‘KUWTK’: Kim Kardashian’s Lupus Test Might Have Mislead Fans
Kim Kardashian has had no shortage of health scares throughout her life. Season 17 of Keeping Up With the Kardashians premiered last week, and the 38-year-old mother of four is now at the center of another health scare: She tested positive for lupus antibodies. Now, fans are rallying around her after the news — but it might have been misleading.
Kardashian has dealt with pregnancy complications, psoriasis, and now arthritis and lupus on the show
Since KUWTK premiered back in 2007, the family has gone through their share of health concerns. But Kardashian has seemed to deal with the brunt of the health complications. She first opened up about her psoriasis several years back, and it’s still a topic of conversation on some episodes today. When she was pregnant with North West, she learned she had pre-eclampsia and had to give birth at just 34 weeks to avoid major complications. Then, she found out she has placenta accreta, which affects the way the placenta attaches to the uterine wall and can cause serious problems. For that reason, she has used a surrogate.
On the season premiere of KUWTK, Kardashian learns she might have rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
She recently tested positive for lupus antibodies
On the show, Kardashian went in for a blood test to try and figure out why she was having so much pain and fatigue. She had complained of feeling incredibly exhausted and was having serious pain in her hands, which prevented her from playing with her son. Eventually, Kardashian decided to go to the doctor, where she learned she had tested positive for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus antibodies. She was on the couch with her sister when she got the call, and she was in tears.
It’s common to test positive for antibodies and not have the disease
One thing they noted on the show is that there is a chance for a false positive when lupus antibodies are found, which gave Kardashian hope. Many people can have lupus antibodies in their system but don’t actually have the disease. However, the show didn’t go into detail about how long it takes to actually get a straight answer about a lupus diagnosis, nor did they mention how uncommon it is to have a false positive. With that said, there is a good chance KUWTK is misleading fans about the severity of Kardashian’s condition.
Some took to Twitter to discuss Kardashian’s recent diagnosis, which shows there is some misunderstanding among fans about what KUWTK revealed about Kardashian’s health — she hasn’t been diagnosed with anything (yet).
Some hope the show doesn’t suggest false information about the disease
While nobody wants to see Kardashian receive a lupus diagnosis, some do want the show to bring awareness to how difficult it is to definitively diagnose the disease. Sometimes, on television, things seem so simple (such as a quick blood test to diagnose lupus), but in real life, it’s not that easy. The Twitter account Lupus News tweeted that it hopes “the episode shows it’s not so easy to get a diagnosis as a single blood test, because that would be misleading.”
Kardashian revealed earlier this week that the second episode of the season will reveal more details about her condition. However, it’s important to note that Kardashian has not yet received a lupus diagnosis, despite what many people thought they saw in the episode.
