Let's talk about this. I've had Diabetes forEVER and have just started realizing how many other aspects of life are effected by my compromised immune system. I have eczema CONSTANTLY. That little itchy red rash? YA. That is apparently caused by a whacked-out immune system attacking your body when it shouldn't. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Cuz it should, since that's how we got Diabetes. I also have asthma, which is apparently the same story. I am feeling very lucky that I'm mad about a rash though, as opposed to Cyliac Disease. Still, I hate my immune system and tonight I'm extra pissed because I itch and it never goes away. Does anyone share my feelings, or have any ideas for how to calm your flaming skin? I'm mostly wondering if this happens to all of us T1Ds? My friends have no idea what its like to have a body that's in constant attack mode!
Thanks a lot, immune system. You're at the top of my s*** list tonight.
I know how you feel. I've had esczema since before I had diabetes and it sucks. I like to use Vaseline on the esczema at night to help it heal faster and Eucerin Calming Cream is good for the daytime because it isn't greasy or smelly so it won't make your clothes stick to you. Hope this helps! :)
I don't know first hand how you feel, but my son's immune system has attacked him more than once. He has alopecia, which is autoimmune. Basically, his immune system attacked his hair folicles and caused all his hair to fall out. So for over a year he had a noticeable condition that led to a lot of conversations about diabetes and how, no, it doesn't cause hair loss. Thankfully, his hair has grown back and I hope it stays. He has had signs of adrenal insufficiency (also auotimmune), but so far it hasn't happened. He goes to the endo tomorrow and we will get the results from his annual blood work. I always get nervous at these appointments, hoping with all my heart that no new complications have arose.
Trish, I hadn't heard that your son's hair had grown back. I'll keep my fingers crossed for him that it continues!!
I have seasonal, food, and skin allergies which I assume are related to my over-active immune system. I have 2 auto-immune diseases: T1, of course, and lichen planus (a disease sort of like eczema or psoriasis, where the body attacks the skin and soft tissues). Sadly, there's nothing you can do to prevent these auto-immune diseases with our current medical knowledge, but I do take vit D supplements and try to exercise and eat healthy in hopes of preventing any other problems. My CRAZY red, sensitive, blotchy skin can almost be more annoying than the T1 some days b/c it's more noticeable (rash is all over my body) and I get a lot of questions and comments like "Why don't you switch detergent?" It's annoying! :P
Trish, this is so strange you say something about alopecia, because that was one of my symptoms when I was diagnosed. My baby sister would come up behind me and literally pull handfuls of my hair out of my head without me even noticing. I had super-thin hair and mom and dad finally had enough wondering why my hair was as bad as it was and I'd imagine it was freaky watching Molly pulling all my hair out so I went to the doctor and that began the two year diagnosis process. I didn't have any of the "normal" symptoms, but the more I dig, the more it makes sense. I think it's quite possible that I have every auto-immune dysfunction you could imagine! Haha, thanks for this blip, it's helping me open my eyes! Good luck to you and your baby, I'm praying for good bloodwork results for him!
Ps, my hair grew back, and it's stayed for 20 years :)
Mal, thanks! That's a great idea about the vaseline. I'm thinking I want to get waterproof medical tape and wrap my elbows at night. This is the first time I've ever broken out on my face though, and I think that's more about stress. My elbows, however, are always so painful and dry with those little water blisters. I do use that Eucerine Calming Lotion! Great minds must think alike. I love it, it's a life saver, but it doesn't stop the water blisters, and my cortisone cream isn't cutting it during flare-ups. Thanks for the advice, I think it's going to be a matter of preventative action! Good luck with your own skin, it sucks when you're trying to feel pretty and you've got this stinking eczema rearing it's ugly head :)
Ps, my hair grew back, and it's stayed for 20 years :)
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That's good to hear. Alopecia is so unpredictable that even dermatologists can't determine it's course. Brandan had complete hair loss, every hair on his head fell out including eyebrows and eyelashes. Now he has the same blonde hair he used to, just one little bald spot left on the back of his head. His eyebrows and eyelashes are growing back too. His eyes have been really irritated by it.
I just remembered a couple more things that I forgot to mention. I used to scratch at my eczema a lot when I slept and I'd wake up bleeding with much worse eczema then I had when I went to bed so I started to put gloves on my hands and socks over the gloves so that my hands would stay in fists and I couldn't scratch anything. I also cut my nails very short because scratching has become a habit and I don't even notice I'm doing it until my eczema gets really bad. I hope this is helpful too :)
My son has had eczema, and was prescribed Triamcinolone cream to use when it really flared up. It helped much better than anything over-the-counter. Good luck!