Pregnancy

Lupus and pregnancy

Lupus, The Reproductive System, and Pregnancy

February 19, 2025

Lupus, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is a complex autoimmune disease that can affect various organs and systems in the body, including the reproductive system. For individuals with lupus, pregnancy and reproductive health require careful consideration and specialized care. Understanding …

Pregnant black woman's stomach with a fetus ultrasound at image for having a successful pregnancy with lupus

How to Have a Successful Pregnancy with Lupus [January 2025 Update)

July 17, 2022

A successful pregnancy is possible in most women who have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with proper preparation and monitoring. However, the risks of complications, like miscarriage, preeclampsia (high blood pressure with protein in the urine), early delivery, and lupus flares …

I am Dr. Donald Thomas, MD, a rheumatologist treating hundreds of lupus patients for over 30 years. Read my first blog post here to understand why I started this website and blog about “The Lupus Encyclopedia” and “The Lupus Secrets”.

Dr. Don Thomas also enjoys educating and empowering doctors, medical students, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and patients.

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The Lupus Encyclopedia, edition 2: Now Available!

The Lupus Encyclopedia, edition 2: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients and Health Care Providers is now available at

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Lupus Tendonitis: A Common Cause of Pain in Lupus Patients

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Arthritis – “it’s a Pain in the App” [Coping with lupus]

Guest post: One method of coping with the struggles of lupus Living and coping with the challenges of

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Lupus and The Exocrine Gland System: Sjögren’s Disease [March 2025 Update]

Lupus patients can have dry mouth, eyes, and skin. These symptoms can lead to discomfort, infections, vision problems,

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Managing Bone Health With Bisphosphonate Drugs

Individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at increased risk of broken bones (fractures) due to osteoporosis. Increasing

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Lupus and Sleep: Strategies to Sleep Better!

Lupus and Sleep Problems are Common: Strategies to improve your sleep (October 2024 Update) Tips on better sleep

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DHEA and Lupus: Research shows it to be useful and good in some

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Research Results in Dealing with Autoimmune Disease Fatigue Now

The causes of fatigue and dealing with autoimmune disease fatigue. Tips on how to improve energy with

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Lupus and The Digestive System

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), commonly known as lupus, is an autoimmune disorder that can affect nearly every organ

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Good Advice on Lupus and Bactrim [per sulfa antibiotic research]

Lupus and Bactrim: List sulfa antibiotics (like Bactrim) in your allergy list if you have lupus Lupus patients

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Benlysta During Pregnancy: Safe and Effective [UPDATE July 2024]

July 2024 Update on Benlysta in Pregnancy A review in the British Medical Journal discussed the recent studies

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Super spreader COVID-19: Infections surge big due to this [Updated]

Super spreader COVID-19: New study shows the answers in the Annals of Internal Medicine Wear a mask to

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Types of Rash in Lupus: A Comprehensive Guide [March 2025 Update]

Lupus patients have many more types of rash than the commonly discussed butterfly rash and discoid lupus. After

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Lupus Eyes

Have you ever wondered how lupus might secretly impact your eyesight? Most people know lupus can attack the

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Provocative Advice: Lupus Patients need COVID Vaccines [2021]

Evaluation and recommendations by noted lupus experts: Lupus patients need COVID vaccines Hot off the press from Lupus

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Itchy Skin Can Be a Sign of Active Lupus

Updated JUN 2023 Itchy skin can occur with active lupus rashes (cutaneous lupus). However, other causes are much

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Early Signs of Lupus: What to Look For

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body. Early diagnosis is key

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Benlysta for pediatric lupus nephritis: FDA-approved

Benlysta for children with lupus kidney inflammation (lupus nephritis): FDA-approved on July 26, 2022 This is a

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Positive ANA workup – Is it lupus or not? [October 2024 Update]

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are present in up to 20% of the healthy population, depending upon the particular lab

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Lupus and Vitamin D Advice: Can be lowest in women of color

Lupus and vitamin D in Women of Color. Why and what to do- “Ask Dr. T!” question of

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Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Due to Proton Pump Inhibitors

Proton pump inhibitor-induced subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus: Clinical characteristics and outcomes In this post we’ll cover subacute cutaneous

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Joint Protection Advice for Lupus Arthritis

Joint Protection Advice for Lupus Arthritis Joint protection is essential in dealing with pain. When you rest a

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Epstein-Barr Virus Vaccine to Prevent Lupus and Other Diseases?

An Epstein Barr virus (EBV) vaccine to prevent lupus? EBV infection may be a common trigger, causing the

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Lupus in Women: From Puberty to Menopause

Lupus in women occurs much more often than in men. There are many reasons this occurs. Also, lupus

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Lupus and Fibromyalgia

Lupus and Fibromyalgia: Understanding the Connection Lupus and fibromyalgia are two distinct conditions, but they often coexist, causing

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Lupus and Vegetarian Diet: What is the best medical evidence?

Ask Dr. T Question about lupus diet and vegetarians Lupus and Vegetarian Diet? Eating a Vegetarian Diet can

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Can You Have Lupus With a Negative ANA Test? “Yes you can!” (October 2024 Update)

Protect yourself from medical mistakes. A study by a large group of international lupus experts (Systemic Lupus International

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VA Disability for Lupus: Navigating Your Claim [Feb 2025 Update]

Startling statistic: A large study showed that Afghanistan and Iraqi veterans suffering from PTSD were twice as likely

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Botox Injections and Lupus

If you have lupus and are considering Botox injections for cosmetic or medical purposes, it’s important to understand

Lupus life expectancy

Understanding Lupus Life Expectancy [Feb 2025 Update]

Dr. Thomas has systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in their 70s, 80s, and 90s! Living with lupus is

COVID-19 vaccine for lupus patients answer by Dr. Don Thomas

Lupus and COVID vaccine: Tested in the clinical trials = safe and effective!

Lupus and COVID vaccine: Dr. Thomas recommends not waiting to his patients, read below… Research regarding the COVID

How the Covid-19 Vaccine Works: amazing!

It is amazing how the COVID-19 vaccine works (the mRNA vaccines, especially) It intrigues me how the COVID-19

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Lupus and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”

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How to Have a Successful Pregnancy with Lupus [January 2025 Update)

A successful pregnancy is possible in most women who have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with proper preparation and

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How to Prevent Lupus & Other Autoimmune Diseases [January 2025]

This blog post will give advice on how to prevent lupus and other autoimmune diseases. I will first

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Participate in this lupus survey if you live in the USA [Survey is closed]

The Lupus Foundation of America wants to learn more about the difficulties in being diagnosed with lupus Click

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Childhood Trauma, PTSD, Racism, Stress, and Lupus

Multiple studies show that stress and trauma increase the risk of developing lupus as well as causing lupus

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Bisphosphonate Drugs and Lupus

Many SLE patients have fractures in their spine (vertebral fractures), and around half do not realize it. After

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Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine: Now see me excited to get it

What was it like getting the COVID-19 vaccine? … and some advice for lupus patients A rheumatology

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Lupus Joint and Muscle Pain [February 2025 Update]

Close to 90% of people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) will have joint and muscle pain. Fortunately, today’s

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Symptoms of Lupus in Men [March 2025 Update]

While lupus is more common in women, 10% of lupus patients are men. Understanding the symptoms of lupus

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Is it Safe to Receive Botox or Filler Injections For Lupus Patients?

A lupus patient at Kelli Roseta’s “More Than Lupus” asks the question ” … is it safe to

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How does Hydroxychloroquine work for Lupus (SLE)? [February 2025 Update]

Did you know that using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to help lupus patients was discovered by accident? Since that accidental

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Antibody Levels After COVID Vaccine

Some Immunosuppressant Drugs Cause Lower Antibody Levels after COVID Vaccine than do Other Drugs Home » Pregnancy A

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Three Potential Book Covers for The Lupus Encyclopedia 2nd Edition

THE VOTE IS IN! See the new book cover below 315 people voted for the new book cover

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Covid-19 Vaccine for Lupus Patients: Please get your vaccine

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Lupus and Vaccines: Shingles, Shingrix, and Zostavax

Knowing how lupus and vaccines interact is important since infections are one of the top two causes of

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Lupus Fog Treatment? Vitamin Improves Memory in Research

Finding an effective lupus fog treatment remains elusive. Yet, a 2023 study called the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin

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Saphnelo vs Benlysta? What is the Best Medicine for Lupus? [February 2025]

Saphnelo and Benlysta are two FDA-approved biologics for treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). They work in two very

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CBD for Lupus: Look here for the best advice [2023 Update]

Medical Marijuana (Cannabis, Cannabinoids, THC, CBD for Lupus)? Should patients use CBD or other cannabis products for lupus?