Stage 4 lupus?

I have a friend who I've been told has stage four Lupus. What is meant by stage four Lupus? What is the severity of Stage 4? This Friend is pregant , can she carry to term or should she abort? She wants to carry to term.

Lupus is not generally staged as a disease. However, staging criteria have been proposed to help assess the degree of illness. Determining which set of organs is inflamed is useful to decide treatment options.

Staging for both Worls Health Organisation histologic class and for acuity and chronicity of renal histologic manifestations is important in determining optimal therapy.

Class IV is associated with an increased risk of end-stage renal disease. Class V disease is defined as a membranous process with significant proteinuria, which is often poorly responsive to treatment.

What all this means is the stage refers to how badly her kidneys are effected. The best person to assist her decide on a pregnancy and subsequent ability to care for an infant is her doctor.

Best wishes for your friend.

I have Lupus with Stage 4 kidney involvement. Maybe this is what your friend has? Usually Lupus is not classed in stages. Questions about your friends pregnancy are definetly questions for a doctor, not the yahoo question forum. But, I have been told I can carry a baby if its any consulation.

Hi, lupus in general, is not classified in stages. You can check out the American College of Rheumatology for more information of Lupus.

Your friend should be talking to her Rheumatologist and a OB/GYN that specializes in high-risk pregnancies.

If she has renal (kidney) involvement, a Nephrologist should be on her team.

As a mom, and a lupus patient, my heart and prayers are with her. I totally understand her feelings of wanting a baby, weighing out the benefits of dealing with the medications, the pain of all involved, and the organ involvement.

In the end, the decisions are between her and the baby's father.

Lupus patients, like many people, have many choices with regard to taking care of their health vs. carrying a child of "their own". I believe that by taking care of their health, they are able to love a child whom they can make "their own".

Always seek professional advice and take care of yourself so you can take care of your family.

Hope that helps your friend.

Lupus is not classified in stages. Lupus is a remitting/flaring disease and not necessarily progressive especially if the patient is under close medical supervision.

Classes usually refer to lupus nephritis. Half of us lupus patients have it.

She is more likely to deliver prematurely than the general population, but might go full term. If she has any of the lupus clotting factors that would increase the risk.

The decision whether or not to carry to term is a very difficult one. She needs to work this through with her doctors, father of the child, spiritual advisor, and perhaps a psychologist. Please do not presume to advise her on this, especially based on the information you find in yahoo answers.

As mentioned above Lupus isn't classified in stages. Her kidney impairment can be classified. Stage four means that she has some pretty significant kidney damage. As far as the pregnancy goes there is another factor that must be considered. 50% of people with SLE also have a secondary disease called APS or Antiphospholipid syndrome. While Lupus can flare during pregnancy this is usually not fatal for the mother or the fetus. However, if she has APS this is a totally different story. APS is reponsible for the high incidence of spontaneous or natural abortion (miscarriages) in Lupus patients. Additionally this disease causes blood clotting which can cause an embolism or stroke in the mother. A simple blood test can be performed to see if she actually has this secondary disease. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT SHE NOT ASSUME THAT THIS TEST HAS BEEN TAKEN...MORE THAN HALF OF LUPUS PATIENTS HAVE NOT BEEN TESTED FOR THIS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF EDUCATION AMONG DOCTORS.