Hi. I am new to this forum. I read a lot to learn more about lupus. I think I had bad acne during onset too. I remember a friend saying " you look like a teenager". That was about a year ago. God knows I was in serious pain too. I also notice that from march - october that I flair and then as soon as october hits, the lupus lays low. I never spend time in the sun at all. At the most, 10 minutes a week. Does heat bother you?

Shawna

Can't stand it - and I live in dallas! I feel like I have the flu if i'm outside for more than 10 minutes, and the acne gets worse. I'm trying a new facial product right now; we'll see if it works. I've tried everything in the past 6 years...
Thanks for your reply!! :d

I am really picky about what I put on my skin and this cream that I use is perfect. It's a little expensive but its great. It's called hydra-floral by declor. The cream wash works great too. Incorporate these 2 into your
routine and see how it goes. If the acne still doesnt let up then you can try this.......Get the hydra-floral and get a bar of neutragena soap-acne prone. Wash with that soap and then put on the hydra-flora. I went to beauty school to learn about make up and skin products, etc....Maybe I can help people. Hope this helps. And also, you might want to think about trying mirac. It's a supplement I took that instead of plaquinil and it did good for me.

Take care
shawna

I l ive in dallas also, and the humidity can be awful for your skin. My dermtologist suggested a great product a long time ago that really works for me, and i'm allergic to everything. "cetaphyl" really works for me. Most dermatologist recommend it. And it is cheap!

Sulfa drugs act counteractvely to lupus. You should never take a sulpha drug, including celebrex, which is often recommded for arthritis type symptoms.

Goodluck

mia

Hey nancy--

did we ever discuss the "nightshade plants"?

If you have flares from food avoid the following: eggplant, tomatoes, peppers of all colors. They contain (help me out here ladies, is it sulfa?) which can trigger flares.

I also just found out from ladybrannon that shrimp can do the same thing.

Unfortunately for me though I refuse to give up these foods. Can't say i've flared from eating them, either.

Amway drugs also contain sulfates. Avoid them too.

I assume you've read __the lupus book__ by Dr. Daniel wallace?

Clarebear

But I will.
Hubby found a doctor today he really liked, so i'll probably try this group.

So my former doctor told me the sulfa thing had nothing to do with lupus. Told me I was crazy.

I'm glad to see i'm not - and i'm not crazy for thinking this acne thing is related, too!

You guys are great!

Ps - clare, I emailed you my meatloaf!!

I am sorry that you have had problems finding doctors.
Seems you keep finding quacks who think you are wacky.

I wish the problem wasn't so wide-spread. You would think that with all the lupus organizations, in every state, and the lfa around that doctors would be more aware of what is going on.

Perhaps there is a medical school near you that has lupus research? I have been lucky in finding it in raleigh (as ladybrannon can also attest) and also here in myrtle beach. The medical school is in charleston but I don't mind the drive -- it's two hours but there's so much to do in charleston anyway I consider the visit "just another errand" when I go down.

Good luck with the new doctor. Definitely read the book before you go if you can. This way you'll have lots more ammunition with you to talk to the doctor about and you can know right away if he/she is the right one.

...I could also mail you my book if you'd like.

Clarebear

It's a library type of book? I have to go today anyway (i owe $$!!). I'll look it up online.

Hubby says these guys he saw were great. He went in with a sore throat, which they treated immediately, but doc also noticed he was wheezing a bit (he's asthmatic). After listening (!!!!!!!!!) to his history, he have alan a prescrip for an inhaler. What is that like??? They listen, then they help you fix the problem!!! Amazing. I think i'll try to get an appointment with them pretty soon.

Ut dallas has a medical dept, I think. I'll try them too.

Yes it is definitely at the library. If not then request that they get one! Your local lupus support group...If there is one...Should have one in their collection too esp if they are affiliated with the lupus foundation of america (www.Lupus.Org).

If nobody has it then email me your address on regular email and i'll send it off this week.

Clarebear

Coming in late to this...So if I repeat sorry. I had a nasty flare last week thanks to a nerve conduction test! *sigh*

i always had a so-called allergy to sulfa drugs. Now I know that it was due to the lupus. I have to be very very careful with sulfa drugs, some alcohols, shrimp, etc. Some of these items can send me directly into a flare.

The acne can also be a lupus thing. But be sure because some of our meds also cause acne. I go to a dermatolgogist and they are very good at keeping a notation between med induced acne and lupus induced sores. Which is important because lupus induced sores means that the disease is active...Blah blah blah...You guys know the drill!

hugs to all,
ladybrannon

Ladybrannon-
didn't you mention something to me once about alcohol and sulpha? Particularly wine?

Clarebear

I have found that I break out with what I assume is acne pretty regularly. When I get a pimple, it will generally get worse and worse until it is an open sore on my face. Yuck!

When this started, I used the steroid cream that the derm gave me. The instructions said to apply to affected areas 2-3 times daily. Well, the derm fussed when I said I was putting it on my face (how was I to know it was too strong???). I now use klaron cream for the face spots.

If anyone is interested, I found a great lotion with sunscreen. I hate the ones that feel slimy and oily. I am using alba botanica sunshade (spf 16). It makes my skin very soft and I actually enjoy using it. It also has a light lavendar scent, but not overpowering (many smell too strong and give me a headache or aggravate my allergies). I bought this bottle at a spa in atlanta, but I have found it online, also. It's about $10-15 per bottle, but it lasts for quite a while. I will be ordering more online. (i have no vested interest in the company, i've just spent a lot of money on lotions that didn't work for me.)

hope everyone is doing well...It's getting hot in south carolina. My first summer that I can't tan and play in the sun : ( that's really hard when I feel like the sun is my therapy and my children just want me to come outside with them! Does anyone else miss the sunshine? I'm going to the beach in june...That's really going to be a hard one.

Hey willow,
i get those awful sores, too. They're definitely not acne (whitehead or blackhead), though. The first gp I saw that understood lupus had actually also done a lot of training in dermatology. He said they were the lesions associated w/ the lupus. The skin tissue is inflamed because of the body attacking itself. They start out as a painful red lump, eventually break open and weep, and end up as an open crater! Two of my facial ones turned into staph infections. That was a load of fun. I also get them on my neck, shoulders & scalp. I have a steroid cream my rhuemy gave to use and said it was o.K. For my face. It doesn't make them go away quickly, though. I've tried other things. I have a lotion and a cream called lupicare that one of my students who works at a hospital gave me. It's soothing & maybe helps heal them a little more quickly. I've also started trying vitamin e drops, putting them right on the sore. I don't know yet if it's helping or not. I'm interested in what others are doing for these awful things.
Lizbet

Oh yes, there are definitely sulfites in wines!

And I get those horrible whitehead looking sores on my face that stick around for months and months...They become open sores and are so ugly! I was seeing a great derm in nc before I moved. Now I am looking for one in tx.

I was given an antibiotic cream (to heal) and then this new steroid cream especially for lupus patients that was really helping...The best part... It was made for the face...So it wasn't very strong! I need to go find the container so I can tell you guys the name!

Hugs!
Ladybrannon

I am deathly allergic to sulfur and have Lupus, right now I am having a flare and my face is breaking out with acne, it's driving me crazy! I have been on a raw food diet and no sulfur drugs, so not sure what is triggering it.

Hi, I dont' get acne breakouts but I did get a severe allergic reaction to sulfa antibiotics (and penicillin). I took bactrim years ago for a bladder infection. Took it for a few days, and got some itchy bumps here and there but figured it was mosquitoe bites. Then all of a sudden my entire body (and I mean everywhere) broke out in huge hives and lumps and all my skin turned beat red. I started feeling sick & feverish, dizzy, extremely itchy. I had huge welts everywhere, it just blew up. Then my red skin started turning purplish colored and I got all these dark spots all over my skin. I went to the ER and had to be shot up with prednisone and benadryl and stayed there for several hours. I had a 104 fever and felt like I was dying, im not even kidding. THe purplish rash spots all over my body took about 2 months to finally fade away afterwards!

What you have stated how your body acted.. I would call it HIVES. As this is what I get when I take Penicillin. I too have Lupus. I found out when I was 18. I am now 30 years old. And I find that the older I get the worse it gets. When I was 15 I had hives every day for 9 months. It was bad.. I was able to get out of school early due to them. That was the only good thing about them... (LOL)

Hi everyone,

I guess I'm looking for advise, or support. Ideally I'd like for someone to magically take away my acne, which started to appear about 12 months ago, and keeps getting worse. I've got SO many flat red spot from old acne, and lots of raised white bumps, which I'm worried will turn into open sores.

I was semi-diagnosed with Lupus. I had one test come back positive, and one came back negative. My rhumatologist (sp) said that there's a chance I could have it, and that I should tell my doctor so that she can keep an eye on things. I really don't know what that means, and doctors nowadays don't seem to give a crap. My dermatologist is aware that I could have Lupus, and is trying to treat me for acne. I was using Cetaphyl and antibiotics for a bit, but that didn't do anything. He wanted to put me on something similar to Acutane, but from what I've read it's horrible on your body internally.

I've also got hives all over my calves, and have had them for about one month now. They're still itchy and red, and are the size of a dime. I get hives typically from the sun, but I think something else might have triggered them, but am not sure. Are hives supposed to last for months at a time, or is this a sign of something else?

I really don't know what to do, and it seems like no one else cares. I'm kinda stuck because I'm afraid to try new things. I've tried so many different face washes, and nothing works. As for my hives, I just try not to scratch them.

Any help or advise is welcome & appreciated!!

hi. i don't have lupus, but i was drawn to this site because of the keyword sulfur. to make a long story short, i have suffered with acne for sooooooooo long. took accutane back in the day, tried most every topical, facials, etc.

i have found two things that really help and are worth checking into.
1) omnilux blue/red light therapy for acne. google omnilux acne lights and they should have a place to type in your zip code and find the nearest provider. basicall you lay under a red or blue light for 20 minutes and it really, really helped my acne when i could not longer take accutane. it can be a little pricey, around 90 bucks a treatment on average, but it really works for me.
2) a drug called SPIRONOLACTONE that is actually used for hypertension but blocks testosterone from turning in to DHA, which causes acne and oily skin (and hair loss) in women. it's worth checking into...i have only been on it a few weeks but have seen pretty good response already. not sure it if is ok to take with lupus, but it has no sulfur (i am allergic) and is worth asking your doctor about.

google it. lots of info on the web about the drug used (successfully) for acne.

good luck and feel better!