Having Lupus (or any illness) is tough but sometimes the side effects of the medication are just as horrendous...
Steroids for example cause me to get fat and angry
Anti-inflammatory drugs cause me to get diarrhoea (sorry for details but hey, this is my life)
One of the anti-malarials I take for my main Lupus symptoms acts as an immune suppressant therefore leaving me susceptible to infections . This drug can also cause temporary blindness so my eyesight has to be monitored
The other anti-malarial I take will eventually cause my skin to go yellow (once I've been taking it for long enough)
Pain killers make me nauseous
There is no medication that helps with the fatigue which for me, is my most distressing symptom
So on top of being ill you have all of the above to contend with too...isn't Lupus so much fun?
I feel like the drugs I am currently on aren't really the right ones for me as those that follow this blog will know I have been really unwell since December. I am therefore looking into other medications and from what I have found the only things that seem to be available are immune suppressants (including chemotherapy drugs) which come with a whole myriad of unwanted side effects (I was on a chemo drug last year called Azathioprine which caused my hair to thin and lots of stomach issues) some of the unwanted side effects of immune suppressants include infertility/hair loss and the other options are infusions which are very expensive for the NHS so do not seem to be an option at the present time. And that's it. In 50 years there are no new drugs for the treatment of Lupus. Well there is Benlysta but that's only available in America at the moment. No idea why we are so behind here in the UK. Doesn't make sense that something is out there but not available.
Why can't there be a drug that fixes lupus AND comes with a list of side effects like this:
CAUTION THIS DRUG MAY CAUSE THE FOLLOWING SIDE EFFECTS - PLEASE DO NOT FEEL THE NEED TO NOTIFY YOUR DOCTOR JUST ENJOY THEM:
Extreme Gorgeousness
Energy
No problems sleeping
The ability to make anyone and everyone do everything you want
The ability to see the future
This drug will allow you to drink alcohol and not get a hangover
THIS MEDICATION MAY CAUSE YOU TO BECOME A MONEY MAGNET. DO NOT BE ALARMED. ENJOY IT.
Can you imagine? That would be amazing!
Instead it's more like this:
Headaches
nausea
mood changes
eyesight problems
weight gain
sweating
acne
infections
high temperature
skin rashes
The list goes ON! ARRRGH!
Steroids for example cause me to get fat and angry
Anti-inflammatory drugs cause me to get diarrhoea (sorry for details but hey, this is my life)
One of the anti-malarials I take for my main Lupus symptoms acts as an immune suppressant therefore leaving me susceptible to infections . This drug can also cause temporary blindness so my eyesight has to be monitored
The other anti-malarial I take will eventually cause my skin to go yellow (once I've been taking it for long enough)
Pain killers make me nauseous
There is no medication that helps with the fatigue which for me, is my most distressing symptom
So on top of being ill you have all of the above to contend with too...isn't Lupus so much fun?
I feel like the drugs I am currently on aren't really the right ones for me as those that follow this blog will know I have been really unwell since December. I am therefore looking into other medications and from what I have found the only things that seem to be available are immune suppressants (including chemotherapy drugs) which come with a whole myriad of unwanted side effects (I was on a chemo drug last year called Azathioprine which caused my hair to thin and lots of stomach issues) some of the unwanted side effects of immune suppressants include infertility/hair loss and the other options are infusions which are very expensive for the NHS so do not seem to be an option at the present time. And that's it. In 50 years there are no new drugs for the treatment of Lupus. Well there is Benlysta but that's only available in America at the moment. No idea why we are so behind here in the UK. Doesn't make sense that something is out there but not available.
Why can't there be a drug that fixes lupus AND comes with a list of side effects like this:
CAUTION THIS DRUG MAY CAUSE THE FOLLOWING SIDE EFFECTS - PLEASE DO NOT FEEL THE NEED TO NOTIFY YOUR DOCTOR JUST ENJOY THEM:
Extreme Gorgeousness
Energy
No problems sleeping
The ability to make anyone and everyone do everything you want
The ability to see the future
This drug will allow you to drink alcohol and not get a hangover
THIS MEDICATION MAY CAUSE YOU TO BECOME A MONEY MAGNET. DO NOT BE ALARMED. ENJOY IT.
Can you imagine? That would be amazing!
Instead it's more like this:
Headaches
nausea
mood changes
eyesight problems
weight gain
sweating
acne
infections
high temperature
skin rashes
The list goes ON! ARRRGH!
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