Weigh advantages against possible side effects

I am just gonna call out the white elephant in the room because everyone has seen the news about drug therapies and possible side effects but no one really knows who or how this affects someone with any chronic illness let alone, for me, with lupus.

Let’s be honest, we are all different and, as such, have no idea which of these side effects, if any, will affect us individually.

I have been taking opiate painkillers off and on but fairly consistently for about the last five years. However, emotions can play a part, too.

Trust me when I tell you this life, the life I am living now, is not how I pictured my 30s.  I mean there I was, in the “prime” of my life, recently divorced and, although apprehensive, even scared, I was innocently hopeful.

I had walked away from my marriage with nothing, heavy from the stench of defeat and loss. My spirit was broken and my body was beginning to show symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as lupus.

I managed to escape that period of my life with the most valuable things the universe had to offer me, my boys and my “mana” – my power.

What I could not escape was the fact that I had a chronic illness that would require me to take a ridiculous number of medications with a full symphony of side effects. Like we’re talking the Philharmonic sized, with attitude; that variety!

You get a side effect, and you get a side effect and you, and you, and EVERYONE GETS A SIDE EFFECT!!!!

From antacids to Xanax, from Benlysta to opiates, they all wreak havoc on one part of your body or another. It truly becomes a battle of whether the positive effects of the drug outweigh the bad.

Note: Lupus News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Lupus News Today, or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to lupus.