Introduction

Let's start with the basics...

I'm Amber, I'm 23, soon to be 24 at the end of the month. I was born and raised in Maryland. I have a pretty normal life. Now, the Lupus stuff... I was diagnosed with a mixed connective tissue disease back in 2007, which included Arthritis, Lupus, and Raynaud's Syndrome. For a while I was treated with Plaquenil for a while and it seemed to manage my symptoms but I often took high doses of Ibuprofen to battle with aches and pains. Recently, in June, I had a pretty bad Lupus flare... I'll go into that later... Long story short, my doctor put me on Prednisone (steroid) and because my kidneys had some damage done, I'm also on Celcept. This past week, I saw a Nephrologist who added Cozar to my list of meds. I always tell people there's a pretty intense war going on internally, but I actually feel wonderful! I've been pain free since I started the steroids; I have energy and I have put on some weight, in a good way. I don't like all the medicine I have to take but I pray for a speedy recovery!

That's the Lupus thing in a nutshell. My first post, done : )