No one can argue that it is scary when you are first diagnosed with lupus. Thousands of questions race through your mind. What kind of doctor treats lupus? What kind of disease is lupus? What types of treatments will I receive? This article will answer these questions and more.
Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can cause damage to any part of the body. Basically, in lupus, something goes wrong with your body’s immune system. Instead of just fighting off viruses, bacteria, and other types of foreign invaders, it begins to turn on your body’s healthy tissue as well. In other words, having an autoimmune disease means that your antibodies can no longer tell the difference between foreign invaders, such as germs, and healthy parts of your body.
So, what type of doctor treats lupus? Typically it is a rheumatologist because they specialize in joints, muscles, and bones. This is because autoimmune diseases often affect these parts of the body most heavily.
This is not always the case, however. There are different kinds of lupus and you will, of course, see a specialist in accordance to what ails you. For instance, if you have the type of lupus that causes kidney problems, you will also need to see a nephrologist. Those who suffer from rashes or lesions will go to a dermatologist as well. There is no ‘lupus kind of doctor’ It all depends on what parts of the body the lupus has affected.
What Kind of Treatments Should I Expect?
Once again, treatment for your lupus is going to largely depend upon what type of lupus you have. Lupus also varies from one person to another and so the treatment must be tailored to that specific person. It has been suggested by the Lupus foundation that using a healthcare team is probably the best approach.
There is an ever-growing range of medications to treat lupus and the effects of lupus. It will most likely take long time for your healthcare team to find the right combination to suit your needs. Prednisone, prednisolone, methyprednisolone, and hydrocortisone are some of the medications that are used specifically for lupus treatment.
There are many precautions to take when you are undergoing lupus treatments. For example, women that are pregnant cannot take many of these medications and should have their pregnancy closely monitored by an obstetrician that specializes in high-risk pregnancies or by her health care team. Another thing that is important is taking your medication correctly; a lot of these drugs will lose their affect if the wrong dosage is taken. Good communication and follow through is always important when managing lupus.