Identify Lupus Flare Ups and Preparing for Pregnancy

Learn to identify your flare-ups. What are the signs? When can you tell that there is change within your body? Lupus is a complicated disease that leaves many individuals confused because it is hard to diagnose the disease right away of course. Common symptoms are fatigue, skin rashes, joint pain, hair loss, mouth sores, brain fog, kidney issues, depression and anxiety, muscle pain and weakness, heart issues, and weight changes. Sounds like a lot right? Think about planning a pregnancy and having to deal with lupus.

High risk pregnancy with lupus

All lupus patients are considered "high risk" even though some people have no issues at all. Pregnancy is no longer considered impossible if you have lupus. Some risk factors that can make a pregnancy high-risk include:¹

• Hypertension
• History of kidney disease
• Preeclampsia
• Low platelets
• History of blood clots

Planning for pregnancy with lupus

They recommend that you plan your pregnancy 6 months ahead of time. I did not do that at all. Matter of fact, I also took conception pills to boost my fertility. This vitamin works wonders and helps a lot of people get pregnant with health issues. I suggest you read the reviews and talk to your doctor before you buy them. Crazy thing is, I would only see an OBGYN for a pap smear or a regular routine checkup before I got pregnant. Then, when I became pregnant with my daughter, I saw them once a month, and then within the last month, I saw a doctor every week.

As a child, my mother always spoke on the complications that she had giving birth to us, but she never told me that it was impossible to have a child. She just told me that my blessing will come when the time was right. I did not track when I was ovulating at all. I have also heard stories where women found out they had lupus when they had their child and had a major flare-up, I have had none of those issues either.

Sleep is important

The only thing I found is that stress and lack of rest brought on minor flares. Resting has always been my way of healing. According to the American Sleep Association, 50 to 70 million adults in the U.S. have a sleep disorder.² A lack of sleep can cause physical and psychological complications.³ For people with lupus, it can bring on an extra inflammation to the body that it is already experiencing. Sleep helps the body heal and helps during your pregnancy. In my eyes and opinion, it helps heal the body. When I go to sleep in pain, sometimes I wake up with no pain at all.

Expect the unexpected

When being diagnosed with lupus you should expect the unexpected and be determined to make a change in your current lifestyle. Especially, if you would like to conceive a child anytime soon. With new technology these days, everything that was considered impossible before is now very possible. So do not ever lose hope in the possibility of kids.