Lupus often causes myalgia, or aches and pains in the muscles. Less often, lupus can cause myositis, or inflammation in the muscles — usually in the hips, thighs, shoulders, and upper arms. The most common symptom of myositis is muscle weakness.
Pain and aching in your muscles is common with lupus. You'll usually feel it in your thighs and upper arms. In about 5%-10% of people with lupus, the disease advances to myositis, which can cause painful muscle inflammation, especially in your shoulders, upper arms, hips, and thighs.
Some two-thirds of lupus patients complain of having arthritis in their feet. Additionally, tenosynovitis and tendonitis often coexist, leading to widespread foot and ankle pain, causing considerable disability.
Some people with lupus develop myositis, an inflammation of the skeletal muscles that causes weakness and loss of strength. Lupus myositis often affects the muscles of your neck, pelvis, thighs, shoulders and upper arms; difficulty in climbing stairs and getting up from a chair are early symptoms.
Try taking a hot shower, soaking in a bath or hot tub, or placing a warm towel on the area that hurts. Build exercise into your daily routine. Moving your body for just a few minutes each day can help you to manage pain. Always check with your doctor or physical therapist before starting a new type of exercise.
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.”
Muscle and joint pain.
This affects most people with lupus. Common areas for muscle pain and swelling include the neck, thighs, shoulders, and upper arms.
Lupus commonly affects the skin. It can affect the skin on the legs in a few different ways, including : an appearance of round, scaly rashes. swelling in the legs.
Lupus may get worse very quickly. There is no way to tell when a flare will happen or how bad it will be. When you have a lupus flare, you may have new symptoms as well as symptoms you have had in the past. Learn your body's signs of a flare, such as joint pain, a rash, a fever, or being more tired.
“Not every patient with lupus has that degree of severity but when you have your immune system attacking your kidneys or your heart or your lungs, that can be life threatening.” At one point Williams lost 50 percent of her muscle mass and was unable to even move, confined to a wheelchair.
Stress, joint pain, and fatigue are common lupus symptoms. While rest is essential, moving your body regularly releases “feel good” hormones called endorphins. This can boost your mood and keep your stressors in check. Physical exercise can also lessen joint pain and prevent stiffness in the body.
People living with lupus usually describe their neuropathy as numbness and tingling, starting in the extremities like the hands and feet. Symptoms can progress over time and travel up the toes and feet to the ankles or the lower shins.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus. Lungs About 50% of people with SLE will experience lung involvement during the course of their disease.
Muscle pain and weakness, caused by inflammation, may be part of your lupus disease activity. For people living with lupus, muscle pain and weakness are also often side effects of their medications. If you're feeling this kind of pain and weakness, talk to your doctor.
Class 4, or diffuse lupus nephritis
Class 4 involves damage to more than half of the glomerulus. A person will have high blood pressure. They may require dialysis as kidney function begins to worsen.
Many lupus patients experience joint stiffness, especially in the morning. People often find that taking warm showers helps to relieve this problem. If this habit does not offer comfort and joint stiffness prevents you from daily activity, be sure to speak with your doctor.
Lupus flares can vary in length. Some may last several days; others may span weeks or more.
Weight changes — Lupus can sometimes cause weight loss or weight gain. Weight loss may be unintentional and due to decreased appetite or problems with the digestive system (see 'Digestive system' below).
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.
Lupus often causes skin rashes, arthritis, mouth sores, sun sensitivity, hair loss, or kidney problems, but these symptoms don't show up in MS. Even when lupus affects your nervous system, its most common symptoms are migraine, personality changes, seizures, or stroke, but these aren't typical for MS.