pigmentation - Addison's Disease Message Board

sweethart31 · 07-24-2002, 02:48 PM

Hello out there. I was wondering, is there anyone out there who has had Addison's for many years and having any problems with dark pigmentation?

ktieg · 07-25-2002, 08:43 PM

Hi my name is Kelly and live with addison's for 32 years. I find that I tend to have a darker pigmentation than anyone else in my family. I would love to talk to you more .Feel free to email me any time.

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Keep smiling...kelly

sweethart31 · 07-26-2002, 04:14 PM

Hi Kelly. I would email you but your email wasn't in your profile. I'm generally darker than my famil as well but I have two areas, my forehead and the back of my neck that have dark patches of brown skin on them which are quite recent. I'm doubling my cortisone to see if that helps. I emailed my endo about it and she didn't answer and I found out yesterday that she was leaving today on a month holiday so I'll have to take matters into my own hands.

WoodRunner · 07-31-2002, 03:43 PM

Hi you two. Pigmentation should not be an issue if your Addison's is properly treated. Hormone replacement therapy, a dosage of Cortisone Acetate, is usually the common route, I believe. I've had Addison's for 22 years now. I've also been on either Cortisone Acetate or Hydrocortisone that whole time. I was very dark (evenly) when I was diagnosed. I had an Adrenal Crisis. But my skin tone since then has seemed almost normal. I may be a little darker than my siblings, and I do still notice a little more darkness around my knuckles, but other than that my skin tone seems fine. I take 20mg am and 10mg pm of Hydrocortisone currently. I also used to take Florinef for most of the years, but my new Endo doc just this past year said I don't need it. I also have other endo problems--Hypothyroidism and Diabetes IDDM. B. Hooker hooker@skydiver.com

sweethart31 · 08-04-2002, 07:35 PM

Well, I do know that I should not be pigmented when successfully treated for my Addison's. That is why I am so concerned about it and and when my endo didn't get back to me and went away on holidays, I decided to double my dexamethasone. So far, it's been doubled for over a week and my pigmentation has gotten lighter. Hopefully it goes away in the near future.