I AM FINE - KEEP STRONG!

by Victoria
(London, England)

Hi, I have had lupus (systemic) since I was 16. With a dramatic and horrible introduction to it as well. They did a kidney biopsy and realised that my kidney's were going to fail quite quickly. Luckily, I was in America with doctors who were great. This was 31 years ago! When I arrived back home from school, within weeks, I was on a dyalisis machine - and for two years. Then my father gave me his kidney. From there on - there were no symptoms at all. My father's kidney lasted 15 years and I then had to have another transplant which has lasted 10 years this Feb 2010.

Now I am 47 and things have started to go wrong. I have arthritis in my fingers and worst of all I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the hips a few years ago - this is the Lupus and its blasted inflamation in the joints! I live on masses of pain killers and as gout is directly related to arthritis, I am on a daily gout pills as well. Chronic gout can also ruin your life. Nevertheless, I am one of the prettiest most fashionable, happy people I know - and others.

Lupus is an autoimmune system problem but it does not and must not take over one's life. Try and view it as a medical inconvenience which should not be presented to define who we are.

I have proof that sending positive signals to the brain affects the body - but of course you can not fake it. This is the way to combat Lupus and most other problems in ones life. Easier said than done but even my doctor said he has never seen a kidney transplant patient with lupus, epilepsy, and athritis look so amazing, and out of his 400 patients he sees, he said there is no reason why my kidney will not last another 10 years and my lupus will fade away!
Victoria