Hello, I am new to this thing so Im not too sure what I am doing here. Anyway, in August I was diagnosed with SLE. I was having major issues with my joints hurting. A different bone would hurt every other night. It was getting quite annoying. Not too long after I went to the ER in so much pain. I thought I had conjunctivitis....well I had shingles. Oh and that was painful. This was in September. Well, they gave me valtrex and tobradex. It started to go away! I was starting to feel better but then it came back again. This was right after I got off the eye drops. This time it was in my cornea. I cant understand why this kept happening. I am currently on valtrex permantly so I dont go blind. However, no one seems to have an answer as to why this keeps happening. My father asked me if I had HIV because that is what he associates Shingles with....when I asked my Eye Doc, he said not to worry about HIV. I also asked my Rheumy, and she said its uncommon to have Lupus with HIV but if it made me feel better go take a test. I am actually deathly afraid. But in any event, is Lupus the same as HIV? I have tried looking up all over the internet but I get a mix of things! Does anyone know? Its making me sick to my stomach all the time! :confused: