Hep C Discussion Forum

Rubye · Senior Member

RE: Skin discoloration question

Cinnamon Girl · Guru

Ok, the only reason I asked, Duane, is that my husband had lichen planus on the front of legs and it looked quite similar, although actually it was was darker and more discoloured.

Dzdayscomin · Senior Member

Nope, the itching is always on the calfs or opposite of all the spots, very dry skin, but no blistering, probably venous stacious or however it's spelled.

Cinnamon Girl · Guru

Well, I`m feeling quite left out here...no spots or discolouration on my legs at all. Although I have a lovely colourful bruise on my right shin if anyone would like to see a photo of that? wink

Duane...after having a good look at your shapely legs, are you sure that isn`t lichen planus? Does it itch a lot and come up in whitish blisters sometimes?

Tig · Admin

Scruffy,

You're funny! Maybe you're onto something..., hmmm? Might have been a tan and I didn't realize it! Hope you're doing well!

Tig

Scruffy · Guru

I must be missing something here. I also live in Florida. I aslo wear shorts and have two tone legs a mater of fact if I take my sandals off I have white chevrons on my feet. I think this conditions is called Leg tannis Floridious.

Dzdayscomin · Senior Member

I have that dark skin along the tops of my toes and on the inner and outer sides of my heels below the ankles. Along with that is a loss of sensation to touch, but if any kind of blunt or sharp force to those areas is extremely sensitive and painful. But those are minor problems in the bigger picture.

Duane

Tig · Admin

Duane, I think you're onto something! Let's all do a leg selfie!! No, maybe not. I don't want to scare anyone. But it could be an interesting thread! My skin was never rough, or fragile like you describe. Have you been diagnosed with cryoglobulinemia at any point? Your description sounds similar to some of the issues related to that.

Zavr, I didn't have spots. The skin just started turning dark, little by little until it was very noticeable. Not like Duane's, just like I put self tanning lotion from the knees down. It was very weird. It was obvious when I began treatment and like I said, it's barely visible and just in a couple of small areas. I tried to take a pic of it, but you can't see it on the photo. I had had it for years and it really stood out. I didn't care and just ignored it finally cause that's all it was, dark skin. It looks normal now. If it starts to return when I go back to modeling shorts, I'll retire from the runway!

Tig

zavr · Veteran Member

Hi all!

Tig - Yay for the spots almost disappearing! Watch out, Taylor Swift!! :) Out of curiosity, how big are/were spots? Does the skin under discolorations feel thicker?

For years now, I have had these weird thick grey spots, right below my ankles, on the tops of my feet. Not sure what the heck they are.

Duane, thank you for sharing - that was actually super helpful! It looks like your spots are higher, smaller, and more of a warm color than mine. Tig, did yours look like Duane's?

Dzdayscomin · Senior Member

Here is what my lovely legs look like. I hope its not to big a picture to ruin the thread if so delete my post.

As you can see hair no longer grows, it looks like snake skin, it's dry itchy, and extremely fragile, the slightest bump or scrape and it tears a hunk right off and are super tender just to the touch.

Probably not gonna win any beauty contests with these legs....lol

Duane

-- Edited by Dzdayscomin on Friday 6th of March 2015 08:13:14 PM

Tig · Admin

Thanks Rubye! Whatever has happened is a great improvement over what they looked like before. If Malcolm's thought that the sun will darken them again, I'm going to keep wearing jeans! I've never had any problems, just the change in color. Skin is still soft, no varicose veins, swelling or discomfort. So I don't know, but I'm not complaining either.

I had multiple cervical spine surgeries in 2002. I had fractured my neck in 1970 and had a fusion then. In 02 I experienced some severe pain again, and an MRI showed 2 additional vertebrae with new damage. I spent so much time in a hospital bed they made me wear those compression socks for months to prevent problems. I hated them too.

I hope the Supreme Court decides that O Care needs to be revamped. The Medicare/Medicaid insurance programs have really suffered under it. Some people get a great deal and the rest don't. There are too many problems that need to be addressed. I hope Oregon gets it figured out. Be well!

Tig

Rubye · Senior Member

It is funny Tig. I find I have to laugh at myself all the time to keep from being a total bitch. Ah well...

Anyway, thanks for asking -- I'm doing really great considering where I was just a week ago -- walking a lot. The nausea problem I was having from the S/O is totally gone. Thank God. I've even been able to give up the Omeprazole. For some reason, I've always had an aversion to compression socks. It's just the idea of having to wear something constricting turns me off. So, I guess I choose to suffer. smile

It's hard to get doctors to pay attention since all I have is Medicare with Medicaid. It is much worse here in Oregon than it was in Oklahoma. I was surprised because part of the reason I moved here was I thought the medical care would be better. Not so at all.

Anyway, it is so good to hear you're getting better with each passing day and although we may laugh at what seems vanity (and the wife) it is a very real concern. Kind of like the hand writing on the wall. So, I am very happy your color has returned to normal. We are all so very very fortunate!

Tig · Admin

PL,

While you're laughing, I'm pouting!! I'm getting old, time is short.... biggrin wink I'm glad someone had fun, lol! It wasn't me, boo, hoo!

Tig

pl1952 · Senior Member

My laugh of the day! Thanks Tig! lol

Well today I was sitting here doing what I do, very little. I had a pair of gym shorts on and my wife was sitting there staring at my legs. I asked her what she was looking at and momentarily had a rush of excitement, very momentarily unfortunately ;

Tig · Admin

Hi Rubye,

That sounds very similar to the vascular problems I was referring to. I've seen the swelling and pain you're referring to on patients I've cared for. My father in law had terrible vascular problems in his legs and diabetic neuropathy of his legs and feet. It's more common in people as we age. As Malcolm mentioned, it can be treated and improved in many cases. I would reinforce your concern with your doctor. There may be some relief waiting for you. Have you ever tried compression socks? How are you feeling otherwise? I hope things are going well!

Tig

Rubye · Senior Member

I have a dark reddish area on my lower leg where I have the worst neuropathy but my ankles are also very swollen. I asked my pcp one time why it was and she said it was nothing to worry about in a rather dismissive way. I've always thought it was from the blood not circulating well.

Tig · Admin

Hi Malcolm,

Thanks for the reply. If it were truly venous insufficiency, why didn't the U/S venous study Dx it? If it was worsening constantly while positive and all but disappeared EOT, isn't there a possible relationship there? No varicose veins and no swelling, ever. Just seems too coincidental... I defer to your better judgement however. Whatever has happened has made me that much better looking, ha!

Tig biggrin

PS: GP wasn't terribly current on much current HCV information at all. I provided much of the latest info during a few visits. I'm not sure the VA spends much money on CE for the smaller clinic MD's. Limited here anyway. But I'm not that hard on anyone! Mr Mellow...

mallani · Guru

Hi Tig,

Man, you're getting vain!

Your poor GP was right- dark discoloration of the lower legs is usually due to haemosiderin buildup, secondary to venous stasis. I have it, and have had my varicose veins stripped many years ago.

There are no conditions that I know of that cause dark skin as a HCV manifestation. Vitiligo and lupus are the only ones that come to mind, and these cause pale skin. Now winter's over, go out in the sun and I'll bet they darken up again. Even in Florida the sun is pretty weak, compared to here. Cheers buddy.

Tig · Admin

Hi All,

Just a bit of history so you understand my question. About 10 years ago, I began to notice the skin on my feet, ankles and calves beginning to turn dark. It stopped at my knees. I saw my GP at the time and asked her about it and she immediately said I was developing venous insufficiency. I was 48 at the time, so I felt it was fairly early to be developing that. I live in Florida, so shorts are our uniform of the day, all year round. Over time the skin got darker and darker, I had two tone legs! One thing I noticed was the complete lack of ankle swelling, which is one of the symptoms of venous insufficiency. My wife is an ultrasound tech and she found no evidence of it either. My doctor continued to insist that was what it was.

So lets jump to present day, 1 year+ EOT. I honestly had not been paying any attention to it since I ended Tx. Didn't think twice about it, even in the shower. I had had it for so long, and was asymptomatic for venous disease, I didn't care anymore. I began wearing Levis all the time because Tx left me with these odd looking, dark colored chicken legs. I had lost almost 55 pounds during Tx. Well today I was sitting here doing what I do, very little. I had a pair of gym shorts on and my wife was sitting there staring at my legs. I asked her what she was looking at and momentarily had a rush of excitement, very momentarily unfortunately ;( She said "Your legs are almost normal". Huh? It had been so long since I even cared that I thought it was an odd thing to say. Then it struck me what she meant. The dark skin is almost gone! At EOT it was still very apparent, thus the reason for long pants. I haven't been back to my GP in a few months, and she hadn't looked at my legs for some time anyway. I'm going to give her something to consider next time. She is a VA doc, so she's supposed to be better trained in all things HCV because of the higher rates of infection in us older Veterans.

I'm convinced now that it was one of those extra hepatic manifestations from Hep C. Has anyone noticed anything similar? If so you might discover a drastic improvement in the condition after SVR. I'm pleased to realize that things I experienced and was unsure about, were related to HCV and not something else to worry about, like venous disease. Some things, like arthritis have gotten worse, but this is one of the first things I've noticed that radically improved and without realizing it! I guess I need to start paying a little better attention and maybe look down once in awhile, lol! It's nice to know that things do get better...

Tig

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