Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or Rheumatoid Arthritis?

My symptoms are: Extremely painful to walk, rashes, blood in urine, Anemia (had to get iron infusions), headaches, extreme fatigue, ect. I seen a doctor who did some x-rays, blood work & a physical exam. She recently called me & told me from my lab results came back & said i have either Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or Rheumatoid Arthritis. She said my blood work showed alot of abnormalities & even infection. She wanted me to start on a steroid right away. She put me on (10 mg pills of Prednisone) for 10 days until my follow up with a Rheumatologist. Okay my question: What is Lupus & Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Are these 2 illnesses simular? She will be calling me back within 5 days with the other test results. Has anyone personally experienced this? She said my illness is treatable but not cureable. I'm still pretty young & this is a shock to me & i'm having a hard time dealing with not knowing what i'm dealing with i guess my new doctor will be able to answer alot of questions later.

Thanks for the advice i will go look there.

Lupus and RA are autoimmune diseases, that is when your immune system attacks your own cells.
These two diseases overlap in some people, so don't focus so much on an absolute diagnosis.

I am sorry that you have this problem. It sucks. Try to take the steroids as little as possible because, although it may help you feel better, it has lots of side effects over time.

Looking back over your symptoms, it sounds like you have something else going on too. Doctors do not know what causes the outbreak or auto-immune diseases. It can be stress, chemical exposure, diet or most commonly, something you can never identify.
Make sure you get good sleep. Eat a super healthy diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits.

My Mom had RA. I have friends with lupus and related illnesses. Don't give up hope. There are so many advances in the treatment of these diseases.

Here are a couple of links on auto-immune disease:
http://www.lef.org/protocols/immune_conn...
http://www.lef.org/protocols/immune_conn...

check Webmd.
Bless you.

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