"Can someone PLEASE help me??? I have darkening skin on my lower legs and it's getting worse. Please help."
Dear Louise. I am sorry to see you so concerned. However, although we certainly will try to support you, we can not give diagnoses. Have you seen a Dr? If not, I would suggest that be your first port of call. Darkening lower legs could be due to many things. Have you any underlying conditions? Have you been diagnosed with EM?. As dkel9307 says it would help if you could give us more detail and information. Its a good idea to take photos too.But please remember we can not give you a medical opinion or a diagnosis.
You are not alone Louise- we will help you to the best of our ability, and guide you to the services you require
God bless
mads
Louise just read your profile. Do you just take aspirin? Is it your feet or elsewhere?
What 'cooling' tactics do you use?
I see you have a Dr but is he EM aware and sensitive to the conditions needs?
I will contact you tmw re: options available.
Everything will be alright - one day at a time. Stay strong Louise. I read you have a strong faith. Trust Ok
God bless
x
Hi! I also have the darkening on the tops of my feet. It is black looking and is slowly spreading up my legs. It started on my left foot a few years ago and now is also starting on my right foot. I also have EM, but I also have cutaneous Lupus. My primary dr and derm dr seems to think it comes from the EM. Of course there are no Dr's here that no anything about EM so I am basically on my own. I do take 81 mg aspirin for it and also Topamax and Neurontin. I use Ben Gay Zero Degrees rub a lot for the burning. My face is now starting to burn like my feet and get red and I don't know if its associated with the EM or Lupus. Questions, questions, and more questions! Just wish we could get answers! If you find out anything about the darkening skin please post! Good Luck and stay strong!
hi Rosebud.
I am sorry to hear your doctors haven't been able to help you. I am sure it is very concerning. Every thing is extra scary when you don't know what is going on. The unknown is often worse than the actual answer.
I would see about seeing another doctor for another opinion if your current doctor just has no idea. Can you attach some pictures? I know when I had terrible flares in my feet last year that were 24/7 for several moths my skin did start turning a dark purple and there were quite a few sores on my toes along with a couple of toe nails that feel off then one day they just started to get better. I don't know why. I still have EM but at the moment it is not as bad as it was then. The skin started cracking too from the prolonged swelling I figure. Does this sound familiar at all?
I hope you find the answer. I know how scary it can be just not knowing.
Take care,
Alina
Dear Louise/Rosebud.
Please let me know your area and ill find you a EM aware Dr.
I would feel happier if you sought medical advice ASAP. Livido (skin rash), can manifest in many colours ranging from pink to black/purple. I attach a paper for you gauge your legs against, however ,please be aware that LWE can not give you a diagnosis.
Stay strong.
God bless
mads x
299-LividoandEMplusphotos.pdf (613 KB)Thanks for the info. the Dr that originally diagnosed me told me that i can tell you that you have EM but i can't treat you and no other dr's around here can either. No one knows anything about it. The best thing you can do is go home and look it up on the internet and go from there.One derm dr suggested I take Trental, which I do. I had already had symptoms for 2 years before he gave me a diagnosis. No one does know anything about it here. I live in southern WV. Can't send pixs at the moment. Working with a new set up and haven't got my set up fixed yet. Have a blessed day!!!!
Got two Rosebud.Please phone and get appointment.
Ted Burns Charlottesville Virginia USA 434-■■■■■■■■
| Dr. Charles B. Franz | Practice: Mountain State Medical Specs | 399 Emily Drive | Clarksburg | WV | 26301 | USA | 304-■■■■■■■■ |
God bless
mads x
I can’t seem to see items that are attached. Any tips?
I am so glad Mads has found some doctors for you to try! Please let us know how that goes.
I have a doctor at present that doesn't know much about EM but knows I have it. They work with me in trying different treatments that I bring to them. Basically I do the research and get most of it here. I print out the info and take it to my appointment. We are basically going down the list of possible treatments trying something new every 3-6 months. I hope eventually we will find the one that works for me.
Even if you can't find a doctor that has the knowledge and makes the treatment suggestions doesn't mean you can't find one that is willing to go over the research you bring in and help you safely try the varying treatments.
You can possibly try the same procedure with the darkening skin. .....research it and bring in the different causes possible that closest resemble what yours does and ask them if any of those could be possible and go from there.
I hope you find the help you need Rosebud
Take care,
Alina
mads said:
Got two Rosebud.Please phone and get appointment.
Ted Burns Charlottesville Virginia USA 434-982-0170
Dr. Charles B. Franz Practice: Mountain State Medical Specs 399 Emily Drive Clarksburg WV 26301 USA 304-624-7200 God bless
mads x
Thanks so much for the info. My 85 year old dad who lives with me had to have a pace maker and my husband may soon have to have an internal defibrillator. Been crazy here. If I can't see these dr's maybe my dr can call and get some info and can come up with a game plan. Thanks again!
dkel9307 said:
I agree with Alina - important that we found doctors who will team with us, with us being their "research analyst". What counts is to try treatment and see what works / not.
I am so sorry your loved ones are having serious health problems too. The added stress can cause flaring on it's own.
I like the Idea you have about your doctor possibly contacting one of the doctors familiar with EM to help guide him. That is a brilliant idea I may have to ask my doctor about. If they are willing that can be of great help! Are your legs getting any better? Any worse? or staying the same? It just doesn't sound like run of the mill EM if there is such a thing. I know you have to care for your family too I just hate to see you wait too long to also take care of yourself.
I hope you are well.
Take care,
Alina
I am about the same. The darkness on my feet never goes away. It is strange. I am having flares now and again.Starting to get worse now the weather is changing. Having cutaneous Lupus and having flares with that, sometimes its hard to know whats worse. Of course Dr's don't know much more about Lupus then EM. I am having burning on my face a lot now. The Lupus I have affects the skin, nerves, and muscles a lot like EM. so combine the 2 and I guess you can say I have a perfect storm when the 2 flare! Its hard to be stress free when you are the care giver, I have no siblings, so it does get tough, but God doesn't put on us no more than we can bear. One day at a time. Thank you for caring!
Well said Rosebud. I admire your positive attitude. I couldn't imagine taking care of others in your condition yet you do and you do it with such grace. Keep up the good work but don't forget about yourself :)
Take care,
Alina
Grabbing these pdf's as I'm having a REALLY bad today myself..
I'm glad we took photos showing what I was going through for a 2 week period..
By the way: I had the rash on my face as well, and we took photos of it and my feet.. My face felt VERY warm to the touch, and it was also on my neck, chest, arms, and legs.. The ER doctor thought I perhaps had Lupus or Medication induced Lupus, but thankfully the test was negative.. We did find the EM can cause a malar rash as well, so we took that as the reason for the rash..
Yes SAB, You can have EM on your face and chest as well. I myself get it most everywhere. When I get it on my face it very much looks like a lupus rash. on the cheeks and over the nose but the big difference is it's warmth and pain and the fact it is triggered by warmth in general and not the sun specifically. I know lupus rashes are typically triggered by sunlight for some reason and not by just being in a warm room.
I am sorry you are having such a bad day today. I don't want to speak too soon and I haven't done much for activity yet but so far I am not too bad today.....yet. I hope it stays that way. I am just about to test it out by attempting to do some dishes. Wish me luck!
Take care,
Alina
Def sounds like a vascular issue, esp if it doesn't go away or if it starts at feet/ankles & spreads upwards. I do not know what your medical history is or what meds you might be on but you might want to look into daily aspirin if not on already.
Regarding the malar rash, I have never heard that EM can cause this. I DEF have that. I do get EM on the tops of my ears sometimes but my facial redness has been looked at for lupus & dismissed as rosacea.
It drives me crazy! I try to add a picture only to have the coloring not show up on the screen! Is it just looking this way on my lap top? or does it look as if I am not even red to every one else? On my phone you can see it clearly. I know we are getting off subject with the malar rash thing but I was just trying to show a pic and see if this is what others are talking about. At first my doctors thought it was rosacea as well but it is actually an EM flare but has a similar shape of a malar rash. It happens with other flaring of hands and feet and goes away with cooling as does the rest of my flares. It happened in my Rheumatologists office and The doctor said although similar it didn't look like a typical lupus rash. I think the skin tends to be more raised and splotchy and not crazy hot to the touch. Not saying you can't have both as lupus can cause EM and rosacea type problems. I will get it on my ears too Hotmama and strangely sometimes just the tip of my nose!