The Lupus Diaries My Life With Chronic Illness

A Novel By Lillian Smith

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COMING SOON:

THE LUPUS DIARIES MY LIFE WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS

by Lillian Smith

Lillian Smith has been a writer on her illness in print and online media and helped many people by sharing her story with others. This book began as an idea when she was diagnosed with lupus at the age of twenty-two and there were no books available to help her find answers to questions she was desperately seeking help for. She set out to write The Lupus Diaries in 2012 and, for over ten years, wrote journal entries on her life with lupus, hoping to help young people and others with chronic illness so that they would find not only answers but hope about how to find a balance with illness and recovery from their disease. She offers real-life solutions with her real-life experience, with real-life stories that you can relate to. If you are seeking answers to a more balanced life with your chronic illness, or are newly diagnosed and want to find out how to cope, read this book, with very real and helpful chapters such ‘Dating and Chronic Illness’, ‘Marriage and Chronic Illness’, ‘Missing Out‘, and much more. A memoir, a self-help book, and at heart, a true love story, this book offers lessons for everyone seeking help for their chronic illness.

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Coping With Lupus As A "Normal" Life

Coping With Lupus As A “Normal” Life

I was diagnosed with Lupus in 2012. I have lived with it for nine years now. It is hard to estimate how much of that time I spent having flares, but looking back at photos, a good deal of my camera roll is taken up by photographs of me with mobility aids, and my memories of my twenties are filled with me “missing out” on things because I was ill, and having to leave important things because of my…

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Mobility Devices

I have had a variety of mobility devices over the years. I use a #cane on and off, but for a time I used a #walker and also for a period I used two canes. So grateful now to be in #recovery from lupus recovery is possible don’t give up —always seek better treatments, always seek better for yourself, there is hope, there is a solution out there for you. You can find it. Better is possible. You…

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MEMES

By Lillian China Smith SIDE EFFECTS! Ergh. In a nutshell. Fucking same bitch, where’d you get that? PREDNISONE! Me, like, “Yeah, me too, I just need three pots of coffee and four or five hours and then I’ll be ready to go.” “Hello Sir, I’d Like Your Strongest Potions To Fight My Battle Please” Diarrhea and upset stomach ads are my favourite. They are always dancing as though diarrhea is…

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How the Cycles of Your Illness Can Keep You in Stages of Grief

How the Cycles of Your Illness Can Keep You in Stages of Grief

By Lillian China Smith https://themighty.com/2017/12/chronic-illness-stages-of-grief/ When researching lupus for something I was writing a few weeks ago, I discovered that chronic illness and lupus tend to cycle in three stages: 1. The Flare Phase Where symptoms are serious, and need medical attention. 2. The Chronic Phase Where symptoms have subsided, but are still pressing. 3. The…

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Benlysta

By Lillian China Smith Tonight is my benlysta night — and I hate it! But it has made me so much better. It took ages to work but it did in time…(a long time). Now it doesn’t make me as ill as it did when I started. Even missing my dose by a few days makes a huge difference. I am feeling grateful— and I’m all smiles for my benlysta at injection time, even though I hate the injection, and how long…

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My Diagnosis Story

My name is Lillian China Smith.  I live with multiple Chronic Illnesses. A Chronic Illness is a relapsing remitting disease where there is no cure, be it a Physical Chronic Illness or a Chronic Mental Health Issue. The vast majority of Chronic Illnesses are invisible, which means that you can be in pain, or suffering from your disease, and nobody can tell. You will look normal to them, just…

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Pain

I hate the pain scales that they give you at the doctor’s office. The ones with all the little faces and you have to choose which one represent’s how much pain you are in. When you are in pain all the time you become numb to pain. I always say it is like being in a room and someone is either shouting or screaming, and the pain is always there. It is either shouting or screaming, but it is…

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It Gets Better (My Life Now)

It Gets Better (My Life Now)

It Gets Better (My Life Now) by Lillian China Smith          My husband and I have now moved into our new home out in Niagara-On-The-Lake. It is a historic home surrounded by flowers, with lots of luscious greenery and a bench in the front yard, sitting beneath a big tree. My husband says that there is room for a tree swing there for our son. We cannot do anything to change the outside of the…

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Grief

The grief over being diagnosed with a Chronic Illness is often immense. Losing your old life and your old body, your health the way it once was, is a huge process. Sometimes it is something you never really accept. Sometimes it is a process of acceptance on a daily basis, because you are constantly reminded of it by the cycle of symptoms arising because chronic illness never goes away, so you can…

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The First Year Is The Hardest

The First Year Is The Hardest

THE FIRST YEAR IS THE HARDEST By Lillian China Smith             My first year with Lupus was one of the hardest years I have ever gone through in my entire life. I was so ill. I was so new to being ill. I was so new to being in pain all the time, and how to manage pain, and how to manage an illness. And to all the questions that that brought. What it meant to have a chronic illness. What the…

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Coping With The (Very) Bad Days

Coping With The (Very) Bad Days

Coping With The (Very) Bad Days By Lillian China Smith             The worst thing is a very bad day. The worst thing is being in bed, covered in heating pads, and crying in pain. The worst thing is feeling like, why does my husband have to see me like this, balled up, crying, with my hands swollen, body stiff, immobile, frozen. Why do I have to be like this sometimes, I feel, in those moments.…

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Marriage And Chronic Illness

Marriage And Chronic Illness

Marriage And Chronic Illness: By Lillian China Smith          My husband and I got married nine weeks after we met. We met at a bar, in The Bahamas, where he was DJing, across the road from a place called Compass Point. I was out that night with friends. I hadn’t planned to go out that night, but for some reason, ended up going out anyway. I guess it turned out to be the right decision in the…

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When Your Illness Ages You Before Your Time

Check out my recent article on The Mighty about being Twenty Something and Sick and how chronic illness makes you grow old before your time:  By Addison Dean For a long time I have battled with my illness – not because it makes me sick, but because emotionally, I hate how sick it makes me. I’m a 20-something, who should be out with her friends. I have always been angry that it took my youth away…

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How My Best Friend Helped Me After My Lupus Diagnosis

Check out my article about my friendship with Mhairi Kay and how she used Post-its to help change my life The Mighty: How My Best Friend Helped Me After My Lupus Diagnosis by Addison Dean When I first got diagnosed with lupus, my best friend put Post-it notes all over my apartment with cute, encouraging quotes and sayings to make me smile when I was stuck in bed, in pain, and feeling down. She…

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"How The Iceberg Illusion Explains Illness Recovery"

“How The Iceberg Illusion Explains Illness Recovery”

Check out the article I recently wrote for The Mighty Site, also featured on Yahoo News, “How the Iceberg Illusion explains Illness Recovery”, to find out why it seems the land of recovery is so elusive, when actually it’s just a big hard earned iceberg.  The Iceberg Illusion Explains Illness Recovery: The Mighty How The Iceberg Illusion Explains Illness Recovery: Yahoo News Have you ever heard…

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How To Make Your Next Flare Easier on Yourself

Check out my new article on The Mighty Site ….  with important tips on making a flare box  and a good things jar so that you are armed and ready when the next flare hits…. : The Mighty Site: How To Make Your Next Flare Easier on Yourself  by Addison Dean I find that whenever I go into a flare, everything I need is spread out all over the house. Usually during a flare, I’m also in too much pain to…

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