Conduct outreach efforts to increase public understanding of lupus, and share stories of those who s
McKinnon's Butterfly Warriors 4 Lupus was founded in May 2012 to spread Lupus awareness, education and provide support to those living with the disease. McKinnon's Butterfly Warriors 4 Lupus prides itself on the impact it has made in the community both locally and nationally with our efforts to raise funds and also raise awareness about this auto immune disease that affects more than 1.5 million A
03/25/2026
Muni Long has publicly shared that she is living with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause pain, fatigue, and unpredictable flare-ups.
She’s been open about how the condition impacts both her daily life and her career, while also using her platform to bring awareness to an illness many people don’t fully understand. 💜
Prayers up.
03/14/2026
10 Things People with Lupus Wish Others Understood 💜
Living with lupus is more than just not feeling well. It’s a daily, often invisible battle with a chronic illness. Here are some things many lupus warriors wish others truly understood:
1️⃣ We don’t “look sick” — but we are.
Lupus is invisible most of the time. Just because we look okay doesn’t mean we feel okay. You can't see organ damage, joint pain, nerve pain, exhaustion, and many other issues we deal with daily.
2️⃣ The fatigue is not normal tiredness.
It’s bone-deep exhaustion that sleep and rest doesn’t fix. It can feel like the flu, jet lag, and sleep deprivation combined.
3️⃣ Pain levels change day to day.
Joints, muscles, nerves — what hurts today may be different tomorrow.
4️⃣ We cancel plans because we have to — not because we want to.
Flare-ups are unpredictable. We hate missing out on things. It is very frustrating for us to not be able to do what we want to do.
5️⃣ Good days don’t mean we’re cured.
Having a better day, doesn't mean we are well.
6️⃣ Stress can make us sick.
Stress is a trigger for a lot of lupus warriors and can cause flares.
7️⃣ Brain fog is real.
Memory slips, trouble concentrating, and word-finding issues are part of lupus for many of us.
8️⃣ Medications can be as hard as the illness.
Side effects, immune suppression, weight changes, mood shifts can be just a few of the issues from medications.
9️⃣ We grieve our old energy, abilities, and life.
There’s a real emotional toll in adjusting to limits we never asked for or saw coming.
🔟 Support means understanding, not fixing.
We don’t need comparisons, or supplement/lifestyle suggestions — we have doctors. We need patience, flexibility, and for the people in our lives to believe us.
💜 If you know someone with lupus: believe them, support them, and be gentle with what you cannot see. We need people to be there in our lives. We don't need you to fix it, because it cannot be fixed. We just need some understanding from the ones we love.
~The Lupus Warriors Community ~
03/14/2026
Lupus & You: Protecting Your Kidneys Get tickets online for Lupus & You: Protecting Your Kidneys here.
03/14/2026
Join us on March 18 for our free national Lupus & You: Answers. Advocacy. Action. virtual education event focusing on what you need to know to protect your kidneys, including the importance of early detection, what labs to watch, treatment options and next steps if dialysis or a transplant is needed.
Register today! https://buff.ly/Ynj4qQ8
02/23/2026
Hi, My name is Pat McKinnon || McKinnon Lupus, and I am a lupus , , and . Living with lupus has shaped my life, my faith, and my mission. I use my voice to educate, encourage, and empower others—especially women—who are navigating chronic illness, invisible pain, and life transitions. Through advocacy, storytelling, and community, I strive to create spaces where healing, hope, and wholeness can exist together. Let’s Turn Pain Into Purpose!!
Drop A 💜 If You Support !
01/12/2026
What is ANA?
ANA stands for Antinuclear Antibodies. It is a blood test that looks for antibodies in your blood that react against parts of the nucleus of your own cells.
In simple terms
An antigen is a target inside the body. You can think of it as an ID badge inside a cell.
An antibody is something your immune system makes to recognize and attach to a target. Think of it like a lock designed for a specific key.
The ANA test checks whether your immune system has made antibodies that react with targets inside the cell nucleus.
Important to know early on
A positive ANA by itself does not mean you have lupus or an autoimmune disease.
Why can ANA be positive so easily?
Inside a single cell, there are so many different nuclear antigens.
That means there are 100 or more possible antibodies that could make an ANA test turn positive.
Not every antibody against these antigens causes disease.
This is why ANA can be positive for many reasons.
Why do doctors order ANA in the first place?
ANA is mainly ordered as a screening test for lupus and lupus-related illnesses.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system becomes abnormally hyperactive and starts attacking the body itself. To diagnose lupus, doctors must first show that the immune system is behaving abnormally.
Blood tests help prove this, and ANA is one of the starting points.
Is ANA a good test?
ANA is not a strong or specific test. Many things can make it positive.
However, ANA is a very sensitive test for lupus.
Sensitive means that almost every person who truly has lupus will have a positive ANA.
Because of that, ANA is useful as a screening test, even though it is not a definitive test. Unfortunately, there is no better single blood test to screen for lupus without using ANA, so doctors have to start somewhere.
What happens after ANA is positive?
Because ANA can be positive for many reasons, doctors do not stop there.
Additional blood tests are ordered to confirm abnormal immune activity and support a lupus diagnosis, such as
Double-stranded DNA
Extractable nuclear antigens
Complement levels
These tests help determine whether the immune system is truly overactive in a lupus-type pattern.
What can cause ANA to be positive?
ANA can be positive in about one-third of healthy people.
It can be positive in many autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and others.
It can be positive even without any autoimmune disease.
Infections, including COVID, can cause ANA positivity that may last for a long time. Other infections can do this as well.
How is ANA tested?
There are two main methods.
ANA by IFA (immunofluorescence assay)
This is the preferred method by rheumatologists. It looks at how antibodies bind to cells under a microscope and provides both a pattern and a titer. This is considered the most reliable method.
ANA by panel or screen-based testing
This method uses a computer-based panel that checks for selected antibodies associated with lupus. If one is positive, the ANA is reported as positive. Rheumatologists often dislike this method because it can lead to false positives and less clinical context.
What is ANA titer?
If ANA is positive, it is tested at different dilutions to see how strong the antibody signal is.
Higher dilution means stronger antibody presence.
Lower titers are more likely to be false positives.
High titers are less common in the general population and more meaningful.
By IFA, ANA levels above 1:1000 are generally considered strongly positive.
Takeaway points
A positive ANA by itself does not mean autoimmune disease.
Many healthy people and many non-lupus conditions can cause a positive ANA.
Despite its limitations, ANA remains a cornerstone screening test for lupus because it is highly sensitive.
Diagnosing lupus requires more than just a blood test.
To diagnose lupus, three things must be shown
1. Evidence that the immune system is abnormally hyperactive using blood tests such as ANA, double-stranded DNA, extractable nuclear antigens, and complements
2. Evidence that the immune system is attacking organs
3. Confirmation that symptoms are not better explained by more common conditions than lupus
Lupus is far less common than many conditions that can mimic it, which is why careful evaluation matters.
05/31/2025
2025 Lupus Awareness Activities
💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚
On May 10th…. National World Day
On May 10th.... ....Put On Purple
On May 30th... goes Purple
On May 31st…. goes Purple
💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚
Please Join Us In Showing Your Support!!
💜💜💜💜🌻💜💜💜💜
Lupus Awareness Month is May.... BUT We are still , , and to Find a Cure.
LUPUS A CRUEL MYSTERY OF A DISEASE.....
05/28/2025
2025 Lupus Awareness Activities
💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚
On May 10th…. National World Day
On May 10th.... ....Put On Purple
On May 30th... goes Purple
On May 31st…. goes Purple
💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚💟💚
Please Join Us In Showing Your Support!!
🚨🚨New Shirts Are Here🚨🚨
T-Shirt While They Last…..
June 1, 2025
💜💜💜💜🌻💜💜💜💜
Lupus Awareness Month is May.... BUT We are still , , and to Find a Cure.
LUPUS A CRUEL MYSTERY OF A DISEASE.....
YOU MUST:
1. Send an Email with ALL information that’s REQUIRED to:
💜 [email protected]
2. First and Last Name
3. Phone Number ( # # #- # # #- # # )
4. T-Shirt Size (1 Shirt per Email)
5. Shirt A~ {Purple Shirt w/3 Color Writing}
6. Shirt B~ {Yellow Shirt w/ Purple Writing}
7. Pick Up or Shipping: Please Send Address