Speaking Of Remission (Lupus)

Ben emailed me today. He does not read my blog, but he does get my newsletter.  He’s not heard me talk about lupus lately. “I assume you’re in remission…”

I hadn’t thought about it, but that’s a fair enough term.  You can’t get rid of lupus as far as I know.  There are antinuclear antibodies in my blood. This is a fact. But I’ve had terrific luck with the drug I take, Plaquenil. It took 4-6 months to begin to work, but it’s helped dramatically. Plaquenil is considered to be “disease modifying”.

We as a collective don’t understand lupus very well. But I take this to mean that left untreated the antibodies in my blood would attack various systems; eventually I’d die. But the Plaquenil interrupts this process.

If the antibodies attack less frequently with less severity, it follows there will be a different outcome. That must be the modification!

So yes, I am in “remission”, you could say.  It’s also summertime which is a lot easier on me, generally speaking.  I particularly enjoy the humidity here. I consider the entire “outdoors” to be a free and always available steam room.  What a perk!

For the record, I also take Naproxen. I take quite a bit of it. Enough. It will probably cause me problems in the future, but for now, I have only mild symptoms of lupus. Nothing worth mentioning!

23 thoughts on “Speaking Of Remission (Lupus)”

  1. Great to he’s Elsa. You mentioned ‘ remission’ in one of your posts the other day. It’s playing on my mind. Pluto is now retrograde and my son’s leukemia is in remission, I’m dreading pluto’s forward motion. My son’s ascendant is 27 Pisces (currently Chiron is transiting this spot- my natal Chiron happens to be at 28 Pisces ?) I wish I could be so much more OK about serious, life-threatening illness as you Elsa, any tips?

    1. Honestly, Jimmer, we’re all going to die. You have to find meaning in your life and your experience. And you have to serve (or you’re going to suffer).

      1. Hi Elsa
        Is the ‘serve or suffer’ thing a Pisces /12 H thing? I’ve got Saturn in Pisces and I’ve read that I need to serve or suffer. I’m trying really hard to make serving a career for myself (self employed professional organiser) – I’ve got mars, Pluto and Uranus in Virgo ? – am I on the right track do you think ????

        1. @Kate, yes it is.

          You’ll really never be happy without sacrifice. But service takes many forms. For example, if you make a funny movie that allows people to escape for a couple hours, that’s a service! 🙂

  2. Namaste Elsa. I have AIDS – (auto immune deficiency). It is Ankylosis Spondylitis to be accurate and this has affected my mobility and balance for 20 years now. My AS has fused my pelvis to my spine, so my pain is high. I’ve learnt that pain fluctuates hourly but never considered that this is also effected by the planetary system. An aha moment ?Thank you
    21/6 Gemini here always learning. I recently learnt of the real issues of certain pills I consumed for many years – treating myself as natural as possible now. Love love love ❤️

  3. Dear Elsa,
    I have been following the recipes in the book Goodbye Lupus
    by Brooke Goldner M.D. wherein she explains that meat, fish, eggs and cheese are inflammatory foods, not suitable for someone with Lupus.

    Following her program wonderful things have happened for me. After only a week of going completely vegan my menstruation cycle is no longer painful, nor am I bloated and nor do I suffer from hot flashes during the night. My inflamed gums have healed (leaving my dentist mesmerized) and the constant itch on the right side of my face has stopped. If going vegan indeed stops inflammation in these area’s I am sure it can heal the rest of my body. Just try it!

  4. Terrific! You Elsa, are one the few people I know who love humidity. I love it too, I love air you can see!
    And with my wacked-out hormones, summer is my only comfortable season. Northerners up here complain bitterly about these brief sweet hot damp summers, the only true joy of all the seasons. I live for hot damp summer.

  5. Good news, Elsa. After two years of probing, testing, and misdiagnosis, my youngest sister recently received a Lupus diagnosis and was prescribed Plaquenil. I think of you when I listen to her talk about symptoms and frustrations. Because you’ve so willing shared your experience with the disease, I hope I’m able to better understand her dilemmas. Thank you! Best wishes for continued improved health. ~ L.

    1. You’re welcome. Tell her to be patient. It’s slow but effective and the other options have a lot of undesirable side effects. 🙂

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