Jess Impiazzis Raw Lupus Struggle While Pregnant

 documented her 'life-changing' battle with Lupus as she shared candid photos of her skin rashes and hair loss on Monday.

The pregnant reality star, 37, who was diagnosed with the chronic condition in 2023, said she had 'never felt so lost' and was ‘always fearful of how the future would pan out'.

Lupus is a long-term autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue, causing inflammation and damage to organs like the skin, joints, kidneys, and heart.

The star began her Instagram post by revealing that her diagnosis has had a profound impact on her mental wellbeing.

Jess confessed that her identity felt like it was shifting, and while she spent years working out and powering through her challenges, she felt she 'couldn't do it anymore'.

Alongside a bare-faced selfie, Jess revealed she had rashes appearing all over her face and body, her joints were '.

Sharing a snap dancing on stage in a skimpy bodysuit, she continued: 'I'd gone from being confident in front of the camera, making movies and TV series, to suddenly feeling too poorly and too self-conscious to take myself to the supermarket'.

Jess lost nearly half her hair, and the daily anxiety made her feel so lost she didn't know who she was anymore.

Posting a snap of her in the air strapped into a harness, she explained she was taking steroids and tried different medication, which only helped occasionally.

'But the truth was I was in pain, I was scared and didn't know how to carry on like this', she added.

Posing with her partner, Sam Bird, 34, Jess explained that she had to find a new way of living which involved cooking fresh food, which aids gut health, while prioritising sleep and physical fitness.

She finished her post with: 'I was always fearful of how the future would pan out with my body being unpredictable and worried if I'd ever get my own family that I wanted.

'But it turns out taking good care of myself, being in a good environment and my medication (a+ little but of fertility science), I didn't have to worry too much.

'Pregnancy has its own challenges with lupus, which I'll talk about next time. But I'm so proud of my body and how we can adapt to adversity.'

Jess is due to .

The couple's pregnancy comes after a long and emotional IVF journey.

The actress was diagnosed with Lupus in 2023 and later revealed she feared early menopause could leave her unable to have children.

Opening up about undergoing IVF while living with a chronic illness, Jess admitted the process was far from easy.

Recalling the experience, she told the Daily Mail: 'It was challenging because I was really scared of the hook.

'We did a trial one to get my period on the right setting, so I was using hormone tablets and injections and stuff.

'And that was, that was quite frightening because I would get flare-ups during different jabs or different times of what the medication was on, because before that I'd been put on HRT, so my body was all over the shop, we didn't really know what was going on.'

'I was really scared of all this stuff going in my body because I was already on a medication called azathioprine, which I'm still on and hydroxychloroquine and then the steroids, and it does frighten you because my body's just been through so much by this point.

'I'm just really pleased it worked and we're now, and I'm now at this stage, I still take my medication, but I don't feel like I'm being pumped with everything now.'