I just found this site last night. This am I saw pictures and for the first time I realized that the scales and sores on my feet had anything to do with ..em. I am so new to this and I think my DR is too so inthe last 12 hrs. I have found out so much that I didn't know. Also when applying for membership I didn't say anything about all the meds I take other than 4800 mgs of Gabpenten. My Dr. just now put me on amitriptyline to go with it and I also take percocet & methadone for the pain I have with MS. I also take a lot of other meds for ms that I didn't say anything about. I see that membership is pending so I'm hoping to get to be a member real soon.
The redness and swelling is really bad right now and I can hardly wait to learn more about this horrible disease. I thought having MS was bad, and it is, but having em is really, really bad. Please help.
Hi. I'm new here too, but not to EM and I have another group. Having a group to talk to is an absolute essential. You can learn far more from other members than you can learn from your doctors, although you need the docs too.
The ulcers on the feet are usually (or always) caused by soaking the feet in water. It can take a very long time to heal them and they won't heal if you continue soaking.
But just about everyone with EM gets dry, cracked, messed up skin on the heels of the feet especially and that isn't caused by soaking. I think it's from wearing sandals and going barefoot so much. If there is a time of day that you aren't flaring, or else at bedtime (if you aren't burning severely then like so many of us), massage a great moisturizing cream into the heels like Cera Ve, Vanicream or Eucerin. Using a pumice stone or file in the shower on the dry callouses helps too. I tend to do it all winter but can't usually stand the cream on in summer.
Thin lotions, rather than creams, can actually be drying so they aren't a good idea usually. The creams work best if they have a high urea content, but I avoid diazolidinyl urea and imidiazolidinyl urea because I'm allergic to formaldehyde-releasing chemicals.
I'm so sorry you're also having to deal with MS. I have multiple health problems too and an undiagnosed rare inherited disorder that geneticists haven't figured out yet. It seems that most with EM have other significant health problems to deal with too.
I hope you find this group helpful and things improve for you!