Understanding Lupus; Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

How Is Lupus Diagnosed?

There is not a test that can immediately diagnose lupus. Sadly, it is a disease that takes time diagnose and is something many live with for years before it is finally exposed. The process most patients undergo include ordering blood count tests, assessing the liver and kidneys, taking urine samples, and performing antinuclear antibody tests. When a patient enters their doctor’s office with specific symptoms, it could hint at anything from cancer to fibromyalgia, which they will be tested for first. Generally, it is not until a doctor has no other plausible answer as to why a patient feels they way they do that lupus is diagnosed.

Treating Lupus

There is no one treatment available for lupus. The illness is treated on a case-by-case basis and is determined by the symptoms and pain a patient faces. Once medication can be prescribed, the intake is then monitored carefully and revised as need. A doctor might change their patient's medication if it is not working, if the side effects of the medication are unbearable for the patient, or as symptoms decrease. Since lupus attacks come and go, many patients live weeks or even months at a time with no signs, side effects, or even a hint of poor health. Medication can be stopped when there are no more symptoms or problems associated with the disease present in a person’s body.