So far, the doctors will not put her on it or cover her properly for pain. When they do prescribe something for pain, such as Darvon, they dole it out in such small amounts that it barely touches her pain. I've done a lot of independent research on lupus, but the doctors that we've taken her to seem to have less of an understanding than me. A number of treatments that can suppress the inflammation and reduce the severity of symptoms are available, but no true cure exists. This recognition is called tolerance, and SLE appears to result from loss of that tolerance.
Common complications involve different organs, resulting in a variety of symptoms.
You mention that your mother's thyroid has shut down and that she has become diabetic. These are not common complications of SLE and may be due to separate autoimmune disorders that affect only those organs. I assume that your mother has had tests that make the diagnosis of SLE quite certain. If there is any uncertainty about the diagnosis, that might explain her doctor's reluctance to treat her more aggressively. Most experts would also reserve prednisone for severe complications, since in large doses the drug has nasty long-term side effects.