* Persistent fatigue
* Chronic headaches; migraines and/or severe tension headaches
* Persistent muscle weakness; easily sprained joints; tendonitis
* Body aches; swollen lymph glands anywhere in the body
* Swelling of the feet, legs, hands, and eyelids
* Increasing hair loss; broken hair at scalp
* Sores in the mouth and/or nose; raw tongue; swollen, painful gums; bleeding gums; unexplained teeth and jaw pain; unexplained laryngitis/hoarseness, which may come and go
* Skin rashes ANYWHERE on the body, of an unknown origin
* Hives and/or sores on the skin -- with or without sun exposure
* Painful, stiff joints, with or without redness and swelling
* Chest pain, shortness of breath
* Recurring or persistent abdominal pain
* Persistent nausea and/or vomiting
* Low-grade fever of an unknown origin
* Unexplained weight-loss
* Frequent infections
* Recurring symtoms
* Chronic fatigue which presents as an exhaustion out of proportion to what one would expect from any given activity
* Blurred, cloudy, or double vision
* Dizziness, memory impairment, difficulty concentrating, seizures
* Unexplained anxiety and/or depression out of the ordinary for the individual
* Either excessive menstral flow, or lack of menstration
* Miscarriages
* Flebitis
* "Spider viens"
* Petikia (small, reddish-purple, star-shaped spots on the skin)

** This is certainly NOT a complete listing of Lupus symptoms

Lupus is often a self-repetitive disease, meaning each individual usually experiences recurrences of the same symptoms. However, the disease can be progressive, with new and more damaging affects occurring.

The most commonly-shared symptoms among all lupus patients are:

Debilitating fatigue(90%); headaches(80%); cognitive impairments such as memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, and poor word-association -- all of which come and go(75%); joint pain and swelling(50%); muscle weakness(50%); and frequent infections.
Beyond these basic similarities, the symptoms of SLE are as diverse as the people who have lupus.
A "flare," or worsening of symptoms due to increased disease activity, can be caused by a variety of factors. Such factors include over-exersion, mental stress or emotional upset, fever and/or infection, surgery, immunizations, poor eating and/or sleeping habits, and sometimes a flare occurs without any specific cause. It is important to note that while stress affects the immune system, creating a physiological environment more suseptible to increased disease activity, stress itself cannot cause lupus. SLE is not a "stress-induced" disorder.

Because immunizations against disease can very easily cause increased lupus activity in the body, it is very important to consult your Rheumatologist or other lupus-treating physician before deciding to be innoculated. While influenzia vaccines are highly reccommended for many SLE patients, they can be quite dangerous for many others. This is also true for Hepatitis and other types of immunizations. It is also very important for all lupus patients to avoid contact with anyone else (including children) who's received any type of immunization within the previous 48 hours, as well as avoiding anyone with the active Chicken Pox virus.

While no lupus patient can completely control the course of disease activity or progression, it is possible to avoid and eliminate many causes by taking good care of one's self, setting priorities and not pushing beyond personal limits, avoiding contact (as much as possible) with others who are ill, making note of one's own individual triggers and avoiding or reducing them, and striving to achieve and maintain a positive attitude. However, these are merely precautions, as it's impossible to entirely prevent all disease flares.

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