Male Here
I it's understand possibly rare for men to have lupus? I have had symptoms for years, diagnosed 6 months ago and have to wait another 3 months to see a doctor but flare ups are constant now with skin rashes just starting and super fatigue almost feel sick all the time. I even had a pickle swell a sore in my mouth 2 weeks ago nearly completely closed my airway. I do believe it's attacking all parts of my body like it has gone from 0-100 in such a short amount of time. Any ideas much appreciated, I am a little worried for my family sake.
Hi
, welcome to Lupus.net.
You are right that a majority of the people diagnosed with lupus are women. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates somewhere between 4 percent and 22 percent of the 1.5 million people living with lupus are male. We have an article that discusses lupus in men that is available here, if you're interested: https://lupus.net/men.
Some people find it helpful to track their symptoms in between their doctor's appointments. You can use a symptom tracker like a phone app, or a journal to write down your symptoms. These are helpful because it can be hard to remember all of your symptoms that you've experienced since your last appointment. You might write down information like when your symptom started or ended, how severe it was, what made it worse or made it feel better. Any information you think would be helpful to relay to your doctor. If you're concerned about something closing your airway or preventing you from breathing, that is most certainly something I would encourage you to mention to your doctor.
This article is a great place to read about the causes of lupus flares, https://lupus.net/triggers-flares. Consider checking it out and seeing if there are any triggers that may be contributing to your flares. That would be something you would talk with your doctor about.
I hope that some of this information is helpful. Wishing you the best!
- Cody (Community Moderator)
