I am 37 years old and female. In 2010 I broke out with a small nickel sized red, raised, itchy rash on my right upper buttock at the same time i had strep throat. This rash was diagnosed as shingles. For the past 3 years I have dealt with the reoccurrence of this rash on average of every 30 - 45 days. Prior to breaking out I would feel terrible, like I had the flu and also experience low grade fever, terrible night sweats, headaches, joint pain, blurry vision, diahrea, stomache pain, terrible fatigue, etc.
Now skip ahead 3 years...I am so ill with all the symptoms above everyday now.I have been off work for 4 months while undergoing many, many tests which have mostly all been "normal". My latest tests though have some abnormalities...CT scan of abdomen shows abnormally enlarged spleen and liver, blood tests show low nitrogen urea, high ASCA Iga ELISA (all of them), high vascular endothelial growth factor (all of them) and mutated stat 3 SNP. I am also deficient in B12 and folate as well as anemic. I have a colonoscopy and EGD scheduled for Tuesday. My GI is sure I have Crohn's but said this last test is sure to tell.
Last night I broke out with the rash again... I am wondering if this rash isn't related to Crohn's rather than being shingles. Does anyone else get a rash like this? It is itchy, red, raised, burns a bit and the size of a nickel. As the rash progresses it gets little white bumps in it and then becomes flakey as it heals. There is usually some scarring. Mind you I have been taking a suppression dose of anti-viral meds every day for the past 3 years...if it was shingles why is it not responding? I also have a pocket like 5" long and 2" wide swollen area just below my tummy on the right side it is kind of on the front/side of my hip. The pain seems to go from my hip to my toes and is bad enough to take my breath away at times. Anyway I could go on forever but I'd be singing to the choir...just curious about the rash now.
Now skip ahead 3 years...I am so ill with all the symptoms above everyday now.I have been off work for 4 months while undergoing many, many tests which have mostly all been "normal". My latest tests though have some abnormalities...CT scan of abdomen shows abnormally enlarged spleen and liver, blood tests show low nitrogen urea, high ASCA Iga ELISA (all of them), high vascular endothelial growth factor (all of them) and mutated stat 3 SNP. I am also deficient in B12 and folate as well as anemic. I have a colonoscopy and EGD scheduled for Tuesday. My GI is sure I have Crohn's but said this last test is sure to tell.
Last night I broke out with the rash again... I am wondering if this rash isn't related to Crohn's rather than being shingles. Does anyone else get a rash like this? It is itchy, red, raised, burns a bit and the size of a nickel. As the rash progresses it gets little white bumps in it and then becomes flakey as it heals. There is usually some scarring. Mind you I have been taking a suppression dose of anti-viral meds every day for the past 3 years...if it was shingles why is it not responding? I also have a pocket like 5" long and 2" wide swollen area just below my tummy on the right side it is kind of on the front/side of my hip. The pain seems to go from my hip to my toes and is bad enough to take my breath away at times. Anyway I could go on forever but I'd be singing to the choir...just curious about the rash now.
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