In my previous life as a healthcare researcher I had the dubious honour to be introduced to a set of conditions called Vasculitis.

At the time we were doing work with people who had various rheumatic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.  Vasculitis, it seemed, was in some cases one of the symptoms of those conditions.

So for some time I have thought it would be of use to run an informational blog on the subject of Vasculitis.  It is rare – around 15,000 people in the US are diagnosed each year.

So what are the main symptoms of Vasculitis?

1) A combination of fever and weight loss seems to be the main symptom.

2) Purpura – or purple discolorations of the skin.

3) Myalgia or muscle pain.

4) Heart attacks.

5) High blood pressure.

6) Sight loss.

7) Nose bleeds and bloody coughs.

 

As we said there are a number of different conditions making up Vasculitis.  These include Polymyalgia rheumatica, Takayasu’s arteritis, Temporal arteritis, Buerger’s disease, Cutaneous vasculitis, Kawasaki disease, Polyarteritis nodosa, Behçet’s syndrome, Churg–Strauss syndrome, Cutaneous vasculitis, Henoch–Schönlein purpura, Microscopic polyangitis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, and Golfer’s vasculitis.

Getting good and straight forward information on Vasculitis is not as easy as one would hope.  Many of the web sites dealing with the condition seem to be aimed at healthcare professionals rather than people who suffer from the condition.  So we thought it would be useful to open up the comments box to people with Vasculitis to share more about their experiences.

You might wish to consider the following questions when framing your comments:-

a)  When were you diagnosed with Vasculitis and what type of Vasculitis do you suffer from?

b) What are your main symptoms?

c)   What caused you Vasculitis?

d) How have you been treated and to what extent has the treatment been successful?

e)  How has Vasculitis impacted upon your lifestyle?

f)    What one piece of advice would you give to somebody who has just been diagnosed with Vasculitis?

If you have any links you wish to share that would be great as well.

 

Please use the comment box below to share any thoughts with our readers.

Many thanks in advance