Does anyone else suffer with any skin issues they deduce is related to PA? I've got very sore rash under my armpit and anything I put on it to soothe it ends up bringing me out in boils the size of grapes its been going on for 2 months now and its very miserable. The same appearing on my neck now. I'm under a lot of stress at the moment feeling like utter crap all day every day mentally and physically. I'm only 28. I'm sick of my mind and body. I know it could be worse but I am so chronically ill.
I have a whole list of severe illness that I try and avoid overly identifying with as I am a person not a giant disease but find it hard to feel otherwise recently. CPTSD, bipolar, bulimia, (12 months free of behaviours) autism, severe TMJD with chronic facial pain, now PA on top of it all, thar they are not able to diagnose.
To top it off the b12 I ordered for me to start S/I got cancelled and refunded. Deeply frustrating. I am on a course of once a month injections for 3 months to see how it goes - I'm 1 week off another injection. Send me strength I'm feeling very low and pretty hopeless.
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ozwald28
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I know it's awful when you have so much going on with your health , but you are doing well if you are still able to maintain your sense of Self despite the illness.
There could be lots of reasons for these rashes.
Have you started taking any other medications or supplements recently?
Rashes can be a side effect or sign of an intolerance to all different sorts of foods , medicines or skin products , even clothing and detergent.
Did the rash start at the same time or not long after your B12 injections?
It could be that the type of B12 injection you are being given is causing some sort of response and you may benefit in trying a different type of B12 injection.
It would be a good idea to contact your surgery , get an initial phone appointment with a GP if you can't get an instant face to face and tell them about this new rash , asking to be seen prior to your injection.
Discuss whether it could be a symptom from the injection or if it could be another skin issue.
You could probably benefit from some blood tests to check your hormone levels and general state of health.
If the GP isn't sure of what this is and able to give you some form of treatment , or if that treatment does not clear the issue ask to see a Dermatologist.
In the meantime, try using a natural deodorant, use loose clothing of natural fibres which won't run or irritate your skin.
Give an extra rinse to your clothes in the wash to make sure you aren't reacting to the detergent.
Try having more Vitamin C and the recommended amount of water each day.
If you have been using new supplements , lotions etc. recently you may need a different brand .
Don't use any creams in it until it has been examined in case the type could aggravate the problem. If it feels hot or itchy try a damp , cool but not cold cloth gently held on it for relief.
Hardest tip to manage , try some mindfulness distraction and relaxation techniques to help your general feelings if Stress. Stress can be a big trigger for all different sorts of skin conditions because of the way it effects our body chemistry.
Could it be a thrush-type infection, taking advantage while your system is so run down? Me and my daughter both tend to get these type of things (in armpits, elbow ‘pits’, knee ‘pits’ etc).
In case you want to try - what we do is to keep the area really clean (wash a couple of times a day, but do not use soap - we tend to use an emollient cream and water to wash with when it is bad. In fact, avoid using soap anywhere while it is really bad in case soapy water runs onto the area), make sure any clothing that goes near the area is fresh on every day, and apply a clotrimazole-type anti-fungal skin cream several times a day (you can get different strengths of clotrimazole cream (OTC from the pharmacy) so get the one suitable for adults (stronger than the cream for children)).
We’ve found these things ‘cool’ the irritation down very very quickly.
Good luck with it, I hope you start to feel much much better very soon x
I get boils whenever I take paracetamol. I also get fungal rashes in places where there are folds in my body. I have to keep very clean. I find soap helpful ( lux beauty bar) and clotrimazole cream also making sure I dry myself very well after washing or having a shower. I sometimes get a rash of spots and boils that has been helped with a prescription of hibiscrub. People who have a lot of health issues at a young age can become great healers of others in time. Hard to go through though.
Ozwald, Your skin issue may be a another coincident autoimmune condition. I too have itchy rashes on my arms that sort of ebb and flow. I had suspected that these may be related to PA and have been doing a bit of research and found that several skin conditions Psoriasis, Eczema, and Dermatitis herpetiformis all suspected autoimmune conditions themselves can be related to autoimmune PA. I'm don't know a lot about this and I am not sure yet what I have but I'm continuing to investigate. Here are some links that may be helpful.
Association of Dermatitis Herpetiformis and Pernicious Anemia
That is a real lot to cope with - glad to see that a lot of people have responded and offered advice. I haven't got rashes, but do have angular cheilitis: split, sore and bleeding mouth that responds to treatment well but will return in 24 hrs if I stop, even now. (photo posted here quite recently). Good when halloween - bad every other day, especially when laughing or cleaning teeth.
You are right - you are not a giant disease. When you are generally low though, as with B12 deficiency, you can find it hard to fight off infections and also be slow to heal from any injury or condition.
If you have B12 deficiency, you can also have deficiencies in other much-needed vitamins and minerals: see Nackapan 's list. Please ask for a blood test and get a copy of your results as it really is important that you can see where they are heading, as much as where they are at now.
B12 itself can cause spots initially. Many of us got that at first but generally, it goes. There is a reason for it, so not just a random adverse reaction, but I can't remember the explanation. They are not unlike acne, never actually come to a head, and can be painful. I got those mainly around hairline and neck, but also face, tip of nose, up nose and inside ears. I only ever get them now if I have missed out or delayed an injection, and need to get back on track to make them go. So rarely. This does not sound quite like what you have described though.
Although once a month injections may not be enough for you to notice a difference, I would start a symptoms chart, so that you can see where improvements start and stop in relation to injection dates. This might help you to see a pattern, or encourage your doctor to continue this trial - maybe at a more useful frequency ?
Usually. in UK, the injections for someone with B12 deficiency start with 6 loading dose injections given within two weeks, then a maintenance frequency of 1 injection every 2 or 3 months. [This can be altered to suit, depending on GP and on return of symptoms but usually is routine.]
The idea of a maintenance frequency is to pre-empt return of symptoms, having got them under control initially with the loading dose. NOT to go up and down like a yoyo. So, if either the loading dose did not have an effect (or you weren't given this), or the maintenance dose is inadequate in continuing that effect, more could be done to help you.
If your presenting symptoms include neurological ones, the medical advice is altered. Then you will need to have sufficient injections to repair damaged nerves. That is, an injection every other day until no more improvement can be gained by doing so. Nerve damage can take a considerable time to heal.
These are not my opinions. These are advised procedures as laid out in medical guidelines available to all GPs in the UK : NICE, BCSH, BNF
These are worth checking if you don't feel that you are getting sufficient treatment.
Hello, So sorry you're having such a difficult time. When I read about your problem with sore skin and boils in your armpit I immediately thought of a condition called Hydradenitis Suppurativa. ( HS )
It requires antibiotic treatment, so as others have said, you really need to see your doctor.
Hope you get answers and feel better soon, best wishes x
Turns out it was a thrush fungal infection and the cream i was using for it was making the hair folicles infected and pus up into boils. wow how joyous.
Ozwald28, I have just said that I am going to take myself off the site because I feel it’s a mess, so not achieving even as much as LinkedIn!!
I have just seen your post and I may be able to refer you to somebody that has gone through something similar with, as far as I know, a happier outcome. Look up NeuroShake and address tha basic problem first.
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