How does lupus affect your head?

If your brain is affected by lupus, you may experience headaches, dizziness, behavior changes, vision problems, and even strokes or seizures. Many people with lupus experience memory problems and may have difficulty expressing their thoughts.

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How do I know if lupus is affecting my brain?

Lupus and the central nervous system

Symptoms include: Confusion and trouble concentrating (sometimes called lupus brain fog) Seizures (sudden, unusual movements or behavior) Stroke (blocked blood flow in the brain that causes brain cells to die)

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Does lupus make your head feel weird?

People with lupus can have cognitive symptoms, like having a hard time thinking clearly or remembering things. This is also called “brain fog” or “lupus fog,” and it often comes and goes over time. In some people, lupus fog can be present for many years.

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Where does your head hurt with lupus?

People living with lupus may experience various types of headaches for different reasons. Some of these may include: Migraine: This is a type of moderate to severe headache that may feel like a throbbing pain on one side of the head.

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Can lupus cause pressure in the head?

The most common type of headaches seen in lupus patients are migraine headaches and tension headaches. It is also not uncommon for people who have lupus to have headaches as a result of fibromyalgia (around 1-in-5 people with lupus will have this as an overlapping condition).

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Lupus Patient Success Story - Lupus Affecting the Brain in a Young Patient

27 related questions found

Does lupus show up on brain MRI?

In general, a brain MRI will show more lesions with MS ("black holes and bright spots") but sometimes the brain lesions found with lupus or MS can be indistinguishable.

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What is the biggest symptom of lupus?

Lupus symptoms include: 1,2
  • Muscle and joint pain. You may experience pain and stiffness, with or without swelling. ...
  • Fever. A fever higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit affects many people with lupus. ...
  • Rashes. ...
  • Chest pain. ...
  • Hair loss. ...
  • Sun or light sensitivity. ...
  • Kidney problems. ...
  • Mouth sores.

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What is the description of lupus headache?

Lupus headache is an important item in the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), a scoring system often used in lupus research. The SLEDAI describes lupus headache as a "severe, persistent headache; may be migrainous, but must be nonresponsive to narcotic analgesia".

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What are some uncommon symptoms of lupus?

6 Less Common Symptoms of Lupus
  • Psychological Symptoms. Depression and anxiety are common in lupus, but a rarer mental disorder is lupus psychosis. ...
  • Severe Headaches. ...
  • Nerve Complications. ...
  • Vertigo. ...
  • Mouth Problems. ...
  • Rashes and Skin Involvement.

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Why do I feel so bad with lupus?

Inflammation: Any time your body is experiencing excess inflammation, such as during a lupus flare, you will feel more tired. Anemia: Anemia occurs when your red blood cell count gets low. This means that the amount of oxygen going to your organs will decrease, which can increase your level of fatigue.

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How do you explain what lupus feels like?

Many people described the pain of lupus as similar to having the flu. This means having chills and bone-weary aches throughout your entire body. The pain can be numbing and leave you feeling drained of all energy. “I explain it to others as feeling like the flu: achy joints, muscles, bones.”

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What is lupus brain fog like?

The term 'lupus fog' is used by many people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). On patient fora and websites, confusion, difficulty planning, loss of concentration, difficulty in articulating thoughts, and memory impairment are symptoms described in the context of this fog.

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What should you not do if you have lupus?

5 Things to Avoid if You Have Lupus
  1. (1) Sunlight. People with lupus should avoid the sun, since sunlight can cause rashes and flares. ...
  2. (2) Bactrim and Septra (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) Bactrim and Septra are antibiotics that contain sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. ...
  3. (3) Garlic. ...
  4. (4) Alfalfa Sprouts. ...
  5. (5) Echinacea.

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Is lupus in the brain serious?

NPSLE is often a serious manifestation of lupus. The symptoms of NPSLE can be highly variable, ranging from mild non-specific symptoms such as headaches, “brain fog” and mild mood disorders, to rare and severe presentations.

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What neurological problems can you get from lupus?

Neurological complications from lupus can include: Headache. Mild cognitive dysfunction. Damage to the peripheral nerves that carry signals between the brain and spinal cord and to the rest of the body.

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How do you get rid of a lupus headache?

A true lupus headache usually requires corticosteroids for treatment. Non-lupus migraine headaches should be treated with a migraine prevention diet.

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What are the subtle signs of lupus?

12 Subtle Lupus Symptoms That Are Easy To Miss
  • You notice a butterfly-shaped rash on your face. ...
  • You have a fever that just won't go away. ...
  • You get rashes or sores on your skin after going outside. ...
  • Your joints are sore or stiff. ...
  • You have swelling. ...
  • You're losing your hair. ...
  • Your finger or toes blanch and go numb.

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What is the first manifestation of lupus?

The general symptoms include: fever, malaise, arthralgias, myalgias, headache, and loss of appetite and weight. Nonspecific fatigue, fever, arthralgia, and weight changes are the most common symptoms in new cases or recurrent active SLE flares.

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How long can you have lupus without knowing?

Lupus symptoms can also be unclear, can come and go, and can change. On average, it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time they first notice their lupus symptoms.

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What are the four stages of lupus?

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a wide range of clinical presentations resulting from its effect on multiple organ systems. There are four main types of lupus: neonatal, discoid, drug-induced, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the type that affects the majority of patients.

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What are three triggers of lupus?

Common triggers include:
  • Overwork and not enough rest.
  • Being out in the sun or having close exposure to fluorescent or halogen light.
  • Infection.
  • Injury.
  • Stopping your lupus medicines.
  • Other types of medicines.

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Can lupus turn into MS?

A 2018 review considered several case reports of people with both conditions. The researchers noted that this is a rare occurrence. Sometimes, lupus can cause the body to attack the nervous system. This can create symptoms similar to those of MS, and it may lead to a misdiagnosis.

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What's the difference between lupus and MS?

What Is Multiple Sclerosis? Similar to lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease. However, instead of causing inflammation across several body systems, MS targets one: the central nervous system (CNS).

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What blood tests show lupus?

Antibody blood tests

The test you will hear about most is called the antinuclear antibodies test (the ANA test). 97% of people with lupus will test positive for ANA. ANA connect or bind to the nucleus or command center of the cell.

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