. No wonder they refer to each other. His office was a patient mill, with rude staff, and no one getting more than 10 minutes of his time. To get all my questions in, I had to talk a million words per minute, much as he did. At the 5 minute mark, he was already telling me he had to get to another patient. With my final question, he said we should schedule a real f-up appointment when I get my stitch out, so I can ask my questions then. Nice. Anyway, he does believe I have most of the skin markers for Dermatomyositis (despite normal muscle enzymes), and he did a biopsy of my skin rash. He explained that all AI issues are on a spectrum, and mine may be very mild, perhaps no need for medication, no muscle involvement, etc. He said my sun sensitivity may not mean absolute sun avoidance, but no sun bathing either. He urged me to get a GYN check-up, because dermatomyositis (DM), especially the rash, is often an indicator of underlying cancer.
I haven't been to the GYN in 2 years...He confirmed that the small red spots on my torso during sweating and exercise are hives (cholanergic urticaria), and yes, mast cell related, like my dermographia. My beet red, burning face is hives too. He suggested I take a Zyrtec before every workout. I think I prefer no workouts instead.
It seems some people develop an IgE reaction to their own sweat. I guarantee I do.Now I've been reading about the link between DM and Epstein Barr Virus.............
I used to wonder whether I was just bleeding out under my skin, but those would be petechiae (I get them too), and they would/could go away. A doctor friend explained these are abnormal clustering of capillaries just under the skin, and therefore are hard to treat. I might need a laser treatment to deal with the one under my eye. But there will be others, so WTF?!?
