You may be wondering about whether you will be able to have children. It's important to plan ahead for getting pregnant so discuss this with your medical team. This can be done in complete confidence. Some women who have lupus experience a flare during pregnancy and others have medications that need to be changed. Lupus may also increase the risk of miscarriage. However, close monitoring by your doctor and an obstetrician will normally lead to a successful outcome and a healthy baby.

All of the people looking after you will be happy to discuss any of these topics with you if you would like. They will also discuss them with you at some point as part of your routine care. See our Lupus and Pregnancy facstheet for more information.

Natalie's story

Natalie had a sore throat and didn't feel well just before Christmas 2005, she thought it was because she'd been packing too much into her teenage life, but when she began to have difficulty breathing and a rash all over, it seemed more serious.

Doctors put her on antibiotics, but over the next three months her symptoms didn't clear up and she kept having to go to see her GP and A & E at the hospital. She lost a lot of weight and was so tired she could barely get off the couch. "I'd never had anything wrong with me and suddenly I was going backwards and forwards to the hospital and no-one seemed to know what was wrong. My mum and dad were really worried as I was always sick and bad."

Four months later, the hospital doctors wondered if she had juvenile arthritis or juvenile lupus, so they kept Natalie in for two months for a lot of tests and treatment, which showed that she had juvenile lupus. Natalie was put onto steroids and other powerful drugs, which brought the lupus under control. Fortunately Natalie has some really good friends who came to visit her to cheer her up during the time she couldn't go out. She was off school for six months, but she had a home tutor who helped her with maths and English.

"The worst thing was that the steroids made my face really bloated, which upset me, but I've been able to come off taking those now, and the other medication I have to take isn't so bad".

Now Natalie is at 6th form college and her ambition is to be a children's nurse. "You take your health for granted until something goes wrong. I know what it's like to be in hospital - I missed seeing my little sister who could only get in a couple of times a week, so I know how important a job the nurses do." Natalie's parents have been great in helping her and she's learned to be positive about life because they always are.