Lupus – The Disease That Can Present Just With Joint Pains Initially
After one month of treatment for Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, a 29 year old young female from Iran gets a new lease of life at Wockhardt hospital, Mumbai central.
A young woman from Iran met doctor with symptoms of joint pains and swelling. She was treated as Rheumatoid arthritis for more than 1 year.
Gradually her symptoms worsened and further investigations revealed she had Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease due to which her internal organs were affected. She developed skin rashes; kidney function tests were high, and also she had heart involvement in form of valve dysfunction and fluid around her heart due to active inflammation of the disease. The patient travelled to India in very bad condition due to Lupus.
Dr. Dipti Patel, Consultant Rheumatologist at Wockhardt Hospital, SOBO Said “Patient came to me with complaints like joints pain, skin rashes, kidney damage, problem in heart and was very short of breath due to anaemia and heart problems secondary to her active lupus. It was a complicated case of lupus with multi system involvement. A detailed assessment and investigations were carried out at Wockhardt Hospital and a multidisciplinary treatment protocol was created with the help of other leading doctors Dr M M Bahadur, Dr Chandan Chaudhari – Consultant Nephrologists , Dr Nazir Juwale – Consultant Cardiologist
She was commenced on biologic drugs which are modern immuno suppressive drugs, now available to suppress the disease process and save damage to major organs. She underwent successful treatment for over a month. Eventually fluid around the heart decreased, creatinine levels (kidney function) was stabilised and the symptoms much improved.
Lupus normally affects young people, the age groups of 15-40 is the most vulnerable, more common in women than men. “The ratio of women to men is 9 to 1 or 90%. Lupus can often trigger after childbirth, at menopause or puberty due to hormonal activity and change. It is more common in Asian and black women than Caucasians. It is important to not ignore symptoms of joint pains with swelling and consult a Rheumatologist early as it could indicate different forms of inflammatory diseases one of them being lupus,” adds Dr Patel.
Mrs Haleema says, “I am really happy with the decision of coming to Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai for the treatment. With the help of proper treatment now I can lead a normal life.”
