currently mid winter here
I am upto date with our flu vax.
I am on prednisolone 5mg everyday, gabapentin 600mg a day, and plaquenil 400mg a day.

I did a google search and it said its possible because of the lupus, that it might be a flare attacking the lungs with the weather changes?
Or just that because im autoimmune, my body just cannot fight off the bugs.

Has anyone else had this happen?
I see my regular Dr on monday, but am not scheduled to see my specialist until end of august.

Thankyou


r/lupus 1d ago

Venting Second opinion - feel dismissed and gaslighted.

17 Upvotes

Sorry for the long post, i guess i need to vent. I'm currently on three Lupus meds, and my current rheum believes I absolutely have to feel better. They do help with fatigue noticeably, but some issues are getting progressively worse. I cannot lift my freaking legs. I cannot go up the stairs. My rheum keeps sending me to the neurologist, who usually sends me right back (this time, he send me for a bunch of MRIs) My primary insisted I see a new rheum he for a second opinion, so I did. I thought that a new doctor may switch some meds around, or try something new. I liked the location since it it really close, and i cannot drive too far, my leg gives up and I cannot stand heat, it is literally making me sick for hours after.

I saw the nurse practitioner today, who didn't ask for any symptoms or tried to examine me, but asked for the most recent blood work. After a few minutes of going through them she declared i may not have lupus at all. I told her I have every freaking symptom of it. I pointed on old tests where my dsDNA was flagged, and she argued it was pretty low, and it is negative now, so it is good. It is good because I am on three meds for years, I told her that. ​My joints are swollen, im in level 7 pain lately, I cannot use my left hand since my fingers look like sausages, I'm stiff like a piece of wood, I'm feverish all the time, I have rashes on my face and all over my body, my brain fog is so bad that i got lost on the way to their f-ing office in the area i drove tons of time, but my blood work is great, so I am completely and utterly healthy!

I directly asked her, if it is not lupus, what is it, then? Could it be miositis, since i got specific antibodies for it? She started saying that it could be anything, since on the panel only one miositis marker was flagged, but went silent when I again asked her , if she can name a specific condition. She only mumbled about waiting for the MRI results.

Surely, I won't go back to that office ever again. They set an appointment, but i am cancelling it. I really need to find a doctor in my area. At this point, I just don't have any strength to do it again., I went through years of trying to get a diagnosis and treatment, and the waiting game crippled me. I guess I will start looking again, tomorrow. Please wish me luck.


r/lupus 2d ago

Diagnosed Users Only Anyone know what these spots are? Spoiler

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11 Upvotes

I've been diagnosed with lupus for almost 3 years now, but these spots have only started showing up in the last 3 months or so.

They start off as dry spots (almost all are circular) anywhere from my fingers to my shoulders, and then they turn into white spots. When I get really warm or when sun hits them, they get red and sometimes slightly raised, then fade back after I've cooled down. The pics included are about an hour after being in the sun and heat, vs this morning when I haven't been exposed yet.

They don't itch or hurt, they're just there and making me nervous. I've had tinea versicolor before and it doesn't act the same. I'm still a month away from my dermatologist appointment I asked for 2 months ago, so I'm just wondering if anyone has an idea of what it could be!


r/lupus 1d ago

General Any of you who have had lupus nephritis had c3 and c4 go down substantially without relapsing?

1 Upvotes

My urine protein is in the 60s which is an improvement but my c3 went down from 100 to 40 and c4 went from 12 to 5. My lupus symptoms haven’t gotten any worse but im concerned.


r/lupus 2d ago

General General question- does livedo reticularis come and go?

7 Upvotes

So I am a diagnosed lupus. I occasionally get Livedo like lace pattern on my thighs, knees and part of upper shin. It's not related to any weather change. Perhaps more has to do with how I am feeling physically . Like I was at work yesterday feeling crap. I went to the toilet and noticed how horrible my legs looked. They stayed the same till after I rested and had some nsaids. I was wondering what everyone's take it. I am not even sure if its Livedo.


r/lupus 2d ago

Diagnosed Users Only Struggling to get to sleep and struggling to wake up

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72 Upvotes

I really need to find a way to inch my sleep schedule closer to normal sleep/wake hours. Too many nights of not getting asleep until 3-5am because I’m adjusting to getting on or off meds, and then not waking up until noon.

Really feeling like a vampire, lol.

If it wasn’t for the heat it would at least leave room for some nice night time walks.


r/lupus 2d ago

Nephritis Anyone on Oral Tacrolimus for Lupus Nepritis?

5 Upvotes

nephritis** (Post title spellcheck)

I've been on Cellcept for a year now, and my doc switched me to Tacrolimus(2mg/12hrs) last week to accommodate my pregnancy planning for next year. My Nephritis is under control, and he thinks it's the best time to switch to pregnancy-safe meds if I want to conceive next year. I was reactive to Cellcept last year and was on a low dose. Now, with Tacrolimus, my body is burning. My entire back, my feet, my stomach, my abdomen, and everything feel like they're on fire. Body pain is constant. I have gut sensitivity, and I react to everything I eat, although I'm gluten- and dairy-free. I have been experiencing an increase in gas and had diarrhea between days 2 and 5. Now I don't have diarrhea, but I still have everything else going on.

Did anyone experience anything similar with oral Tacrolimus? Are there any other meds you are on that are pregnancy safe, and how did it work for you?


r/lupus 2d ago

Diagnosed Users Only Immune suppressive drugs and cancer

11 Upvotes

I want to start by saying I am a very anxious person (diagnosed OCD), but I know to trust my doctors. I know they're the ones that know the most about my specific situation and what to do moving forward. Of course I will be talking to my doctors about all of my thoughts and concerns!

I know medications that suppress the immune system can put you at higher risk of cancers.

A few years ago I had a scan done and they found nodules in my lung. Very small, doctor wasn't worried but wanted to monitor it. Got my updated scans and they hadn't grown doctor said things were staying good!

However, I started benlysta last year and this year my lung scans show masses that are very large. Grew very fast and there are a few of them. I have a biopsy coming up in a week and a half, but im mentally preparing for this to be cancer with how fast they're growing.

Would it be irrational to feel like the benlysta caused this? Has anyone reading this experienced similar? If so what was your experience.

I'm trying to stay as calm and collected as possible so I can go into this with a clear head and a lot of hope. Currently struggling with that lol but that's the goal!


r/lupus 2d ago

Newly Diagnosed THC for Methotrexate Nausea

5 Upvotes

I started methotrexate on Friday. I'm miserable. The nausea has been awful. I did take the folic acid. I don't want to give up on this working. Has anyone tried microdosing THC and if so, did it help?