On ViriniaTam's thread 'So That's Why I Feel Like Crap!' I said: "In Oregon back in the 70s I too was treated for rheumatoid arthritis because the blood tests didn't come up with a clear diagnosis, and my arthritic symptoms were much the same as those of lupus which was suspected.
That year we started testing for lupus in February and it didn't test positive until June."
gnu suggested it might be of value to start a thread on the subject of lupus, and since I have since met or known of a number of other people who got that diagnosis, I agree.
I eventually got away with an extremely fortunate outcome. Some people I know have not been so lucky- a 16-year old boy in my sister's church died, and a woman I know has been battling it for more than 10 years. And losing ground.
In my case at age 31 I started with the infamous butterfly but for the next 10 years I had no other symptoms. When I was 41 my joints all over my body began a wicked ache and I had to go under medical care again. Because of the butterfly experience they of course suspected lupus but the tests were negative for four months- by that time I had reached the peak (depths?) of the symptoms and within another four months I was able to discontinue the medications I had been on for about the last year.