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Thanks to everyone who responded to my posting.  
There is plenty of evidence to show that Lupus and CD run in families and many Lupus patients have CD and other auto-immune diseases at the same tiime.  I shall simply post all the responses I received since all touch on different aspects of the condition. 
Thanks 
Valerie

Lupus tends to run in families...that is why the Dr inquired if any other family member had it.  It seems celiacs also tend to have other autoimmune conditions like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes.  Asthma is also seen a lot. I am celiac, asthma and have lupus as well.  Interestingly I was diagnosed last year and am 35 years old.   I take plaquenil which is a common treatment for both lupus and rheumatoid.  For bad flare-ups oral steroid are sometime prescribed like rednisone.  Whereas rheumatoid your own body just reacts/attacks the joint....lupus affects the body systemically....meaning everywhere.....organs , muscles, skin, etc. 

Lupus has got to be one of the most challenging autoimmune diagnoses.  I am so glad they have found this out before she got too much older, early treatment can prevent a lot of problems.  My best friend's mom didn't find out she had it until about 20 years after she had a kidney removed, which was likely caused by lupus!  It is very difficult to diagnose, could you tell us the steps that were taken to confirm this?  I think it would help all of us understand what to look for, since it is a biggie in autoimmune diseases, and all us celiacs are prone to any number of them.

Very interested in your posting since just yesterday while visiting with my 2nd cousin, I discovered that her daughter has lupus and chronic joint pain due to it;  When I was gluten challenged, I developed severe joint pain.  Although, she has been officially diagnosed with lupus, I told my 2nd cousin that she might want to see if her daughter has concurrent CD since we are relatives.  

I have Celiac and my Mom has an autoimmune blood disease very similar to Lupus-although she tested negative for Celiac with a blood test I'm still not convinced.   Either way, I believe they are definitely related.

My brother has lupus.  Many, many years ago he was diagnosed as allergic to wheat.  I discovered when I went low-carb about three years ago that I'm sensitive to gluten.

I have Gluten Intolerance and Lupus.  I also have Hypothyroidism which is also related.  Make sure she has a good rheumatologist.  I am on a drug called plaquenil.  There are many treatments depending on what type of lupus/organ involvement, etc.  Good luck.  I'd like to read that article if you could tell me how to locate it.  

I was diagnosed with discoid lupus (a skin form of lupus) at the same time as I was diagnosed with CD.  I was put on Plaquenil (also used for systemic 
lupus) for several months.  I improved on this medication and a GF diet (though because there were so many things going on at the time it is difficult to directly attribute my lupus improvement to the diet).  There are many different treatments for lupus (depending on severity) and a good rheumatologist is invaluable.  I know good rheumatologists in NYC, if that is of any help.

Can't really provide you with research or anything, but my 14 year old daughter was diagnosed with celiac a year ago and now the doctor is fairly certain she also has lupus which he has told me is much more common in celiacs, mostly caused by the years of consuming gluten.   Her ANA is 1:1280 which is highly positive and she also experiences joint pain, hair loss, and mouth ulcers.  I wish your daughter the best of luck.

Over ten years ago I was diagnosed with a disease that is a sister to lupus. I was introduced to the book "Eat Right for Your Type"  by Dr. Peter D'Adamo.  After eating according to my blood type for two years, the "incurable" disease was healed.  I still have lots of allergies and sensitivites, but the Lupus disease is negative. 

I do not have lupus, but I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia (in addition to celiac). I understand that fibromyalgia is very closely related to lupus. If
you are interested, I can send you further information about my treatment.

I have DH and CD, I also get a weakly positive on my Lupus tests. So they say I dont have it, but we watch it. I was on plaquenil for 4 years for arthritis and it helped my other symptoms a little. Just this summer my niece was diagnosed with Lupus, she has a lot of symtoms that I have. She is now currently taking plaquenil. In the current issue of Arthritis today, there was a small blurb about a new drug for Lupus being tested, not appoved yet, called Riquent. 

Plaquenil does work pretty well.  After being on it a few months, my general malaise ( meaning generally achy all over, some areas severe pinpoints of pain, muscles stiffness, etc. ) got better....not totally gone but definitely improved and my ANA went down quite a bit...not normal but significantly lowered.  ( The ANA -- antinuclear antibody is one test indicative of lupus.  Normal is 1:<40.....My high was 1:3560   now it is about 1:640 when I am doing well. )  I still have "bouts" where I get bad.  One note:  have your daughter always wear sunscreen and stay out of the sun.  Sun exposure and heat exposure tend to trigger negative reactions in most lupus suffers. The plaquenil does help but for me it is difficult.  I have GERD( refux/GI problem) and plaquenil is a very bitter drug that tends to make me nauseous for a while after taking it.  I also take Nexium for the stomache problems and eat yogurt  or cottage cheese with the plaquenil.

Integrative medicine has very good treatments for Lupus.  They put Lupus patients on a special diet and then do high potency vitamin & mineral IV infusions.  The diet is free of gluten, dairy (milk), refined & processed oils.  (Olive oil, cold pressed sunflower oil, flax seed oil, palm oil & coconut oils are allowed.  No margarine, Crisco, soy oil, etc.)  There's a doctor in Australia with a list of 500 Lupus patients who have been healed.  To find a nutritional, integrative physician nearest you, go to this site:  http://www.acam.org/

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