1. Community
  2. Skin and nails
  3. Granuloma Annulare

Granuloma Annulare

Posted , 10 users are following.

jill68306
jill68306

I have had GA for several years now. It first appeared on my back in a cluster. Primary Dr thougt it was shingles. My Dermo immediately told me I had GA. Several places began to appear on my arms. I took no treatments medically but began to use olive oil on my skin. The places began to disappear and stopped the itching within a yr the places were gone. I was clear for about 2 yrs now they are reappearing on my back, cheek and arm.I began using a new oil I found..It is called Africa's Best Herbal Oil. One can use on hair, bath and body and extra dry skin. It is made in the USA. I have no scientific reason but it works for me. It is very oily so after i shower and still wet I apply to my skin.....working for me....

1 like, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • cheryl09489
    cheryl09489 jill68306

    Posted

    That is interesting.  I have had GA for 14 years or so.  It gets very large; starts out small and then becomes this ugly and noticeable purple ring that keeps spreading.  I have it on the back of my hands all around my midriff back of my arms and usually on my legs and feet.  I am now doctoring for it.  The first Dermatologist said as with most of you ... no cure and it will go away on its own.  Mine actually looks like burns and keeps spreading and itches.  I now have a dr. that one took a biopsy to guarantee it was GA.  Then she had several courses of action, none of which are confirmed as cures.  She has me on a series of anti-biotics which I take once a month.  I was on this for 1 year and they disappeared and then within 6 monthes came back with a vengence.  I am now starting my second 3 month cycle and hopefully will have the same results as before within the year.  We are talking about a maintenance dosing which is of no harm to my body and will keep this nasty thing at bay.
    • cheryl09489
      cheryl09489

      Posted

      There were other things she listed but none were topical.  I may try your treatment along with the anti-biotics.  They find that the make up of this disease is similar to...don't get scared, but...Leoprosy.  Only the papules and they treat Leoprosy with these anti-biotics.  Let me know your thougts.

      Cheryl

    • Leezydeez
      Leezydeez cheryl09489

      Posted

      Hi Cheryl. I am at my wits end with this! It is on both arms. neck, face , back, feet and it just keeps spreading! I want to hide!. I have tried all topical ointment and oils. I feel it needs to be addressed from the inside! What is causing it and how do we treat the cause? not just the symptoms. Any thoughts?

      Has your dermatologist prescribed the antibiotics or a GP?

      Thanks

      Lee

    • cheryl09489
      cheryl09489 Leezydeez

      Posted

      What I have learned about this skin disorder is that it usually affects babies and young people and more often females.  I am 68 years old so that doesn't fit.  The three anti-biotics that I take are Minocycline, Olfloxin, and Rafampin. They are in high doses and I take them the beginning of each month.  I stagger them so I have little or no side effects.  I will be anxious to see if they will work again and then we will try a maintenance dose.  This is all new to my Dr. She has had no one so far put on the anti-biotics with the response I have had. 

      My worst fear is to have it travel to my face.  I had one on my neck but that was as close.  I am located in Virgina USA, and my Doctor is in Richmond Virginia.  Believe it or not this is not a common occurance so they are not working on finding a cure for it.  I am a little bit of a nervous person and feel that is part of this disorder or at least feeds it.  Some of my circles are as big as grapefruits.  They are on my midriff.

      I will pass on any and all information to you as I am so sympathetic to you feeling like you don't want to go out.  You should at least have a biopsy of one of the erruptions and absolutely have it diagnosed as GA.  Lupus also has tremendous skin erruptions.

      Best to you Cheryl.  P.s.  where are you located??

    • Leezydeez
      Leezydeez cheryl09489

      Posted

      Hi Cheryl

      I am located in Victoria,Australia. I am 60 years old.

      I had my first lot of GA on my hands in 2005 and I put it down to wearing leather gloves (cheap ones). It was a localized GA. I  went to my doc. and had a punch biopsy. Confirmed GA. I used a cortisone cream on it but it didn't seem to do anything.....so stopped using it after 3 months. It cleared up itself after approx 12 months but left marks on my skin.

      It reappeared on my hands about 2 years ago and I did not treat it.

      Then I had an extremely stressful time in FEB this year and it has turned into the generalised type and has gone to my arms,neck,face, back and feet. it just keeps multiplying.

      I am an anxious person too, am on blood pressure tablets ,anti anxiety tabs, cholesterol tabs too. Is it a chemical cocktail that does it? That's why I don't particularly want to take any more tablets to add to the chemical cocktail  Stress?

      I wish someone would do some research into it and not make a guessing game out of it. I am fit and excercise a lot, eat a good diet, laugh a lot and am relatively happy, however this skin disorder is turning me into a VERY sad person.

      Best to you too. Keep in touch via this website.

      Lee

      PS I think there may be a lot of charlatans out there in cyperspace. Trying to part us from our money

    • cheryl09489
      cheryl09489 Leezydeez

      Posted

      I will keep in touch with you because this disorder make me angry.  But now that I know more about you we sound so much alike.  I also take blood pressure meds but just in the past month and have taken anti-anxiety meds for far too long.  I forgot to tell you that there was something I read which was part of a study at a hospital, but they seem to be able to relate this skin disease to people suffering with thyroid disorder and or diabetes.  I have had my thyroid removed actually in pieces since 1969.  I now have no thyroid and take medication for that.  I so far have no diabetes but it is heavily throughout our family.

      I remember when I used to walk, which was a 4 mile clip at a fast walk.  When I got home I would take a bath and my arms and legs would itch like crazy and welt.  Not sure if it was in my system at that point and the exercise exaccerbated it or not; just a thought.

      I had in the beginning injections into the rings and it did nothing but ruin my skin because it was cortizone which breaks down the collegen in your skin which never comes back.

      Not sure of chemical cocktail theory but it makes you think.  Talk to your doctor about the three antibiotics.  I take one pill of each once a month.  In the beginning I took all at once which did not work well for me with regards to side effects.  The side effects are minimal but exascerbated when throwing them all together at one shot.  It took 1 year to see a marked difference and I have generalised type.  Now that I have to get back to where I was I take them in steps.  One gives me insomnia for the night I take it and one gives me extreme anxiety (heart pounding).  That being said I am the type to get side effects; I have a mitral valve issue with my heart so that will probably lend itself to the one side effect and the other I just plan for it.  It is only once a month and if it works I will do anything to get rid of it. 

      Do some research as I did.  We will learn together.

      My Best Cheryl

    • FrenglishCarole
      FrenglishCarole Leezydeez

      Posted

      Hi Lee,

      I am located in Ontario, Canada. Your story with GA is very similar to mine - I am 57 years old and it started about 8 years ago for me - Like you, I believe stress has something to do with it even if you are fit. I exercise a lot (I go to the gym 5/week), walk and stay active - eat a good diet, am a happy person most of the time. My relationship with my husband might be the problem - he has many health issues and I feel out of control with his situation always expecting to find him dead one of these days when I get home from work. He is the complete opposite than me with smoking, eating unhealthy, etc. I do not feel stressed but I might be...... I am at a wits end trying to figure out why I have this disease - like you, it drives me crazy. It is very difficult to trust the doctors and there are a lot of charlatans out there.

      I have tried many creams to no avail - I believe it comes from the inside. I had a hair analysis done and it came out as high toxicity of mercury, potassium and sodium. Recommendations were given so am following that right now - It has been 1 month and I can't say there is a significant difference but it is not getting worst. 

      Another thought - when I look at my skin, I say "wow, it's going away" instead of "sh*t, it looks worst than yesterday" - I read somewhere that our thoughts create our outcome so nothing to loose by reversing my thinking patters - WOW MY SPOTS ARE GOING AWAY LOL

      Have you tried anything else since the last time you posted? 

      Let's keep in touch,

      Cheers,

      Carole

    • SallyN
      SallyN FrenglishCarole

      Posted

      Hi Carole, Lee and everyone else

      Great post, yes positive thinking really works, I know from 20 years ago when I was in a head-on car smash (old lady had a heart attack at the wheel and careered straight for me) left with multiple leg injuries and 7 weeks in hospital (lucky in the UK we have the free NHS). Told by the consultant I'd never run again, always have a limp, probably be quite sedentary for the rest of my life - well after he said it to me my reaction was "want a bet??"  it was like red rag to a bull!  I have no limp, I run, I squat, I go to the gym, etc and still working on improving my leg strength..  Having been through that I know it all takes time as this is a process we're all in, there is clearly no quick fix at this point in time and we're all individual anyway so what works for one may not for another??.  It took me 5 years to run, 9 years to squat again after all the damage.

      All I'm saying is that instead of hating this condition what you're saying is inspiring, read about how thoughts create our reality, so much written about it and worth a look.  Things like is the glass half empty/half full?  I do believe our attitude towards the GA has a very big part to play. Husbands don't always help although mine is on the same page as me.

      Just a quick report, I'm now on day 29 of my auto-immune 30-day paleo elimination diet and feeling great.  Have lost some weight although that wasn't the intention.  Good news is that all the skin discolouration which was related to GA (patch type GA I understand) has faded so much to being virtually imperceptible.  The other patches on my inside knees, elbow and one arm are still there, however they are not inflamed any more so I am very optimistic that given time they will go or even that I will be able to let them go!

      Onwards and upwards.

      Cheers

      Sally

    • FrenglishCarole
      FrenglishCarole SallyN

      Posted

      Thanks for the feedback Sally - your story is inspiring and confirms my new way of positive GA thinking going forward.

      Have a fantastic day,

      Carole

    • morgan89477
      morgan89477 cheryl09489

      Posted

      Hi Cheryl! I am in Richmond and am suffering with this horrible GA. Did you ever get any answers??

      Thanks

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.