There are many diseases that cause pain and inflammation throughout your body. One of these diseases is systemic lupus erythematosus also called lupus or SLE. In this disease, patients often report the following symptoms and complaints:
* swelling, pain and stiffness throughout the body, most noticeably in the joints,
* pain that is worse upon awakening, the pain tends to decrease once the person starts moving,
* low grade fever,
* fatigue,
* myalgias, or muscle aches,
* rash, which may include a rash that looks like a butterfly on your facial area,
* weight loss, though this may be a very small amount of weight
* kidney involvement,
* brain involvement, which may be demonstrated as a change in your ability to think, and
* chest pain or pain with breathing.

Patients with lupus tend to be female, though men can also get the disease. Most patients are fairly young at the onset of symptoms, usually between the ages of 20 and 35. If you have these symptoms, your healthcare provider may suspect lupus and do the following evaluation:
* careful history and physical examination,
* complete blood count,
* ESR (a test for inflammation in your blood) ,
* blood chemistry profile,
* x-rays of joints which are painful,
* specific blood tests to check for lupus, and
* urine tests to check for kidney problems.

If you are diagnosed with lupus, your provider may recommend the following treatment:
* aspirin,
* anti-inflammatory medications,
* prednisone.

For most people, lupus does not cause major symptoms, and their symptoms can be controlled with low doses of medication. Occasionally, a person will have a severe case of lupus, and require intermittent hospitalizations for special medications.

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