The Lupus Book: Book Review

The Lupus Book (4th Edition) by Daniel Wallace - Find it on Amazon

This book is very informative and helpful. I like that you can get into the technical side as much as you want with the wonderful information provided, or you can use this as a handy reference tool and a well put together overview of lupus. I have not been diagnosed with lupus, but for the past year have been going through some of the signs and symptoms and am just in "medical limbo" until I can get a specific diagnosis. Since lupus is one of the diseases my symptoms and blood work are pointing toward, I asked my library to purchase this book and borrowed it from there. If I do get diagnosed with lupus, I plan to buy this book as it is very informative and definitely worth owning.

I like that this is written by a doctor who cares for lupus patients and not only used medical research but his own knowledge from his personal practice experience. It can get very technical...but you can also easily skim those technical sections. The writer not only discusses things that are common in lupus, but also specific problems that may arise down the road, and I think this is a great reference point for anyone with lupus who may find their disease progressing in one of those directions.

This is a very well done and up to date book. Excellent reference.

What is an autoimmune disorder?

Autoimmune disorders or diseases are very widespread - there are more than 80 serious, chronic illnesses and they all have an effect on one or more of the human organ systems or tissue types. In these illnesses, the body that was designed to protect instead reacts by attacking the body.
Commonly, the organs and tissues effected are:

Red blood cells
Blood vessels
Connective tissues
Endocrine glands such as the thyroid or pancreas
Muscles
Joints
Skin

A list of some of the many autoimmune disorders are listed here for your reference:

Thyroiditis
Lupus (SLE)
Diabetes (Type 1)
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Sjogren Syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Celiac Disease
Vasculitis

There is currently no cure for autoimmune disorders, although in rare cases they may disappear on their own. Many people may experience flare-ups and temporary remissions in symptoms, others chronic symptoms or a progressive worsening. Treatment of autoimmune disorders is tailored to the individual and may change over time. The goal is to relieve symptoms, minimize organ and tissue damage, and preserve organ function. (From labtestsonline.org)
Symptoms can vary depending on the person involved and the disease.
Some very nonspecific symptoms will often accompany autoimmune diseases, and may include:

Dizziness
Fatigue
General ill-feeling
Low-grade fever

(Information in this post was taken from Medline Plus and other websites.)