Discouraging Lupus Ads – When Will It End?

Caution: Reading this may go against everything you ever believed or were taught to believe.

You see it on a daily basis: Discouraging lupus ads about how to help find a cure. Give money. Sponsor a walk. Raise money. Spread awareness.

And for as long as these ads have been around, and the millions of dollars raised to “find a cure”, individuals still are suffering day in and day out. Death rates are soaring. New autoimmune cases are diagnosed. Every. Single. Day.

Every day I read on lupus blogs and in tweets about the anguish, the pain, the way lupus robs the very life out of those who suffer, leaving but a shell, a zombie trying to get through the day. A zombie whose every movement is felt in a joint or muscle.

I know, because I’ve been there.

When I was diagnosed with lupus, I needed help to get out of bed and wash my hair. My body felt like hell, my beauty stolen before my eyes. My hair fell out, I developed a facial rash, and I gained 30 pounds from prednisone and a kidney dysfunction.

So I had to take matters into my own hands.

The inner rebel arose in me, a nurse practitioner unwilling to accept chronic illness and suffering in my daily life. A force stronger than my will found its way into me and kept me charging forward.

This force pushed me to where I am today, waking up without pain or fatigue.

My turning point? Feeling relief from pain by changing to a gluten-free diet. I finally could see the light at the end of this long tunnel.

It pains me to still see and read about your suffering.

I want positive stories.

I want miracles.
I want to rejoice with ones who have found their magic bullet as well.

I want encouraging stories of men and women reaching for their precious dreams and living full out: getting their dream job, being an entrepreneur, going on vacation, or starting a family.

But right now, conventional medicine dominates the conversation about lupus, this chronic illness which continues to take lives every day.

We have become so accustomed to putting our health and our lives in the hands of medical specialists. We hand it over to them completely. It’s time to reclaim our health and venture into a world where we participate in the healing of our own bodies. If I did it, so can you.

And I won’t stop until the daily suffering stops. My mission is to revolutionize the way lupus is seen, treated, and heard. We must speak up for what we want. We must voice our desire for a happier, less anguished life.

I believe in you.

Are you ready?