Kesha Dan's Lupus Survivor Story
Meghan Hartsell's Lupus Survivor Story
Kelly's Lupus Survivor Story
Truthfully, I was feeling fine until a couple of days before my 52 day ICU stay. I was running a temperature of 103 for 4 days and I didn't really have an appetite (I was barely eating; the smell of food would make me nauseous). Bottom line, my doctors summed it up "my whole ordeal" to my Cellcept use and a flare. My use of Cellcept is what contributed to my stroke. I had fluid in my cerebellum and I had to have intensive surgery and a shunt brain drain.
I have really only been hospitalized 3 times due to my lupus ( May 2004…….4 days, September 2006…….12 days and my extended stay in June 2007) My doctors contribute my "recent health obstacles" to my use of Cellcept ( I was on this medication from March 2003-June 2007). I was on three 500MG tablets daily of Cellcept. Basically, since it's NOT widely used in lupus patients (mostly transplant patients), you don't really see a lot of information about individual experiences. I took 2 pills in the morning and 1 pill in the afternoon, 1500 MG.
When I was talking Cellcept, I had a fair experience, I cannot blame ALL of my side effects on the drug, I was more focused with working and complete my Master's than going to my doctor regularly (I WAS PARTLY AT FAULT FOR MOST OF MY SEVERE MEDICAL ISSUES).
At first when I was in the hospital I was taking 100 milligrams (IV) of prednisone.
When I was on Cytoxan for that short period of time, my doctors recommended that I stay on it for longer but, I would be sick for 3-4 (vomiting when I did eventually eat) days after my treatments so, I refused anymore treatments with the support of my family after I was "stable". I only received 3 treatments from June 2007-October 2007. I also had http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmapheresis treatments.
I also had speech and physical therapy when I was in inpatient rehabilitation from the time I was discharged from the hospital ICU unit in August 2007 until October 2007.
No, I don't work, truthfully I can't work. I need to walk with the assistance of a walker. I have not driven in a car by myself since May 2007. I still have a valid driver's license and my husband ( We had been dating for a little over a year before I was I diagnosed. ) does let me drive occasionally when he is in the car with me. I am still with in a going battle with disability (that's a long exhausting story in it self). I have physical therapy 3 times a week and speech therapy twice a week. I am definitely much better than I was this time last year but, I am not 100% there.
Courtney's Lupus Survivor Story
Kristen's Lupus Survivor Story
When my doctors left I settled down and called my mom to see were she was at and everything and then my dad and grandma talked to her. So then my grandma told me my mom was flying down tomorrow: I was so glad. Later that night I had to get an ultrasound on my leg to see if there were any blood clots: thank god there weren't any.
The next day I had lots of blood work done and got my IV put in my left hand. My doctor suggested to me that I walk around so I listened to him by doing that as well as I played games with my grandma before she went and got my mom from the airport. Then my grandma came back and my grandpa was there as well as my mom and we all went into the game room and played rumikub. It was a very tiring day so I went to bed sort of early and I had no roommates which meant it was a very quiet night for me and my mom who stayed in the hospital room with me.
On Sunday most of my family came to the hospital to see me; so it was another tiring day for me. But then as I was just laying in my bed I overheard my parents talking and they said that my older brother who came up to visit me was in the emergency room; then my dad had to go back to Cape Coral because he had been with me almost for four days. So, my grandma stayed with my brother and my mom stayed with me.
I took a shower that night and I had accidentally got my IV a little wet so I had asked the nurse to retape it she accidentally pulled it right out and I was ordering me some food strawberries and angel cake and I was not ready for it who would be?. But anyways they ended up giving me a new IV but waited till the morning to do it and then they had also put me on my liquid steroids, but they put the new IV in my right hand so it was hard to write and stuff. Tuesday is when they had my kidney biopsy and it went good. One thing I was thinking was that no matter what happens its all going to come out to a solution for me and my family about my health.
Later that day my doctors came in to give us the information and this is what he said "Well, she has Lupus and the kidney biopsy went good but she has inflammation in her kidneys, and it is at a level four and there are six levels." I was thinking I never thought I would ever get diagnosed with anything and the worst part was that I never even knew Lupus existed. Wednesday came around and nothing happened besides every three hours they came in to check my temperature and my blood pressure. That night at midnight I got my first round of chemotherapy treatment called Cytoxan or (cyclophosophamide). The chemo took four hours but the whole treatment took six hours. The next day I got my two pints of blood and was really tired afterwards. At 8:30 in the morning my doctor came in and told me that I was going home the next day; I was so excited I was ready to get out of the hospital. Later that day a college student came into my room asking if I was willing to answer questions for him and I was willing to so I answered the questions and then went back to bed. Finally on Friday at 11:30 in the morning I got discharged from All Children's Hospital.
Every month I had to go back up to Saint Pete to get my chemo treatment I was always the first one there and last one to leave. I also had to get blood work done every month. So it was a very long six months. And it still is but I am off of Cytoxan and I am taking chemo pills. I take like ten pills a day but I don't really care because I take them all at once. The medicines I am now on are- Prednisone, Enapril, Norvasc, Hydorxychlorine, calcium pills, Cellcept, Baby aspirin and Zoloft. I am doing good now I have not had one flare up since getting diagnosed and that is great. Well I hope you enjoyed reading this.
Monique Padilla's Lupus Survivor Story
it started when i was 12, i was only a little girl with major goles in my life. i wanted to be the first female in the NBA. but then one night it all started with me having pains in my wrist and knee. i thought it was only because i had been playing soccer n' had a big game that day. then that same night around midnight i woke up screaming and crying because the pain was so bad. well they thought i had "cancer" but two months later and after being in the ER every weekend i found out it was SLE.
about a few months later... i still had been dealing with alot of pain, it was so bad i couldn't even go to school or walk or pretty much do anything. i had been in and out of the hospital months at a time. then one day the pain got so bad and they had me on a morphine drip, and that wasn't even helping the pain. the doctors wanted to send me home to pretty much lay down to rest... more like pass away at home but my mother wasn't having it. she found STANFORD MEDICAL CENTER and they had me on a plane with in 24 hours heading out there.
about two years later, i found out that the lupus was affecting my heart. i've had three open heart surgs. from it. and also in third class kidney failure. i've had six near deaths but i'm still living strong and now i'm 19 and trying to live a normal life. yes it still effects me here and there but i've learned to deal with it and not let it deal with me.
yes i do have lupus but lupus doesn't have me. thank you so much for letting me get some of this out to the open and the world. if you would like to ask or talk to me about thing you can always write me an email [the0nelittlelady@aim.com] or even write me on myspace [myspace.com/duh_lil_princess].