If you have lupus (SLE), can you describe your early symptoms?

I have not seen a doctor about it yet and my husband thinks I am crazy, but here are several things I have been noticing about myself.

1) A rash on my face. For a couple of years I've had this circular-elongated rash (1.5 inches in diameter) on my left cheek. It was not very noticeable. Lately it became more red (several times people asked whether I scratched my face or sunburned), and I noticed a similar patern spreading to my other cheek. Can the SLE butterfly rash develop in this manner? Can it spread or does it develop on both sides simultaneously?

2) Also for several years I have been having mild dull pain in kidney area. Can it be a symptom of an early SLE? Or is kidney pain a late complication in all SLE cases?

3) Also I am tired often, but I wouldn't say chronically fatigued.

Having all this in mind, can I have early symptoms of SLE? Did SLE manifest in this way to anybody here?

I think to be diagnosed with Lupus you need to have multiple symptoms going on because with just a couple of symptoms that could easily cover many other different causes. The kidney thing doesn't sound like Lupus but the distinct facial rashes could be an early sign. There is a blood test but if you are in the very early stages of Lupus nothing may show up initially. I would go see a Dermatologist for your face rashes first.

Go to medicinenet.com and in the search bar type in systemic lupus erythematosus. This tells you all about SLE and discoid lupus which involves the skin. (It will show you what the butterfly rash looks like.) The site tells all of the symptoms, how it is diagnosed, how it is treated, etc.

You can also just do a web search on "systemic lupus erythematosus" and read through the listed sites.