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Lupus: the symptoms, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with it
For anyone with symptoms that come and go, such as painful joints, fevers, tiredness and rashes, anyone told a test came back positive, anyone just told they have lupus, and the people beside them. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, part of the NIH) says systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect many parts of the body, that no single test diagnoses it, and that with treatment many people with lupus can manage the disease. This page passes on, by name, what NIAMS says: the symptoms and the organs lupus can affect, who gets it and what may set it off, how it is diagnosed and who treats it, the kinds of medicine, and what you can do: flares, the sun, work, and pregnancy. It puts first our own rule for when it cannot wait, builds the words to say to a provider, and prints a card for the visit.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, a seizure, or sudden weakness, numbness, confusion or trouble speaking: call 911 (ours). Do not drive yourself. NIAMS says lupus can inflame the lining of the heart and lungs and the blood vessels, and can cause blood clots and seizures. See our pages on a heart attack, a stroke and a seizure.
- A fever while you take a medicine that calms the immune system, pain when you breathe deeply or lie down, or one leg suddenly swollen, painful or warm: see a doctor the same day (ours).
- Thinking about suicide: call or text 988, any time.
More help
- Related: Arthritis · Fibromyalgia · Kidney disease · Osteoporosis · Depression · Pain, bones and joints: find the right page.
- Day to day: Symptom diary · Energy budget · My medicines list.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When medicine costs too much · Get ready for your appointment.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Pain, a bone or a joint, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for back pain, arthritis, pain that lasts, headaches, broken bones and sickle cell, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 15, 2026 on NIAMS’s Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus) page, both parts: Overview, Symptoms, & Causes and Diagnosis, Treatment, & Steps to Take (NIH, last reviewed October 2022). Ours: calling 911 for chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, a seizure, or sudden weakness, numbness, confusion or trouble speaking; seeing a doctor the same day for a fever on a medicine that calms the immune system, pain when breathing deeply or lying down, or one leg suddenly swollen, painful or warm; calling your doctor soon for new swelling in the legs or around the eyes, a new rash, or a flare that is getting worse; calling or texting 988 for thoughts of suicide; that lupus does not spread from person to person; not stopping or changing a medicine on your own; asking a pharmacist before adding anything; asking what a test or medicine would change and what it costs; and the order of the steps. What we left out: any brand or dose, any diet, supplement or remedy, and NIAMS’s research pages. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.