I'm most interested in finding people who have had a positive Lyme diagnosis and are currently off antibiotics but have a fairly new Lyme rash. Despite this being my primary interest, I am also interested in the effect of this product on other rashes and skin problems from lyme such as the ACA(?) rashes as well. I had a rash that had been on my arm for several months that is entirely gone now. It was growing and getting uglier by the day until I started using this skin product. It started clearing up in days. On my ankles I have two rashes that had been there almost a year and were getting really bad. They started to clear up as well before I realized what was going on. Since they were so much more severe, I stopped using this product on them to see what would happen. While they are not gone yet they are a great deal lighter, not as wide and not as rough. I have little doubt that if I use this stuff on them again they will clear up - for how long, I don't know, I doubt permanently, but I don't want them to clear until I have a doctor see them...and see what happens after I use this product. See, I want a licensed witness as well.

The reason I want confirmed Lyme patients is because I don't want to rob anyone of a Lyme diagnosis if this stuff clears up their rash esp since the rashes are often diagnostic. Additionally, pooling from those with a diagnosis will also help me to confirm if it does or does not work on other Lyme patients.

Are there any of you out there who are off antibiotics on a break or whatever, and have a rash? Are there people out there on antibiotics who have a long standing rash? My rashes recur when I am off antibiotics but disappear when I am on them so that could muddy the results of anyone taking both antibiotics and trying my experiment but I am still willing to see what happens.

If anyone is interested, please reply here and let me know. I'll be back in a day or two and check for replies. Don't ask me what type of product this is since I want this to be a fairly blind experiment. However, I will say it is a commonly used skin care product, sold widely and approved by the FDA for much longer usage than I am asking for - which is a week or two. I realize some people may have a problem with not knowing exactly what this is but since this is totally optional they can just pass this request on by and move on to another topic because I am not trying to convince anyone to participate.

If what I experienced is not a fluke then it may be fairly important because it may be a reason some people are not displaying a diagnostic rash when they become infected. This is the reason I am willing to spend my time and money checking this out. I'm broke so I have no financial interest in the product I am using and I do not believe this product to be much different than others in its class.

For anyone who is interested I will send you a small bottle of either the product I am curious about or a placebo in order to make certain my results are more accurate. I will also try to create a simple questionaire for you to fill out so I can get a little idea of your history with the rashes and Lyme to gage the effectiveness of my experiment. If you have a digital camera and can take before and after pictures, that would be nice as well. I can even send you photo paper. Anyone who wants to withhold their name may do so as well - just give me an alternate name kit and an address where you can pick up your package. You can email that to me privately.

I'll check back in a day or two and see if anyone is interested. I haven't pulled the kits together yet but will do so when I know what the interest level is and will go forward even if there are only a few people interested because I am very intrigued.

For any of you who need to know that I am an actual Lyme patient and not from the "other side," I will tell you that I know ConnieMc, Ziggy, Tincup, Optimistick, EllenLu, Cheryl, etc. and I became a member here back in 2001 when I became ill with Lyme.

Ok, I'll check back later.

Thanks!

Crime, I am thrilled you replied. Of course, not thrilled you have Lyme or have a rash...but thrilled you may be interested in giving my experiment a little test run. Are you? I'm hoping!

You say you've had that rash for 5 months since going off antibiotics... Did the rash appear only 5 months ago or did you have it even while on antibiotics? If so, how long in total have you had that rash? How big is the rash? Do you think you can do any before and after pictures? It would be cool to get pictures of the rash after you have had a shower or bath, when they show up the best and the actual size, etc is so much easier to define. A shot or two under normal conditions would be good as well since it is amazing how faded they can be once they cool back down. Of course...you'll only need that "after" if my reaction wasn't a fluke...

Lymetoo, Thanks for the encouragement. You were always the best at that!

Angie

It's a common skin care product but I've never seen anything connected to it clearing a lyme rash so I don't know if my reaction is a fluke or this is really something to look into. So, before I encourage anyone to seriously look into this farther, I'd like to do my own little experiment.

I'm most interested in finding people who have had a positive Lyme diagnosis and are currently off antibiotics but have a fairly new Lyme rash. Despite this being my primary interest, I am also interested in the effect of this product on other rashes and skin problems from lyme such as the ACA(?) rashes as well.

I had a rash that had been on my arm for several months that is entirely gone now. It was growing and getting uglier by the day until I started using this skin product. It started clearing up in days. On my ankles I have two rashes that had been there almost a year and were getting really bad.

They started to clear up as well before I realized what was going on. Since they were so much more severe, I stopped using this product on them to see what would happen. While they are not gone yet they are a great deal lighter, not as wide and not as rough.

I have little doubt that if I use this stuff on them again they will clear up - for how long, I don't know, I doubt permanently, but I don't want them to clear until I have a doctor see them...and see what happens after I use this product. See, I want a licensed witness as well.

The reason I want confirmed Lyme patients is because I don't want to rob anyone of a Lyme diagnosis if this stuff clears up their rash esp since the rashes are often diagnostic.

Additionally, pooling from those with a diagnosis will also help me to confirm if it does or does not work on other Lyme patients.

Are there any of you out there who are off antibiotics on a break or whatever, and have a rash?

Are there people out there on antibiotics who have a long standing rash? My rashes recur when I am off antibiotics but disappear when I am on them so that could muddy the results of anyone taking both antibiotics and trying my experiment but I am still willing to see what happens.

If anyone is interested, please reply here and let me know. I'll be back in a day or two and check for replies.

Don't ask me what type of product this is since I want this to be a fairly blind experiment.

However, I will say it is a commonly used skin care product, sold widely and approved by the FDA for much longer usage than I am asking for - which is a week or two.

I realize some people may have a problem with not knowing exactly what this is but since this is totally optional they can just pass this request on by and move on to another topic because I am not trying to convince anyone to participate.

If what I experienced is not a fluke, then it may be fairly important because it may be a reason some people are not displaying a diagnostic rash when they become infected.

This is the reason I am willing to spend my time and money checking this out. I'm broke so I have no financial interest in the product I am using and I do not believe this product to be much different than others in its class.

For anyone who is interested, I will send you a small bottle of either the product I am curious about or a placebo in order to make certain my results are more accurate.

I will also try to create a simple questionaire for you to fill out so I can get a little idea of your history with the rashes and Lyme to gage the effectiveness of my experiment.

If you have a digital camera and can take before and after pictures, that would be nice as well. I can even send you photo paper.

Anyone who wants to withhold their name may do so as well - just give me an alternate name kit and an address where you can pick up your package. You can email that to me privately.

I'll check back in a day or two and see if anyone is interested. I haven't pulled the kits together yet but will do so when I know what the interest level is and will go forward even if there are only a few people interested because I am very intrigued.

For any of you who need to know that I am an actual Lyme patient and not from the "other side," I will tell you that I know ConnieMc, Ziggy, Tincup, Optimistick, EllenLu, Cheryl, etc. and I became a member here back in 2001 when I became ill with Lyme.

Ok, I'll check back later. Thanks!
Angie/QUOTE]

Angie, I broke this up since majority of us can't comprehend those LONG paragraphs without double spaces between them after 6-8 lines of text.

Please help us all out, and use the return button more for easier reading for us late-stage lymies....thanks so much.

Could you edit your 2nd post making it shorter? I did this so you would get more people to read.

When I see posts like this, I just leave as I can't read/comprehend things like this.

Bettyg, Iowa

Sorry. I've written so many posts on Lymenet in the past that I had to try to break up that I now have problems determining exactly where I should break a normal paragraph now.

I haven't been on the site much so I've been trying to get my writing back to normal but it's hard for me to get my thoughts down in this format. However, I will try because I know that eye problems can be very hard to deal with and I value everyone's participation.

Thanks for taking an interest and for breaking my message up for others to read it. That was kind of you.

If anyone else is interested, please post. I know that there are so many on treatment here that it will be hard to find people currently exhibiting a rash. However, I had hoped to find at least a few to gauge the value of further research into this matter.

It would be cool to do this quickly but I can take this slowly. My biggest concern is that this product may be causing some diagnostic rashes to not appear or clear up - even temporarily - thus robbing some who are sick of a proper diagnosis.

Frankly, this is fascinating me. I just looked at my wrist and where it was almost perfectly clear yesterday - for about 2 weeks after the last time I used this skin care product - tonight I can see some very small raised patches where it is trying to start up again. I forgot to get a photo of my wrist without the rash so I'm going to see if I can clear this up with a dose or two of cream and then time to see how long before the rash starts back up.

If anyone has an EM or other skin condition and wants to give this a try, you can email me at [email protected]. Make certain to put EM Rashes or something similar in the heading in hopes your message will not be lost to my junk mail.

If you don't hear back from me in a day or two, try again. I'm really behind on some VERY important things (and for that reason probably should not have even posted this yet!) so I will not be able to chat much but if given your information, I will get this skin cream out for you to try...or the placebo because I want to make certain no one can claim any of you were simply willing your rashes away.

Oh, please don't send me any attachments because I will not open them. Nothing personal but I've had computer problems in the past from attachments so I don't mess with them.

Thanks to everyone who is taking the time to read this post - including all you lurkers. Even though you may not have an EM so that you can participate, you may think of someone else and send them my way without ever posting here. That works for me as well and I appreciate it too.

Best to everyone,

Angie

But I'd be VERY MUCH interested to hear the outcome of this experiment since I have an EM-like rash since approx. 5 years that is refusing to leave.

Please post the results on this board. If it works I'll manage to get this product somehow.

I noticed my rash on my foot the very same week I started abx in April of 2003.. so I've had the sucker for two years to this date almost, but have been off abx for five months.

Its quite big, about the size of nickel.. changes shape and color -yep with heat , etc.

I can get some before and after photos. The closest my rash got to leaving and staying gone was on Rifampin, but alas, it came back again.

They described this rash as atypical, but I did have several positive PCR tests for Lyme.

The doctor was perplexed as to why the rash persisted. As an experiment, we added a topical antibiotic cream to the rash. Within 2 months the rash faded. Unfortunately, after stopping the cream and the Rocephin.....a new rash has appeared.

The first rash was on my cheek and extended down my neck. The new rash is at the back of my neck......not too far from the original one.

Nothing seems to be working on this rash, not even the antibiotic cream. Although, I am currently not on any meds. Maybe I need a combination of meds and cream to work.

I don't know if any of this info will help your study, but it can't hurt!

But it may not have been...

So, send me your information - even you Gabrielle. I don't care what country you are in if you want to play along. Everyone is welcome...until I run out.

I'm only equiped for 10 right now but I might be willing to go to 20 or 30 if the first 10 notice anything happening.

Ok, I gotta go. My computer is down so I am at the library right now. I don't think I'll be coming in here but once or twice a week to check messages so please be patient if I don't get back to you immediately.

Oh, and if you email me, make certain to put Lyme Rashes or Lymenet in the subject title so I don't think it's junkmail - in case I haven't already said that.

If you don't hear back from me within a week, write again because msn may have placed you in my junk mail folder and I didn't see you. All my new mail seems to go there.

Ok, timer on the library computer is running down. Gotta go!

Take care,

Angie