Family life will inevitably change when a family member receives a diagnosis of lupus. Everyone in a family facing lupus must redistribute chores, share, responsibilities and try to remain flexible.

Good communication is crucial to making sure that home life remains as normal as possible after you are diagnosed with lupus. Sharing information about the illness, including its symptoms, its treatment and its prognosis, can lessen everyone’s fears and concerns.

If you have lupus, the most important thing you can do is let family members know the extent of your pain and fatigue. This will help them know when they need to help out.

A sensible schedule is another good idea. It’s understandable that, after being forced to cancel or postpone favorite activities due to lupus, you may then be tempted to tackle the entire “to-do” list in one day. However, trying to do it all only increases stress and exhaustion, and could trigger a flare. The best approach is to learn to make time for the things that really matter, say “no” to the things that are not as important, and leave the rest of the list for tomorrow–or the next day.

There are emotional considerations as well. As the person with lupus, you may feel guilty about not being able to do the things you once did. You may feel unhappy about the accommodations others in your family have to make on your behalf. Your brothers and sisters may feel jealous of all the attention you are receiving. If your husband, wife or significant other has lupus, you may feel discouraged because lupus has affected the intimacy you once shared. If your father, mother or other family member has lupus, you may be afraid that he or she will die.

Parenting with lupus

A parent with lupus has additional challenges to the already heavy demands of parenting. If you are a parent with lupus, the more rested and less stressed you are, the more quality time you will be able to devote to your children. It’s a good idea to maintain a sensible schedule, reassign household chores and have friends and outside family members you can call on to take over some parental responsibilities. These kinds of adjustments can help minimize disruptions in your children’s schedule and daily activities.

Your children will have concerns about your health, especially whether or not you will die from lupus. Children are quite sensitive to a parent’s mood changes, but often do not know how to talk about their feelings of unease or concern. At the same time, they probably cannot help focusing on how your illness directly affects them.  Sharing information with your children about lupus and the changes it brings -- both to your health and to the responsibilities of different family members -- will help everyone.

Children with lupus

When a child has lupus, parents face some different challenges. As a parent, you will need to consider the child’s mental and psychological well-being as well as the immediate and long-term physical health issues. Too often, children can become identified by their illness–by others, if not by themselves. Further complicating identity and other developmental issues, certain activities may be less available to children with lupus, even something as simple as playing outdoors in the sunshine. Being aware of the issues your child will face, both in the immediate future and throughout his or her life, will go a long way in preparing strategies and solutions. Above all, your child should be encouraged to have and strive for goals and dreams. Even if some of these ambitions have to be changed later on, it is important to let your child know that lupus does not have to control all aspects of his or her life.