When you have a chronic ailment, choosing the proper treatment can make a tremendous impact on your daily life.Yet, as effective as most pharmaceuticals can be, they come with trade-offs, including potential side effects that takesome getting used to. Selena Gomez has been dealing with this publicly for years. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation. In many regions of the body, including the skin, joints, heart, kidneys, lungs, and more. This causes a variety of symptoms and complications, including chronic pain, extreme exhaustion, and skin rashes. Frequent fevers, kidney damage, heart difficulties, and mental health disorders such as depression, among others.
Despite her health being private, Gomez has been candid about her ailment and how it affects her physically and emotionally. “Lupus, kidney transplant, chemotherapy, and experiencing public heartbreak. All of these things should have taken me down,” she told Elle in 2021.
She still believes in that sentiment. The Rare Beauty creator recently addressed the constant. She was receiving uninvited comments about her body—a topic no one should ever have to answer. During a TikTok live stream that was later shared on Twitter, Gomez stated that she “holds a lot of water weight” when she takes a certain prescription, though she did not identify which one.
Several drugs can be used to treat lupus, and they all have possible adverse effects that extend beyond weight fluctuation. Because lupus affects each person differently, treatment regimes are likewise highly personalized. Many lupus patients use hydroxychloroquine, a disease-modifying antirheumatic medication (DMARD) that helps manage inflammation and reduces the chance of flare-ups, or periods when the illness is active and causing symptoms. It has been shown to extend the life and reduce the risk of brain and renal disorders. Following that, it is determined by the type of lupus a person has, and the appropriate treatment differs from person to person.
Short-term corticosteroids may also be used to treat inflammation and reduce symptoms. These drugs are critical in allowing us to ‘put out the fire’ as soon as possible. They’re pretty potent drugs, so experts strive to administer them at “the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time. That’s because long-term usage of corticosteroids has been linked to a host of potential adverse effects, including some degree of weight fluctuation.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, prednisone, a regularly given corticosteroid, may alter how fat is distributed in the body. The explanation for this is unclear, however, it could be due to variations in fluid retention. Steroids may also change the body’s digestion of certain nutrients.
Aside from weight changes, the list of potential side effects is lengthy. Steroid users may have headaches, dizziness, insomnia, mood changes, or acne; excessive fatigue or muscle weakness, irregular periods, reduced libido, heartburn, and other side effects. That’s just steroids, DMARDs and other immunosuppressants have their own set of possible side effects.
Gomez has also spoken out about how treatment has changed her body in various ways. In January she posted a skincare routine video on TikTok and responded to a comment regarding her hand gestures. “My hands shake because of my lupus medication,” she explained.
“Yes, we have days where maybe we feel like garbage, but I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself,” Selena Gomez said on her lives live streambeds are critical, and I feel they are what keep me going.”
When someone has a chronic ailment, you never know what they are going through. While important, drugs for autoimmune diseases such as lupus can be taxing. It’s tough for a person to live with the unexpected symptoms of their ailment and adjust to changes set off by their treatment plan and feel the need to have to explain all of this to loved ones.