Lupus or COVID? blog post by Iris Carden For some months now, I’ve been weaning of steroids. Along the way the aches and pains and fatigue of lupus were getting worse. Then at Christmas time, I caught COVID. The aches and pains and fatigue became much, much worse, along with a horrible cough. It’s weeks…… Continue reading Lupus or COVID?
Category: Lupus
Posts relating to living with lupus and related chronic illness.
Prednisone Update
Prednisone Update by Iris Carden You might have noticed over the past couple of weeks I’ve missed a few of my deadlines, and substituted expected posts with excerpts from my books. At the same time my reviews in the Week in Review have been much more sparse. What’s happening, you ask? Or you don’t ask…… Continue reading Prednisone Update
Prednisone
Prednisone blog post by Iris Carden I am starting to reduce my prednisone dose. It was my rheumatologist’s suggestion. He told me long-term steroid use has been found to have worse effects than we previously knew. Steroids are so terrible, I’ve heard some lupies refer to them as “the Devil’s Tic Tacs.” One medical website…… Continue reading Prednisone
Tech Tools Help with Health
Tech Tools Help with Health blog post by Iris Carden I’m old enough to remember when phones only made phone calls, and they were always wired into the wall. They had rotary dials, and if we didn’t write friends’ phone numbers on a piece of paper or in a notebook, we had to look through…… Continue reading Tech Tools Help with Health
The Dream of a Cure
The Dream of a Cure blog post by Iris Carden One thing lupus patients have in common I think is this: from the day we’re first diagnosed, we dream of having a cure, of going back to a life before all of the pain and fatigue and everything else that goes with it. Until 1999…… Continue reading The Dream of a Cure
It’s a Long Way
It’s a Long Way blog post by Iris Carden In the 20th Century (it’s still weird to write that as the past), AC/DC shared their philosophy: “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock’n’roll.” I’m sure they’re probably right. I wouldn’t know. I haven’t tried being in a rock band. But I…… Continue reading It’s a Long Way
Sneaky Flare
Sneaky Flare blog post by Iris Carden There’s different kinds of lupus flares. There’s the kind that hits you out of nowhere – hits you with sudden pain, exhaustion, sore joints, rashes, headaches, anything else you can think of. There’s the kind that builds up slowly. You’re fine one day, the next a bit of…… Continue reading Sneaky Flare
Methotrexate and Healing
Methotrexate and Healing lupus-related blog post by Iris Carden I can’t be the only lupus patient who has ever been told that methotrexate will stop wounds from healing. That’s not thought to be true any more. This is a tale of two skin cancer excisions. About a decade ago, I had a basal cell carcinoma…… Continue reading Methotrexate and Healing
Dietary Limitations
Dietary Limitations blog post by Iris Carden I used to look at people who were on specific and complicated diets, and wonder how they managed to keep track of what they could and couldn’t eat, and how frustrating it must be whenever they went out. That was before I realised my reflux was worse when…… Continue reading Dietary Limitations
Fatigue
Fatigue Blog post by Iris Carden I’m exhausted at the moment. Cold weather has been making my joints hurt more than usual. I had my grandchild for most of the week, which made me tired. That makes anyone tired. But add the tiredness of an active child, to the fatigue and pain of lupus, and…… Continue reading Fatigue
Iris Carden, Author 