What is The Lupus Loophole?

Ok so if you read my About Me, you know I have lupus, but you might be wondering, what is “The Lupus Loophole”? Before I get into that, first we need to talk a little about lupus. 

What is Lupus?

According to The Lupus Research Alliance, lupus is a “chronic and complex autoimmune disease [that] can affect any part of the body causing widespread inflammation and tissue damage in the affected organ.”

Because of this, lupus is considered a  “serious autoimmune disease, which means your immune system attacks healthy cells by mistake.

It’s also chronic, meaning it lasts a long time and requires long-term treatment.

Lupus is one of the most complex autoimmune diseases there is.

It affects each person differently with symptoms that are sometimes hard to detect and differ from patient to patient. This makes the disease hard to diagnose and arriving at effective treatments very challenging.”

Now that we got the pesky medical part out of the way, let’s get you in the Loop.

Finding Loopholes

Some people might think living with lupus means you’ll never live a normal life and maybe the same thought crossed your mind when you were first diagnosed—I know it crossed mine.

Your life is completely changed when you are diagnosed with lupus but I think it’s possible to find your way to a normal life—it just might be different than your pre-lupus normal and that’s OK.

This is where “The Lupus Loophole” comes in. Simply put, it’s a new way of life… or should I say, how I’ve found my new way of life post-lupus.

I know, I know, that all sounds a bit vague… loopholes, way of life, que?!

What I’m trying to say is that through trial and error, I’m learning how to find the loopholes in my life that help me to “outsmart” the difficulties that come from having lupus.

Simply put, I had to find a way to live with, instead of against, lupus—aka my loopholes. Through these loopholes, I find myself living my new normal. 

What Makes A Loophole?

To me, a loophole is something I’ve incorporated into my life that brings me joy and has a positive impact. In my opinion, what makes a loophole a “good” loophole, is that it really does have to have both of those qualities.

Things I don’t consider good loopholes…

• I like to drink alcohol on occasion and it brings me joy in the moment but it doesn’t have a positive impact on my body (often I’ll end up with a sore neck or chest/back pain).
• Specialty diets are healthy and can have a positive impact on my body but it doesn’t bring me joy (I LOVE eating so the thought of restricting myself makes me sad).

Are you getting the idea?

My Best Loophole

One of my most impactful loopholes so far has been running.

Now before you run for the hills (no pun intended, ok maybe a little intended), I promise I’m not going to try to convince you that the secret to overcoming lupus is running because let’s face it, there is no one secret weapon thing that can stop lupus.

The thing is, if you had asked me years ago what my loophole would be, I can guarantee you that “running” would never have come out of my mouth or even crossed my mind as a possibility (fun fact: for a few brief months, I joined the cross country team in high school but absolutely hated it and only joined because my friend convinced me to).

But here I am 31 years old telling you how surprisingly, running has changed my life for the better and in ways I could have never imagined.

It brings me joy and has had such a positive impact on my health.

For anyone interested in my experiences, I think I’ll write a blog in the future that goes into more detail about it but just to name a few of the many benefits, running as exhausting as it sounds, boosts my energy levels (ironically helping to fend off lupus fatigue), strengthens my bones (helping my osteopenia due to years of steroid medications like prednisone), and boosts my mood—giving me both mind and body benefits. 

Take Home Message to My Fellow Lupies

I hope this helps some of you fellow lupies out there feel hope that things can get better and maybe help you find your way to your new normal.

I’m going to say this again because I just can’t say this enough… Everyone with lupus is different and what works for one of us might not work for all of us.

Listen to your mind and body and figure out what you need to find your new normal.

I hope you get there. 

Keeping you in the Loop

Share Your Loopholes!
If anyone has found any of their own Loopholes, I’d love to hear about them!

Leave a comment below or Contact Me.