Recurrent folliculitis

[Im31dude1989]

I’m 31 years old , I had a boil 2 years ago on my butt and developed a high fever , I was hospitalized and had surgery to drain the boil because it had tunnelled deep , it was a staph infection And I was then tested for auto immune disorders/diseases and all was good .About a year ago I developed folliculitis on my back and chest , I was put on antibiotics which cleared up the folliculitis  , however as soon as my course of antibiotics run out the folliculitis returns within days , I’ve also noticed that cuts and scrapes take long to heal and leave a permanent scar on my body .  I have had issues with my blood sugar in the past , I have taken home tests and sometimes my blood sugar is in the 20s , I’ve told my family doctor however When he sends me for blood work  he tells me to fast and my blood work comes back as negative for diabetes , I feel he doesn’t believe me about my blood sugar levels. back when I was 17 I went to spend the summer at my moms , she’s a nurse and randomly checked my blood sugar after supper and my sugar was 23 , she rushed me to the hospital and the doctors were concerned because my blood sugar was high but I had tested negative for diabetes ,  they wanted to run more tests however I had a flight the next day to go back with my dad , the doctor told me to go get tests done as soon as I get to my dads , I was young and dumb and never did anything about this. Could my folliculitis be connected with my high blood sugar levels ?  And what should I do about my family doctor ? He disregards my concerns about it , he runs the blood work and I’m told to fast, my blood sugar comes back as slightly elevated . He doesn’t understand that my blood sugar seams to go up when I eat and drink , if I don’t consume anything it seams to stay around normal range . Should I be concerned about this ? Could this Be connected with my skin problems ?  

[Paxiled]

When you get a physical, part of that is a blood test.  You always fast for 12 hours before your physical so they can test your blood sugar.  However, that's just a test to see if you might have diabetes, it isn't a diabetes test.  The longer glucose tolerance test is a test for diabetes.  I had it when I was in college to see if that's why I was getting migraines, and it's not a fun test -- after drinking a bottle of glucose, you get your blood drawn over and over for a few hours, and then you stumble out dizzy.  So the above is absolutely right, you always fast before getting a blood test if you're testing for diabetes.  Your doctor is doing it right.  As for the folliculitis, it may in fact have been the recurrent treatments with antibiotics that created a much more virulent and resistant form of it.  This is what antibiotics do, they kill both good and bad organisms, and the good ones protect you from the bad ones.  It is quite common for antibiotic treatment to take a problem from one and done to chronic.  That's why it's not recommended to use them unless absolutely necessary, along with the creation of antibiotic resistant organisms.  But your problem may also be caused by fungus.  You might want to do some research on natural ways of dealing with the folliculitis that won't lead to chronic problems, as your treatment seems to have done.  There are many natural remedies out there, including just soaking it with hot compresses until it goes away.  No guarantee this will work, but what you're doing isn't working.  And start taking the best multi-spectrum probiotic in the refrigerated section of your best local health food store, and eat prebiotics, such as fermented foods like kim chi and sauerkraut and the like.  They are excellent food for beneficial organisms that your treatments might have depleted leading to your chronic problem.  Worth a try.

[Paxiled]

I should add, the staph infection did need antibiotics, but staph infections can cause folliculitis, and again, if you keep taking antibiotics over and over you can get what you've got, a chronic problem.

[Im31dude1989]

I never had folliculitis before , but I would randomly get pimples on my butt here and there for as long as I can remember . I work crazy hours and when I got sick from the staph infection i was only sleeping 2 hours a night and drank  like 10 red bull a day , one day I got a pimple but this pimple came with a fever . I was on IV antibiotics at the hospital and then took prescriptions pills at home for months . Doctors assumed I got sick because of the lack of sleep and all the red bull , he explained how our immune system needs sleep to recharge.  All my blood work was good ! A year later I developed folliculitis , and I noticed my skin is healing slower then usual. I even developed stretch marks on my back and thighs but I haven’t gained weight . I feel like there’s something wrong with my skin . I don’t think it’s my immune system because I haven’t even had a cold or the glue in a long time

[Sara_MHModerator]

Hello and welcome to the forum. We certainly appreciate your question.  Your post brings up a couple of things.  First, it is appropriate to fast prior to a glucose test for diabetes.  That is always recommended and proper procedure, so I do want to make sure you know that.  When you say your blood sugar is 23, that is actually low blood sugar which would be very unusual after eating.  Having low blood sugar after eating could be reactive hypoglycemia.   https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/reactive-hypoglycemia#1  Diabetes, if it is determined you have it, can increase skin conditions.  I typically think testing for diabetes is pretty straight forward.  Fasting is how they run that test.  From the mayo clinic "Fasting blood sugar test. A blood sample will be taken after an overnight fast. A fasting blood sugar level less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) is normal. A fasting blood sugar level from 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) is considered prediabetes. If it's 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) or higher on two separate tests, you have diabetes."  Also from mayo clinic "Oral glucose tolerance test. For this test, you fast overnight, and the fasting blood sugar level is measured. Then you drink a sugary liquid, and blood sugar levels are tested periodically for the next two hours."  So, I'm not sure what the 23 sugar level test was, what type of test.  If you are concerned that you have diabetes or prediabetes, please try again with your doctor.  
A blood sugar level less than 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) is normal. A reading of more than 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) after two hours indicates diabetes. A reading between 140 and 199 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L and 11.0 mmol/L) indicates prediabetes.

Your folliculitis can be a totally separate issue from the blood sugar issues.  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/folliculitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20361634