Lupus

[ChrisMayo]

Hello all.

I posted my symptoms the other day, and I suffer badly from health anxiety, so now i'm convinced I have Lupus.

Mainly because, although it isn't new, for the last 5 or so years I've had the butterfly rash on my face. I went to the doctors when I first noticed it, and he said I had a fungal infection and a mild case of dermititis, I was given an anti fungal cream and it got better.

I then started to get very flaky skin on my eyebrows, and by the top of my nose, and chin, and was given hydrocortisone ointment which I was told to use lightly on my face, as it would clear it up, though not to use for a long period of time as it things the skin. It cleared it up perfectly, and I used it one every few weeks to keep it under control.

Now, I have run out and stopped using it, and my face is very red and sore, and where my sideburns are, are very itchy, my eyebrows are red and flaky skinned, and my chin is very sore.

I also have the general red appearance. Though my eyes and forehead are normal coloured. It first got really bad after wearing stage makeup for a day, doing a show, the next day, my face was totally bright red, in the same pattern. So I obviously have very very sensitive skin.

Because I've had it for ages (long before all my other symptoms started) I'd assumed my skin would always be like that (my dad also has very bad flaky skin, some blotching etc), but only now have I thought it could be lupus causing it all.

It doesnt run in my family, and my skin isn't really affected by the sun.

Do you think it could be that I just have bad/sensitive skin? Or does it sound like Lupus?

Sorry again for the long post. I told the doctor about my skin on my last check up (I also had a rash on my chest, which went after taking some anti-histimines) she said my face looked like stress, and my chest was just flaky skin.

She didnt seem concerned, but today its really itchy, blotchy and obvious.

If anyone has any thoughts, i'd appreciate it.

Chris x

[Giz]

I have a few thoughts...
Could it be an inflammatory skin condition such as eczema or psoriasis?
Do you get enough Ohmega oils and all your vitamins & minerals?
Do you drink enough water?

My boyfriend used to get weird patches of dry skin that flake off, like sunburn without sun exposure, they would be in the areas where he had facial hair, and in the folds of his ears. Since we worked on his diet, he no longer gets them-so this may be worth considering..

Eczema and psoriasis are quite frequently associated with an underlying food intolerance. You say your dad has it too-do you eat your meals with your folks? Could you possibly share an intolerance to something?
The most common culprits for a food intolerance are gluten (found in grains like wheat, barley and rye) or lactose (found in dairy products). Other than that other causes are (In no particular order) eggs, beef, pork, onions, yeast, MSG, Caffiene, citrus fruit, (and I know theres another but cant think of it now!!)
Alcohol can also make the gut wall more leaky which would worsen any symptoms.

When our internal balance of ohmega 3 and ohmega 6 is off (they should be in a balance of 1:1, most of us get too much Ohmega 6 & not enough Ohmega 3) it can cause flaky dry skin, itchiness and dandruff. As well as worsening inflammatory health conditions such as eczema and psoriasis mentioned above-but also arthritis and asthma.

There are so many vitamins & minerals important to the skin, vitamin C and E are essential to maintain cell structure, as well as zinc and many others.. So check your diet, make sure youre getting something of everything (food intolerances permitting!!) and perhaps add a good quality natural source multivitamin on top and lots of vitamin C (theres never enough vitamin C in a multi for 2 reasons-1, its water soluble and you excrete it quite fast, so you need to take it intermittantly, and 2, you need so much, that if they put it in the tablet as well as everything else, the tablet would be unreasonably large-the ones I take are bad enough as it is!!)

And lastly, as silly as it sounds, are you drinking enough water? A surprising amount of us are chronically dehydrated.. I mean, we should get 2 litres of filtered water per day, and add an extra glass and a half on for each caffeinated drink consumed.. When were dehydrated, our skin turns into sandpaper..

Perhaps before you worry about the big things, it would be more beneficial to focus on the small easy things you can change, I know its probably part of health anxiety to automatically think the worst, but more often than not the actual problem is something far less grim. Its a difficult thing to do I know-changing a thought pattern, but if you consciously choose to do it, then you are taking control of it. And you have got the power to do that.

Best of luck!! :D

[ChrisMayo]

Hey.
Thanks for replying.

Could be eczema, though its only really flaky around my eyebrows, under my nose, and my chin, my cheeks are just flushed and red, with a few blotchy look parts.

It's kind of more general than the Butterfly rash, it still kind of has that shape, but is over the whole cheeks, and also on my chin, and eyebrows, and where my hair grows (beard, sideburns, eyebrows, moustache)

I dont live with my parents, so dont think it would be a food thing, but possibly hereditary condition.

I read up on Rosacea, and that says about itching/burning, and general redness, and dermatitis which causes flaking, so maybe I have a mix of the two going on.

My diet isnt great, though I've started eating more healthy stuff, I drink a fair amount of water, and I take vitamin supplements and drink fruit juice.

Ive got a scheduled appointment (had to book a double one as I had so much to talk about!) with my doctor in 5 days time, so maybe I'll mention it again then. Its just embarassing having my skin so red in the meantime

Anyone have anything similar? I know its not really anxiety related, but still interesting to know.

x

[Giz]

Well try improving your diet anyway-theres only positive side effects to be had from that..And make sure that your vitamins are natural source, as synthetic vitamin E actually interferes with real vitamin E absorption. (real vitamin E is d-alpha-tocopherol, fake ones are anything else, including dl-alpha-tocopherol)

As far as skin complaints go, if dermatitis is involved that is usually caused by an external irritant, so that could mean looking at anything you put on your face.. It would collect in areas where there is facial hair (I know my face wash collects in my eyebrows and my eyebrows are by no means thick!)
Rosacea is a form of acne, also associated with the things listed in the earlier post, as well as fungal infections and digestive complaints such as food intolerances.
And lastly toxic overload can cause things to erupt out on the skin.. Especially if the liver is overworked..

Just be wary of steroid creams and acne medications, as more often than not skin complaints are diet related.. Steroid creams can thin the skin and are not really advised as topical treatments on the face for this reason, some acne meds have some nasty side effects and would not treat the underlying problem-treat that and the nasty symptoms will go away :D

[ChrisMayo]

I ended up going to A&E, so panicky and couldnt wait to see someone.

I showed him my rash (which Ive had as long as I can remember, and my dad has similar), and he said it could be eczema, but today I also had back pain come on, and because of that he said it could be lupus.

I'm now worried that all of my symptoms are because of Lupus. He has given me a cream, but now all I can think about is Lupus.

:(

[ebony]

chrismayo, i was diagnosed with lupus over 10 years ago (SLE) but i didn't have the butterfly rash.
but i also had other health issues ~ allergies, infections, etc.
i researched alternative (not just a prescription!) to resolve my lupus.
by the grace of God, a book called the Yeast Connection came into my hands (2 different times!).
i cut out so much food from my diet, avoided scents, perfumes in daily products.
i started an intense herbal/diet regimen that seriously changed my life.
my ANA test results after 3 months change from 640? titres to 180 titres.

The post by northstar on foods to avoid were pretty much those i dropped.