I was diagnosed with lupus just before my 21st birthday after experiencing joint and muscle pain, mouth ulcers and a rash in the sun.
Soon after that I was medically retired from my job as a civil servant, which I'd been off sick from since becoming ill.
My doctor wasn't very good and kept changing his mind about my diagnosis, as the ANA test was borderline, then negative, then borderline again...
He had me on Plaquenil and Arthrotec (diclofenac), but later stopped the Plaquenil for some stupid reason I can't remember.
It was extremely frustrating at the time.
I did swap to another doctor at a different hospital and he was just as bad, diagnosing fibromyalgia and telling me "just to get on with my life!"
After becoming involved with my local Lupus support group I learned of a great doctor at a hospital in Manchester who specialised in lupus. Thankfully my GP allowed me to transfer to this doctor and it was a huge turnaround in my life. He confirmed I did in fact have lupus and not fibromyalgia. The muscle biopsy I'd had at the last hospital had in fact shown problems with my muscles (which the previous doctor said had been negative!)
He agreed to start me on low dose steroids and what a difference those made! I went from walking with crutches to walking without, being able to lead a normal life and starting up my own business.
Obviously, being on steroids wasn't ideal, and having an interest in complementary therapies I decided to try visiting a homeopath.
Aware of the need to be cautious when choosing an alternative practitioner I chose one who was also a doctor.
The first visit was especially draining, having to go back through my entire medical history & that of my parents, discuss my feelings, etc. I received a remedy (in the form of small sugar pills) soon after and didn't feel any effect. On a further visit she explained that the steroids I was taking were blocking the remedy from working, so if I wanted to give it a chance I'd have to stop taking them. As she was a qualified doctor, & I was only on a low dose, I placed my trust in her and stopped the steroids. After an initial flare up, then taking the homeopathic remedy again I soon started to see a huge difference.
The homeopath gave me various remedies over the coming months, some helped and some made things a bit worse. She explained that the different remedies were needed to work on the different layers of ill health that had built up over the years.
My main remedy was what's know as a constituntional remedy, specially selected for my range of symptoms and health history. I had to take it regularly at first, then around every 6 weeks or so when symptoms started to flare up again.
It's now around 5 years since my first consultation and I've been in remission ever since. I rarely need to take my remedy anymore unless I get a flare up of joint pain. I still get the occasional mouth ulcer, but other than that am ok with regards to lupus symptoms.
All my lupus blood tests are negative now.
In 2007 I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy daughter and as I write this I am 6 months pregnant with my second baby. I did have a miscarriage in 2006 before having my daughter, but was tested for anti-phospholipid antibodies which was negative, so it was unrelated to the lupus.
Homeopathy isn't for everyone, and may not work on some people. I've since visited my homepath for other symptoms, and haven't had great success in treating those, so it doesn't always work for everything.
If you are interested in going down this path, whether it be a homeopath or other alternative practitioner, I'd strongly recommend choosing one who belongs to a recognised organisation, who has been properly trained and has recognised qualifications.
Soon after that I was medically retired from my job as a civil servant, which I'd been off sick from since becoming ill.
My doctor wasn't very good and kept changing his mind about my diagnosis, as the ANA test was borderline, then negative, then borderline again...
He had me on Plaquenil and Arthrotec (diclofenac), but later stopped the Plaquenil for some stupid reason I can't remember.
It was extremely frustrating at the time.
I did swap to another doctor at a different hospital and he was just as bad, diagnosing fibromyalgia and telling me "just to get on with my life!"
After becoming involved with my local Lupus support group I learned of a great doctor at a hospital in Manchester who specialised in lupus. Thankfully my GP allowed me to transfer to this doctor and it was a huge turnaround in my life. He confirmed I did in fact have lupus and not fibromyalgia. The muscle biopsy I'd had at the last hospital had in fact shown problems with my muscles (which the previous doctor said had been negative!)
He agreed to start me on low dose steroids and what a difference those made! I went from walking with crutches to walking without, being able to lead a normal life and starting up my own business.
Obviously, being on steroids wasn't ideal, and having an interest in complementary therapies I decided to try visiting a homeopath.
Aware of the need to be cautious when choosing an alternative practitioner I chose one who was also a doctor.
The first visit was especially draining, having to go back through my entire medical history & that of my parents, discuss my feelings, etc. I received a remedy (in the form of small sugar pills) soon after and didn't feel any effect. On a further visit she explained that the steroids I was taking were blocking the remedy from working, so if I wanted to give it a chance I'd have to stop taking them. As she was a qualified doctor, & I was only on a low dose, I placed my trust in her and stopped the steroids. After an initial flare up, then taking the homeopathic remedy again I soon started to see a huge difference.
The homeopath gave me various remedies over the coming months, some helped and some made things a bit worse. She explained that the different remedies were needed to work on the different layers of ill health that had built up over the years.
My main remedy was what's know as a constituntional remedy, specially selected for my range of symptoms and health history. I had to take it regularly at first, then around every 6 weeks or so when symptoms started to flare up again.
It's now around 5 years since my first consultation and I've been in remission ever since. I rarely need to take my remedy anymore unless I get a flare up of joint pain. I still get the occasional mouth ulcer, but other than that am ok with regards to lupus symptoms.
All my lupus blood tests are negative now.
In 2007 I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy daughter and as I write this I am 6 months pregnant with my second baby. I did have a miscarriage in 2006 before having my daughter, but was tested for anti-phospholipid antibodies which was negative, so it was unrelated to the lupus.
Homeopathy isn't for everyone, and may not work on some people. I've since visited my homepath for other symptoms, and haven't had great success in treating those, so it doesn't always work for everything.
If you are interested in going down this path, whether it be a homeopath or other alternative practitioner, I'd strongly recommend choosing one who belongs to a recognised organisation, who has been properly trained and has recognised qualifications.
