happy to find you...

Hello, yes it is nice to know we are not alone. I only wish someone would find a cure for us! Mine started a

year ago on my right elbow now with the DMSO/cortisone it has improved quite a bit. I also have small

circle scattered around maybe 15 of them. The DMSO/cortisone got rid of most of them completely but when when I stopped applying it on the small ones they reappeared. One tiny one on my thumb hasn't come back but who Knows. It's a mystery rash! I know I will continue to try everything under the sun till I find what works. I read that GA can be caused by a TB test. Well, I got a TB test a pretty close to the first onset. Anyone else have a similar story? Why does a TB test cause this?

I know I wrote this in a previous discussion, but have you tried going off of wheat? I decided to eliminate processed sugar from my diet about 6 months ago due to joint pain. It didn't really help, so I next eliminated wheat. Within 6 weeks my GA has cleared up and is no longer spreading. I still have faded scars from the ones they shot with Cortizone, or I used high power cortisone cream on, but I'm not longer broken out. 15 years of as 1 kid said "she looks like a leper". When I told my Dr. he said "it's possible" and that is the very reason some of these things don't have answers. Wheat is connected to all kinds of skin conditions and auto immune diseases. Oh, and going off of both sugar and wheat has made my joints feel a ton better!

Hi ,I have suffered from GA for five years. Then i came across a website where there have been clinical trials for the treatment of GA using ROM therapy at the Henry Ford Medical center in Michigan. ROM therapy has been used for the treatment of leprosy.http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00720980 . I showed this to my family doctor and she prescribed a three month regime. After the third treatment i saw significant improvement. My doctor then prescribed another round and now my rashes are gone. All I have is some discoloration where the rashes were, but they are getting lighter. I hope this info helps. I was blessed to have a doctor that would give this a try.

Hello Nina Dee thank you for sharing! I will check it out. As I mentioned the DMSO and cortisone has helped quite a bit I even wear short sleeve tops again but I still get new ones that pop up and need to be treated. I will check out the link I am managing my GA but it is not cured. My doctor checked out long ago with "it willgo away on its own" ugh!

Your doctor isn't in CA is he?

No, but have read on other threads where patients are asking their doctors to try this method. My dermatologist gave me all sorts of creams and injections and nothing worked. It was my family doctor that was willing to give this a try. I'm really beginning to believe this is the cure!!!! I take mine in the morning because it seems to keep me up all night when I take them late. I also have flashes of nausea, red colored urine, and felt yucky for about a day. Drinking a lot of water has seemed to help with the side effects during this last round. One day of discomfort a month is worth being able to wear short sleeves again and to get a manicure without being asked whats wrong with me. One dose each, once a month, of the following antibiotics:

Rifampin 600mg

Ofloxacin 400mg

Minocycline 100 mg

All taken together at the same time - once per month

That makes complete sense to me because I got my GA right after

I had a TB test (same arm) the cure for TB is antibiotics. I will ask

My GP for an RX. So how long is the course of antibiotics?

The course is for three months. It is said that patients continue to see improvement through the fourth and fifth month after the third dose. However, mine was so severe, my doctor decided to prescribe me another three month course. It was a few weeks after my fourth dose that the rashes were gone except for some discoloration which is fading more each day. I have just taken my fifth dose, so I'm not sure if the rashes disappeared due to the extended course or if it was due to it being under the forth and fifth month umbrella.

Just want to add 1 more thing here. I know it's a really hard thing to do, but please consider eliminating wheat from your diet for 4 weeks. I suffered from GA so severely for 15 years that I saw multiple doctors including the chairman of the department of University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. I went through creams, cortisone tape, shots etc. I gave up wheat for another condition and couldn't believe my skin cleared up. It is a natural way to go that doesn't compromise anything else in your body. You must plan ahead because going wheat free, eliminates a lot of things in your diet, but it is so worth it, that I have no desire to eat wheat again. Clear skin is a gift!!

Thanks for sharing! I am willing to give that a try also if it is working

for you it must mean your GA is triggered somehow by an allergic

Reaction from eating wheat. I feel like mine was triggered by the TB test

And if that is the case then the antibiotics may help mine?

How many bloggers out there had their first outbreak after a TB test? Anyone?

Not me, mine started right after I was laid off at work. Super stressful time, but no other trigger that I could identify. 7 years later the Daniel Fast for 12 days is fading the GA. Wish I knew what it is that I eliminated for my diet to cause this. Gonna make it hard to figure out since I gave up meat, processed sugar, yeast and dairy at the same time. It is naturally low in gluten but not gluten free so go figure.

Thanks for sharing; I am not alone!

K