Lupus, Babies and …….Vegan?

Hi Guys,

First I just want to say thanks for all the messages and feedback I received after my first post. I loved sharing my story with everyone and it was great to meet others who could relate. Please leave comments, follow and share my blog. Also please ensure you’re following my twitter and instagram pages @lupus_gurl .

So on to my next topic…..

I want a baby.

I got married in the summer of 2013 and since I have been married everyone asks me, “so when you having kids?”, “where’s the babies?”, “what you guys waiting on, start a family”. To be honest they’re the most annoying questions because I do want children.

Now those who really know me will be kind of shocked because well…children don’t really like me hah! Seriously I get scared when I hold them! I’m not good at the cute, baby talk thing and to be honest I think most babies look the same till their at least 1 month old. However I want nothing more than to have my own family. I want a little mini me that I can push around in an overpriced buggy and have people tell me how cute she is and me tell them, “she so good, hardly ever cries.” We’ll have family picnics and we will go to Butlins and when they’re really good I’ll surprise them with a trip to Toys R Us. I have it all planned but unfortunately I also have Lupus.

So on the 6th of March 2015 I had an appointment at The Lupus Unit in Guys Hospital in London and told them exactly what I am telling you guys.

I want a Baby.

The doctor asked me when, I said well maybe end of the year. He said that was a good time frame from now, which was great, but then he wanted to discuss the issues.

I’m going to break down exactly what he said to me. We discussed the following:

Fertility: Lupus does not make you infertile. Yay!

Flare of Lupus during pregnancy: 30%-40% of all Lupus patients have a disease flare up whilst pregnant however this can be controlled with increase in steroids.

Timing of pregnancy: The safest time to get pregnant is during a period of remission, when the symptoms are under control for at least 6 months.

Medications during Pregnancy: All my current meds apart from Ramipril (controls blood pressure) are safe to take during pregnancy.

Antiphospholipid antbodies: I tested positive for these antibodies ( sticky blood / prone to blood clot ) which means an increase in chances of miscarriages and late pregnancy complications but current meds should help lower risks.

Lupus Nephritis:  This is Issues with the kidneys which is what I have and can bring on complications in pregnancy such as preeclampsia.

And last but not least, I have Anti-Ro and anti-la antibody positive: The possibility of delivering a child with neonatal lupus/ congenital heart block. The baby could been born with lupus rashes on their body. Increased risk by 1%- 3%.

He then told me I will need to stop my Ramipril and come back in 6 months time to see him. If I continue making progress he will agree its safe for me to start baby making. At least that part will be fun.

I left the hospital not knowing how to feel. How I stopped myself from breaking down in the hospital I will never know. I just kept thinking about what could go wrong….

But then I said to myself that Lupus is not going to beat me. I’m meant to have the little girl ( or boy ) and the trips to Butlins. I am going to have a child, I will survive my pregnancy and my child will not have Lupus.

I refuse to let Lupus dictate my life. I know I talk about it a lot and call myself Lupus Gurl but I talk about having Lupus because there is not enough awareness about it, not because Lupus controls my life. I also talk about it because since my diagnosis I still live my life, I still go out and I still work full time and I still achieve things a healthy person achieves. I want to show other people that Lupus does not have to win! You could read this and think, damn you got it hard but I know people who have it harder. I will find a way to overcome Lupus.

So that brings me on to my next point.

IM VEGAN.

Since the 2nd of March I have been on a Vegan diet. No meat, no fish, no dairy. I know what you’re thinking, its only been like 2 weeks, but I’m Black and I haven’t ate MEAT, FISH or DAIRY for over 2 weeks; that’s like a lifetime mate! I’m also cutting down on alcohol, I’ve had none so far in March. The point of this is to see if natural foods will help to heal my body. A vegan diet is supposed to have a lot of health benefits such as increasing energy, lowering cholesterol and its full of anti-flammatory foods. For example I eat wholegrain rice, bread, lots of green veg and fruit. There are some treats, for example this evening I’m treating myself to strawberries dipped in organic dark chocolate (No milk). It has actually been a fun challenge. So far I haven’t really felt any different though but I’ll let you guys know how I’m feeling by the end of the month and if I’m going to stick with Vegan diet for the near future.

Remember to share your comments and thoughts and if you are vegan or have another diet I can try, let me know!

Until next time…Bye