It’s possible to have both diseases at the same time, although it’s unlikely.
MS is often incorrectly diagnosed as lupus because the diseases share common symptoms.
Symptoms common to both diseases include joint and muscle pain and feeling very tried.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) are both serious diseases that result from a failure of the body’s immune system to function properly.
Multiple sclerosis
In MS, the body’s immune system damages myelin, the protective layer around your nerves. This interferes with communication from your brain to the rest of your body. The result is a variety of symptoms, such as:
weakness or numbness in the limbs
vision problems
fatigue
dizziness
bowel and bladder problems
There’s some debate among doctors about whether MS should be considered an autoimmune disease. Researchers haven’t yet found the MS antigen, or the substance that triggers the body’s immune response. Instead, MS is sometimes referred to as an “immune-mediated” condition, rather than an autoimmune disease.
Lupus
Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means the immune system reacts against healthy antigens. These are proteins that trigger the body’s immune response. It’s as if the immune system can’t tell the difference between antigens that are supposed to be in your body and infections or other foreign “invaders” that the immune system is supposed to attack.
With lupus, your immune system attacks various parts of the body, such as:
skin
joints
internal organs