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PMR, PREDNISONE, MEDROL, RASH!

Posted , 5 users are following.

kathy67492
kathy67492

Hi...back again about the rash!  Since last posting have been up and down, in and out, rash spreading....and "flaring" to the point of need ice packs all vet my torso, mostly.  Went to Detmatologist today..sobbing!! Unbelievable....have never done that! She said MEDROL is too weak...told me to wash everything again in "All", a detergent with no xtra ingredients.

Gave me a prescription for prednisone starting with 60 mg today, 40 tomorrow, 30, then 20....then back to my regular 9 mg which I take for the PMR. Hard to believe this rash is not connected to either PMR and/or the prednisone...and the suppression of the immune system....? Has anyone had this rash? She said it is definitely a contact dermatitis...not hives or heat rash.

I typically do not have sensitive skin! Thank you for any input.

2 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • hope4cure
    hope4cure kathy67492

    Posted

    I get get rashes a lot. Not always sure if it is from the heat. 

    Did ur doc take a biopsy. I have psoriasis. Sounds very similar to what u describe.or could be yeast rash. Why would u all of a sudden get a rash from the laundry detergent u always used? 

    I use alcohol free witch hazel and glycerine mix 50-50 in a spray bottle or use WH STRAIGHT. Be sure it's alcohol free...it stops the itch and less scratching leaves happier skin. cheesygrin

    also anti histimines help with itching. 

  • EileenH
    EileenH kathy67492

    Posted

    When you have one autoimmune disorder it is not uncommon to develop another. And even if you don't the immune system is not happy. After I started the PMR symptoms I seemed to become intolerant of wheat, that improved at higher doses of pred. You may not have been allergic to things before but you are in a different place now. It is also perfectly possible that the recipe of your usual products have been changed and there is now something in there that your skin doesn't like. Certainly, although generally my skin is fairly tough, I come out in a rash when ECG electrodes are stuck on me! So yes - it probably IS to do with having PMR but it isn't directly connected.
  • ann98860
    ann98860 kathy67492

    Posted

    Hi Kathy i wrote on this forum a hort while back about when in Jan of this year i was down to 5ml preds for 5 weeks i suffered with rash and itching all over my body,after the Dr trying every cream under the sun and having to go to bed with ice packs,and having to get up in the night to have acold shower sometimes twice a night ,Dr told me to up my dose back to 15 ml and happy to say i got better but it took about a week by the time i got to see the dermatologist it had gone i told him what had happened ,he said he was in no doubt it was medication that caused it so he gave me a open 6 months appointment card in case it came back,the only new medicationi was on was preds so please give your new dosage a while to work,let you body tell you how it feels,the rummy i was under dropped me down to quick again now shes left, this is the second one to go in 12 months so took my reading i took off this forum down to him and im following what it says ,after going up and down like a yoyo ive decided to start at the beginning again,and take things slowly, hope you get youself sorted out .
  • mrsmop
    mrsmop kathy67492

    Posted

    I developed a rash about 10 - 15 years ago and to cut a long story short, I was sent for patch testing, which I believe they no longer do because of the expense, and they discovered that I am allergic to formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers.  These chemicals are in everything but once I knew what I was looking for, I could avoid them.  They are in the gels that they use for ecgs and other medical procedures, though it is possible to find them without these particular chemicals.

    I vaguely remember washing clothes in white vinegar, a great fabric softener!

    Steroids help with the itching.  I had to use very potent steroid creams to begin with.  

    • EileenH
      EileenH mrsmop

      Posted

      I wonder if that was why I went red and itchy after having an echocardiogram? It was only where the gell had been! I refuse to change the tried and tested liquid detergent I use and use the minimum possible. Once or twice I've had minor problems when they change the recipe but so far it has faded within a few weeks. But some hotel laundry is a nightmare!

      The most dramatic rash I've had was to an ACE inhibitor - so now have 2 tablets instead of 1 but that's worth it! 

    • mrsmop
      mrsmop EileenH

      Posted

      That is probably exactly what it is Eileen.   I can't use micropore and it is either the paper [or whatever it is made from] or the adhesive.

      I was supposed to have an echocardiogram but the hospital's gel had formaldehyde releasers in it, so I searched on line for some that was free of what I am allergic to.

    • EileenH
      EileenH mrsmop

      Posted

      I've been able to use micropore in the past but I have to say I VERY rarely use plasters at all - even on an anticoagulant I don't bleed very much! They have recently changed the plasters at the vampire clinic and they are supposed to hypoallergenic. I'm not convinced! I can't let them clean the skin with the alcohol stuff either - but studies have shown that doesn't make any difference anyway. But it makes me itch!
    • mrsmop
      mrsmop EileenH

      Posted

      They no longer use alcohol wipes here and I was taking my own plasters, the zinc ones appear to be ok, until one of the phlebotomists offered me a small bandage instead, which I now 'wash & wear'!

      They no longer use micropore here either but I haven't tried the new stuff because the other problem I have, is that adhesives pull my epidermis from the dermis

  • Chopsie
    Chopsie kathy67492

    Posted

    Hi there

    I came out in a rash which started on my face and traveled over my body - it happened a out 5 weeks after a trial shot of steroids. Happened again same thing after another shot later on. Drs and rheumy referrede to dermatologist who as you say 'certain' that it was contact dermatitis - I've never been and am still not allergic to anything I touch.

    I can tell it's coming from inflammation within me. Now if I get tired and stressed my face flares again for a few days. The skin is the organ which the body uses as a release for toxins a lot.

    I use Barefoot SOS cream - bit expense and difficult to come by but it gives relief.

    The reduction in you steroids will be enough to trigger the rash as your over- active immune system responds.

    All the best

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