Well first off welcome and sorry you even have to be here.

A few answers to your questions.  YES a definate diagnosis is made through
biopsy and since you have had that done, most likely that is it.

There is no definate symptoms of lupus for EACH of us are very different.
That means NOT all of us are "heavy but some of us are :) and usually due to
the drugs we take to control the lupus.  Such as cortisone as the Main
culprit .....

Just because you don' t have the fever, chills, oral ulcers and etc...etc...
you mentioned just means you may not have progressed right now.Whether you
will or will not will depend on your body and how your tests turn out.

Some of us are sun sensitive, some not.  some of us are athletic some of us
are not. That just means DIFFERENT. We all are.    Even if you are
physically fit you may have the discoid and not anything else.  But if you
read more about discoid you will find that so much percent of discoid
patients will move up or progress to a systemic kind.

computer screens?  Naw,  don't believe in a lot of carbage you read.

go to ligit sites like www.lupus.org and see and read.  There are plenty
reliable information out there and that site is one of the best. Others will
give you more.

just remember one thing, Even if you have discoid, it doesn't mean you will
progress.

Glad to hear your tests are good and "perfect", just keep tabs of that skin
problem and keep on with the treatment of it.

good luck Bob

janers

Hi, Bob

Let me first say that I am not a pathologist, but I did work for a pathology
group, and I also had a biopsy of my own, which was positive for Sjogren's
Syndrome, another of the veritable smorgasbord of autoimmune illnesses that
are recognised these days.

In my case, I was demonstrating symptoms of the disease--dry eyes for which
I had to stop wearing contact lenses, dry nose and mouth, etc.  As I said,
there are antibody tests specifically for Sjogren's Syndrome:  they are
called "Anti-Ra and Anti-Lo" by some testers, and "Anti SS-A and Anti SS-B)
by others.  I was tested for these antibodies several times--the antibodies
were not detected in my blood.

My doc was still suspicious, however, and so he had me sent for a tissue
biopsy.  The biopsy came back positive, and I was diagnosed with Sjogren's
Syndrome regardless of the fact that I don't have antibodies, or I have some
other kinds of antibodies that do not turn the test positive. [I worked for
years in a medical lab as well.  A lot of people don't realize that lab
tests are specific to certain substances, and that a test has to be made to
detect certain elements in the blood.  We lab techs DO NOT take your sample
to the basement and pour it into a huge machine that then tells the entire
composition of your blood.  that would be nice (it would also be illegal)...
but I am starting to ramble here.

Since I understand laboratory science pretty well, I asked my doc what it
was that made the tissue sample "positive."  He said that tissue (which is a
little lab of meat on a glass slide, okay?) showed that the gland was being
infiltrated by white blood cells.  White blood cells are there to defend our
bodies against foreign substances.  They should not be saying to themselves
"oh look!  there's Mary's salivary gland!  Let's go attack it, since things
have been rather slow."  The invasion or infiltration of the white cells...
that is the very definition of "auto" "immunity."  The "clinical evidence"
(meaning the symptoms you display--in your case the little round lesions),
plus the positive blood tests and/or biopsies are how a definitive diagnosis
is made.

If someone out there can add more to this, or correct any misunderstanding
that I have, please speak up!  I just wrote this letter off the top of my
head (so to speak) from my own personal experience.

The very best to you, Bob, and I'm keeping the good thought for your
upcoming blood tests,

Mair

Bob ~

Although I do not have the information about how discoid lupus is
diagnosed, I just wanted to share how my lupus was discovered: with an
eye infection!

After being treated for about 3 months for an ulcerated cornea that
kept coming back everytime the medication was stopped, I was examined
by another eye doctor, who announced that I had an "autoimmune systemic
scleritis." At that time, there was no blood work or anything.

And, it was about 18 months before any symptoms showed up, starting
with fatigue.

My point is that yes, you can have lupus and have no other symptoms. I
hope that this continues for you for a long, long time.

Susan