Lupus

[HazelAustralia]

Hi people,

I found I had lupus about a decade ago, incidentally, when I was getting my gall bladder removed and had a liver biopsy to take advantage of the surgery. The gastro at the time said that it is often found with hep c.

Has anyone found that lupus has cleared up following successful HCV treatment? Has anyone been tested for it following treatment? Anyone have any info, ideas or theories about lupus in relation to hep c? I guess I'm hoping that it might have been given the zap too.

Hope everyone's doing well, or at least ok,

Hazel.

[gnatcatcher]

Hazel, what were/are your symptoms of lupus? In 1996 I was diagnosed with lupus nephritis when, due to great fatigue and prolonged, low-grade fever, I had a kidney biopsy and damage was found. My other symptoms over the years were flare-ups of arthritis/arthralgia/myositis/myalgia, with RA ruled out. I was put on a low dose of Plaquenil in late 2002, and that has minimized any a/a/m/m flare-ups.

When I saw the hepatologist two months ago, I asked if my having reached SVR12 meant that the lupus, etc., would resolve due to being extra-hepatic manifestations (EHMs) of the HCV. He replied that only time would tell whether they were EHMs or separate diagnoses. He's in favor of my trying to taper off the Plaquenil, which is something I'll discuss with my PCP at my annual physical in a few weeks.

I still occasionally get a minor joint flare-up and the like, although by now "old age" is a contributing variable. Tomorrow I'll be taking the labs for my annual physical, so I should soon have some idea whether the markers for inflammation have improved.

Gnatty

[HazelAustralia]

Hi Gnatty,
As I mentioned I discovered incidentally that I had it, rather than having some symptoms that i was looking for the cause of. I did, and do, get the 'butterfly rash' on my throat, and that's about it. I mean I have been (like many of us) so good at ignoring symptoms, that I'm not sure what may have been lupus, hep c, life etc...
I'll be interested to hear your results tomorrow - best of luck.
(btw I just got my EOT results today and I am UNDETECTED!!!)
H.

[gnatcatcher]

Hazel, CONGRATULATIONS on finishing treatment with an UNDETECTED! You're the first person I heard of with the butterfly rash on your throat rather than face; the rash is something I never got. It sounds like your immune system didn't attack any of your major organs, thank goodness! Lupus takes so many different forms. Back when I was diagnosed, a person just had to meet 4 out of 11 criteria; I have no idea whether that is still how they diagnose it, or whether the recognition of HCV EHMs has changed that.

-not sure when I'll have lab results back, but it'll be early next week for the VL and perhaps the inflammation markers, too.

Gn.