Friday Face OFF 5/9/25

 

 Welcome To Friday Face OFF (FFO)

This is the place to show off your faces or your face. Post any type of face from any medium. You can create it, or find it in nature, or even that face in the design of the

woodwork in your house. 

Human, animal, alien, or monster. 

ANY KIND OF FACE!

 

Well, I have completely over done it in the last few weeks in the garden and now I'm paying for it. So, let's get right to this.

Friday Face Off I found some wonderful faces for this week and I hope you like them too.

I love the skin and the eyes are wonderful. All of these found on pinterest.

 

Lupus Awareness. This is how I feel right now. I have beyond 0 energy and my body hurts from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.
Chronic Fatigue is one of the things that all autoimmune delivers without notice.

Here is some wonderful art from some of you.

Carol

 

Gillena

I so want this in my house.  Gene told me it is 5 or 6' tall.

Gene

 

Don't forget to link up with Gillena

Potassium levels back to normal and I am feeling much better.

 

That's it for me, 

now it's time to show me your face.

Nicole

Feeling bad.

 Hi Everyone!

I haven't forgotten about Lupus Awareness, I'm feeling bad and am getting a potassium infusion. I will see you for FFO. 

Nicole

Lupus Awareness day 6

 Hi Everyone!

 We just got home from our monthly Salem drive for Mr. M's doctor appt. It is always a long, tiring day for us.

However here is the day 6 fact about lupus.

by lupus in color

I will be honest I didn't know this fact. I did know that there are approximately 1.5 million people in the US with a form of lupus and about 5 million world wide. 90% of people living with lupus are women. There are a lot of misconceptions about lupus, here are just a few. 

Myth: Lupus is a form of cancer.

Fact:  Lupus is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs, not a type of cancer. While people with lupus may have a slightly increased risk of certain cancers, it's not a direct cause-and-effect relationship. 

 

Myth: Women with lupus cannot get pregnant.

Fact: Many women with lupus do get pregnant a have healthy babies. It is important to have and obstetrician that understands lupus.

 

Myth: Lupus is curable.

Fact: There is NO cure for lupus, but it can be managed effectively through various treatments. 

 

Myth: Lupus is like AIDS.

Fact: Women, men, and children with HIV/AIDS have underactive immune systems, which means that they can’t fight infections. If you have lupus, your immune system reacts in just the opposite way: It’s overactive and attacks healthy tissues, instead of ONLY attacking pathogens. That's why if a person with lupus gets sick it can be fatal. I never leave my house without a mask.

 

Myth: Lupus is contagious and can be spread through contact

Fact: Lupus is not contagious and cannot be transmitted through physical contact. 

image by kickrockslupus

 Myth: I really love this one. People with lupus should avoid all exercise.

Fact: Regular exercise can actually be beneficial for people with lupus, helping to improve their physical and mental health. However, it's important to discuss exercise plans with a healthcare professional to ensure they are safe and appropriate for the individual's specific needs. 

I think most of you know I exercise everyday. Weather it's dancing, air boxing, gardening, walking or playing WII tennis. Even if I hurt I start moving and when I'm done I feel so much better. I have had friends with autoimmune that told me they couldn't exercise. That they hurt too much. I'm sure you know what my reaction was.....There are so many ways to get moving without even getting out of your chair. And that pain.... will subside or be gone.

I have to throw this in. My grandmother passed at 104 years. Everyday she would sit in her chair and exercise her arms with 3lb weights. Then she would get her stationary bike peddles and exercise her legs for 5 miles. She said no matter what your age, move, move, move. 

I hope this gives you more in site on lupus

Nicole
 

lupus awarness day 5

 Hi Everyone!

This is day 5 for lupus awareness month. The fact is about how difficult it is to diagnose lupus. I kind of went over that yesterday. So I have decided to, ya know, go rogue.

I may have used this meme last year but it is so fitting and it makes me laugh. 

I don't know who created this image.

One of the things that a lot of lupus worriers don't talk about is, alopecia. A few months before I started getting really sick, my hair started falling out.  One thing in my family is we have good hair. My sister and I always had very very thick and very very long hair, well passed our knees. Mr. M. and I were in AZ for the winter. Had been complaining about my hair falling out. We thought it was the water, or the shampoo and Mr. M. finally said, "Your hair is fine." A few weeks later we got a visit from one of my brothers and his wife. The first thing she said to me was, "What have you done to your hair! It is so thin." Also that winter I got blisters on my arms and legs. Ya know the sun. The lady next door had a child that came down with chicken pox. I  never had C.P. as a kid so I thought that's what it was. The doctor told me no and that he didn't know what it was. Gave me some lotion and sent me home. All that and my hair is falling out. For the first time in my life I got my hair cut short.

Over the years I have lost my hair 4 times. I got to the point that shaving my head was easier than dealing with hand fulls of hair. When my hair grew out the first time it was in ringlets. I mean tight ringlets like Shirley Temple. 

Yeah, and that's how I felt too. 

image from google

I found if I kept my hair short there were no curls and it was thicker. There are a few causes for hair loss. Inflammation with lupus can be in any part of your body. It's referred to as a flare. However, when this happens to the scalp  the inflammation directly attacks the hair follicles, damaging them and causing hair loss. For me my scalp gets extremely tight and my hair falls out in my hands. With SLE there is no scaring on the scalp. With CLE or discoid lupus the inflammation can cause skin lesions on the scalp, potentially leading to scarring and permanent hair loss. Medications to treat lupus can also cause hair to fall out. The second time my hair fell out I knew it was due to the medication I was on. I took a bag of my hair in with me to the doctor and told him my hair is falling out. He looked at me and said. "Well I don't know anyone who has gone bald from this medicine." OMFG! I actually said that in the long form. He just looked at me and then walked out. It was the last time I saw him.

Now, losing one's hair may not sound like a big deal to some people. I will tell you it is devastating for the women, men and especially children who go through this. 

Because it's not a choice.

AI by me

It's just one more thing to deal with while trying to stay alive.

 Nicole