What can be taken to help with pain from lupus?

Answer 1

The pain that accompanies lupus is a biproduct of inflammation. Inflammation is caused by the immune system attacking health tissue in the body or by the debris from the autoimmune reaction being deposited in places like the joints. Discuss your pain level with your doctor. If over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatories are not working, then the doctor may prescribe something stronger. Here are things you can do to reduce autoimmune activity, thereby reducing inflammation and pain. Take your immunosuppressive medications faithfully. These work over the long haul, not like something you just take for pain. For example, you will not experience the full benefit of plaquenil for several weeks to several months. Stay on your medications. Take them faithfully. Eat as healthy a diet as you can. Each time your immune system encounters a foreign molecule it has to figure out if it is harmful or not. This agitates your immune system. A healthy, natural diet high in fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables will calm your immune system. Develop strategies for handling stress. Reduce stress where you can. Adjust your goals. Learn to manage the stress you can't avoid. Yoga, Tai chi, Chi qong and meditation are all useful tools. So is cognitive therapy. What you think causes what you feel. What you feel causes chemical changes in your body. Stress aggravates and activates the immune system. Avoid the sun and UVA/UVB light. Even if you do not have skin involvement, this kind of light activates immune cells in the skin. You want to calm them, not activate them. Rest when you are tired. If you push yourself you will have more pain and take even longer to recover. Put the oxygen mask on yourself before you try to help others. Exercise is the last thing you want to do when you have lupus pain and fatigue, but it is an excellent way to relieve both. Exercise lubricates the joints to reduce inflammation and pain. Exercise relieves depression and stress. Exercise causes your body to create endorphins which are natural pain relievers. You do not need to run a marathon. Just move around for 5-10 minutes at a time several times a day. Be sure to check with your doctor about what kind of exercise is appropriate for you. Distract yourself with a hobby, friends, humor, and reaching out to others. All of these things, together with good medical management, should work together to make lupus far less painful.