Hyperpigmentation is (as MrsD mentioned) a sign of adrenal issues.

It's also associated with other several other things...see below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperpigmentation

I'm not sure how they would relate to your pain though.

en bloc,
I had a cortisol test (blood) last April and result was normal low. My endocrinologist said that it was okay.

Mary

MrsD and en bloc,

This is off topic but I always feel comfortable sharing here my coming procedure.

I will have aBravo Procedure tomorrow to determine the acid reflux. I'm serious about this reflux because of my lungs. I was told that acid can aspirate to the lungs and I don't want that to happen. I may have missed mentioning to you, I have bronchiectasis. Urghhhh. ... What a life!!

Mary

Good luck with the procedure. Hopefully you'll get an answer as to how significant the reflux is.

Anything aspirating into the lungs is bad...acid, food, water, etc. Treatment for reflux is usually acid blockers. But that doesn't stop the aspiration risk; just reduces the acid content.

Do you have heartburn? Have you had problems with aspiration?

Thank you. I am a bit anxious because of my breathing problems.

I have heartburn. I am not sure if I have aspiration. I asked the radiologist if there was any sign of aspiration in my chest ct scan and said no. Well, I asked because i read that aspiration can be seen in the scan.

I wonder if the reflux could register in the equipment if on that day my stomach is "calm", meaning that I don't have symptoms of hurtburn, bloating? It happens that one day I don't have symptoms and on the next day the symptoms are bad.

If I have indeed some problems, i hope i'd be symptomatic to show in the machine.

Thank you.

Will you wear the ph probe for 24-48 hours?

Ask for the latter to give a better chance for accurate readings since you have on/off symptoms.

Thanks en bloc. It's going to be for 48 hours. I was in bed till now. I still feel light headed due to effect of the anesthesia. Hopefully tomorrow will be back to normal.

The GI will do a biopsy and I asked if they can also do at the same time for celiac -- she told me its part of the biopsy. Would you know if there is a special biopsy to look for celiac or is this just part of a regular biopsy?

What an irony, while I had the little machine to monitor the stomach activity, my stomach was not acting up. My stomach was feeling nice and easy. But once the 48 hours was up and after I returned the little machine my heartburn starts again. Can you beat that??? And now, I doubt if there was anything recorded in that machine!!! It's a bummer. Lol