Hey all,

Just had my skin biopsy on July 7th but they said it takes about 3 weeks to get results back. I am currently taking 900mg of gabapentin and 150mg of Tramadol twice a day, once when I wake up and once at 5pm and this seems to be working fairly well. I will post again when my biopsy results return. Smiles

Aside from the rash, you describe something that might be non-length dependent small fiber sensory neuropathy, which can be diagnosed by punch skin biopsy. I have it, the skin sensitivity is exactly as you describe, and I haven't been able to wear pants, just skirts, and had to give up winter fabrics since January when it all hit. I had pretty much all over burning, but that's gone (luckily). Was told I have the autoimmune disease Sjogren's, and neuropathy can definitely be a part of that. So can rashes.

The biopsy sites are on the same leg, a total of three - one above the malleolus (large ankle bone), one above the knee on the side of the thigh and the other maybe 5" - 6" above that on the side of the thigh. This will absolutely tell the tale re: N-LDSMSN. Catch is, sometimes no cause can be detected.

Were you bloodworked for autoimmune diseases, tested for vasculitis?

Good luck with getting real help for this.

Sheltiemom

Thanks for the reply Sheltiemom. My biopsy was actually only in two places, the one above the ankle and the one on the upper thigh. I have been bloodworked for autoimmune diseases which all came back negative, however, I have not been tested for vasculitis. Maybe if this biopsy comes back negative I will look into that.

Hi again,

Please keep us posted as to the outcome of your skin biopsies. Lucky you - only two places!

Best wishes,

Sheltiemom

Hey all,

I just spoke with my neurologist yesterday about my skin biopsy results and it came back negative. This leaves me with mixed feelings; a good thing in the sense that I don't have SFN, but a bad feeling in the sense that I am still experiencing these symptoms which are very similar to SFN and not really knowing the next step to take to cure/manage the pain.

My neurologist prescribed me a new medication, which I forgot the name of right now but will post when I pick it up. And said he would get me in contact with another neurologist who specializes in SFN. And possibly refer me to a pain specialist when all other avenues have been explored.

Now that I know I do not have nerve issues I'm thinking I have some residual skin issues left over from the rash I developed over three years ago and whatever this issue is is causing my nerves to continually fire pain signals to my brain.

I have seen a dermatologist in the past about this to no avail. I'm thinking about going back and explaining my situation a little better. Has anyone else gone through this and have you had any success taming it?

Thanks.

--you can post the report/impressions from the skin biopsy, so we can take a look at it?

I and some others are very familiar with the staining procedures and reference ranges from the original McArthur normative protocols and might be able to give you some idea if perhaps there is damage, but the figures for intraepidermal density just do not lie outside the 5%--95% lines set for definitive diagnosis of damage (or just do not as of yet--the resutls often depend on just what stage the biopsies are captured at).

Sure, I will contact my neurologist to see if he can send me the post-biopsy report.

Ok, so after having everything come back negative from the neurologist I decided to go back to a dermatologist, but this time I went to a 'doctor derm' rather than a 'spa derm.'

I was diagnosed with puritis which is basically itch with no real cause. I have been put on Cymbalta to help deal with the depression this condition causes and I will be starting phototherapy sessions this week.

I know I might not technically have SFN but I definitely understand what it's like to experience these symptoms and I will keep you updated on how things progress in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, keep your head up

Edit: Oh, I also had a blood test done for syphilis. I am still waiting on the results.