{"id":2099,"date":"2016-08-20T18:58:24","date_gmt":"2016-08-20T18:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=2099"},"modified":"2016-08-20T18:58:24","modified_gmt":"2016-08-20T18:58:24","slug":"lupus-back-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/08\/lupus-back-school.html","title":{"rendered":"Lupus: Back to School!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Good-Days-Bad-Days\"With each age and stage of living with lupus, I find that there are periods when I have to go back to school. Not a formal sit-at-a-classroom-desk experience, but certainly one where I look at the latest information on studies<\/a>, treatments<\/a>, and the ever-evolving “why” of how we develop lupus in the first place.<\/p>\n

It’s sometimes hard to believe that there are still many things we don’t know about lupus. Besides “why?”, there is no standard treatment for the disease. Meds or combinations of meds might work for one person and not for another.\u00a0Lupus still can flare at unexpected times; I might do everything “right,” but still not escape a flare.<\/p>\n

The aging process does not stop, and with it comes a confounding set of new body changes. We lupies who reach certain age milestones might celebrate them, but then be even more confounded by symptoms: Is the extra pain the disease, or the aging process? \u00a0Is my bone loss “normal” aging, or did the long-term prednisone or other meds contribute (or cause) the problem?<\/p>\n

Keeping current helps take charge of some of the wondering. It’s comforting to know that researchers\u00a0are<\/em> trying to get at the root of certain questions. Rheumatologists<\/a> are keeping current along with us, which helps to unravel some of the questions of “Is it aging, or is it lupus?” And it is helpful to know that there are more resources through patient advocacy groups, such as the Lupus Foundation of America<\/a>, that can help us all navigate our lives with the “wolf.”<\/p>\n

Yes, we might not\u00a0want<\/em> to go back to school. But there are benefits to keeping current. And if reading up on the latest brings an extra dose of hope – I’m all for it! Yes, going back to school might not be so bad after all!<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With each age and stage of living with lupus, I find that there are periods when I have to go back to school. Not a formal sit-at-a-classroom-desk experience, but certainly one where I look at the latest information on studies, treatments, and the ever-evolving “why” of how we develop lupus in the first place. It’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[360,379],"tags":[18,497,2195,2198,2197,2196,2199],"class_list":["post-2099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-determination","category-lupus-2","tag-lupus","tag-lupus-awareness","tag-lupus-cure","tag-lupus-foundation-of-america","tag-lupus-information","tag-lupus-treatments","tag-rheumatologist"],"yoast_head":"\nLupus: Back to School! - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lupus: Back to School! - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With each age and stage of living with lupus, I find that there are periods when I have to go back to school. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2099"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2100,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099\/revisions\/2100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}