In serious pain

[bashman]

I am written on behalf of a girl friend from nigeria,she is going through a lot of pains all over her body,her skin is so hard and the colour of her skin has change with small pulse coming out of her body.
  .she look so pale and she has gone for various test,the result of the test  made stated that its { scardema )  which i do not know the meaning. please help her urgently cos shes dying

[sandee1818]

I am so sorry to hear about your friend. It is difficult to watch a friend go thru so much pain and feel helpless. I am not really sure what the medications are in her country and if they compare to ours but she does need some type of pain management. As Tuck suggested have her ask her doctors about pain control. Also ask her if they are treating her disease.
I hope things work out for the best for her:)

[Tuckamore]

Hi Bashman,

Welcome to the Pain Mangement forum I am glad that you found us. You are so kind to be helping and concerned for your friend. Do you mean scleroderma rather than scardema? If so I have gathered some information about the disease and it is as follows.

Scleroderma is a widespread connective tissue disease that involves changes in the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. Scleroderma refers to a group of rare chronic autoimmune diseases in which the skin and connective tissues tighten and harden.

The cause of scleroderma is unknown. People with this condition have a build up of a substance called collagen in the skin and other organs. This build up leads to the symptoms associated with the disease. Treatment usually includes a combination of physical therapy and skin and joint protection techniques.

Drugs used to treat scleroderma include:
Corticosteroids
Immunosuppressants (Methotrexate, Cytoxan)
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

This disease can be slow moving but it usually will progress. If her skin is only involved she has a better outlook. Often this disease effects vital organs and the prognosis is guarded.

There are other conditions that can mimic scleroderma such as lupus. It is my guess that her physicians are in the process of determining exactly what disease she may have. Is she on any medications? In addition to the ones mentioned there are others that can make her more comfortable. Request something for her comfort. I sincerely hope that your assumption that "she is dying" is not the case. Don't give up hope. Is she seeing a rheumatologist?  They are usually the experts in this area.

Again encourage her to request medications that will ease her pain. My heart goes out to both of you. Please let us know how she is doing. If you have additional questions please feel free to post them.

Best of luck to you and your friend. I'll watch for your updates.
Tuck

[geminigirl1963]

It sounds like you're referring to scleroderma. It is a connective tissue disease that can cause the symptoms that you are describing.

One of the main treatments for scleroderma are corticosteroids (such as prednisone - that's what it's called here in the States, but not sure what it is called in Nigeria).  There's no "cure" for scleroderma (that I know of anyway) - treatment of current symptoms and trying to keep new ones at bay are the usual course.  I have a friend that has this disease and she's been through a lot with it - partially because of the disease itself and partially because of the corticosteroids that she has to live on.

I hope your friend can get the treatment she needs and starts to feel better soon.