- Messages
- 73
- Location
- Richmond, VA
When I first started experiencing ME/CFS symptoms back in 2018, I did not have any notable skin symptoms to speak of outside of mouth ulcers (formally diagnoses as aphtous ulcers). It was the typical fatigue, brain fog, pain, light sensitivity, etc that defined the illness.
However, I had my third "big crash" in 2019 and started experiencing a new symptom - granuloma annulare. These are small red bumps that appear on the backs of my hands, around my knuckles, and on my cuticles. They do not itch, but they can sometimes be lightly painful to the touch (feels like a splinter). They are often clustered together - I will have 5-6 on my knuckles when I'm experiencing moderate to severe crashes. They disappear suddenly after I start recovering from a crash - usually alongside valacyclovir/azithromycin treatment.
My rheumatologist and infectious disease doctors do not know what these are - instead they referred me to a dermatologist, but I have to wait 6+ months to get in to see one.
Pictures below - does anyone else experience this symptom?
EDIT: Just to add some research I've done - granuloma annulare is currently understood to be a rare condition with an unknown origin (of course). Thyroid dysfunction, hyperlipidemia, viral infections, and autoimmune conditions are comorbid with this condition (again, of course it is). I just got a lipid panel, thyroid panel, and hormone panel done this morning to check to see if everything is OK - my thyroid has been always come back relatively clean, but my lipids have been trending into the "hyperlipidemia" range since being diagnosed with ME/CFS.
Picture 1: Picture 2:
However, I had my third "big crash" in 2019 and started experiencing a new symptom - granuloma annulare. These are small red bumps that appear on the backs of my hands, around my knuckles, and on my cuticles. They do not itch, but they can sometimes be lightly painful to the touch (feels like a splinter). They are often clustered together - I will have 5-6 on my knuckles when I'm experiencing moderate to severe crashes. They disappear suddenly after I start recovering from a crash - usually alongside valacyclovir/azithromycin treatment.
My rheumatologist and infectious disease doctors do not know what these are - instead they referred me to a dermatologist, but I have to wait 6+ months to get in to see one.
Pictures below - does anyone else experience this symptom?
EDIT: Just to add some research I've done - granuloma annulare is currently understood to be a rare condition with an unknown origin (of course). Thyroid dysfunction, hyperlipidemia, viral infections, and autoimmune conditions are comorbid with this condition (again, of course it is). I just got a lipid panel, thyroid panel, and hormone panel done this morning to check to see if everything is OK - my thyroid has been always come back relatively clean, but my lipids have been trending into the "hyperlipidemia" range since being diagnosed with ME/CFS.
Picture 1: Picture 2:
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