LDS with LDS

For a while now I've had a weird patch of skin on my left leg. It was achy and stiff and painful to press. The skin was tight and sort of itched occasionally. It was red and would sometimes swell (most recently to the size of a softball on the day before Mom's birthday after I stood on my feet for about 11 hours and baked four cakes ...). Basically, it was getting annoying and with my upcoming flight I was a tad worried it might be something that wouldn't be good to fly with. Last Sunday, after talking to my sister-in-law (who is an RN), Mom and I drove to the ER. Sixty dollars later: no diagnosis and a referral to the dermatologist with the explanation on the form as a "skin lesion." Ooh. Sounds lovely. 

Yesterday morning I went to the dermatologist. I was just hoping and praying it wasn't cancer. We'd already ruled out cellulitis and blood clots, so that was good. The doctor took one look at it and said, "You have a rare disease called Lipodermatosclerosis." Say what?! He briefly explained it and prescribed two meds: Prednisone (steroid) and Lasix (water pill) to be taken on alternating days for four weeks. Oh, and AmLactin, some lotion that works wonders on skin disorders, which we will look for at Costco tomorrow. Hoorah. Then, I get to go back and see him in four weeks to assess how things are coming along. He wasn't bad to look at, so going back isn't a problem. Plus, the look on his face when I told him I'd lost 230 pounds and that I was sure my previously extra hugeish size had probably caused the dang rare disease was priceless. 


Anyway, I Googled the "rare disease" this morning and, boy howdy, some of the photos are just, well, nasty. He did say I have a mild case. Guess he wasn't kidding. Thank heavens Mom forced me to go when she did! I guess it can really cause some serious problems if you let it go. The description of the disease is: Lipodermatosclerosis (aka LDS) is a skin and connective tissue disease. It is a form of lower extremity panniculitis (or in other words, an inflammation of fat under the epidermis [aka skin]). Phew! Try explaining THAT to people. And it really is rare, according to the NIH (National Institute of Health). It occurs mostly in middle-aged and obese people. Well, I'm middle-aged (just in number, not in behavior) and I was super-morbidly obese 2 1/2 years ago (now I'm just regularly fat), so all of that combined is probably what caused the disease. How freakish is that? 

I'd post pictures they showed online, but some of them really grossed me out and I don't want any of my one readers to lose their lunch. Besides, I want to eat Mexican food for lunch and I don't know if I could do it with those images floating around in my brain. Ick. The good news is the doctor thinks it can be reversed since I have a "mild case." The bad news is I have to take meds while I'm on vacation in DC, one of which is a water pill, so Shauna will have to stop every 30 minutes every other day so I can pee. The good news is that my sister-in-law said I'll probably lose a couple of pounds on the water pill. The bad news is it probably won't be the other 30 pounds I didn't lose after surgery. The good news is I don't have cellulitis, blood clots, or cancer. The bad news is I still can't wear shorts without making people vomit. Ah, such small prices to pay for all the good news, right? Yep. I think so. 

Oh, and the title "LDS with LDS" ... I just thought it was funny that my "rare disease" has the same acronym as my faith. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Lipodermatosclerosis. So I'm LDS with LDS. Booyah! That's got to mean I'm an extra faithful member or something doesn't it? Since I contracted a disease with the same acronym? Right? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrright. 

Crazy lady signing off, 
Katiedid It