Help me brain-storm here.
 

OK, I'm trying to back track were/when I started to go down hill health wise. My memory is really bad so it makes it hard to remember what happened years ago.

Anyway when I was 20 (BTW I'm 34, so this was 14 years ago) I worked in a daycare and I came up with a blister/rash on my leg (left thigh). Well after that I keep getting the same thing on my left buttocks. It's VERY painful and my SX get worst with an outbreak, I had thought it was shingles but shingles do NOT come back in the same place. I get them 6-15 times a year.

I don't remember feeling sick the 1st time but now who knows. I tried looking up blisters and rashes and can't find anything that sounds like me. Before this day I was OK but I was GREAT compared to today.

Maybe this was my turning point.

Since I can not inadvertently contradict anyone else if I am first to jump on a thread, I'm going for it . . . ;)

You can get shingles back in the same place, but it is very uncommon and highly unusual to not build up immunity to the virus (zoster/herpes zoster) after the first outbreak. It is also extremely uncommon (if not unheard of) to have it 6 – 15 times a year, year after year.

http://www.shingles.com/info/tools/r...45006437114131

Your story reminds me of how often I used to get oral cold sores; herpes simplex 1. Any time I was under stress, fatigued, in the wind . . . up popped these blisters. To the best of my knowledge, this virus can be transferred to other areas of the body, including our privates.

The other thought is herpes simplex 2, which is also recurring, and normally found below the waist:

http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz.../cold_sore.jsp

Another thought that come to mind is Lupus, although I have not researched this disease at all:

Lupus:
http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/weba...=103&zoneid=17

Attached is a link to many skin conditions; perhaps you will recognize it:

Skin:
http://dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu/derm/

Cherie

It does not look like this one.
http://health-pictures.com/skin/lupus-skin.htm

Great!

One down, 300 more options to go. :p :D ;)

BTW, oral cold sores (and/or genital herpes) look and feel like shingles, but not normally as painful from what I understand.

Cherie

Yes, good advice. You may want to see A Rhuematologist who specializes in hundreds of auto immune diseases, esp with rashes.

Good luck, Jan

Well in these pic's (BTW a lot of them were awful) it looks like shingles more than anything else.

Oh and just to add when I got the 1st outbreak I was not sexual active, I know you do not HAVE to be to get herpes but just wanted to add that. I was only around the 3 year olds but if I hugs them while standing my thigh was about there face level and being in Florida I wore shorts so I had skin to skin contact with that area.

MX7, there are so many things that can cause a rash. I would definitely have it looked at the next time it happens. This way the dr (pcp, dermatologist, rheumy, or whatever dr you choose to see for it) can see it and better diagnose it.

Good point tkrik,

I was a bit worried last year because I had what I thought might have been a genital herpes outbreak (sure felt the same as my oral cold sores), which I thought might have been passed from a cold sore. I was kinda scared to find out, actually. :eek:

My doc took a swab of the area and sent it for testing. It turned out to be a bacterial infection :cool: and was easily treated with polysporin.

Cherie

I did try many times with my last PCP but never could get in soon enough, she saw it a few times after the blister stage and said she thought it was shingles.

Celiac disease can cause blister like out breaks also.
If you can not get in to the doctor right away take a picture of the rash. That way you will have it documented and that may help the doctor.

LA

Good point!

Maybe a good rheumy could really help you out MX7. Do you currently go to one?

Does all this have something to do with your worsening symptoms of MS? What got worse?

I don't have MS (I had posted this on the chat part but some one moved it), I'm in limbo and don't know what I have for sure, I have a lot of SX that look like MS.

Another thing I can add to this is what ever it is is better when I'm pregnant. My SX's would be better or even gone when pregnant. This could also be something that causes early miscarries or water to break early (6 of my 7 babies my water break before labor started and the last 5 my water break between 27-36 weeks).
I didn't really want to post this because I didn't want to hear "I told you so" but I miscarried last week, didn't even know I was pregnant at 1st but I guess I was 7 weeks and didn't have a hard time at all with my SX until the day before I started bleeding.
I don't want any "I'm sorry" or anything from anyone, DH and I are NOT planing on more kids and I have had 3 other losses (at least). I'm really OK with what happened and feel it was for the better. :)

this may not help any but I tried to figure it out for myself too, was it the two broken vertebrae in 82? or was it the fire damage from the 4 trips intoa burning house to help a family out that triggered it or as the doc said the back was first and fire triggered? who knows honestly.

then I start thinking about how at times in my youth and never told anyone I use to get really tight chested and blurry visioned. have I actually had this a lot longer????

I have spent quite some time trying to figure out the how and why, I do know I have it. so I stopped looking into the how and why, cause for me I do not think I will ever be able to narrow it down enough to know, good luck in your search

Julie there is a study going on in a Calgary Univ about pg woman something like 98% go into remission cause of a certain hormone produced during pregnancy and sorry i dont know the name of it pretty sure it started with a P Sassy knew about it I think I would love to see that work come to a conclusion

Found it,
http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-...damage-4676-1/

thanks this time I saved the link so I will be able to just post it next time,

i was pretty impressed with it, would be nice if they could figure this out, yeah it may be another bandaid, but this sounded like a dang good bandaid

Well this is something, I found this about prolactin (that's the hormone that was talked about in that study).

Prolactin levels increase as a result of:
•Herbs, including fenugreek, fennel seeds and red clover

OK, I have taken fenugreek and red clover in the past, every time I did I felt better. :eek:
I know I have some hormone balance issues but I don't see how I could have all this pain and numbness and other SX just from unbalanced hormones but if taking some herbs makes me feel a little better and even have less SX than there's something there to all this.

Let me toss this out, say someone has early MS than gets PG back to back for 7 years all this time the increased prolactin rebuilds the myelin than goes on herbs a few years after the last baby that increases the prolactin that can also rebuild the myelin than an MRI might not pick up anything at that point. That doesn't sound too crazy does it? :confused:

Hi Julie,
My Mom gets somthing similar and it's been coming and going for years. I don't know what it is. She did have Shingles a few years ago, and if you ever have that, you'll know it. Really messed her up for a few months! I had to run her busniness for her during that time and do all her shopping,etc.

Make sure you see the doctor next time it flares up!!

I'm not a doctor julie but your logic is not off base, I just am not sure if that protein and such could mask and or hide a lesion, or being on it keep the lesion to a minimum so that it doesnt grow big enough to be noticed?

you might have something there, and after reading more about it not sure if I labeled it corecctly this may not be a bandaid but a legit solution to remission either way I hope researchers keep on truckin

I think I wanna be a mouse the next time around. :Excited:

This has worked in the mouse model of MS, but there are many techiques that have, only to fall flat on their faces in further animal or human trials.

"Subsequent tests of prolactin in animal models of MS will be required before testing of prolactin on humans can take place, but MS researchers are hopeful human trials can take place within the next several years."

I don't suppose it hurts to keep using any like-product that you have been at this point, but they are still a long way away from nailing this theory down . . . and there are LOTS of theories out there; vitamin D, vitamin B12, diet, etc.

BTW, for many years, my most difficult times were during my early part of my pregnancies and just after delivery. That's not "typical", but I did have MS at the time.

Cherie