I broke out with poison ivy -- definitely diagnosed by a
dermatologist -- 5 weeks ago. I had a shot and three weeks of
prednisone (concurrently). I've been off the prednisone (yes, I
tapered) for a week. There has definitely been some rebound
reaction, but I don't want to go back on the prednisone if I can
avoid it, and the rebound hasn't been as severe as the original
reaction. But I'm not getting clearly better, even after all this
time. I'm pretty sure there is some adrenal insufficiency after the
prednisone, as I'm still fatigued and dizzy some of the time. But
even so, shouldn't the urushiol be wearing off by now? I'm still
getting itching, redness, and bumps in several of the old
places.(Doctors have shown that they are clueless, and it would be
a long wait to see the dermatologist again, since it isn't an
"emergency" now.)
Have you heard of somebody who had a poison ivy reaction for longer
than six weeks? What's the longest? Did taking the cortisone just
delay what I have to go through? Might I have itching in the
affected places for months or even indefinitely? What does the
adrenal slowdown after prednisone have to do with the length of
total reaction time?
By the way, I'm certain that I'm not re-exposing myself. I've been
obsessive about washing everything I could possibly have touched
when I was first exposed; I've thrown away the shoes I was wearing.
I'm spending most of my time indoors. And many of the current
problems are the actual original bumps just rising back up again,
so that doesn't look like re-exposure.
Thanks for any information. I hope I don't get either spam or notes
from clueless people after sending this query!
Lydia
--McGrew ([email protected]) submitted 05/Sep/2001
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