skin problems
 

Hi,

The skin on the tops/backs of my hands and wrists are red and scaly and burning. I am going to call the skin doc. Maybe I should stay awake until 9:00 am so I can put a call into her office in case the office is open.

M

yes, please have it checked - go to urgent care if need be.
 

Yikes Mari,

I agree, and if you can't get the skin doc, try your own doc, or your pdoc... or go to an urgent care.

It could simply be a stress reaction, or an allergic reaction to something you touched or ate.

However, it could also be a reaction to the increased gabapentin - rarely even Steven-Johnson's syndrome is possible so i would like you to see a doctor.

I don't want to scare you but better safe than sorry. :o

i hope it is "nothing." Please keep us posted. :Heart:

~ waves ~

hmmm. doing arithmetic on your post time and realizing you posted at 5 am ish.

i'd say if you can get a nap - in any way shape or form, do. deal with this when you wake up. hopefully the skin doc is open if not... go down the line trying other docs... there is always urgent care.

you were describing things that sound like derealization in the earlier post and you sounded profoundly sleep deprived. nap on the couch if you can't sleep in your bed... whatever works at this point.

:hug::hug::hug: ~ waves ~

I had not considered that. Thanks.

Pharmacist suggested that I lower dose to 300
 

Hi, Waves,

I could not reach an MD or office staff because I called too late in the day.
Over the phone, the pharmacist . . .
Pharmacist looked up
1 Gabapentin side effects
2 my med record.

She asked a couple of questions, . . . seemed most interested in whether I have a fever or not, (no fever, temp is 97.3)

I explained that my prescribed dose in her computer of 500 mgs is not what I am taking. I was guesstimating . . . . that under doctor's instructions, I had been taking 300 mgs and then raised the dose to 500 over the past two weeks or so.
She told me to go back to 300 tonight and tomorrow and then reach the doctor on Wednesday. If the rash does not go away or lesson before I see the doctor, then stop the med.

======


M

pharmacist's advice sounds good. important to be safe.
 

Dear Mari,

thanks for checking back in. sorry you couldn't see a doc but sounds like the pharmacist was thorough and helpful. i would definitely follow her advice.

the only additional thing i can suggest is to take pictures of the rash if you can. if the rash changes (better, worse, different) or appears on other areas of the body, take more pix. i would definitely see the dermatologist on wednesday, even if the rash has vanished by then. bring the pictures as they could help with diagnosis, particularly if the rash changed or disappeared.

if it is "just" contact dermatitis or a stress-related erythema, the rash could disappear very quickly, and only coincidentally to your reduction of gabapentin. it would be a pity to have to d/c your med permanently after all your hard work with it, and its positive effects and possible benefits for pain. the doc may be able to determine whether the erythema is serious and whether or not it is gabapentin-related. the doc may give you an all-clear to resume the drug.

take care of the whole of you meanwhile. do things you find soothing. wear soothing clothes and pick colors you find comforting in the moment. seek relaxation in as many ways possible. sleep, meditation, tv-reruns, walking barefoot on the grass, glass of wine, having hubby drive you to the beach. whatever works to help you reduce your stress level a notch or six. :hug::hug::hug:

i am sending you soothing vibes. :circlelove:

have a good evening breaking in the new year, if you do that. (we did, but quite frankly it sucked this year.)

~ waves ~ from 2013 ... off to a grumpy start.

red hands
 

Mari,try not to put store lotions on most of them contain acahols or perfumes this will more then likely make your hands burn and more sore,this may sound silly but try a rubbing a little bit of crisco vegateble shorting on your hands this will help put some moisture back in your hands,untill you can get to a doc.:hug::hug:

i would not apply anything at all to rash
 

Mari, :heartthrob:

i know you don't use a lot of products so i didn't figure you'd put anything on your hands, but i might as well mention at this point, that i would probably avoid putting ANYTHING on the rash - even plain oils - until you've been seen, because really it could be anything. it could even be a chemical inflammation and putting oils on those is not necessarily a good thing.

the only thing that doesn't clog pores, if anything would be 100% PURE vitamin E but most folks don't have it. (oral gelcaps are not pure vit E). and all the same, i think in your place, i'd probably not put anything on it at all, and try to limit (within reason) how much i wet my hands. (when you do have to wet or wash your hands, dab the area dry, do not rub). good thing it's the backs of your hands and not the palms. :o :hug:

~ waves ~

Hoping its not itchy or too much of a pain.

Hoping its feeling better tonight.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

I hope your hands and wrists are getting better Mari. I hope they are so much better that you won't have to go to the doctor after New Year's. :Heart:

skin products
 

Hi,

My friend took some pictures. I might try again in better light.

The rash is kind of scaly and might have stared when I was still working before the Christmas break --- this helps me think of that timing --- I raised the Gabapentin sometime after December 18 but I might have had the rash before December 18.
I am aware that the Gabapentin could end up being a problem for me no matter the dose. I am also aware that the problem might not be med related.

The skin on my wrists is scaly so every once in a while I was using (once a week) a very mild facial exfoliate on the back of my hands http://www.clinique.com/product/1682...ula/index.tmpl

Then only occasionally I would use this http://www.naturalwebstore.com/15825...yj6bqkmjou.php
(I just realized when I looked at the container that I was using them wrong. I thought the "soap" was a lotion. ) A few nights ago this was rather irritating whereas it was not in the recent past.

======
Two nights ago I used
1 the scrub and then
2 some refined coconut oil (from the cooking section of the grocery store) http://www.vitaminlife.com/product-e...FXCmPAodbFoAVw
My hands and wrists felt wonderful when I applied the coconut oil.
I do not regularly use the coconut oil because it is messy and I worry about ruining clothes and furniture.


I used to have Almond Oil (again, from the cooking section of the store) but I am not sure where it is. I might have tossed it out because of concerns that it was old.

I wash my hands throughout the day. I will limit that.

My friend who took the pictures could barely see any rash --- but she rarely notices subtleties.

M

ahhhhhh... what revelations!
 

Dear Mari:heartthrob:

EXCELLENT!!

Tends to take the Gabapentin out of the picture.

BINGO!!! here we have a clear link between specific products and actions used on the back of your hands, and a rash which appeared, looky looky, precisely in that area and nowhere else.

Given this context, your symptoms
correspond well with contact eczema. using a "soap" - even Clinique - as a lotion definitely can cause such a reaction, but i'm betting the exfoliation set you up for it. Exfoliation no matter how gentle involves some abrasion of the skin and will cause temporary irritation, even if subtle.

Since you've tried the coconut oil on it with beneficial results - i'd stick with that. It is an excellent nourishing agent and anti-inflammatory despite its scarce content of vitamin E. You won't have to do this long, worry about the couches later. you could apply it and sit for five minutes, then dab dry with a soft cotton cloth. I would suggest 2ce a day - morning/evening. Virgin coconut oil would be better but since what you have works, fine.

However, please, please, suspend use of the cleansers and do not exfoliate, even if the skin is scaly. Use only the oil until the redness and burning go away. If you are not taking your Zinc, you may also take that to help with healing.

===============================

I too hope you feel much better, and i believe you will. :):hug::hug:

That said I'd STILL consult the dermatologist on this whole incident -

1. I'd get HER recommendations on managing what you are describing as the "scaliness" for which you were using the exfoliate. Exfoliation may not be appropriate at all. Depending on the reason for the "scaliness," using deep moisturizers more regularly (such as your coconut oil) may be more appropriate.
2. I'd also get her take on possible gabapentin involvement although i see it as highly unlikely.

Sooner is better so she can see whatever is left of the rash if anything. Also bring the pix.

yeah yeah i know...
:Clever: guess i'll shut up now and leave you with a snippet from an article on coconut oil.

------------------------------------------------
http://www.greensolutionsmag.com/?p=335
~ waves ~ :heartthrob:

Waves,

I have stopped the exfoliate . . . it took me awhile to become aware that I had a rash. I thought it was only rough skin or skin not smooth enough. If something fundamental is happening then the scaling is different from simple rough skin. I will call her to try for an appt soon. I like the derm and usually her office runs smoothly.

The unrefined coconut oil had an odor that was distracting so I tossed it. I will put on the refined oil before bed tonight. Maybe I can wear it with socks or cloth gloves over my hands so I do not smear oil on everything I touch: computer key board, . . . .

My meds and vitamins and supplements are disorganized. Maybe I should get to that on Wed.
I will take some zinc when I get organized myself enough to take it with food.
I am fasting tonight for mdoc's appoint in case she wants me to be available to give fasting blood. Her appt is as 2:45 p.m.. I had finished a salad of olives and some hummus at 3:00 a.m. That gives me 11 3/4 hours. The blood draw would be after I see her and perhaps sometime after 3:00 p.m.

I took 400 mgs Gabapentin tongight --- up from the 300 I took last night after talking to the pharmacist but down from the 500 I last took two nights ago.

M

Sounds good
 

Dear Mari,

That sounds like a good plan.

As to the unrefined oil... i never use anything that smells funny to me either. And while it "technically" has a long shelf-life you never know what conditions it had been through before reaching you. Even if it was fine when you got it, it may have gone rancid quickly.

I am glad you like the derm and that you will go to see her. I understand about the blood tests. Don't worry too much about the Zinc - it was just a suggestion. You probably get your daily requirement in food.

I think it's probably ok that you upped the gabapentin again too, especially considering the circumscript location of the rash.

~ waves ~

The smell was fine. It was too Coconut-y.
The refined coconut oil has no smell.

M

Katmae I've heard of something like this. I had a cat that had real dry ears on the inside of her ears. I forgot exactly what a person recommended,but it was something like that. I can't remember. BF:hug::hug::hug:

I had a dog that had dry inside ears and the vet told me to rub baby oil with a cotton ball on the inside of them for her so they wouldn't itch her so much. It worked.

Mari I hope your hands keep getting better! (I don't like the smell of coconut either. Good to know the refined one doesn't smell.) :Heart:

coconut oil
 

the refind oil not only dose not smell but when they refine it it also removes part of the natural vitamans that are in it so unrefind is actualy better for your skin,I do hope that you find some releaf for your hands:hug::hug: