Bit dopey tonight, and it's after 9.30 so I have my orange-tinted glasses on (darkness therapy), but yes, those lesions look about right. The other photo I'd seen had huge lesions, the person in question had more lesions than unaffected skin on their back. I still have no idea how likely a dermatologist is to consider them worth fussing over. They never showed the slightest interest in all those skin tags, for instance.
Dermatographism - also known as dermographism or dermagraphism (and I think it's the most poetic name ever for a medical condition), and I got diagnosed with that years ago. Though I think I have it quite mildly, but it's hard to tell, it's normal for my skin.
I never took to drinking coffee, partly because I don't really like it, and partly because it made my nose peel every time. I don't think I've tried it in fifteen years or more. I wouldn't have put cream in it, but no idea about dairy. The thing is, it was a very specific reaction, and I never got it when I ate dairy at other times. Not that I've had any dairy since 1997!
As you say, the healthcare systems in different countries suck in different ways. If I were in the US, I don't think I'd be getting any healthcare at all, considering my income - I know a number of Americans who are stranded without essential medication, or unable to access appropriate contraception, and it's heartbreaking to see. Here at least we do have free access to practically everything, but there are waiting lists for specialists (not too bad these days), and you rarely get to pick your specialist personally. Although sometimes you do, I've had a certain amount of choice with my gynae and my physio. I don't think I have the option of an allergist, really, I'm not showing any signs of being allergic to anything, so there's no reason for a GP to refer me to an allergy clinic.
I'm 34. I notice that my underarms feel a bit sore occasionally, but I think that's it for lymph nodes.
Is CBC a complete blood count? No idea what it showed, they check me out for anaemia every now and again as I'm vegan and pale-skinned, and I never come back as anaemic. That's all I'm told of the results. Progression to marrow? Progression of what?
I don't think "I have these little brown marks which are sitting there quite peacefully and YOU MUST DO SOMETHING THEY MAY BE LIFE-THREATENING" is quite the best approach! More likely to put them off, if anything. I was a bit stressy when my GP saw me about an ear problem a while back (sleep deprivation and PMDD) and she ended up saying she wanted to refer me to a functional neurologist (ick) rather than the ENT department. Looking like a hypochondriac
really doesn't impress doctors.
If you demonstrate to a doc that you are aware of the thinking that a doc rightly has in a situation like that, then you yourself have more credibility.
Not really, they see it as "patient who thinks they know better than the doctor". Plenty are better than that, but you're best playing it safe until you see what the doctor is like and whether they can be trusted. Some are OK if you ask about a condition you're wondering if you have, others get really huffy, and won't diagnose you unless you fit their personal criteria - which may have nothing to do with the official criteria. I once saw a gynae who supposedly specialised in PMS, who wriggled out of diagnosing me purely because I didn't do well on her pet drug (Cerazette, which makes PMDD worse in most patients, as it did for me), and also refused to look at my symptom history, which should have enabled her to diagnose me in one minute flat.
Those tests you recommend sound like they're likely to set off the same alarm bells, plus I don't understand them. Could you simplify it a bit for me? Should I ask about histamine levels, and are histamine levels something I can ask to have tested?
Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.
