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

Yes, it sounds like everyone has had remission with pregnancy which happens because the hormones released during pregnancy also act as a kind of shut off for the immune system so our bodies don't reject the pregnancy as foreign tissue.  So, with the immune system quieted down we aren't rejecting our own skin (or some component of) either!  You can achieve the same result by taking Plaquenil (usually for lupus).  I took plaquenil for 3 months and my GA was GONE at month 3.  Problem is by shutting down my immune system I developed shingles (OUCH)  and it can increase your liklihood of bacterial infections even cancer.  Needless to say I freaked out and stopped taking it!

If it turns out NOT to be due to bacterial infection in my skin, I am going to try isotrentin next (accutane)  took it in my early 20's and as long as you arent a drinker or have liver damage (or child bearing years) it's fine and I had no negative response before.  I am READY to try anything (just about).  Right now I have one more dose of ROM (antibiotic) therapy and have been also taking Zyflamend "Formulated for Whole-body healthy inflamation response" (New Chapter) which the lady at Wholefoods recommended.  I also take .25 mg of prednisone per day.  I also had some more Kenalog injections on Friday (.5 mg)  on the blistery spots on my arms so I can wear short sleeves for the summer so I am not looking too bad.  The spots on the back of my thighs are the worse and they seem to have lightened up on their own.  Is it the ROM, .25 mg of Preds, or Zyflamend is the question.  I will stop the Preds and ROM soon so we shall see : )

I will keep you all posted!

I will keep posting!

Cheers,

Carole

Anyway, I am treating it with both the Vine Essence Pill Chinese Herbs. I can get them for you, and I am using the Propolis Creme and Body wash that Marion sells. She is part of our blog. Hope this helps. The herbs will at least give you some relief.

“First let’s understand how the body deals with mercury whenever it is taken in whether through breathing it, eating it or drinking it, or absorbing it through your skin.

The human body is by its very nature very smart and self-protective.  Depending on the form of the mercury and how the mercury gains access into the body, its internal movement will usually follow a general pattern which looks like this:

The body will always do what it can to protect its vital organs.  In performing this act of self-defense it will move the mercury as far away from the vital organs as possible.  This naturally directs the mercury to the farthest point away from the internal organs which is the skin.  Therefore, this is where we look to get a quick idea about an individual’s lifelong exposures to mercury.

Quite remarkably, the body is capable of moving mercury to the upper layer of the skin – to the epidermis.  Even better, as it shunts the mercury away from the vital organs, it will “lock it up” in the upper layers of the epidermis.  There are 4 or 5 layers composing the epidermis depending on which part of the body we’re talking about..."

Hi:

I am new to this site and glad to find it. I am 59 and have had GA since my mid- to late 30s when I became an avid long-distance runner, running races of all distances, including half-marathons and marathons. I have not run in years, and still have GA. 

The skin condition appeared at first as small red spots on portions of my skin under my running garments. These seemed to be where the garments rubbed my skin while I was running.

At first, the spots got no better and they got no worse. Apparently they were the beginning of GA, or caused it, and it eventually spread to lots of other parts of my body and has stayed -- coming and going on various areas of my skin. A dermatologist diagnosed it several years ago. 

I've noticed that heat and friction, and my own sweat apparently, seems to bring on the GA in new spots. At times I've had it over major portions of my body, including my arms, hands, abdomen and legs. A couple of spots turned up on my feet a couple of years ago, and never seem to go away. It stubbornly persists on my lower abdomen, under my pants or skirt. 

I've changed laundry detergents over the years, thinking I might be skin sensitive to laundry detergent. I've used allergen-free detergents and chlorine-free bleaches. None of that appears to be related and has not made a difference. I do have a skin sensitivity to chlorine, but the whites I use chlorine bleach on and wear don't cause breakouts of any kind and don't appear to be related to GA breakouts. 

The GA has improved considerably over the years, thanks to cortisone shots and creams and my learning what triggers it or makes it worse. My dermatologist (the second one I've seen) put me a few years ago on a regimen of 1,000 mg of Vitamin C daily, and that does seem to help reduce breakouts. 

I only have two dental fillings, which I've had since I was a child. I had braces for a time as a child, too. I did have a single breakout of ring worm once as a child (one spot on an elbow), which was diagnosed, treated and disappeared quickly, never to return. 

I have no dairy intolerance and generally don't eat fish or other seafood, although I ate shrimp often in my mid-20's to mid-30s, if I recall correctly. I do not have a thyroid condition. It was one of the first things my doctor checked when I was first diagnosed with GA, and doctors over the years have checked it again. I have had high triglycerides, but even when I've had those levels under control, the GA has continued.  

I have had stressful and demanding jobs over the years, beginning several years before the condition appeared. However, those types of jobs ended more than seven years ago. Unfortunately, the GA didn't. During the time I was working in stressful jobs, I did have bowel problems, which I've come to realize were stress related. That has not been a problem since I stopped working in those types of jobs. 

I once also had frequent foot and leg cramps, but again years before the GA came on. They occurred when I was 28 and worked at a job in which I was on my feet for hours in pumps or heels. A doctor also told me cramps are more likely if I am dehydrated. I eventually left that job and have made sure that I am hydrated, and that my feet are warm. (Cold also brings on cramps apparently.) I seldom if ever get cramps now. 

I don't have a gluten or wheat allergy to my knowledge, and generally stay away from wheat breads, etc., because I don't like such food products, but am willing to try giving up anything with gluten to see if it helps reduce my GA. By the way, makeup and lipstick with gluten causing GA would not apply to me because the condition has not been on my face, although I realize that the skin is a conduit, and anything it absorbs could cause problems elsewhere.   

The dermatologist I see now has told me that once a GA spot appears, it is good to apply cortisone cream quickly to that spot and daily because the longer the GA is on a portion of the skin, it gets to "liking it there," and will likely stay. She seems to be right. 

She has said that the condition is hormone-related and also an auto-immune disease. Stress can also aggravate it. I've noticed that caffeine can also inflame it if I ingest too much caffeine at one time. I stopped drinking caffeinated beverages years ago for an unrelated reason. 

The dermatologist said that in my case, my GA definitely appears to be hormone-related. I went on HRT a few years ago, and when I first began taking the pills, the GA cleared up completely. But then it eventually returned. I also got steroid shot treatments several years ago at another dermatologist's office. They reduced the GA temporarily, but it came back with a vengeance. The stuff can be pretty stubborn. 

When I had particularly nasty breakouts on my hands a couple of years ago, the dermatologist I see now gave me a series of cortisone shots in my hands over time and on a few other breakouts on my skin at that time. The condition completely cleared up on my hands and did some good in other areas, but I've noticed over the past few months or so that it has returned a little on my hands, with breakouts starting around my wrists.The shots had done no noticeable good on my abdomen, where the GA stubbornly persists. 

The dermatologist did not recommend continuing the shots indefinitely. They are used occasionally  and temporarily only for spots that get particularly bad. The shots over time also caused another skin condition: thinning my skin considerably so that I bruised and blistered easily, with blood blisters that would break easily and bleed. That continued after the shots stopped. It finally went away when I stopped applying the cortisone cream for a time. I've resumed the cream since then with no return of the skin thinning symptoms.   

I apply cortisone cream daily (Triamcinolone Acetonide 0.1%) to all my GA, which currently is on my legs, is starting again on my arms and remains on my lower abdomen. I am fortunate that it has never been on my face or neck and does not itch. 

When I was running, I trained for hours in the summer sun. I think it's significant that the sun alone cannot necessarily be the culprit or I would have probably had it on all my exposed skin areas, including my face. It appears to stick to areas where clothing covers the skin, leading me to my belief that sweat, heat and friction can lead to breakouts. 

I hope this helps. Thanks so much for this forum. I appreciate the opportunity to connect with others who also have this skin disorder and to learn what they are trying and what does or doesn't work for them. 

Val

I am reviewing my post and see that the term cortisone is used to describe the shots I took and the cream I apply. I'm surprised that I used that word in my post. I do not use cortisone shots or creams. I use Triamcinolone Acetonide cream USP, 0.1%, which I apply once daily based on the dermatologist's instructions. It is a steroid cream, but to my knowledge it is not a cortisone cream. 

Years ago my primary care physician had prescribed Triamcinolone Acetonide cream in a 0.5% dosage. (I recently realized that when I came across an old tube box of the stuff with that doctor's information on the prescription label.) That's probably a conversation I should have with my dermatologist. 

The steroid shots I received that cleared up the GA on my hands were not cortisone shots to my knowledge. My apologies for the incorrect information. I can double-check with my dermatologist regarding what type of shots they were.

I'd also received steroid shots over my body years ago while seeing a different dermatologist. The shots cleared up the condition for a brief while, and then it returned with a vengeance. 

HRT or hormone pills (Prempro 0.3 mg/1.5 mg) cleared up the GA completely as a beneficial side effect at one time when I first began using HRT. However, the effect was short-lived; the GA eventually returned while I was still taking HRT. My dermatologist has said that I have a persistent case of GA and that it may be related to hormones, at least in my case. The HRT dosage (low dose) was never increased. Prempro is conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate tablets. 

When I had a case of heel spur a few years ago, I did receive at least three or four cortisone shots during that treatment. To my memory, the cortisone shots did nothing to improve my GA, however. I have to admit, though, that I probably wasn't paying close attention to my skin condition and any changes to it during that treatment. I was focused on healing the inflammation of the heel spur. 

Hope this helps. My apologies again. 

Val

Val

Val

Interesting about the ultrarunning. I too was an avid ultra runner throught my 30s to mid 40s. Also demonstrated signs around bra area and short lines. Progressed to arms and hands once switched to bike commuting. The arms have cleared up but quite sever on the legs.

Believe sleep is also a big player. For the moment I just live with what I call the "mosaic" of my skin....everyone elses is just plain......

Thank you for your info. I've come to believe that stressing the skin through sweat and friction has something to do with bringing on an outbreak. But it may be more complex than that.

It's a puzzler. I had an outbreak of heat rash last summer on the tops of my feet and some other skin areas that had been trapped under some parts of clothing I was wearing while walking for hours outside in the heat in Florida during a week of vacation there. However, those heat rash areas didn't turn into GA outbreaks, too, although one would have thought they would given all that sweat and trapped skin. 

Interestingly, hand and arms where it initially bagan 10 years ago have faded dramatically. Possibly attribute to their dissapearance due to exposure to sun. Legs are so bad I either avoid shorts all together or use body make up to cover. The breakout on lower leg covers entire shin and can be quite painful if knocked. Wondering if left exposed to sun might clear up like arms?

Avoiding meds as take enough as is. Unfortunately dont have finances to try other medical options. Thanks again for sharing.

I have been fortunate so far that the condition is not painful, even though it is unsightly. I think I've reached a point where I don't seem to care much so far this summer about what strangers think about my skin. I'm wearing shorts if it's hot. I do still take more care in covering up in certain social settings and when around some people whose opinion matters to me regarding appearances, etc.