My early symptom at the age of 16 was joint pain. It felt like I was sleeping under an air conditioner and was very stiff. My mother has lupus, which made it easier to diagnose. My biggest flare up now is skin rash from the sun. It was most prevalent during my pregnancies. I have a wonderful doctor who has kept me healthy with the right mixture of drugs. I am now 36 with two healthy children and a wonderful husband who supports me.

At the onset of my lupus, the only symptom I had was joint pain. Each morning, I'd wake up with pain in a different joint. One day, my wrist, the next day my knee, then my fingers, my elbow, etc. The pain would last all day, and it didn't matter if I took Tylenol or Advil or anything. It was there until I woke up the next morning with a different sore joint.

I was only diagnosed with lupus about four months ago. For three years, I have had various symptoms: rheumatoid arthritis, night sweats, insomnia, joint pains, swelling erratic periods, stomach pain, shortness of breath and hair loss. In December of 2009, I had a plaque-like rash. It started on my chest, but within hours, I had a butterfly rash across my entire face and then my whole body was covered with itchy, sore lesions. Eventually, I saw a dermatologist who did skin biopsies and blood tests. I live in England, and the doctors here don't know anything about Lupus.

When I first had problems with lupus, I would have continual problems sleeping through the night because the hip pain would keep me awake. I also started losing clumps of hair in the shower.

Today my doctor ran some tests on me for lupus. I have had a rash across my nose and cheeks for a while. I get rashes all over for no reasons. The lymph nodes on the back of my neck stay swollen. I am tired all the time and my temperature stays at 99-101. Numbness and tingling in my feet are so annoying. To add to all of that, I have degenerative disc collapse, asthma, COPD, high blood pressure and stay sore all over. To top it all off, I am allergic to steroids, and most antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications.

When I first found out in 1995, 15 years ago, my symptoms were: Aching pain in all joints and swelling in my hands. It felt like something was eating away at the top of my finger tips. Also, I was feeling tired all the time, though I didn't know what it was. I went to see a doctor and the Winston Salem School of Medicine, where I was told that I have lupus. They treated me with prednisone and other anti-inflammatory meds. Good luck to all of you.

I have looked at so many sites that are confusing. This is an excellent site.

I was diagnosed about a year ago with Lupus. I have been suffering off and on for about 20 years with different symptoms. It started with extreme fatigue and a weird numbness on left side of body. Then came the panic attacks, chest pain, joint pain, severe rashes and swelling from the sun, strange rashes covering my back, but mostly FATIGUE. Over the years, I've been told I had Lyme disease, Crohn's disease, Epstein Barr, mono, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. At one point I even went to a psychiatrist because doctors couldn't find what exactly was wrong and I thought I was crazy.