I was diagnosed way back in 1988! It was a long process to get to the end, each test building on the results of the one before. One doctor told me "it's all in your head".

I wish I had known that lupus is known as a constellation disease. That is, it does not manifest itself the same in each person. I wish I had known how the symptoms can vary over the course of a week or month, in frequency and severity. Keeping stress levels down is a big help.
Ginger

I was diagnosed in 1999 but had symptoms for many years before. It does take an awful long time to get diagnosed. Through the years my SLE would go through phases of different symptoms that would be managed with prednisone and plaquenil. When I started experiencing a high level of pain, azathioprine was added with Tramadol for breakthrough pain. I was on Benlysta infusions for 4 years where I saw the greatest benefit but I experienced bad infusion side effects that precipitated going off the Benlysta. Fast forward to a year ago when my Rheumatologist began suspecting we were dealing with an additional autoimmune disease. He began testing to rule out MS or a neurological condition in addition to SLE.
The lifestyle changes have been very important in managing this disease. Listen to your body, get lots of rest, prayer is vital.