Because lupus can
affect so many different organs, a wide range of symptoms can occur. These
symptoms may come and go, and different symptoms may appear at different times
during the course of the disease.
The most common symptoms of
lupus are:
* extreme fatigue
(tiredness)
* headaches
* painful or swollen joints
* fever
* anemia (low numbers of
red blood cells or hemoglobin, or low total blood volume)
* swelling (edema) in feet,
legs, hands, and/or around eyes
* pain in chest on deep
breathing (pleurisy)
* butterfly-shaped rash
across cheeks and nose
* sun- or light-sensitivity
(photosensitivity)
* hair loss
* abnormal blood clotting
* fingers turning white
and/or blue when cold (Raynaud’s phenomenon)
* mouth or nose ulcers
Many of these
symptoms occur in other illnesses besides lupus. In fact, lupus is sometimes
called "the great imitator" because its symptoms are often like the
symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, blood disorders, fibromyalgia, diabetes,
thyroid problems, Lyme disease, and a number of heart, lung, muscle, and bone
diseases.
Lupus is a chronic
inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the
skin, joints, blood, and kidneys. 
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