[WanePoetic]

Thought of some things to worry about, so I thought I'd ask about them here.

-After having lupus for a while (years) without organ involvement, does the liklihood of organ involvement decrease?

-Does APS develop quickly? My rheumatologist said I ought to be tested for it yearly, but I'm wondering if you're fine one day, and clotting the next.

-How do I know if my kidneys are wonky? It's been a while since I last had blood work done... And I'm just a little bit worried because my urine has had some bubbles in it. It's a perfectly normal color, and it's not "foamy." But I'm concerned about proturia.

Thanks!
-Elizabeth

 

[Maia]

(1) After 5 years without organ involvement the chances of developing it in the future go down significantly.

(2) APS can develop quickly, most people are fine one day then find themselves with a clot. However, by testing you yearly, your doctor is looking to find the antibodies first. Also realize that most people WITH the antibodies NEVER clot. So just having the antibodies is not reason enough to really start to worry.

(3) The best way to check for kidney disease is through urine dipstick testing. A bit of bubbly appearance to the urine can be normal. If you are really concerned about it then you can buy urine test strips online and test at home monthly or however frequently you would like. I have done that in the past and found it largely reassuring (& that is also how I discovered that my +1/+2 protein readings were almost always due to NSAID use).

Hope this helps!

 

[WanePoetic]

Yes! Thank you very much!! Does the liklihood of developing APS go down after a while too?

What fun.

 

[Maia]

Not sure on that one... good one to ask your doctor.

 

[Douglas]

Thank you for the wonderful questions and, Maia, thank you for the most informative answers.
Douglas+