Lupus/Fibromyalgia
Hi hope everyone is having a good weekend. I have a question for my fellow Lupus/Fibromyalgia sufferers. How can you differentiate between a Lupus flare and a Fibro flare?
THAT is a million dollar question,
! There can be a lot of overlap in flare symptoms between Lupus and Fibromyalgia, so differentiating between the two can be pretty challenging. A Fibro flare is often marked by flu-like symptoms (fatigue, achiness, headaches, pain, etc). Lupus flare symptoms can be pretty similar, but there may be some differences in the types of Lupus flares you can experience. You can read about them here -- https://lupus.net/living/lupus-flares. Lupus flares can be a little more variable in presentation than Fibro flares, which tend to be pretty similar in presentation. That said, there are always exceptions and outliers to every 'typical' list, so that's something to keep in mind.
This article doesn't exactly answer your question, but it discusses the differences and the similarities between Lupus and Fibro. And the good news (if there is good news in this situation)? The medications used to treat Lupus are often sued to treat Fibro, which can make treating flares of either kind a little easier -- https://lupus.net/fibromyalgia. I do hope our members living with Fibro and Lupus see your post and chime in here, as I best they can get into the details and differences better than I can!
Best, Erin, Lupus.net Team Member.
