Banbury woman with lupus uses art as pain relief over medication

Beatrice Moreira-Watkins was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, which is a condition that affects the immune system, when she was 18.

The symptoms include joint and muscle pain, extreme tiredness and rashes on the face. It’s commonly treated with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs but there is no cure.

She was later diagnosed with fibromyalgia which is another incurable condition which causes pain all over the body.

However Miss Moreira-Watkins, 26, decided that the “immersive artmaking process is the relief of pain” she needs after it helped her anxiety following a stroke two years after her diagnosis.

She said: “I’ve never been one for taking medication so finding alternative methods for pain relief has always been important to me. It’s very easy to reach for a painkiller but it’s equally important to trust the process.

“It was through my anxiety that I learned to enjoy artmaking again. I would paint what my pain felt like. If it was a stabbing pain, I would hit the paper with my pen.

“It was through this process that I learned to accept my diagnoses.”

The healthcare assistant from Banbury first noticed something was wrong when an itchy rash the size of two 5p coins formed on both of her cheeks.

She began to feel exhausted but assumed it was from work. But after four months at Birmingham City University studying Fine Art she couldn't get out of bed and had lost the ability to use her hands.

Beatrice Moreira-Watkins, 26, uses art to help with her pain relief.

“My GP suggested trying a cream,” she said. “But about 10 creams later, my sister said, 'I think this is lupus.'

“Within six months of worsening pain I got my first referral rushed into Rheumatology at the Nuffield in Oxford.”

Lupus was confirmed after a blood test and Miss Moreira-Watkins was prescribed hydroxychloroquine twice a day.

She said: “I ignored the prescription because of thoughts like, ‘As soon as I take this pill, I must accept the illness’.

“Reality soon hit me as the lupus was attacking my organs, I couldn’t breathe comfortably. The capacity of air I could hold in my lungs was reduced.

“You could say my denial lead to me having an ischemic stroke right before handing in my dissertation in my final year.”

After her stroke, Miss Moreira-Watkins was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and her widespread pain and fatigue “intensified and became almost impossible to manage”.

However she found relief in her her art, acupuncture and movement.

“This journey isn’t easy,” she said.  “The road to diagnosis is even harder. Holistic pain management, like illness, is very individual. How you cope and feel pain is individual and unfortunately there’s no manual and often no cure.”