How to live with lupus

LUPUS (SLE - SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS)

Lupus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect several parts of the body including the skin (with its characteristic butterfly shaped allergic lesions), joints, muscles, blood, kidneys, liver and possibly other organs.  The body’s immune system has lost its ability to distinguish between natural antigens (the body’s enemies such as bacteria, viruses and foreign materials) and its own cell tissues. In simple terms, lupus seem to develop antibodies (which usually fight bacteria and viruses) that attack healthy tissues instead. 

Symptoms of lupus:  chronic fatigue, arthritis of the joints, ankle swelling on both sides, ulcers inside the mouth, hair loss, aches and pain, , skin rash after exposure to the sun or ultraviolet light, rash over the cheeks and bridge of the nose.

Cause of lupus is extremely complex; research suggests that when a specific predisposing set of genes is exposed to the combination of environmental elements, infectious agents or other factors seem to trigger the disease.

Treatment:  Because lupus is an unpredictable disease, in most cases it can be successfully treated and managed.  An effective treatment program for lupus includes medications, getting enough rest and avoiding sun exposure.  It is very important for lupus patient to keep to the program and to inform the doctor of any change in symptoms so that medications can be modified.  It is important to keep to the prescribed dose as flare-ups of the disease can occur if the dose is reduced too rapidly.

Medications:  The drug treatment of lupus is to reduce the inflammation within tissues affected by the disease and to suppress abnormalities of the immune system that are considered to be responsible for the tissue inflammation.  The principal drugs used in the primary management of lupus are:  corticosteroids (cortisone), anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-malarial drugs and chemotherapy.  It is also important to note that lupus patients often require other drugs for the treatment of complications commonly seen with the disease.  Examples of these types of medications include anti-hypertensive drugs for increased blood pressure, diuretics for fluid retention, anti-convulsants for seizure disorders and antibiotics for the treatment of infections.
 
Corticosteroids:  Prednisone is damaging but it is an extremely effective drug to control active lupus.  Steroids are powerful drugs that suppress inflammation and with long-term use, there are problems with it.  Even low doses can lead to fractures and osteoporosis.  It also increases the risk of coronary artery disease.  You must take calcium and vitamin D to prevent fractures and you must follow a lot fat, low cholesterol diet to prevent cardiovascular disease.  Other side effects that may be caused by the long period use include cataracts, muscle weakness and avascular necrosis of bone.

A high dose of steroids given over an extended period of time is more likely to cause side effects than a lower dosage given over a shorter period of time. 

Side Effects:  Some of the more common side effects associated with steroids are:

Changes in physical appearance:
acne
a round or moon-shaped face
puffiness of the cheeks
weight gain
thinning of the skin & hair
easy bruising

Stomach discomfort such as:
dyspepsia or heartburn

Psychological problems:
agitation
depression
irritability
insomnia

Increases levels of:
cholesterol
triglycerides

May cause:
diabetes
cataracts
increase in susceptibility to infections

Caution:  Steroids must not be stopped suddenly without first discussing it with your doctor.  Stopping or changing the dosage quickly can make you very ill.
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Many patients refuse to acknowledge that they are in a depressive state and will actually deny that they are feeling unhappy, demoralized or depressed.  This group of individuals often experience what physicians called ‘masked’ depression.  These patients resist the notion of emotional distress, substituting in its place various physical complaints.  Physicians, who are familiar with their patients’ usual mood and personality, as well as their lifestyle and situation, are more likely to recognize changes associated with Depressive Illness.

Similarly, patients are more apt to open up about their feelings when they are encouraged to do so by a physician they trust and with whom they are familiar.  Emotional drain caused by the continuous series of stresses and strains associated with coping with the chronic illness and medical condition.  Other causes may be the many sacrifices and losses required by the continuous life adjustments that a person with a chronic illness must make.  Depression is very stressful and anxiety producing which may exacerbate the lupus.  Live with your lupus but we can help prevent complications.

 

Build Up One’s Health Through Nourishing Food:

1.Eat food high in iodine i.e. kelp, seaweed, algae/crude salt.

2.‘mao gen’ (a type of root of a plant)

3.Lily Bulb and Lotus Seed Thick soup:  30g lily bulb, 15g lotus seed, 750cc water
Wash ingredients and place in a pot, add water and bring to boil and simmer till all ingredients are cooked.

4.Wild Yam and Green Bean Porridge: 60g wild yam,30g green bean, 0g brown rice,750cc water.
Remove skin of  yam, wash and cut into cubes. Wash beans and rice and soak for 4 hours. 
Place all ingredients into an electric cooker.  Suitable for breakfast.

5.Mixed Juices (5 types of veggies & fruit):  1 apple, 150g cucumber, 150g bitter gourd, 100g green capsicum, 120g celery. 
Wash all ingredients. Remove skin of apple and cucumber and cut into pieces. 
Remove seeds from bitter gourd and  capsicum and cut into pieces. 
Chop the celery and place all ingredients into a fruit juicer and extract juice. 
Drink immediately.

6.Kangkong Vegetable & White Radish Juice:  500g organic kangkong, 250g organic radish
Quick-boil kangkong for 1 minute, cut radish into smaller pieces.  Place both in fruit juicer and extract juice. Drink immediately.

7.Double Fungus Soup: 5g dried white fungus, 5g dried black fungus
Wash the fungus and soak in water to soften. Add 1000cc water into a pot with the fungus and boil till fungus is thoroughly cooked. Add raw sugar or crude salt for taste.  Suitable as light snack.

8.Drink 2500cc or above of water daily.

9.All 3 meals must be low calories high fiber food and also before bath to scrub the body as part of detoxification.

10.Cultivate the habit of clearing your bowels before bedtime.  This will clear your large intestine thus allowing your small intestine and stomach towards digesting food smoothly to the large intestines increasing metabolism and healing.
Food To Avoid:

1.  Avoid eating chilli, garlic, pepper.
2.  Avoid eating types of bamboo shoot.
3.  Avoid eating ‘heaty’ fruits i.e. durian, lychee, longan, plum, mango, cherry, custard apple.
4.  Avoid eating food that are fried, deep-fried, smoked, grill/barbeque, and bake.
5.  Avoid eating alfalfa sprouts, broad bean, soybean, green pea and other beans.
6.  Avoid all alcoholic drinks.
7.  Avoid eating prawn, crab, shellfish, mutton, which can set off an allergy.
8.  No processed food i.e. fish ball, sweet non-spicy, instant noodles, canned food, smelly tofu.
9.  Avoid food high in sodium.
10. Avoid exposure to sunray, use an umbrella for protection.