Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 We've been discussing acanthosis nigricans extensively in the low-carbing diabetics' group recently. Here is an enlightening post from our expert Ron Sebol ... *************************** Acanthosis nigricans usually shows up in skin folds. Ankles, elbows, knees to name three. It acts a bit like a litmus test for control. The skin becomes darker, thicker, and more scaley with poor control and the opposite when things are as they should be. However, it will not 100% dissapear even with an A1c of 5.0. At least that is the case with mine. It is easily mistaken for psoriasis and that condition is also more common in diabetics so there is no reason why both could not be present. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 Ron, I had a condition like " dirty neck " when I was younger, but mine left a pattern on my neck. My whole neck was darked except for a small triangle in the front (looked weird..<g>) The doctor told me it came from the excess weight. Belver Ladson dfanish@... AOL IM: Belve Yahoo IM: dfanish DFAN Diabetes Website: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite Got A Diabetes Story or Poem You Want To Share? Write me! Diabetes Angels http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/resort/3146/angel ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 Yes, Belver. It appears you were diabetic right from childhood. Go to http://www.altavista.com (or another good search engine) and type in quotation marks: " acanthosis nigricans " and you will find plenty of web sites where they show pictures of the condition, for comparison. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 Susie, You know what?.....the last three days have been like a new window opening in my life. The " dirty neck " is explained and now I remember having problems with my feet about a year before I was diagnosed. My feet would burn so much that I couldn't wear my shoes. I'd go to the podiatrist and they'd just tell me that it was weight related. Now I know what it was....neuropathy, which is one of the most common reasons a Type 2 gets diagnosed. They go in to find out what's wrong and bingo...diabetes is there. Belver Ladson dfanish@... AOL IM: Belve Yahoo IM: dfanish DFAN Diabetes Website: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite Got A Diabetes Story or Poem You Want To Share? Write me! Diabetes Angels http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/resort/3146/angel ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 Belver Ladson wrote: << You know what?.....the last three days have been like a new window opening in my life. The " dirty neck " is explained and now I remember having problems with my feet about a year before I was diagnosed ... >> It is a shame how little is known in the medical community regarding the signs of diabetes! The internet serves as a wonderful way for us diabetics to exchange our own experiences and help others coming along after us. We should add acanthosis nigrigans ( " dirty neck " ) to the list of symptoms that brought about a diagnosis of diabetes. But, just as in Belver's case, this obvious sign did not bring about a diagnosis. I escaped diagnosis for years as well. Many others have a similar situation. We are told not to let signs of diabetes go untreated. But we cannot get " treatment " until someone diagnoses us. (Although for increasing numbers of us, our " treatment is self-administered ... low-carbing ... we still need a doctor's care in order to get HbA1c tests, etc.) Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 1999 Report Share Posted November 19, 1999 Susie, I'm apologize for writing so much today..<g> But I also remember not feeling well a LOT of the time. I'd go to the doctor, get checked (they wouldn't do blood tests) they'd say I had the flu and that was it. The only problem was that I was feeling ill almost every week. It got to the point where I thought I was a hypochondriac (and for the person to recognize it, it must be blatent..lol) I also have a pituitary tumor, and I read that diabetes is sometimes a secondary disease due to high prolactin levels. I asked about that too and was politely told that I i didn't know what I was talking about. Well, time to look over my medical records...cya. Belver Ladson dfanish@... AOL IM: Belve Yahoo IM: dfanish DFAN Diabetes Website: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite Got A Diabetes Story or Poem You Want To Share? Write me! Diabetes Angels http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/resort/3146/angel ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 21, 1999 Report Share Posted November 21, 1999 In a message dated 11/19/1999 6:20:11 AM Pacific Standard Time, ottercritter@... writes: << Yes, Belver. It appears you were diabetic right from childhood. Go to http://www.altavista.com (or another good search engine) and type in quotation marks: " acanthosis nigricans " and you will find plenty of web sites where they show pictures of the condition, for comparison. >> Wow!!!!!! I did this Susie and there I saw pics of my " dirty neck " !!!!!! I always thought it was dirty and even switched to an antibacterial soap to see if that would help. I must say that it has gone away! Maybe it was the Dial or maybe because my blood sugars are running 80's to 100! LOL = ) On another list they are were also talking about skin tags and how that is also a sign of insulin resistance. Man, I am loaded with those. They have shrunk down though, so maybe in time they too might disappear (fingers crossed). Meniowl@... type2,dx7/99,d & water aerobics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 1999 Report Share Posted November 22, 1999 Hi all, I can remember being told to " wash my neck " all the time, and I kept saying to myself, " I washed my neck. I must not be doing it the right way! " ...lol Imagine all the people who just think they have a dirty neck and don't know what it really is? I might list this on my website along with the other symptoms I have listed. Belver Ladson dfanish@... AOL IM: Belve Yahoo IM: dfanish DFAN Diabetes Website: http://pages.prodigy.net/dfan/dfansite Christian Diabetes Living: http://home.att.net/~belve Got A Diabetes Story or Poem You Want To Share? Write me! Diabetes Angels http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/resort/3146/angel ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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