@creatiff357 ah yes, somehow relating UCTD to lupus… this can be a useful technique for explaining things. Sometimes docs might say: pre-lupus, that gets thrown around. I haven’t heard “sister to lupus” before though, that one’s new to me.

What’s kind of fun is that my life now is like I was in a soap opera story line: dah dah dah!!! And instead of UCTD, at almost 5 years the (possibly evil?) twin sister lupus has appeared to me in the form of unrelenting rashes!!! No one saw that plot twist!! Least of all me!

But- the biopsy says lupus, so they have officially- and unceremoniously I might add- thrown me out of my beloved UCTD category where I was prepared to live out my days peacefully explaining what my non-diagnosis was to everyone. But instead I’m just itchy nearly all the time. All. The. Time. All the time. OK, not literally. But, at least once a day.

So- anything that you have any inkling AT ALL that you think causes you inflammation… knock it off right now! Use sunscreen like it is your personal religion- don’t even think about looking out a window without SPF 50 on your face, neck, and hands. Think that food makes your tummy hurt or give you more gas? Try not eating it for about 2 months entirely (not even a teeny tiny bite), then add it back in and see if it hurts your tummy/give you gas/diarrhea/whatever. If it does- stop eating it entirely.

Start meditating or doing some kind of self care de-stress daily practice- whatever thing you can do every day.

If I could go back in time 3 years and force myself to do those things- I would At the very least be better prepared to manage my escalating disease right now. And maybe (possibly maybe???) I might could have at least delayed when or if I tipped over into lupus (but only maybe possibly).

Because one the evil twin sister is here, she just does not ever leave.