Cyprus-Forum.com

[craigbeck]

This is a very niche subject and I doubt anyone will know the answer to this or have experience but it's worth a try.

A member of my family suffers from Lupus (SLE) and is worried abotu getting decent health care for her condition in Cyprus - does anyone have any experience of this?


Ta

Craig

[JB Bear]

Craigback
all you have to do is locate a doctor, I know of a good one, but it depends where you are going to live in Cyprus.


What is Lupus?

It’s been said that understanding lupus means understanding medicine. Lupus, also known by its formal name “lupus erythematosus,” is caused by factors that reflect the core of immune system functioning. Still, Lupus is actually difficult to diagnose. While over one million people suffer from lupus in the US alone, it is a little publicized disease – despite the fact that it has more sufferers than leukemia, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy combined.1

Systemic Lupus

The simplest way to explain lupus is that the body becomes allergic to itself. The immune system overreacts to stimuli, resulting in too many antibodies being produced. This autoimmune disease then causes the high number of antibodies to attack normal tissue. While there are several different types of lupus - including systemic, discoid, neonatal, and drug-induced lupus - systemic lupus is the most common form.
Systemic lupus (SLE) is diagnosed by using specific criteria determined by the American College of Rheumatology. Despite the fact that he criteria are outlined, it can actually take along time to diagnose. While some tests help in the diagnosis, there is no one definitive test for SLE.
SLE symptoms can appear on the skin, as can be seen by the first four criteria. It can also cause major damage to the internal organs, as noted in the systemic criteria. Finally, the diagnosis is usually confirmed via at least one of the laboratory criteria, most often through the antinuclear antibody test, or ANA. While the ANA test tells a physician that there is a potential autoimmune disease, it does not give a definitive lupus diagnosis alone.2 While 4 out of the 11 criteria are usually required for a lupus diagnosis, there are rare occasions when a diagnosis can be made with less

Lupus in Women

With the overwhelming prevalence of lupus in women (over 90 percent of lupus patients are women), lupus is often known as a "woman's disease." Unfortunately women's diseases are often understudied and under funded. Still, there are some things common among women with lupus.
Many studies done on lupus focus on hormones. Female hormones have a great compatibility with lupus, as estrogen can promote autoimmunity with increased inflammation. Most cases of SLE develop in childbearing years when the production of estrogen increases, yet with SLE patients the hormone is metabolized differently. This difference can result in vaginal dryness or even vaginal ulcers associated with Sjogren's syndrome. Also, amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) can occur in 15 to 25 percent of female SLE patients between the ages of 15 to 45. Even irregular periods are not uncommon along with greater malaise and cramping during menstruation.
The studies linking estrogen and lupus pose questions for sexually active women who want to use the birth control pill. While most SLE patients use low estrogen birth control with little difficulty, they should be taken under a physician's close watch. Women seeking birth control should be in remission or have their lupus under control. They should also have minimal therapy requirements and have a doctor assess SLE activity

[aidy]

for what its worth, i have heard of this, and also a similar one although much rarer called behzetchs (not sure of spelling, pronounced bechets)

only due to a member of the family diagnosed with it. however, since said family member moved out here to sunny cyprus, they have experianced fewer pains and symptoms so they say. must be the sun and warmer nights. so much so, they are taking less medication.