14 year old daughter has been diagnosed with lupus

[hillyS]

hi

[alobreto]

Hi, Hillary! ;)
Age 14 is a very difficult time even without a chronic health problem! :blink: I truly sympathize with your plight.

Is your daughter taking any antidepressant medication? It can help not only with depression, but also some of the lupus symptoms, too. There are different classes that have different effects, so whether you need something calming or something that helps alertness there are options. Some of them even help with the chronic pain that can occur.

You've probably already thought about counselling, but I'd like to let you know that chronic health problems are a real stressor and stress makes lupus worse. So, counselling might be a good option to allow your daughter to vent her feelings and find more positive ways to deal with her anger, depression, and anxieties.

I know how difficult the weight gain problem can be with pred. I've been on it for several months and have found that when my munchies hit, I'm less likely to put on the pounds if I fill up on high-fibre foods, even if they have a bit of sweet like Frosted MiniWheats Cereal. Maybe you could ask your daughter to choose some snack foods from a high-fibre list for your next grocery adventure. A dietitian could provide help here.

I wish you the best!
Regards,
Angela :flowers:

[hattycat]

I'm 15 and was dx'd with lupus a year ago.

I know I become extremely moody and have caused by brother and mum a few bruises.
What you have to remember is Lupus is not a curable illness at the moment and we are only young, it is a lot for us to deal with along with school etc.

I am on methotrexate. I found it difficult to take orally as it made me sick but now i have it in injection and it isn't so bad.


My hair falls out due to the actual Lupus not methotrexate.

Tell your daughter that if she wants to talk to someone, she can e-mail or PM me.





P.s. where are you? (USA, UK.......?)

[hillyS]

hello, thank-you for your kind words.
she has been to a psychologist but she won't tell me what he said or whether she's going to go again.
Hattycat- whats pm? i know she has msn messenger, we live in the uk.
love hilary

[hattycat]

It's a personal message on this site.

At the top it says 'My Controls' or '0 New Messages'. It's in there.

or at the bottom there's a little blue button saying PM with a picture of 2 people on it.

[Nell]

Hi Hillary,

I'm so sorry that your daughter, yourself and your family are going through all this. It must be so hard....You can come here and let it out, people here really do understand.

I come here due to concerns I have for my 6 y/o daughter who has a number of symptoms that lead me to wonder if she is in the early stages of autoimmune disease. I did the post about symptoms in a 6 y/o.

My understanding is that the prednisone can cause marked mood swings--perhaps that's part of what's going on. As well the literature I've read says that if there are significant changes in mood it can be related to changes in disease activity with CNS Lupus. I imagine you keep a symptoms list. Do you think you need to contact the neurologist?

I'm also wondering about your comment about her self-harming....She is so vulnerable right now. I think the early teens are a very difficult time. As she is only 14 it seems that counselling should include some family as well as individual work. I'd keep at establishing on-going counselling for her with someone who specializes in chronic-illness.

let us know how your doing! Nell