Why do so many of us not fit the typical EN senerio?

[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

The discussion has turned to Fatigue. And yes, fatigue is indeed a

part of the EN syndrome.

ESR is a test that measures how quickly red blood cells fall to the

bottom of the test tube. This term is also referred to as " sed rate. "

Most people during an EN flare up have an elevated sed rate, meaning

that there is inflammation in the body.

I have read that fatigue is part of many inflammatory disorders. Our

bodies are working hard to try to get us back into equalibrium. Is it

any wonder we are exhausted?

Except for the times I have had to stick to a schedule for work or

school, I have tried to live my life in tune to my body. That means I

eat when I am hungry and sleep when I am tired. Granted, most of us do

not have this luxury.

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol8num1/reviews/enodosum/requena.html

<<Erythema nodosum was originally described in 1798 by the English

dermatologist, Willan, in his classic monograph on erythemas, and this

author emphasized the higher frequency of the process in women.[1]The

disorder was further delineated by in 1842, who considered

erythema nodosum to be a part of erythema multiforme because he had

observed urticaria, figurate erythema, purpura, and the nodose lesions

to overlap.[2] Later, Hebra, in 1860, expanded the clinical

characteristics of the process and described the color changes in the

evolution of the lesions, proposing the term dermatitis contusiformis

to name the disorder.[3]>>

I quote this to show how long EN has been around and to point out the

very different world women lived in a century ago. In those days

doctors had fewer treatments, and bedrest was one of them. So a dr.

sees a patient with nodules on the legs that make walking painful;

they also present with fever, fatigue and malaise. How smart do you

have to be prescribe " bedrest " ? And that became the treatment of

choice in the absence of effective drugs. A century ago, it was not

that hard to follow dr's orders. People took to bed for many illnesses.

The literature says EN rarely returns. I think that bedrest taken

timely at the first EN outbreak may have somthing to do with that.

Recurrent EN may simply be a sign of the times.

If you are lucky enough to have been correctly diagnosed, and this is

your first EN outbreak, I would carefuly weigh the trade off of a

possible lifetime of pain for a few weeks of bedrest. Many of us were

incorrectly diagnosed and did not have the choice. I urge all newly

diagnosed patients to get the rest they need to possibly avoid a

lifetime of pain and limitations.

Shins up!

Love,