[Gav]

hi all my name is gav i am 28 and am just after a bit of info, for the past few month i have been gettin a rash on my face and sometimes gets really red and scally and sore and lately have been gettin a itchy rash on my chest and my leg muscles were aching for a couple of days, i went to docs a couple of days ago but by then the rashes had cleared up a bit by he did say it was a butterfly rash on my face but my chest rash he just said it was infected hair follicles and give me some antibiotis for that and said there was no test they could do to check to see if it is lupus and that was it was on me way home, but now my rash on my chest has come back worse and im not sure what to do now as the antibiotics are not helping at all...

sorry for rambling on but need a bit of advice on what to do

thanks
Gav

 

[Katharine]

Hello Gav and welcome ,

I'm not sure from your post why you have thought about lupus in particular. I presume you have a reason.

I would say that it sounds like you need to see a dermatologist (if skin symptoms are your only symptoms) or maybe a rheumatologist if you have other typical lupus symptoms. Take a look in "not yet diagnosed" - at the top of the board you have a couple of posts about criteria for diagnosis.

It is a good idea to take photos of any rashes you have when they appear as they do tend to always vanish the day we see the doc.

If lupus is looking like a possibility your GP is unlikely to know enough to diagnose or treat it so you really do need a referral.

bye for now,
Katharine

 

[Gav]

hello im sorry i im not very gd at explaining things but ill give it a go

about 3 month ago i got a rash on my face which became very red and sore but i just ignored it and thought it would go away and it did but kept comin back, so i googled it on the images and found a picture of the rash which it said was a butterfly rash and also mentioned lupus (which is why im askin on here) round about the same time i got a rash on my chest which also would not go away, so i googled lupus and found this site and did a bit of reading and some of the symptoms were butterfly rash....chest rash....muscle ache either in the neck or between the knee and hip...and i did have a muscle ache in my legs in that place so that also got me thinking it could be this.

So i made an apointment at the docs but the appointment was for about 2 weeks later and by then the rashes had nearly gone but still slightly visible and the doc said the rash on my face was called a butterfly rash and the rash on my chest was to do with hair follicles or somat which according to this site are both symptoms but my doc really just sent me home

so the reason im posting on here is to ask wether the symptons i have could be this and what should i do or have i got nothing to worry about

i do hope i have managed to explain things a bit better and hope use understand what i am sayin if not i will try again

thankyou
Gav

 

[Maia]

I second the suggestion of getting a referral to a dermatologist, since most of your symptoms have to do with rashes (and since what your GP did for the chest rash hasn't helped at all). That doctor would be best equipped to determine what is happening with respect to your rashes.

There are some types of lupus that mostly affect the skin with only minimal involvement elsewhere. It's a possibility, but it doesn't seem a strong possibility to have systemic lupus (SLE) given your mild symptoms. I definitely encourage you to get an expert opinion on your skin rash symptoms though, and take pictures of them so you can show the doctor(s) what you get since they do have a tricky way of disappearing it seems just in time for the doctor appointment!

 

[Gav]

ok i will certainly do that thank u for the replies

 

[LolaLola]

Dear Gav,
Good Luck. Are you in the UK?
Is the rash worse after being in the sun?
x Lola

 

[Gav]

well not been here for a while, i have been to see a dermatologist who said that the rash i have is seborrhoeic eczema but he just looked at it and said thats wat it was, that was about a year ago but since then i have recently been to the doctors about joint and muscle pain and he sent me for blood tests, results came back that i tested positive for rheumatoid arthritis.

any how i am not sayin i have lupus but with me getting diagnosed with rheumatoid and i do still have the face rash which is on both cheeks and over nose will the specialist do any types of tests to check for lupus? ( have my first appointment next month)

would love to hear some feedback on this

kind regards Gavin

 

[lazylegs]

Hi Gavin,

I assume you are being sent to see a Rheumatologist. Once you give your history the doctor will probably want to run more tests to make sure what exactly is going on. If not you can always request an ANA be done to rule Lupus out as the culprit for your pain and rash. In the meantime you should get photos of the rash to show the doctor in case it is not blooming on the day of your appointment.

Good luck with your upcoming appointment.

Take care,
Lazylegs