High blood pressure in Lupus is caused by renal insufficiency. This is called Lupus Nephritis, when Lupus attacks the kidneys. As far as receiving blood thinners, this sounds very suspect. Doctors will not give blood thinners to someone due to high blood pressure. Blood thinners such as Warfarin (coumadin) and Heparin are used with great caution as they have several side effects. They would not be given to a 16 year old simply because she has ‘high blood pressure’. They would give you a blood pressure medication. Blood thinners are used for people who have clotting disorders and/or have had heart attacks where clots are suspect or have had a DVT (deep vein thrombosis ((blood clot)). People with Lupus are prone to a blood clotting disorder called Antiphospholipid Syndrome or APS. Therefore, many people with Lupus take blood thinners. Your swollen Lymph Nodes are a sign of Lupus but also a sign of hundreds of other issues. You did not mention swollen or achy joints, one of the major complaints that people with Lupus tend to have. Not everyone with Lupus has this complaint but an overwhelming majority of people with Lupus do. I would have an ANA test run to see if you have an auto immune disease. If this is negative then you most likely do not have Lupus (the test isn’t a definate indicator because if you are in remission sometimes the ANA will be negative). An ANA test doesn’t tell you that you have Lupus only that you have an auto immune disease. Other factors will help rule in/out Lupus.

You could have lupus or you could have a number of other things. Ask your doctor for a referral to a rheumatologist. I am 56, have systemic lupus, and my blood pressure hangs around 128/72 pretty consistently. Pericarditis in lupus is not a result of high blood pressure. I had involvement with heart, lungs, bone marrow, and kidneys. 90-95% of lupus patients will experience joint pain and/or swelling, especially in the hands and feet. We also get waves of unbearable fatigue.

You need a good diagnostician, and a rheumatologist would be a good place to start. When you see the doctor, simply describe your symptoms clearly and concisely and let the doctor do the diagnosing. I work with lupus patients all the time, and I can tell you from experience that, if you go in there having diagnosed yourself, you will NOT be taken seriously, will not get the attention you need, will not get a good diagnosis and won’t get relief. Your job is to describe your symptoms. The doctor’s job is to diagnose.

Lupus is an autoimmune disorder (in which the body is attacking itself). The main symptom is a butterfly-shaped rash across the nose and cheeks. Usually, it affects women between the ages of 20-40 years of age.

High blood pressure is common, no matter what age, especially due to the normal American diet. If you are obese or overweight, then it is likely that you would have high blood pressure due to your weight. Your high blood pressure would explain your enlarged heart (the heart is a muscle…the more you work a muscle, the larger it gets. With high blood pressure, the heart is pumping faster, therefore the muscle is getting larger).

I’m not sure about the petechiae…it could have just been caused by a local injury or trauma.

As for the cold taking you longer to get over…if your immune system was depressed by Lupus, it would take you much longer than 3-4 weeks to get over (it takes me about that long to get over a cold as well and I have a normal immune system) if you got over it at all.

Swollen lymph nodes are just a sign that your body is fighting an infection. It could even be an infection that you can’t feel the symptoms of.

If you think that you have Lupus then you should go to a doctor and get examined. I strongly doubt that you do because it doesn’t seem like any of your organ systems are being affected by anything other than high blood pressure and a cold or two.