SLE and me

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is not easy to define. To many medical students, it is probably seen as one of those rare, small print syndromes, which are quite unlikely to come up in exams. Some would associate it with the typical butterfly rash and may know that it involves the joints. Anyone who knows more than that as an undergraduate is either extremely keen, or, like me, personally affected.

It all started with the itching. It seemed to be all over and it just got worse. I had just got back from South Africa and it was not long before I had literally scratched off my tan. I would just lie in a cold bath until I went numb. But I left it a few days before I went to my GP. I thought that it would just get better.

When I finally sat myself before the GP I was in a state. I had got hold of some antihistamines which took the edge off the itching, but they made me drowsy. …