Hi Linda.

Yeah - that's bull!  I had a friend who started out like I did with
this d*** disease.  Very "mild" symptoms.  Fatigue, joint pain, a few
rashes.  She worked for the USPS.  Within about 3 years she was
extremely ill with CNS lupus and bless her heart I don't know where
she's at with the disease except that she was having a lot of trouble
with treatment.

Anwyay - we held our monthy support group meetings at the nearest
hospital and the room had *covered* fluorescent lighting.  I was
always exhausted when I left but I assumed it was the emotions of the
meetings. Some of it probably was.  She would come in looking normal.
By the end of the meeting her face and neck would be beet red from
sitting under those lights.  Those covers just do not completely block
the UVA and the UVA is the one that gives us the most problem.  UVB is
what does the overt damage (sunburn) but UVA is sneaky stuff and it is
a lupie's biggest enemy because it's very hard to block. Sunblocks are
not even required to evaluate how much UVA they block. When you see an
SPF, that is in terms of the UVB blockage.  So you can't be positive
about how much UVA is being blocked.

I have had some problems with incandescent lighting as well.  I get a
sunburned" feeling if I'm under a strong lamp for too long.  And you
can forget halogen lights - those can literally sunburn you and give
off a great deal of infra-red (heat) light.

For me the best thing I've found is to use 40 watt or less
incandescents if I have to have a bedside lamp but preferably - LEDs.
Unfortunately, LED lamps are very expensive so I've yet to spend the
money on one.  They give off no infrared or UV and stay cool.  They're
not practical for lighting a room obviously because the "light pool"
is quite small.  But they're good for desk lamps if you can  find them
for a decent price.

For a while I had problems with computer monitors but that was in the
early and mid 90s.  New monitors give off much less UV and an LCD
monitor is obviously better.  That's what I use now on my 'net PC.  My
work PC is still a CRT and I do have to take breaks from it.  The UV
output is very small but I am like you in that I am extremely
sensitive.

so - ignore that doc on this one.  There are so many that think that
because it's not in the books or because it only happens to a small
percentage of patients, it's not real.  They're wrong.

KCat

obviously not in the closet!

Hmph!  Thanks Andy and Sherry!

The pens have their own room!  Well, half a room.  My "craft room" is
devoted to stitching and pens.  I have an old cabinet and hutch from
my grandmother and the cabinet part is full to the brim with ink, pen
parts, pen repair supplies, more ink, calligraphy pens, etc.  The tall
bookcase (that I want to replace someday) is crammed (no exaggeration)
with paper.  Notepads, journals, looseleaf, paper for artsy stuff,
more noteapds and more journals.  And I actually ordered more notepads
Thursday.  Just 3.  :)  I keep a stock of Black n' Red notebooks for
my journals. A4 size.  I do a lot of journal writing. :)  On my craft
table is a cutting pad, a small box containing tiny bottles of my most-
used inks, a lovely paperweight from hubby, and reference books (style
books, dictionary,etc.)  But mostly when I sit at that desk I am
refilling pens.  :)

KCat

On May 12, 1:07 am, "William R  Thompson" <wrtho...@ix.netcom.com>
wrote:

(snipped great info)

oops - I should have read ahead. Thanks for the great info, Bill.  I
hadn't done a search in a long time.  Looks like a lot more LED stuff
on the market than as little as a year ago.