Are you feeling tired, depressed, dizzy, and experiencing skin changes? Have you begun Googling this noticeable shift while self-diagnosing your conditions? You're not at this alone - many people do. You're self-diagnosing without obtaining a medical degree, like, "I might have this or that." It makes you more anxious about what your possible symptoms could be. You think it's one thing, but it's something different.
Let's talk about it - what could you have? The list could be long, but let's look at lupus. What is lupus, and why does it commonly go undiagnosed? According to the Mayo Clinic, "Lupus is a disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your tissues and organs (autoimmune disease). Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems — joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs. Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because its signs and symptoms often mimic those of other ailments."
Here are several conditions commonly confused with Lupus that we all need to pay attention to!
RELATED: 11 Ways Lupus Can Affect Your Body
7 Conditions Commonly Confused with Lupus
Hypothyroidism
Have issues with thyroids? That smoothie targeting your thyroid may help, but that alone isn’t enough.
Lupus and hypothyroidism commonly affect weakened thyroid production—similar symptoms like muscle and joint pain, hair loss, fatigue, and painful cramps. The doctor has to measure the thyroid-stimulating blood vessels - professional diagnoses are necessary to identify the real issue.
Fibromyalgia
Extreme fatigue and muscle pain are among the symptoms caused by fibromyalgia; however, the list doesn’t stop there. People with fibromyalgia may also suffer from painful cramps, sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating, and stiff joints.
The issue is these symptoms are also synonymous with lupus. Not getting diagnosed or treating the symptoms in an isolated fashion can worsen the condition.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Before a doctor can diagnose someone with rheumatoid arthritis, they must submit to X-rays, a physical exam, and blood work. Given rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are autoimmune diseases, it’s imperative to know the difference and treat it accordingly. Common linked symptoms include swelling, anemia, stiffness of joints, and pericarditis.
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Viral and Bacterial Infections
We live in an age where viral and bacterial infections have become more popular. We’ve always had a cold, flu, HIV, and Lyme disease, but we now have COVID-19 and RSV.
With COVID-19, the world was rocked after many people died. Some have long-haul effects preventing them from returning to life as they knew it. Others recovered but not without fear of the unknown after seeing how the virus causes such a burden on many.
What some may think is a common viral or bacterial infection maybe - you guessed it, lupus. Similar symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, fever, and headaches. After seeing professional help with negative results, it’s time to weigh in and ask, is this lupus?
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, commonly referred to as MS, “is a condition affecting the central nervous system. It causes disruptions in the function of the brain and spinal cord.”
Lupus and MS share some of the same symptoms - fatigue, inability to focus, and muscle weakness and pain. As with other illnesses, MS must be diagnosed by a professional. In such a case, seeing a neurologist can help determine whether MS is indeed the cause of such symptoms.
Skin Conditions
Tell someone that you’ve noticed skin issues, and one of the first things they recommended is to drink more water, followed by consuming x amount of celery juice on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.
Though neither recommendation is wrong, after drinking recommended fluids based on body size, it’s time to seek advice from the dermatologist with an open mind knowing that they can give advice/diagnosis unseen to the inexperienced eye. Why? Several skin conditions can be linked to lupus, such as eczema, rashes, rosacea, psoriasis, and facial seborrheic dermatitis.
Depression
We live in an age where mental illness is more prevalent - or where people are more open to sharing the need for mental attention. It’s pretty easy to confuse depression with just “another mental illness” or a result of sadness caused by a life event. Clinical depression, like the other illnesses we’ve covered, can mimic lupus. Similar symptoms include difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and even pain. It’s imperative to know the difference. Some people may have one or the other, and in other cases, both!
RELATED: Common Signs Of Lupus People Rarely Talk About
Things to Consider
Lupus is more prevalent in women - though several men have faced it. Typically, the diagnosis of lupus happens between the ages of 15-45. Some might say it's a minority virus since it's commonly known to impact African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans - however, lupus truly has no concrete bias.
The truth is, it's a lengthy process to identify lupus, given its similarities with so many other illnesses like depression, MS, and Fibromyalgia, to name a few - all of these also share some of the same symptoms - fatigue, difficulty concentrating, headaches, and pain. Also, once diagnosed, like some sicknesses, lupus highly depends on medicinal treatments assessed and prescribed by a medical doctor. The treatments can be tested and proven to work, or trial-based drugs. Either way, they are all designed to treat someone diagnosed with lupus based on their specific diagnosis.
Getting tested for lupus, especially after experiencing some of the symptoms mentioned above, is imperative to one's health. Treatment cannot cure lupus, but it can improve the quality of life so that living with lupus is not only possible but more than bearable.
