Eric Tapley

Poison ivy? Maybe not.

I met with my dermatologist again and she is “mystified” and “confused” by my condition. The rash has continued to spread and, at this point, covers most of my body. It’s still painful and hard to deal with the constant irritation, especially at night. Thankfully the pain meds I have are helping to alleviate the pain enough so I can get some sleep.

I have faith that my doctors will be able to figure this out with more time and testing. I have upcoming appointments with specialists and an allergist. In the meantime, however, just waiting (and hurting) is no cool. No cool indeed.

What a surprise - this site was covered in the blog watch of the Worcester Magazine! It seems as if my poison ivy saga is more popular than I could have ever imagined. Lucky you to be able to read about my rash when I really thought only my Mom would care.

So, welcome! Happy to have you as a reader! Feel free to poke around and comment if you like. There’s more than just rash news, of course, but for the past couple of weeks that has been occupying most of my attention.

As for my rash, I do have an update to share. Here goes:

I spoke with my dermatologist today. It turns out that the biopsy does in fact indicate I have a ‘contact dermatitis’ response, which, in human lingo, means poison ivy (or poison sumac, or poison oak, or some other form of the poison vine variety). She [my dermatologist] felt that with my current course of medication I should be better, soon, especially given the high daily dose of Prednisone I’m taking.

In the meantime the course of action is to wait and let nature run its course.

I have a follow-up appointment for this next week and will be closely monitoring my symptoms to see if they get any worse, especially if I start having more dizziness, light headedness, or breathing problems.

As for you, my lucky reader, if you have an allergic reaction with any of those symptoms you should get checked out right away. Especially if you have breathing problems, as that could be a sign of a more serious reaction that could be life threatening. It’s not a good idea to take risks and play around when your health is at stake.

WoMag Blog Log

“So how is your rash?” [insert name here] kindly asks.

“Unfortunately,” I reply “No better.”

Here’s some proof. I just took these photos of my legs. I have the same kind of rash on my arms, neck, back, chest, abdomen, and, as you can see, down my legs. Where I don’t have the rash, like my face, my skin is dry and scratchy and flaky. Attractive, no?

It hurts. It’s itchy and burning and prickly. It’s annoying. I’m having a hard time getting asleep and staying asleep. And I’m upset that the doctors at the hospital, at the clinic, and even my dermatologist can’t figure out what’s going on.

I’m supposed to know the results of my biopsy tomorrow. I hope it’s good news.

Last night I went to the UMass Memorial Medical Center emergency room to have them check on my rash and see if my breathing problems are serious and related. After a CT scan, some blood tests, and time with a very frank and (welcomingly) open doctor I don’t have any more answers, which is frustrating, but I do have a different set of medication to use which seems to be helping.

The CT scan ruled out blood clots or inflammation in my lungs. After almost two weeks this is what worries me the most - feeling short of breath and unable to take a deep breath is a little scary. If this rash were to spread into my throat and lungs that could be serious and potentially life threatening.

The medication changes include an increase in Prednisone (to 70mg/day), a switch from the antihistamine Benadryl to Atarax, and a prescription for Dilaudid, a stronger pain medication than Percocet, which is helping keep the rash pain under wraps. The pain control helped me sleep fairly well for the first time in a couple of weeks last night and that alone has been a huge help.

I’m happy to have some pain relief that is actually helping and I’m hopeful that the increased steroids and new antihistamine will have an impact.

The rash hasn’t been responding to typical therapy for poison ivy, so it’s a mystery at this point. I expect to hear from my dermatologist about the biopsy soon and am hopeful that will shed some light on all of this.

It’s weird to be so sick with something seemingly minor, like a rash, but I suppose that after years of being ravaged by Ulcerative Colitis my body is just more susceptible to such things. I’m really going to redouble my efforts at getting and staying healthy once I’m over this rash.

I met with my dermatologist today. She took a biopsy of an area on my right arm that’s covered with the afflicted rash and decided to run some blood tests. At this point, based on the slow response to the Prednisone and other meds, she’s no longer convinced this is poison ivy. But she doesn’t know what it is, either.

At least I got some free stitches and a bandage for my arm out of this.

Starting last evening the rash began to re-appear on my neck, shoulders, chest, and face. It’s painful and red - almost like I have a bad sunburn, but I haven’t been outside for more than 20 minutes at a time in days. I’m also having some breathing problems again, not severe like when I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago but instead more like my throat was swollen and too small for me to breathe enough air. (I have my EpiPen ready.)

So the wørd is… nothing. I have to wait for the results of the tests.

Anyone have an idea what this might be, or, better yet, what to do about it?

My poison ivy seems to be clearing up. The rash has subsided (now it just looks like an old burn), the itch is about gone, and the blisters have dried up. Plus, I haven’t had any more breathing troubles.

I have a follow-up appointment with the doctors tomorrow to see what they say. Until then (and, I’m sure, even after) I’m going to stick with the course of treatment and medications to clear this up.

Part of my long-term allergy plan includes looking into shots to desensitize me so, if I get poison ivy again, it won’t be as severe. Anyone have experience with those?

Since early this year I’ve been walking almost every day to ensure I get some exercise. It’s a good low-key way for me to work my way back to health. My long-term plan, once I’ve rebuilt my strength and lost some weight, is to then get back to hiking, camping, cycling and running.

In addition to the health benefits I’ve found walking to be a great way to explore a new city or town, a good way to get out of a bad mood (especially if something nasty goes on at work), or a way to get out of my regular environment and find a way to think through a problem in a different way. One of my fondest memories is exploring San Francisco a few years ago when I visited by walking around for 8 hours a day.

For me, at least, exercise without measurement makes it difficut to gague progress and keep to a routine. So for the past few months I was using the Walking Advantage Sportline 340 pedometer which I wore all day long and used to track every step I took. I really liked it - small, simple, accurate, and inexpensive. It was not very durable, however, so recently while getting out of the car I slid against my hip and in the process crushed face and clip on the 340.

Kate was nice enough to pick up a more robust replacement for me, the 345 model. It’s a bigger model with a much stronger clip so I don’t think I’ll break this one. It also counts calories once you’ve input your weight, which will be nice since I’m trying to get back in shape and lose some weight.

I’m still looking for a good way to track and report on my daily progress. I’m aiming for a minimum of 10,000 steps per day with a goal of at least 12,000 per day. I’m going to look to see if there’s a Nike+iPod-like system for walkers. (If you know of one, let me know.)

In the meantime I’m back at it now that my poison ivy is healing. I’ll let you know how my progress goes.

And today? 11,442 steps so far.

Walking Advantage Sportline 340		Walking Advantage Sportline 345