Prednisone

Churg Strauss Syndrome - My Story

Churg Strauss is an autoimmune vasculitis and is treated by Rheumatologists. The reason treatment falls under this medical speciality is because rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are also autoimmune diseases.

Churg Strauss - My Story

I'm better now, but I spent 12 months battling Churg Strauss Syndrome. I'm telling my story in the hope it will help others going through the same thing. Of course, these are just my personal recollections, they are not intended in any way as medical advice. So with that caveat, here's the scoop on Churg Strauss Syndrome from my perspective..

How it began

I had some dental implant work done and the procedure was a bit messy because the implant head fractured and my dentist had a tough time. Anyway, a few hours after I got home I developed a sudden rash around my ankles. My dentist thought it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. I took Benedril for a day or so and it went away. I thought no more about it. A week later I spent a day painting a room in our house, and that evening as I showered I noticed the rash had returned. It had developed during the day. I stopped by my medical practice and saw the doctor on duty. He immediately mentioned Vasculitis. It was the first time I had heard the word, and he explained it was an autoimmune reaction that attacks blood vessels. The next day I saw a dermatologist, who pronounced the rash "probably produced by something internal, it's out of my area". He started me on Prednisone and sent me to see a Rheumatologist.

My Rheumatologist

I belong to a large medical practice, so all the specialists are in-house and it was easy to see a Rheumatologist. He was new to the practice. (By now of course I had been Googling Vasculitis like crazy. I discovered there were many different forms, but the one that most closely matched my situation was a form called Churg Strauss.)

I explained my story to my Rheumatologist. I...

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