Looking back, it makes sense: Ibuprofen and photosensitivity.

Since being diagnosed with
overlap syndrome of SLE and anti-mitochondrial M2 antibody-positive myositis,
I have started thinking about how to live with my body
more than I did before.

Last yearOctober,
when I felt intense joint pain in both shoulders,
to tell the truth,

I was under an incredible amount of stress.

I felt in my own body that stress
could be a trigger for something.
Stress is truly terrifying.

Also, even before I received a definitive diagnosis,
“What is this…?”was something I felt,
and recently I have reached a point of “Aha…!” in my own way,
so I will write about it at length as usual.

[What is this? (Headache and skin rash)]

Some years ago,
I suffered from
a severe headache that would wake me up even while sleeping.

In addition to the headache,
a bumpy skin rash appeared above my right eyebrow and below my left eyebrow.

Accompanied by slight itching,
that reddish-purple, conspicuous rash….

If only the top and bottom had matched,
it would have been funny like Maro-eyebrows…,
but they were mismatched and unbalanced….


The headache would gradually ease after lying down for a while,
and I had the rash examined at a local allergy clinic
and used the prescribed ointment.
In a few days, those mismatched Maro-eyebrows healed, but


immediately after, a bumpy pink rash
appeared on my upper arms and neck as well.
I thought it might be insect bites, but
it didn't heal easily for a long time.
A few months after that,




a second headache & mismatched Maro-eyebrows + bumps
appeared.

Thinking “Not again…,” I was struck by a realization.

“This always happens after I take Eve….”


I also suffer from dysmenorrhea
and am troubled by intense lower abdominal pain, so
I would take the over-the-counter drug Eve A Tablets (SS Pharmaceutical)
each time.

I don't have a bad impression of Eve itself, but
“I wonder if it doesn't suit me anymore….”
I started to feel that way,
and from that time on, I began to avoid taking it.

Since then, at medical institutions,
I have made it a point to first convey
that “Ibuprofen somehow doesn't suit me.”

[Ibuprofen and some SLE patients]

There is something that “makes sense now that I think about it…!”

I heard that ibuprofen, which is contained in Eve,
can affect some SLE patients.

The instruction manual for Eve A Tablets also
has a section that says “Consult a doctor, etc.,”
and among the many disease names listed under
“People who have received the following diagnoses,” SLE is also listed.

And, as a serious symptom after taking it,
aseptic meningitis, which is said to be frequently reported in people
receiving treatment for SLE or mixed connective tissue disease,
was also written there.


Ibuprofen is a type of NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug),
used to suppress pain and inflammation.
Loxoprofen and others are the same.

Until now, I too, when I had headaches or menstrual pain,
have been helped many times.


While NSAIDs are sometimes used in the treatment of SLE,
for some SLE patients,
they can have unexpected effects on inflammation and immune responses,
and there is also a possibility that they may place a burden on the liver or kidneys.
That is, I thought,


“consult with a doctor”is likely why it is important.

Perhaps, around the time of the headache & so on…,
I had already developed SLE,
and my body was reacting hypersensitively to Eve,
saying “It doesn't suit me!”


Since I started telling medical institutions,
I have not been prescribed NSAIDs, so
there are parts that are just speculation, but
I have decided in my heart to
be sufficiently careful when visiting new clinics in the future
and when using over-the-counter drugs.

[From now on]

At the time of my headache and so on,
even at the local allergy clinic,
“Hmm... what could this be?” I would say,
tilting my head along with the doctor.

Now, my primary care physician and I interpret that headache and the loss of my eyebrows as likely being related to Ibuprofen.
The bumpy rashes on my arms and neck appeared frequently during the short-sleeved season after that,
so I also think they are symptoms of photosensitivity.
Until now, I would carefully read the age, usage, and dosage instructions on over-the-counter medication labels,
but as for the warnings...
have I ever actually read them properly...?


That’s the kind of carefree person I was.
Lately, I have started paying attention to parts I didn't really think about back when I considered myself healthy.