Herbs For Lupus Articles & Resources

Lupus isn't a disease that affects just one system of the body. This is one reason it's so difficult to diagnose. Essentially, the immune system becomes "confused"--that is, it can't tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells, so antibodies mistakenly attack healthy tissue, causing inflammation and injury to skin, blood, joints and organs.

The wolf began to circle my home a few years ago, when 14 hours of sleep a day weren't enough to keep me rested, and pain began creeping into my joints. I saw half a dozen specialists and coped by napping in between writing assignments and doctor's appointments.

I almost gave up once, telling my husband, "No more doctors without answers." Yet, the elusive disease finally emerged with enough definite symptoms for the white coats to figure out that my suspicions were right all along: I had lupus too.

My experiences and my mother's aren't unusual--it takes most lupus patients three years to get a firm diagnosis. The disease has only been recognized since 1972, the year my mother was first hospitalized, and 33 years later, there are still only 4,000 board-certified rheumatologists with the know-how to diagnose it.

It's really not an exaggeration when lupus patients say they feel like they saw all 4,000 of them before getting a definitive diagnosis. It doesn't help that the symptoms come and go--disappearing for weeks, months or even years and then suddenly flaring up again. So one lab test may be positive and the next negative.

Except for the mask-like rash, which not everyone gets (my mother and I don't), people with lupus don't look sick--and they often hear just that from uninformed doctors.

Then there are the vast differences in symptoms. Ask any patient what ails them and you'll get a baker's dozen of different answers including joint pain, fatigue, rashes, hair loss, mouth sores, blood clots, seizures, migraines and more. Any one of these symptoms can send doctors and patients looking for answers in other areas of medicine. I tried allergists, acupuncturists, immunologists, tropical disease specialists, oncologists and finally a rheumatologist.

The only commonality among lupus patients is a positive test for antinuclear antibody (ANA), although even this tends to fade in and out. More than half the children of lupus patients test positive for ANA, whether or not they have the disease. To be clinically diagnosed, you must have a positive ANA and three of 11 other symptoms, notwithstanding about a dozen overlapping syndromes, including fibromyalgia, Sjogren's (dry eyes, mouth) and Raynaud's (painfully numb hands and feet). Mathematically, this means there are thousands of different possible manifestations. My mother has had at least six lupus criteria in her lifetime; the more serious ones include inflammation of the heart and lungs, blood clots and neurological problems, along with less grave arthritis, fatigue and Raynaud's. So far, I only have three--a positive ANA, arthritis and fatigue--which is why doctors won't say I have full-blown lupus. And I'm just fine with that.

Despite the words attack and inflammation, living well with lupus is doable. Mostly, the symptoms are mild; however, serious problems are possible, especially over time. That's why no matter how frustrating the process is, getting diagnosed and treated is vital.

As difficult as it was to be diagnosed, my continuing struggle comes from the fact that I will be on one drug or another for the rest of my life, and I make no qualms about saying so. My doctor's appointments are more like exercises in bartering. I negotiate my doses down to the lowest possible amounts, in hopes of using some complementary therapies, which I always tell my doctor about. For instance, I take fish and flax oil to keep inflammation down, vitamin C and B complex for cellular stress and a multivitamin with minerals for joint health.

Well-meaning friends often suggest immune-enhancing herbs such as echinacea and astragalus, but these can exacerbate lupus, as can alfalfa sprouts. With so many functional foods and supplements on the market, it's important that I study the ingredients and show them to my doctor. "A lot of promising alternative treatments seem to boost the immune system, but the immune system of lupus patients is already overactive--that's part of the problem. Anything that adds to that can cause problems. Besides, we don't know how they react with lupus drugs and the lupus distorted immune system," says Sam Lim, MD, Chief of Rheumatology at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Alternative therapies that physicians approve of include stress-relieving techniques. From my own experience, exercise, guided imagery and tai chi help, and my weekly women's prayer group is invaluable. When a doctor told me I might have lymphoma, not lupus, I turned to a group of women from my church for support. Their love, laughter and levity are better medicine than anything in a bottle or anyone in a lab coat. They pray for my symptoms to subside, listen with understanding and smirk when things go awry, such as the night I arrived late for a girl's night out. I had to wear a heart monitor before I could start taking a new drug, and fatigue moved in for a week-long visit. After waking up late from a nap, my grogginess prevented me from figuring out how to hide the wires under my clothing. That night, I discovered that double-stick tape, a scarf and sympathetic friends can work wonders.

If anything good comes from this disease, it's learning how to stay in a healthy balance, even with the wolf snarling at the door. When fatigue hits, rest isn't up for debate, and healthy self-care basics cannot be ignored even for a day. But so far, I have been able to keep the wolf that has knocked hard at the door of my mother's life from knocking down mine.

taking a whole-person approach

Lupus requires a combination approach of nutritional supplements, diet, exercise and drugs, each one no less important than the other. If you must take a prescription drug (such as Plaquenil and corticosteroids), ask the doctor what the lowest possible dose is to avoid complications. "These are super-strong drugs, and at super-strong doses they can cause strong reactions," says Jay Cohen, MD, author of Over Dose, The Case Against the Drug Companies (Tarcher/Putnam). Also, speak to your doctor about the possibility of using the complementary therapies below.

DHEA. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently sponsoring lupus clinical trials for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a naturally derived hormone. It can have serious side effects, such as decreased liver function, depression or mania, and changes to cholesterol and insulin levels, so don't try this supplement without medical advice and careful monitoring. However, if the NIH results are positive, a standardized prescription drug may be in the works.

Nutrition. Omega-3 fatty acids (found in flax, fish and oils) and certain compounds in ginger and green tea are known to help lower inflammation. A healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein is vital, as is taking a multivitamin with bone-strengthening minerals and B and C vitamins. Avoid super high-protein diets because they place extraordinary strain on the kidneys.

Stress Relief. Lupus patients may find that exercise, massage, reflexology, tai chi, yoga and meditation are useful for keeping elevated levels of cortisol--the "stress hormone" produced in the brain--in check. Deep breathing techniques and mediation have proven to be particularly good at lowering these hormone levels.

for more information

If you or someone you know has recently been diagnosed with lupus, I found these three sources of information and guidance invaluable:

The Lupus Book by Daniel Wallace, MD (Oxford University Press)--one of the most complete books on this condition.

The First Year with Lupus by Nancy Hanger (Marlowe and Co.)--like having a knowledgeable friend hold your hand as you learn about the disease.

The Lupus Foundation of America--its Web site, .org, is packed with

Kimberly Lord Stewart is a freelance writer and author of the forthcoming book Eating Between the Lines (St. Martins Press).