I've probably had Systemic Lupus for 20 years but was only diagnosed officially in 2010. Most of those years were being told I was hurting because I was depressed but I knew I was depressed because of the hurting! Things came to a head after 3 major surgeries and finally got treatment starting with plaquenil. For me it helped a lot until Rheumatoid Arthritis was thrown in after another surgery in 2011 - my 2nd knee replacement. Then began methotrexate injections that I gave myself for about a year. In May of this year I started having some side effects with my liver so those have been discontinued and may go on arava in another month. I've been praying about this because it too has liver/kidney side effects. Still waiting on an ultrasound result. This week with no injection has been good though. I've had more energy and able to do a little cleaning. Of course I continue to rest and not over do things. Very important with autoimmune diseases. And I was able to enjoy painting with my friend Joyce this week without being nausious or fatigued. We're struggling through a lion. He's pretty funny looking right now but I plan to work on him more and get him finished for my son-in-law's birthday gift in August. Jesus is the Lion of Judah and Brian is a very godly man so I hope he likes it.