Darn Skin Problems

[Guest guest]

Well my left eye seems to be getting worst again. It has been having

hives and itching all week. The entire eye lid is bright red and the

right eye lid is just red, no hives or itching. My sister try to

brighten things up with me by asking where in the world I was I able

to find the exact same red eye shadow to match my cheeks and nose.

Ha Ha... Still using the Protopic for the eye lids and Rozex for the

cheeks and nose. Feel week and worn down. Working a normal work

schedule this week with no overtime. Not sure what is going on.

Don't have any possible new spots coming out and the SSKI have kept

the old one's away.

Am bummed a bit since I go for my 2nd Epidural on Friday. I know I

will be out of commission completely after that for I will be sedated

and then on pain meds the rest of the day. Wow, what a way to spend

your one day off. Yippeeee..... I am still thinking of having an

internal TENS unit placed in my neck/shoulder area for the Spinal

Accessory Nerve damage. The Norco helps with the pain, but if I can

stay away from the narcotic, I think it would be better in the long

run.

Oh well, off to bed I go. Night everyone.

Zoo

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your message, Zoo . . . I'm sorry your wait is going to be

so dang long! Typical, isn't it? grrr I do pray there's an answer

in your results. I've been noticing hives too . . . but it's funny.

I get ONE hive almost every time I eat something. Just one. It

springs up, itches like crazy for a half hour or so, I bruise from

scratching, (thanks a lot, pred!) then it goes away. Very odd. The

pred side-effects are really getting to me . . . can barely move my

head for the swelling and the acne is horrible! I look like one of

my sons at puberty! I joke with people; tell them pretty soon I'll

have a penis! It's just horrible! REALLY looking forward to getting

off the pred completely! Hubby and I have started walking at the

track again, starting slow, only did 7 laps last night. Should have

just finished the 2 miles, but the legs were stiffening up big time,

and for some reason was getting red spots on my arms . . . maybe it

was the heat. I've had a few pangs in my feet this morning, hoping

it's just from the walking, and not a precursor to any night

attacks. I've been drinking lots of water, , no worries =)

I've got a wedding to attend in July and am fighting the pred-pig-out

side-effect with water, rather than food. Hopefully, it will help

with the melt-down I've heard about when going off steroids. My

luck, it won't happen . . . but I really don't want to wear a

football jersey to the wedding! Lumps are still stagnant, still

purple with no actual lump underneath . . . they seem to get red

sometimes, but that may depend on the weather or time of day, things

like that.

Welcome all new groupies! Have a great day!

M

> Well my left eye seems to be getting worst again. It has been

having

> hives and itching all week. The entire eye lid is bright red and

the

> right eye lid is just red, no hives or itching. My sister try to

> brighten things up with me by asking where in the world I was I

able

> to find the exact same red eye shadow to match my cheeks and nose.

> Ha Ha... Still using the Protopic for the eye lids and Rozex for

the

> cheeks and nose. Feel week and worn down. Working a normal work

> schedule this week with no overtime. Not sure what is going on.

> Don't have any possible new spots coming out and the SSKI have kept

> the old one's away.

>

> Am bummed a bit since I go for my 2nd Epidural on Friday. I know I

> will be out of commission completely after that for I will be

sedated

> and then on pain meds the rest of the day. Wow, what a way to

spend

> your one day off. Yippeeee..... I am still thinking of having an

> internal TENS unit placed in my neck/shoulder area for the Spinal

> Accessory Nerve damage. The Norco helps with the pain, but if I

can

> stay away from the narcotic, I think it would be better in the long

> run.

>

> Oh well, off to bed I go. Night everyone.

>

> Zoo

[Guest guest]

Zoo,

I have been reading about your struggle with the hives on your eyes and I never put 2 and 2 together. I have been having the same problem off and on for probably about the same amount of time I have been suffering with the EN. The eye doc told me it must be allergies or dryness as he could find no evidence of infection or scratching. I had a previous injury in my left eye and thought it had returned. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it is red and itchy, sometimes it is red, itchy and swollen and so on. The rheumy told me that my EN is caused by allergies as well, although my GP doesn't agree. Actually none of the specialists (Infectious Disease, Rheumatologist and Dermatologist) agree about anything except that they can't find a cause.

Terri --who uses OTC allergy drops to help with the tearing and itchingzoo762 wrote:

Well my left eye seems to be getting worst again. It has been having hives and itching all week. The entire eye lid is bright red and the right eye lid is just red, no hives or itching. Zoo

[Guest guest]

hi zoo and terry,

if i might add my experiences for a moment and take it for what it is

worth.

i have scleritis, it is basically a cronic inflammation of the white

of the eye. that dx is pretty accurate, given i have crohns disease,

but getting there was not easy. i learned a few things along the way.

allergies, yes it could be. if it is, consider yourself fortunate.

specialists not agreeing...all the time. but here is the order i

would suggest to follow. since you are involved with autoimmunity,

basically inflammation of various tissues, go to a good opthamologist

that understands autoimmunity. not all do. be sure to rule out

scleritis, uveitis and a whole host of other related disease this

could be due to inflammation. some of these can be quite serious and

render you blind if you don't address it. i didn't see an

opthamologist in your list of docs you mentioned. you don't fool

around with your eyes!

next, it could be cronic dry eye. people with autoimmunity do suffer

more often with this condition. there is a new med out there i have

been using that addresses both my scleritis and dry eye....it is

called restasis. it is a cyclosplorin emulsion. works really well.

there is a 2 month survey program you can get on to get this for

free....at least for a while.

do get a complete dx and keep going until you do. there is an answer

and when it comes to the eyes, there is only one specialists i know

that can answer this one.

hope things improve for you zoo,

jeff

> Well my left eye seems to be getting worst again. It has been

having

> hives and itching all week. The entire eye lid is bright red and

the

> right eye lid is just red, no hives or itching.

> Zoo

[Guest guest]

Terri,

I agree with the same comment about the docs...wish they all would

agree on one thing. At least mine all say it is EN and and auto

immune disease causing it. Which one? That's where the problem is.

I do use OTC eye drops when my eyes start to really burn. The derm

doc has be put a thin layer of Protopic (Rx) over the lids twice a

day. The allergist, derm doc and primary all want me to stay on an

antihistamine for it as well. They all suggested an OTC med called

Loratadine. It is really generic Claritin OTC. It is non drowsy and

helps with the itching. I find with the combination of the Protopic,

drops and Loratadine, it usually helps. It just seems when other

things go haywire, the eyes start going buggy as well.

Zoo

> Well my left eye seems to be getting worst again. It has been

having

> hives and itching all week. The entire eye lid is bright red and

the

> right eye lid is just red, no hives or itching.

> Zoo