Lupus? how bad is it and will i be ok? i’m a 30 y/o male

Everyone is different. I don’t have lupus but a good friend does. It was life changing for her but she manages very well.

I was diagnosed with lupus when I was 25. I was hospitalized for pericarditis which I found out was typical for lupus. The first few years after the diagnosis were difficult; I was sick with flu symptoms and high sedimentation rates. I made changes to my life: sold my horse and stopped doing all the physical requirements such as cleaning stalls, wrangling hay bales and bags of feed and being out in all weather plus other changes. My lupus went into remission and I was way healthier. What has stayed with me is when I get sick, I get sicker than the average person. Most people get a cold and they are sick for 7 days or so. When I got a cold I usually wound up with antibiotics and prednisone and was under the weather for 2 weeks or more. But I am 79 and still here. I would say I have had a satisfying and meaningful life. The best of luck to you.

@95jm Hello and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! First, I have a question: what is ‘soursop?’ You will find lots of helpful people on Connect. People who really want to help you understand the disease and how you can make it positive for you. First, I recommend that you have a notebook that has nothing but notes on lupus. Mainly positive ones, but read the negative ones too because you can learn from them. When I was diagnosed with clippers, also an autoimmune disease, I thought the world had ended. It didn’t and I learned how to think positive thru it all. And clippers (lesions on the brain) brought me to Mayo Clinic Connect. And now, I try to help others which really helps me!

If you were diagnosed with Lupus, it must have been based on symptoms and/or tests. Will your symptoms and indicators get worse? Hard to tell if we don’t know where your symptoms are now. (And even then, everyone is different.)
I was “diagnosed” with Lupus after my son was born and the doctor told me that I would be dead in 5 years. My son is 32 now. My diagnosis was based solely on bloodwork (high ANA). I had to fight for my life with doctors because I researched and thought Lyme disease should be considered based on symptoms. I did get a Lyme diagnosis, was treated and am still alive, but it took me going through about a half dozen doctors. My blood test made Lupus seem likely but my symptoms made Lyme seem more likely. After I was treated for Lyme, the blood test that signalled Lupus went back to normal.
The diagnosis of an autoimmune disease sometimes means the doctors just don’t know what is causing symptoms. I had abdominal symptoms for years and was given all kinds of diagnoses but eventually a parasite showed itself. I was told I would die of kidney failure but the doctor never considered that I was an ultra athlete which threw off my urine analysis. It wasn’t even a thing back then 50 years ago. I most likely have alpha gal syndrome because I could no longer tolerate red meat after my tick bite but they didn’t know about alpha gal back then. Just try to do all you can to be healthy because that is all any of us can do.
I hear soursop is a wonder fruit but not a lot of grocers carry it, especially in the West (I think it grows in the Eastern US). I figure eating another fruit can’t hurt. Go for it.

@95jm here is more information on the benefits of soursop - https://health.clevelandclinic.org/soursop-benefits

The doctors told me I was diagnosed with lupus due to a "positive antinuclear antibody." This was in 1974 so maybe diagnosis has changed. I have always had a lot of arthritis pain and now it has slowed me down a bit. As with any chronic disease I think you have to have a positive attitude. I have developed a sense of when I can overcome sickness and when I need to respect it and slow down or maybe pick up a book. I have recently been diagnosed with PMR and am on 15 mg of prednisone. My sed rate and CRP remains high. Additionally I have had a recurrence of C. Diff and am taking a long course of Fidaxomicin. I will then take Vowst and hope it works. I know this is off-topic but the retail price for vowst is about $19,000. As everyone says our health care system is broken. Luckily I have insurance and insurance. I think all this illustrates what I said earlier about getting sicker with lupus than otherwise might be the case.