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To all Granuloma Annulare sufferers - what else is going on?

Posted , 91 users are following.

FrenglishCarole
FrenglishCarole

I have GA for 8 years - we all know that this skin disease itself is not painful however I want to know if other things are going on within your body? 

I, personally, have issues with toe and leg cramps and nerve pain. Is this related or something else all together?

If you could please share your personal experience, I believe we need all info to assist each other.

Thanks,

Carole

6 likes, 207 replies

207 Replies

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  • wendy57614
    wendy57614 FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    I've now seen some recent posts so I know you are still going strong - that's great!  Wanted to say that I get feet, toe and calf cramps also, how weird is this that so many with GA also get them?  Gonna follow through with the metal/mercury link and with some possible medication link for cancer - will let you know if any links found.  Thanks 

  • dee333
    dee333 FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    After suffering with GA for 20+ years, I started taking doxycycline twice a day for two months now. It’s seemed to help clear up the lower half of my body(!), but not the top half (stomach up). Went to the derm today, and she injected steroids into the ones on my upper body to see if the combination of doxycycline and steroid will help. So far, this has been the most effective thing I’ve tried all these years. I can use the Doxy for one more month, and then I have to give it a break. So hoping this month will help! 
    • valerie888
      valerie888 dee333

      Posted

      Thanks, dee333, for the info. The steroid shots I received on my hands did clear up the GA spots there for the most part for quite awhile, although they seemed to thin my skin so it bruised and blood blistered easily. That side effect wore off over time when I stopped using Triamcinolone cream for a few months. The shots had ended months before that. 

      The last few months, GA has been gradually creeping back along the wrists under the palms. There are GA bumps along the back of my thighs and rings on my legs below the knees. There were minor outbreaks around my breasts, no doubt from sweat combined with bra friction, but regularly applying Triamcinolone cream to those areas cleared it up there. The dermatologist has said steroid creams work best on fresh outbreak areas. It's harder to get rid of it when it's been in an area for awhile. She said the longer it's in a spot, the more it gets to liking it there. 

    • wendy57614
      wendy57614 dee333

      Posted

      I was pleased and surprised to hear that doxycycline has helped to reduce your GA.

      I took doxy for a couple of weeks daily as an anti malarial prescribed by Doc and had to come off it as it produced extreme photosensitivity, a common side effect apparently, consequently I had very bad sunburn, blisters and all.

      Dermatologist has recently diagnosed my GA as Acitinic Granuloma which is caused by sun damage and up to now I do only get the rings on areas which have been exposed to the sun.  Apparently this type of GA (or is it a disease i it's own right?) is more prevalent in middle aged, fair skinned people, predominantly women.  Articles about Acitinic Granuloma seem to come mainly from NZ.

      I was having laser to remove thread veins from my chest and asked the clinician to zap a couple of the rings in that area too - the laser made no difference to the rings nor did electrolysis, so despite the immense and uncharacterstic heatwave in the UK I have been comprehensively sun protecting/sun blocking as I have been advised as being the only help and not a cure.  My back is still covered in rings but they are are pale brown rather than red now.

      I notice that there are a number of patients on this site who have/have had other health issues and like me cancer is included.  I noticed the beginnings of GA around the time I started with chemotherapy - could this be a cause?  Has anyone else noticed a connection between chemo and GA?  Best wishes 

  • sogaia
    sogaia FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    I have had perf GA on my legs for maybe 13 years now.  It's an area where I have vascular problems as well, so there's inflammation in the area, for sure.  Mine only shows up in the Summer.  That's the only real variable I can point to.  My first onset was during a very stressful period around the death of my parents and some other big life stressors.  Since then, I've been cured of Hep C, stopped smoking and my husband stopped drinking (one of my big stressors!) and life is GOOD.  Oh, and I even came off my anti-depressant meds successfully.  STILL got my red dots when the weather gets hot.  I was really hoping it was over after I got treated for HCV and quit smoking.

    I'm 59, active, eat pretty clean by preference.  Granuloma annulare is a mystery to me!  Varicose veins at least make sense, physically  I appreciate you asking this survey question and all the replies!

  • irene23233
    irene23233 FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    Hi all, first post, new to this with what I think is important info...

    I had recently gotten granuloma annulare....but is it that? The dermatologist thought so and prescribed a pricey tube of ointment. Later, I didn't think so when it didn't go away. How many here have been checked for sarcoid? Turns out the lesions we associate with GA maybe something more and serious and silent. Recently, I was admitted to the hospital and a nodule on my lung was seen. I was told to get a CAT scan with contrast when I was discharged. That little nodule was nothing. What the radiologist saw was swollen lymph glands in my spleen, lungs and belly. As I discovered, other symptoms may be linked and my own research came across something linking my so called GA  lesion with this. I did more research and found this  article: https://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0415/p1581.html#sec-3[/b] entitled: Cutaneous Sarcoidosis: A Dermatologic Masquerader. One of those rashes doing the masquerading is granuloma annulare.

    I had this lesion on my ankle and its common to have these sarcoid lesions right where one would expect GA.

    Please get yourself worked up for Sarcoidosis...for many its nothing and for others it can be serious with organ involvement...in fact, it can go into remission and even disappear..I think its linked to auto immune stuff; I am not a doctor, but discuss it with yours.

    Best of luck!

    Irene

  • ruthinnj
    ruthinnj FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    Hi, it's been a long time since I posted.  I have been doing light treatment 2x a week since Dec and it is almost gone.  Still some on my hands and a couple bumps on my left arm and front shoulder area.  Oh, also on my legs but that is the marks that sort of could be mistaken for bruises.  I am SO happy about that.  Will look into the Sarcoidosis tho, thanks.

    • dee333
      dee333 ruthinnj

      Posted

      hi, how is your GA after the light treatment now that time has passed?

  • naolin
    naolin FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    Hi everyone

    I am new here. All your information are valuable. Thank you. I developed GA about 3 years ago. Initially I got them on my leg and thought that they were mosquito bites. The symptom was very similar, itchy and they became blisters after I had scratched them. About a few weeks later, I noticed some sports on my right arm. They increased rapidly and almost entire lower arm was covered by GA in a few months. I saw 3 dermatologists and had biopsies again and again. I had no immune related disease and all doctors concluded that I was fine but gave me steroid cream Diplozone OV. They all seem to say it is stress to my body, but according to my GP, anything doctors do not know are referred to stress. I saw Dr Wakefield, a famous immunologist in Australia and did about 10 blood tests. He told me that my immune system was quite fine and only if I want, he can prescribe methotrexate which is a powerful medication and you take only once a week. After 3 months, you will see the effect. However, Dr Wakefield also warned that once you stopped taking them, the GA would come back.

    I have amalgam on my tooth. I am having a crown in a few months time so I will see how I go with removal of the metal.

    Lastly, I remember running very hard (4.30 minutes a km) around the time I first developed GA.

    Cheers,

    Naolin

  • Trinibeens
    Trinibeens FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    I can't figure out what causes this crazy condition. All I know is that I was exposed to mold (due to home flood) at exactly the same time I first got symptoms. I have always been under a lot of stress because I had a high stress job. Since I have retired, the symptoms are not as bad, meaning they are usually not itchy, not painful, not inflamed. So, I guess stress definitely has something to do with it. However, even though the symptoms are not as bad, I continue to get a few new granulomas every year. They started on my elbows, then popped up all over my hands, and now I have a few on my ankles. The symptoms are worse in cold weather, so I am glad I live in Arizona now. I have had GA since I was 45, now over 20 years (I am 68). I do not take any medications for it. I tried a cortisone cream that my doctor prescribed, but it didn't do anything.

    • naolin
      naolin Trinibeens

      Posted

      Hi there

      Thank you for your reply.

      All your information are helpful and and I am a kind of glad that I am not the only one who has GAs.

      I am planning to see an acupuncturist whom my colleague recommended and who is experienced.

      I will let you know how I go.

      Cheers,

      Naolin (62)

    • Trinibeens
      Trinibeens naolin

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply. Any info you can offer based on your experience is much appreciated! Let us know hos the acupuncturist goes~

      Be well,

      Irene

    • naolin
      naolin Trinibeens

      Posted

      Hi Trinibeens,

      I meant to come back to you earlier. I had 5 acupuncture sessions and saw significant improvement over a few weeks. Actually, my partner first noticed and told me that all angry looking GAs looked suppressed and the colour of them was fading. According to this acupuncturist who is also a doctor and has practiced in a hospital in China (by the way, he is Australian and not Chinese or of a Chinese origin), what the acupuncture does is to trigger the recovery to the autoimmune system which had gone crazy. I had heard before acupuncture could fix many autoimmune system related illness. I highly recommend seeing a good acupuncturist. It does not matter if he/she is a Chinese or Asian or any ethnic origin. Some physiotherapists practice acupuncture, but they are western acupuncture. Please make sure that they use Asian acupuncture. I am seeing the light in the tunnel now:)

  • lucy00519
    lucy00519 FrenglishCarole

    Posted

    I have disseminated Granuloma Annulare, an auto immune rash all over my body. After multiple medications, Acitretin actually cleared up my rash. It took 4 years to find a medication that helped my rash. I have a lot of side effects.

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