Re: Derm vs Rheumatologist

[Guest guest]

Hi Sara,

In my opinion a dermy is good for diagnosis, but then the hunt is on

to find an underlying disorder or trigger. The specialist you see will

depend on that. That said, there are about half of us, me included,

who are considered idiopathic--no known triggger or underlying

disorder. Some of us do not have joint problems. I'm in that lucky

group too. We often try SSKI if we don't have thyroid issues. Some are

given prednisone, or Dapsone or Cellcept. But most likely the EN will

go into spontaneous remission with (bed)rest. Over the counter pain

meds are prescribed as needed.

EN is not treated by any specific specialty. That adds to our problems.

We are considered a " garbage disorder " --This is what one member said

her dr. called it. Garbage in that there are probably 100's of

triggers and sometimes it is triggered by nothing at all (idiopathic),

and to make it more trashy it can go into spontaneous remission

without the aid of any treatment.

I prefer to call it a " mysterious disorder " myself....which would lose

some of its mystery if it were adequately researched.

Echoing your wishes for all our members to have a pain free and Happy

Weekend!

Love,

idio. EN '68

[Guest guest]

Hi Sara,

I recently was diagnosed with EN, am in week 4 of my first flare up

and it gets worse every day. My family doc was sure it was EN, but

sent me to a dermatologist, a rheumatologist, a gastroenterologist,

and a hematologist.... i've been the the dermatologist and the

gastroenterologist so far.... to be honest, the dermatologist was the

least helpful - all he did was spend a total of 30 seconds looking at

my legs, and confirmed it was EN. No biopsy or even one question

about any other symptoms.

All the Derm. can do is medicate you - they can't do anything to find

the underlying cause. He wrote me a prescription for prednisone and

sent me on my way. My family doc, gastro. and rheum. all agree that

i should not start treatment with prednisone until they find the

underlying cause. Prednisone has a lot of side effects, some of the

rare ones can be very serious and my family doc thinks that nobody

should take a steroid drug like that unless the diagnosis of the

underlying cause is confirmed - i agree with my doc on that.

Best idea is to see if they can find an underlying cause - but i

don't think that a dermatologist can be of any extra help on that...

My advice is - push your GP into investigating every possible cause -

although 50% of cases are idiopathic, I honestly think thats because

nobody takes the time to investigate far enough...

Glad to hear that you are in remission of this awful condition, I

hope my flare up goes away soon. I've been unable to work, barely

able to walk, and in a LOT of pain... would give anything for just

one day of relief!