RASH?

[LilyChristine21]

Hello.

I am a 23 year old female and have been experiencing several health issues over the course of a month. Fevers, drenching night sweats, bone pain, ect. I know those are all symptoms of lymphoma, however I also know they are symptoms of several other health problems as well. My MAIN concern is the rash that developed over two weeks ago. Red raised dots that itch on my inner upper thigh area, lower back, shoulders, abdomen and the creases of my arms other side of my elbows. My doctor Dx me with "scabies" and treated me with the oral medication for scabies. However, this week I went to a dermatologist for a 2nd opinion and she said definitely not scabies and took a biopsy of on the the red raised dots to send into a specialist to determine and rule out "scabies" NOW I am questioning what is causing my rash and why I feel so so tired all the time. To whoever may be reading this, if you had a rash what was it like and where was it located and was it there before you were Dx with lymphoma? I ask this because I have had the wax-wane symptoms before this month as well and thought I have had lymphoma possibly in the past. I'm not scared at all, I just want to know and it's one of those things that I don't want to overreact, but I also know it's one of the diseases that is hard to diagnose...am I correct?

Thanks for any help and advice!!!

[umbleweed]

Well i cant give you any information on diagnosis because i dont have one, and im pretty much in the same boat as yourself at the minute (not knowing whats wrong with me).

With scabies the itching is usually on the back of the wrists, thighs, buttocks, elbows, etc. These usually cause blister like rashes in the locations. And are generally more itchy during the night.

What you are describing does not sound like scabies. Has your doctor mentioned petachie (little red dots in the skin)? this is caused when the the platelet count is at an abnormal level. Have you noticed any unusual unexplained bruising atall?

Do you have any swollen lymph nodes? The neck, creases of the groin, and underarms are usually the most palpable areas to check.

Have you had blood tests? A simple CBC can look at your platelets and red blood cells to make sure there isnt any sign of anemia.

Best of luck
Umbleweed.

[LilyChristine21]

My doctor did mention swollen lymph nodes each time I have visited him (which has been over five times in the past month) but I did have blood test done and everything turned up fine...but that was over a month ago. Maybe I should have more test done since I am experiencing new symptoms (extreme fatigue and pain in right side of chest when breathing, also the Rash that is not leaving)

I just really wanted to know for anyone who has lymphoma where there rash was located and what it looked like/felt like before being diagnosed.

Thanks!

[Boldelly]

Randi had a rash on her chest and this was before diagnosis and it looked like heat rash, which is what I thought it was because we live in a humid climate. It was not until she was being evaluated for lymphoma that I realized the rash was probably due to the lymphoma. I know others who have had the rash really bad and they say it was a deep itiching rash and they would scratch until they bruised themselves. Randi's was never that bad. Her only symtoms were cough and fatigue. The only true way to diagnose hodgkin's is to biopsy one of the lymph nodes and they will look for the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. I would not keep putting off going to your doctor with these symptoms and if he will not look into it further I would get a second opinion. I have read of so many being misdiagnosed with hodgkin's because it is relatively a rare type of cancer, although very treatable for those whos body reacts well to the treatment and depending on what type of lymphoma it is. They gave Randi a 70% cure rate at diagnosis. We are now 8 months out from all treatment and so far so good, other than her being fatigued a lot. Anyway, I hope it is something else other than lympoma, but I would not quit until I got a diagnosis for your night sweats, fever and pains. Ask for a chest x-ray because if you have a mass in your chest it will show and that is how Randi got diagnosed was a chest x-ray for her cough showed a large mediastinal mass in her chest. Best of luck and let us know how you are doing. Laurie

[LilyChristine21]

Hey Laurie thanks for your reply! My dermatologist called me this morning with the result from my skin biopsy...it was negative for scabies thankfully! Ewww...scabies just sounds yucky! I work on an OBGYN Post-Delivery floor with babies so now I can go back to work tomorrow thankfully, I have missed so much work this month! I went to the Doctor this morning and told him all of my symptoms, he did CBC, CMP, and 2 other tests (inflammation and something else...I don't know what the inflammation test will even show?) and then took a urine sample. So hopefully I will know something something SOMETHING today or early next week. He talked about doing an echo cardiogram because of my PFO (small hole in my heart, never closed) and talked about a possible infection there? But it does concern me the onset of the symptoms and infections after the next this month, just constant infections it seems. He also said my right eye looked "inflamed" and I'm not sure what could be causing that...but it does feel I bit off-key and I'm not sure why.

Anyway, thanks for talking...I'm hoping it's nothing of course...but you just never know. Did your daughter have and slight aching pains in her lymph nodes...or her groin area lymph nodes? Just wondering...

Hope you and her and the rest of your family is well!

Take care!

[Boldelly]

He probably did a SED rate (sedimentation rate) which will tell if there is inflammation in the body. Normal is 20 and Randi's at diagnosis was 115.

Randi's biggest complaint was her cough, if it had not been for that cough then I do not know when she would have been diagnosed. She was treated like advanced stage with chemo regimen called BEACOP, but she was at intermediate stage. She may have had a little achyness in her back but I never really related it to the hodgkin's. I really hope they find out soon what is going on with you because I know it is hard when you are not feeling well and they are telling you nothing is wrong. I am sure the doctor we were seeing thought that her lymph nodes were swollen due to a sinus infection that we thought she had. There was never any tenderness with the lymph nodes or we never even noticed they were enlarged. I know I have read where some people can actually see the lymph node sticking out, but that was not the case with Randi. Randi's cancer was all above the diaphram, thank God. So, she never had to do radiation or anything like that below her diaphram. Her invoved areas were neck, supraclavical, arm pits, under left rib cage, mediastinum, and left shoulder blade.

I agree you never know and that is more of a reason for them to find out what is wrong with you so they can fix it . I have enjoyed talking with you, so anytime you want to talk just pm or e-mail me. Let me know how things are going with you. I will pray for you that it will all work out to his plan for you. Laurie

[Boldelly]

He probably did a SED rate (sedimentation rate) which will tell if there is inflammation in the body. Normal is 20 and Randi's at diagnosis was 115.

Randi's biggest complaint was her cough, if it had not been for that cough then I do not know when she would have been diagnosed. She was treated like advanced stage with chemo regimen called BEACOP, but she was at intermediate stage. She may have had a little achyness in her back but I never really related it to the hodgkin's. I really hope they find out soon what is going on with you because I know it is hard when you are not feeling well and they are telling you nothing is wrong. I am sure the doctor we were seeing thought that her lymph nodes were swollen due to a sinus infection that we thought she had. There was never any tenderness with the lymph nodes or we never even noticed they were enlarged. I know I have read where some people can actually see the lymph node sticking out, but that was not the case with Randi. Randi's cancer was all above the diaphram, thank God. So, she never had to do radiation or anything like that below her diaphram. Her invoved areas were neck, supraclavical, arm pits, under left rib cage, mediastinum, and left shoulder blade.

I agree you never know and that is more of a reason for them to find out what is wrong with you so they can fix it . I have enjoyed talking with you, so anytime you want to talk just pm or e-mail me. Let me know how things are going with you. I will pray for you that it will all work out to his plan for you. Laurie

[LilyChristine21]

Hey Laurie,

So you couldn't feel or recognize any enlarged lymph nodes in your daughter? Wow, that is so good that the chest x-ray was done! Thankfully you found it in an earlier stage, praise God!

I will keep you updated as I know more information. Whatever it may be, I am ready and do not having any fearful feelings right now. Of course, I know that could all change if it was actually true but I am content in knowing that whatever happens that it is God's will and He is with me.

Thanks for talking, Laurie!

God's blessings to you and Randi!

[Boldelly]

No I never noticed them. I am sure her doctor felt them, but did not think much of it because he thought that she had a sinus infection.
Laurie

[Sharnjean]

Everyone on this thread have been so informative. I am 56 female. I have had a swollen lymph node in my neck for about two years. I started getting a rash in late May around my neck that was very itchy. Two weeks ago the rash was everywhere from head to toe. I went to gp to have her check it out. She noticed I had this swollen node and that it was hard. I told her that they have seen it before and gave me a round of antibiotics and nothing changed. She said she was referring me to get a needle biopsy. I went to a surgeon and he said he wanted to get a look. So I had a sonogram which revealed I had not only one enlarged lymph node but two on either side of my carotid artery. He thought I should remove them since they are large and bothersome and biopsied. I have been having some night sweats, and a cough and 3 weeks ago I went to the emergency room with chest pain. Did anyone have chest pain with your diagnoses? My surgery is scheduled for this coming Tuesday.

[Kermica]

Sharnjean, welcome. Chest pain can be a symptom of lymphoma if it is in the chest (known as mediastinal). Your rash, if it is related to lymphoma is most often associated with lymphoma of the skin (cutaneous). You are doing the right thing in pursuing a diagnosis and your surgeon is doing the right thing by doing a full excisional biopsy as that is by far the most reliable way to rule out or confirm this disease.

May I make one suggestion for you? I think you should start a thread of your own to tell your story. Most of the time, when I look at old threads like this one (yours is the first post since 2007), I expect to find a spammer at the end of the trail. I am glad I read through everything to find you and give you a response but many regular readers won't do that. So, good luck with your surgery and start your own thread. We will be here to help when you get your results.

Good health,

kermica

[Sharnjean]

Thank you kermica