BohemeRose Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 My boyfriend has Lupus. Admittedly, I know very little about it aside from what he has told me (which is not very much) and there doesn't seem to be a wide variety of resources for me to access. Websites I have come across seem to have borrowed information from each other... In any case, I know smoking (of cigarettes and otherwise) is not healthy for anyone, but I was wondering if anyone knew whether it would be particularly hazardous to someone with Lupus, or potentially cause a flare up? My boyfriend is a pretty heavy smoker, and while I try not to bring it up, I have my fears as what his dirty/bad/smelly habit could potentially do. He's relatively symptom-free, aside from the occasional rash and pain in his knees, so I'm not sure he even thinks about what smoking could be doing as far as his lupus goes. He doesn't really drink at all, but does eat a lot of fatty food (although he's nearly a stick...the jerk ) which also concerns me a bit. I'm not even sure I'm in the right thread, but if someone could give me some info (or tell me where I -should- be posting, heh) that would be greatly appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites
magichands Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I'm not going to be much help, but I'll do my little plug for Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupus_erythematosus Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Actually there's like a national lupus magazine or something. All of my aunts have it. Basically it slowly attacks your body. I don't mean to scare you but it's likely he'll lose toes, teeth, have heart issues that need to be worked on, and much more. It's like something that turns your body against itself sort of. I remember when I was little my aunt...I thought she was at least 50 when she was only like 30 at the most...she had no teeth, two toes, and half of her leg was this weird purplish color because of lack of oxygenated blood getting to her limbs. She had really thin hair and her face was all wrinkly looking (though that may be caused by the lack of teeth then? I was young) Be there for him as it progresses, I'd say. It doesn't start out too bad but it gets progressively worse. It'd be for his own good to quit smoking just because he'll develop more breathing problems too (my aunt's lung collapsed once though I'm not sure if it was the smoking and lupus, the smoking, or the lupus). Link to post Share on other sites
Author BohemeRose Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Well, it was a bit helpful actually, thank you. It seems Lupus has so many different symptoms and it effects people in so many different ways, it's really difficult to get any solid info on it. But the help is appreciated! Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites
taiko Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 My ex has lupus and when she started smoking again after years being clean she claimed it was one of the few pleasures in her life. For me the smoking on its own was acceptable it was another vice, along with me not being able to handle the constant lupus flare ups, which lead to our breaking up Link to post Share on other sites
Author BohemeRose Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 My ex has lupus and when she started smoking again after years being clean she claimed it was one of the few pleasures in her life. For me the smoking on its own was acceptable it was another vice, along with me not being able to handle the constant lupus flare ups, which lead to our breaking up I'm sorry to hear that. I know that being in a relationship with someone who has a problem such as lupus can be stressful. We're fortunate enough that my boyfriend doesn't really get flare ups at all. The only symptoms he seems to have are occassional skin rashes. His poor mother, on the other hand, has to take an array of pain killers daily just to function. I can't lie and say I'm not scared he'll get to that point but, I just want to help him be as healthy as possible while he's still young. Link to post Share on other sites
Author BohemeRose Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 It doesn't start out too bad but it gets progressively worse. It'd be for his own good to quit smoking just because he'll develop more breathing problems too (my aunt's lung collapsed once though I'm not sure if it was the smoking and lupus, the smoking, or the lupus). It sounds like your aunt had a pretty extreme case of lupus. From what I understand it's a spectral disorder, meaning people can either be highly effected by it or hardly effected at all. My boyfriend seems to be on the harldy-effected end for now (*knocks on wood*) and doesn't have any breathing problems, to spite the smoking. But if they could possibly develop, I will definately bring that up to him. Thank you for all the info, it's helpful and greatly appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites
Shattered Reality Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 My grandma had lupus, a very severe case of it in fact. She was never even expected to live as long as she did, and ended up dying of kidney failure. It's a difficult disease to deal with, and my heart goes out to you and your bf. At one point I had done a lot of reading up on it, and for me that's something that I do whenever I am dealing with something... I suck up as much information as I can and it helps me to cope. I do know of other people who have had it that have had perfectly normal lives and it doesn't have to be the end all be all of existance... and it sounds like he has a relatively mild case, so there may be very little he can do aside from basic health things that we all should do (but often don't ) My post is probably not of much help, but I will be thinking of you Link to post Share on other sites
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