Lupus is a disease that can be a problem in various areas of the body. The Mayo Clinic reports that it is inflammation caused by your own immune system attacking your organs and tissues. This inflammation can affect such organs as your lungs, heart and kidneys, as well as your blood cells, skin and joints. Of the four lupus types, systemic lupus erythematosus is considered the most serious and most common. The others are neonatal lupus, medicine-induced lupus erythematosus and discoid lupus erythematosus.
Depression and Memory Loss
Lupus symptoms are determined by what type of lupus you have and where the disease affects your body. In general, however, lupus may cause problems for your mental processes. You may, for example, experience the signs and symptoms of depression such as anxiety, sadness and hopelessness. The disease also may cause you problems with your memory. If you begin to feel down and have not experienced mental depression previously, or if you are becoming forgetful without apparent cause, you may have the early signs of lupus.
Pain
Because lupus can affect the joints of your body with its inflammation, you may experience problems with them. Pain in your joints is a common early symptom of lupus. You also may get swelling in your joints or they may get stiff and make it difficult for you to move them. Pain also may occur in your chest and you may get sores in your mouth. All of these can be symptoms of other problems as well as lupus.
Fever and Fatigue
Lupus also can induce a fever as an early symptom. This, too, can be a sign of many problems, but if a fever persists for a longer period than normal--say, when you have the flu--then it may be lupus. Fatigue or a general bodily weakness that continues even when you are not active also may be a symptom. The Mayo Clinic recommends seeing your physician if either of these problems continues.
Rash and Hair Loss
Beginning to lose your hair, if you are a man, may be a normal process, but it also can be an early sign of lupus. Because lupus affects women more often than men, hair loss in a woman may be a tell-tale sign of the disease. Lupus also may produce a rash that appears in the shape of butterfly, called a malar rash. This typically occurs on your face and spreads to your nose's bridge and cheeks.
