I got skin damage from lyme. I think it is due to the disruption of the endocrine system and elevated cortisol and or insulin. I got thinned skin on my theighs and hips. It burns and is wrinkly. The scarring happened about eight months to one year after I had my first confirmable symptoms. There is no treatment to heal this since yet, until there is any dermal regeneration technology.
Who else got this too?
Posted by glm1111 (Member # 16556) on :
Google
Acrodermatitis Chronica Atrophicans
Posted by applewine (Member # 26220) on :
I don't think that is what I have. That seems to be more direct from the organism. I think my skin damage was caused by the endocrine system due to the weight gain that took place at the same time and the location of the skin damage.
Posted by kimmie (Member # 25547) on :
steroids? any prior steroid use can thin skin
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
I do, but I think mine most resembles what glm111 posted.
Posted by nenet (Member # 13174) on :
applewine, please take a look at the following link - a veteran poster had a great thread going about skin presentations in Lyme Disease.
There is a lot of info there from other patients with skin problems like yours, and lots of studies:
"Will those with ACA presentation please step forward?"
By the way, Lyme is well-known for causing damage to collagen. Many people who have skin presentation with Lyme end up with very thin, papery, fragile skin, among other problems.
Posted by imagine2 (Member # 3136) on :
Applewine,
My skin is exactly like nenet explained...thin, papery, fragile, dry, and is primarily on my lower legs and forearms. It tears if I barely bump my arms and legs on anything.
Posted by applewine (Member # 26220) on :
What I'm talking about is basically skin damage known as stretch marks caused by weight gain and excess cortisol. This is what I'm talking about. My skin looks thin and wrinkly and I feel a constant burning and itching. Not super strong, but its there. It happened about 1 year after the stiff neck started, I gained lots of weight on the hips and I got stretch marks. It was caused by the lyme elevating my cortisol levels and making me gain weight. And, I am a person who cannot gain fat no matter how hard I have tried in the past, so the lyme really screwed with my system and I know it was the lyme.
So I am 110 pounds, skinny with stretch marks. Though I still have a few pounds I can't lose which I think it because my cortisol is still elevated a little.
So I'm ****ed because I've been sick with lyme for 4 years now and even if they do cure me in a year or two from now, I'll still have the skin damage and discomfort from that. And I'll have been sick for like six years, which sucks. The doctor didn't catch it before I got the damage and there is no regenerative treatment available to get me back to where I was.
Posted by rob48 (Member # 25477) on :
Has anyone ever gotten white pigment spots on their skin from lyme or it's co-infections. I just noticed them this year and they are appearing on my legs, arms and chest. They are noticable because I went on vacation for several weeks and got some sun.
Posted by Mariski (Member # 24942) on :
It could be vitaligo, which is an autoimmune disease that results in depigmentation of patches of skin. It may be possible for lyme to cause vitaligo because of its impact on the immune system. Have you been to see a dermatologist?
Posted by applewine (Member # 26220) on :
I don't know what that is. Show it to a dermatologist. Doesn't seem to have anything to do with lyme, but if you think it is not normal show it to a doctor.
Posted by nenet (Member # 13174) on :
I also have skin damage from Lyme, but I've had it (skin problems) since I was about 10, so I've become used to having bad skin by now (I'm 37). I had Lyme symptoms as far back as I can remember. I developed skin tags at 10, and spider veins at 12 (likely from Bartonella), and I was a very active, skinny kid.
I also gained 30 pounds in less than a month when the Lyme got much worse in 2004. No doctors believe me, but I didn't change a thing in my eating or activity levels during that month. I know how devastating that weight gain can be, especially when I had never been overweight before. Stretch marks galore, before and after.
I don't know if this helps you at all applewine, as you seem to have already concluded the cause of your skin problems, but I hope it is useful to you or the others posting in this thread:
A quick search of Vitiligo + Lyme on Google Scholar brought up this case study where a person with Vitiligo was found to have Lyme, as well as Anetoderma.
Anetoderma is a rare skin condition which can be caused by inflammatory diseases (Lyme is an inflammatory disease), and causes thinning of skin and wrinkling, etc. due to loss of elastin.
There are sure to be other case reports but I thought this would be a good start for those of you looking for possible connections to research.