Welcome New Member Miranda Rathbone/ Case History /Chronic EN

[Guest guest]

Dear Miranda,On behalf of all our members, welcome to our Erythema Nodosum Group! Thanks for sending in your Questionnaire. I have added your information to our "Member Medical History" Files on the Group site and posted it below.You now have Full EN Group privileges.You are receiving ALL EN Group emails, and you may also visit the Erythema Nodosum Group Site:http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/erythema_nodosum_Group/ whenever you like by logging on with your Yahoo ID and secret password.You do not have to have the group emails delivered to be a member here. Let me know if you want the emails to stop.I hope you will remain a member here to support others even after you go into remission. Since EN IS NOT BEING ACTIVELY RESEARCHED, please take this opportunity to make a generous donation to our "EN Research Fund" to find a cure for this painful disorder.http://www.geocities.com/erythema_nodosum/donate/index.htm Also, please visit our new Erythema Nodosum Websitehttp://www.geocities.com/erythema_nodosum/ We intend to make it the best EN website on the net.We all understand what you are going through. Welcome to our Friendly Erythema Nodosum Group!Love,Chronic Idiopathic EN since 1968*********Miranda Rathbone's Case History 3/4/08 1. Your name and age: Miranda, 232. Your location: Central California3. Your email address: mlrathbone@...4. Your Yahoo ID: mad_caddies_chick5. Describe your erythema nodosum/PG symptoms or, if you do not have EN or PG, please explain why you wish to join this group. For nearly 2 years now i have been getting lumps anywhere from my knees down to my ankles that are often red, warm, swollen, and painful! They can vary in size from 1cm to at least 5 inches. My latest bout is still here and attacking hard, and has been present for over 4 weeks now. I had been treated for months in the past for it being an infection. Seriously, doctors are dumb and if they couldn't tell after giving me that many antibiotics and seeing no change that it wasn't an infection, I am scared for health care quality in this country. I was referred to a rheumatologist and had seen him a few times thinking maybe it could be RA, but tested negative for the rheumatoid factor twice. Last week I sent some pictures to my friend's dad, a retired anesthesiologist, and he identified it as EN. After some research, I completely agree. I have another appointment with the same rheumatologist tomorrow (have been uninsured for a while and had to wait..) and hoping now that I'm armed with a name he will know what's up. Otherwise I will need to find another specialist to go to. 6. List any other health conditions. Nothing major or recurring, I'm just accident prone. I think of late everything has been related to EN. 7. State what medications or treatments you take for EN, and their effectiveness: I took Prednisone this past fall when I was having severe swelling, but the dumb ER doc still thought it was an infection. 80mg (high dose i found out later) knocked it out in 2 days. Otherwise I take 600-800mg Ibuprofen or Aleve, but it only helps the pain and does nothing for the swelling. I have also taken Vicoden for it before because it was so painful. 8. When did you first get erythema nodosum or PG? June 20069. How long have you had erythema nodosum or PG? since June 2006. The flare-ups seem totally random, lasting anywhere from 2 days to 2 months.10. Do you agree to treat all EN members with respect? Absolutely and I would hope to receive the same in return.11.Do you agree to post NO advertisements for any products or services? Certainly not, I'm not a spammer.12. How did you find this Group? (Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves Search, referral from another group or person etc.) My family has been very concerned about me and my hypochondriac worry-wart grandma, when I found about EN last week, did some research and sent me the link.