"Overlap" ??
I was diagnosed with sjogrens, RA, and raynauds. I also have an autoimmune thyroid condition. Last appointment my rheumatologist's PA said my lupus was active based on my labs. Perplexed, I told her I was never told I had lupus. The PA said I have an "overlap"... I'm still a bit confused bc everything I've seen talks about individual diagnoses... anyone been told you've got an "overlap" condition? If so, what were your experiences?
I'm sorry to hear you are going through that right now! Managing multiple conditions at once can make symptoms and treatment more complicated, but it is more common than we realize. One of our patient leaders wrote an article about her experience living with overlapping conditions (she refers to it as "lupus plus"😉: https://lupus.net/living/overlapping-health-issues. This article has some information towards the end about treating both lupus and RA at the same time: https://lupus.net/clinical/rheumatoid-arthritis. I hope this helps!
Gabby (team member)
Gentle hugs to you for having to deal with so many different issues. It’s definitely isn’t uncommon in my experience to have “overlap” diseases. Comorbidities is something many lupus warriors have to deal with. I found this article to be helpful https://lupus.net/complications-comorbidities
Did you your doctor say what led her to the diagnosis of lupus and if that is in your record? It would be interesting to know if that was the main diagnosis from the beginning. ~Racquel~ lupus.net team memberThank you for the reply and information!
