There was a time when publicist Tracy Larrua was on top of the world.

The Kaneohe native had a high-paying corporate public relations job in Los Angeles and a busy social life. She worked at least 80 hours a week, entertaining clients at night and attending functions on weekends.

At the time, she was a “social” smoker, and she loaded up on fast food because it was convenient.

Then in November 1997, Larrua was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that causes the immune system to attack the body’s tissue and organs.

“I was mad,” she said. “I asked, ‘Why am I getting this?’ I didn’t want to accept it.”

From work to fitness, the disease would radically change her life. But Larrua has found a way to live with the condition, thanks to lifestyle changes and a positive outlook.

In the beginning there had been symptoms, but Larrua didn’t recognize them.

Despite an active schedule of jazz dance and kickboxing, she was gaining a few pounds every week. When she washed her hair, she noticed it was falling out. Lots of it.

She also noticed tingling in her feet and hands.

One day while driving on a Los Angeles freeway at top speed, Larrua lost all feeling in her right foot. Luckily, a friend was beside her in the car, and they managed to slow down and pull over.

Even with her diagnosis, she was reluctant at first to change her lifestyle. Then Larrua got some heavy advice from good friend, actress Kelly Hu.

“She slapped me on the side of the head and said, ‘If you want to get better, you have to live healthier,'” Larrua said.

Six months after her diagnosis, Larrua finally stopped smoking and eating fast food. Her doctor also recommended that she stop kickboxing due to the impact on her joints. Eventually she had to stop dancing because of pain in her shoulders and arms.

Larrua also has fibromyalgia, a muscle and joint condition that causes widespread pain and fatigue. To cope with that and lupus, Larrua went on numerous prescribed medications.

When her doctors prescribed larger and larger doses, and then recommended chemotherapy, Larrua turned to a naturopathic practitioner, whom she continues to see today. She started taking plant-based supplements and turned to meditation and acupressure.

“Typically, you already have the (lupus) gene in you and it’s triggered by something — in my case, stress,” she said.

Larrua, 53, moved back home to Hawaii five years ago to live a less stressful lifestyle and to take care of her aging mother. She started her own public relations company, Poi Planet, which gives her more time and flexibility.

“One of the benefits, moving from L.A. to Hawaii, the air here is clear,” she said. “For people who have autoimmune diseases, you need to be very cognizant of your environment.”

Staying fit when you have lupus isn’t easy due in part to painful joints. But Larrua manages to jump on a small trampoline a few mornings a week at home.

In addition, she meditates twice a day and does what she calls a soft-sand walk at Kai­lua Beach a few times a week. Putting her feet in the ocean helps soothe the aches. Sometimes she swims.

“I try to make it a standing appointment,” she said. “I go for at least a 20- to 30-minute walk. It really helps with circulation.”

The Lupus Foundation of America estimates 1.5 million Americans have a form of lupus. Based on those statistics, the foundation’s Hawaii chapter, which is no longer active, last estimated about 10,000 Hawaii residents have lupus.

For Larrua the naturopathic approach has worked.

“I’m managing,” she said. “Before, on a scale of 1 to 10 for fibromyalgia pain, I was like a 9. Now my pain is manageable, like a 3.”

When she was first diagnosed, Larrua was hesitant to tell a lot of people about having lupus because of misconceptions that it might be contagious (it is not). But she wants to share her experience of being able to live with it and manage it.

“You really have to stay in a positive mindset,” she said. “That is half the battle.”