I’m SO sexeh!
I FINALLY got into a dermatologist for that painful rash.
‘Ooooh, she had a rash? boohoo!’
When they’ve been digging around in your spinal cord and you’re bitching about your skin? There’s probably something doing.
While I’ve ridden it out to ‘resolution,’ that took two painful months. It spread all over (not my front bottom, grace be). My face is swollen, peeling and very red. And it hurts. Still.
(It’s hard to say, ‘my face hurts’ when the pat answer is, ‘It’s killing us!’ )
He got to see a lot more of me than any of you lot! From the still visible damage to my face: strep was the catalyst. From the damage all over (which was the ‘lot more of me’), that was vasculitis.
I’m not ashamed to need visual aids
He got all excited. ‘See! You got strep and your body tried to break down the toxins but it leaked out. Wherever it did, it got stuck in your blood vessels and caused inflammation and vascular breaks!’ He started with bigger words and gradually resorted to hand signals, which were better for me. I’m a visual person.
YAY! Glad he’s happy. Know what makes me happy?
His apologies for making me wait so long when I was in pain (and technically, at risk) and a promise that when this recurs,* I will get in that day — they’ll push others out of my way. Finally, some fecking respect for my ick.
To my amusement, he asked if my joints hurt.
‘All the time.’ I get it. This is an immune response. I’m auto-immune girl.
Know what else was funny?
‘Do you have a problem with gluten? Have you been tested for Celiac?’
I like this fellow. Plus, his family name is Peterson, which gave me some comfort when meeting him!
* Apparently, if you’re a lucky type who gets this, it repeats. Moreso, it can be life-threatening…what we see is the outside, it’s also doing it on the inside. Of course I felt like shite the whole time.
Glad you got some answers, but I am sorry that it hurts. Hope he was helpful in giving you some relief?
Nothing. He said it’s done its worst. However, as I stated, I’m to contact them immediately when it ever comes back to minimize the damage inside my body (organs, etc) and of course, that ridding me of the inflammation will keep away some pain.
As for now? Tough toenails.
Oh, yes, you want to be very careful with that. There’s a necrotizing version of vasculitis which operates like flesh-eating disease. Someone I know up here lost a chuck of leg tissue to it.
Also the organs but yes, one version is gangrene!
Ouch! Sounds nasty and painful. Hope you’re feeling much better soon. Glad you seem to have found a thinking doctor. He sounds like a keeper!!
I’d have liked it better if he’d have helped the residual because it’s not nice (and it’s MY FACE) but ya know. I’m grand. Thanks for your kind words. At least he seems to know what it appears to be (although I’ll get a biopsy next time, these lesions have calmed down too much to be helpful for full diagnosis).
Good, sounds like he’s got a clue. I hope now that is the worst of it and you’re well on the mend. I’m sad you had to suffer so long first!
You gotta imagine! A strep infection is painful and I drudged through (my face is still swollen, red, burnt/ peeling and raw–usually it’s just your throat but if you keep going, it apparently spreads). The body was the ‘show’ of my body carrying the infected blood vessels. Knowing that my organs had the same attack is scary. I should’ve been hospitalized (the norm when it had spread throughout the body).
Instead, I worked. I’ll admit, I’ve felt like SHITE. I mean really, really bad. I’m not better now but at least the pain is less. Rough road to getting proper medical attention. I wish he’d have given me something for what’s left but he felt the worst is over.
Oh, man! So glad you found out what the heck was going on, the doc seemed like a nice guy. I hope you start feeling better very soon, and it does NOT happen again.
Thank you! It may not. It’s somewhat rare and that’s why they’ve seen if it happens to ‘your sort’ of person, it may present again. Hope not cos I’ve got enough trouble! I’m tired of feeling poorly.
My BP is getting more normalized, so I hope that’s one symptom to show it’s getting better.
Oh noes! but I am glad you find a good doctor to help you. Lucky he seems to know the condition! Feel better girlie!
~Ang
Nothing can be done now til it finishes but AVOIDING it getting bad in future sounds great!
What’s annoying is I told my GP like 20 times, ‘Just give me steroids.’ I *hate* steroids but I know my immune system. GAR
Holy crap, girl, you are lucky you are not dead!!! That’s just horrible, awful and really really sucks.
I can’t think of anything to say, and all I can do is sit here shaking my head.
It’s just terrifying. And you actually beat it all by yourself. And there is the comfort that IF (pray not) it comes back it will be taken very seriously immediately!~
You know, I’m always cursing my immune system but I was thinking that TODAY. ‘Gosh, guess meditation and supplements DO help.’
Bless me poor body!
Bless you, all over, indeed!