What do you think about this permanent discoloration?

[character28]

Hi, I've been having this permanent discoloration and many other symptoms for more than two months. They were all triggered after overexercising. Doctors seem to focus on my other symptoms but not on the color of my fingernails. Before their colour was like that of normal, healthy people's fingernails. Also my lips, tongue, scars, scratches eg my face after shaving have this same discoloration. Please tell me all the causes of the discoloration. I'll attach more pics here. Thanks in advance.

http://i.imgur.com/R6g8D.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/d8VwM.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Y9Yxa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZkoOM.jpg

[Gio77Italy]

of course I know his story if I mentioned it... that is why he had official approval for clinical trial. we'll see.

[panda2526]

Interesting you mention that...what you didn't hear in the news about his breakthroughs is that he cured his wife of MS by removing her iron...

This is documented and I have the site for this if interested...as I cannot post links, I have been told.

[Gio77Italy]

possible connections between Iron levels and MS are currently being tested in Italy by Dr. Zamboni with vascular surgery on a approved clinical trial.

[panda2526]

Interesting reading...there are a lot of things discussed and research done, I notice that nothing was said about iron testing...this is a toxic metal and in excess amounts in the body produces many diseases and symptoms that do damage neurologically, to organs, tissues and joints.

Docs may tell someone they are anemic or iron deficient, and point to mineral deficiency and vitamins, and never test further past CBC's and RBC as a patient does not always present with the "classic" symptoms of iron overload, as in the case of hemochromatosis. It is the most common genetic disorder among European background and is spreading to other populations, Irish and Scot, but Australia has high prevalence...1 in 9 are carriers of one or more mutated genes that cause iron overload.

In HHC (Hereditary Hemochromatosis) or other like iron overload diseases and conditions, excess iron is a major culprit in the development of common disorders we've come to know as fibromyalgia, lupus, IBS, MS, Alzheimer's. Parkinson's, and predominantly it causes liver disease, diabetes, heart failure.

Nail discoloration and ridges vertical and horizontal, skin rashes and lesions, thyroid malfunction...all manifestations with links to high or even moderate iron overload.

You all seem to enjoy your research into what ails you...this one will keep you busy for a while  ;)   ;)

Cheers...

[Gio77Italy]

you did a good research but don't forget that you were thinking you had Lyme and now you found something that fits better, at least you think it does with what you know so far. It is typical when getting ill the first time and starting to research to rush to conclusions and be overenthusiastic about them.

Before I began to research on a viral pandemic I looked up everything that could have been even distantly related with weakness in the legs:

Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, Rabies, Syphilis, Lyme, Rickettsia, Brain tumor, ALS, B12 deficiency, shiga-toxins, e.coli, myositis, myastenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome. etc. etc.

finally I came up with Guillain-Barrè syndrome because my mother got the same strain of virus and developed tunnel vision which I assumed it was the variant of a G-B: Miller Fishe syndrome...

all her tests were negative except the Romberg's test and therefore compatible with my hypothesis. she seems to be recovering her sight too.

I haven't been diagnosed with anything, only a doctor had supposed MS but it was then ruled out after a negative MRI and then they just dumped me.

Note that there is no doubt whatsoever that my problem began with an infection, I'm guessing viral. I have all the details because coincidentally I had been keeping a journal.

I know I began to get sick in September when I got some sort of Sinusitis. I had mild weakness in the legs in October but only in the second half of December the legs really began to give out when walking down the stairs.

I only checked these annotations after I realised it could have been a "flu". I would have never remembered them otherwise, you wouldn't believe what people forget. If you had any mild flu/sinusitis symptoms you could have forgotten about them, easily.

There is more, practically everyone around here got sick with "cognitive" symptoms but only a few had mild weakness in the limbs. Our neighbour dropped dead for apparently no reason and I've heard of other deaths in the area. Even all our cats were affected.  

When I began to check this forum I found out there were people everywhere with compatible symptoms. even their locations seemed to follow a path of large urban areas / airports.

So I can't really be sure it's "autoimmune" , I don't know enough about the subject, but the other option is a direct viral infection of the CNS and ADEM (Acute Disseminated Encephalitis)

There is actually also something called Autoimmune Encephalitis.

So I didn't say you had a Autoimmune reaction but I said it's possible. I said that you were not crazy and you didn't have Lyme. The same way I'm saying H Pylori might have contributed into challenging your immune system but it is not the origin of the problem.

B12 deficiency can't appear all of a sudden and any ways you would develop symptoms, especially cognitive symptoms, only after years and years of malnourishment.

while you have millions of people with H Pylori who have none of your symptoms you'll find similarities in most people I found recently that have fallen ill often after cold-flu symptoms , sinusitis or UTI and are yet undiagnosed , all tests negative.

If you browsed all my posts you would find many.  

[character28]

Yes, I was tested. My GI doctor prescribed an endoscopy with biopsies of stomach and duodenum. The results came back as chronic congestive gastritis and H Pylori positive. It was treated with triple therapy (lanzoprazole+amoxicillin+clarithromycin).

Well, it is true that not most people with H Pylori will have my symptoms, for nor all them get B12 deficient. It is quite obvious that bacterias will have a different impact on different human bodies. Indeed, many people got B12 deficient because of H Pylori but were successfully treated and stopped B12 deficiency before they were suffering any symptom of it. Also many people got B12 deficient, suffered symptoms, were treated and still didn't find out that H Pylori is the cause. It is possible, isn't it? At least it is according to my research.

What if you would ask how many people with B12 deficiency suffered my symptoms?. People with 50 or 100 pg/ml of B12 suffered of paralysis, irreversible dementia, irreversible neurological damage... Whatever. My level was 12 pg/ml. Why didn't I get dementia, get crippled or even die then?

You say that I haven't ruled out a "post viral autoimmune reaction". It is true that there's no single test to rule in or out this. But it's also true that most people with autoimmune disorders will have a positive ANA. Why would I insist on it when I had repeated negative ANA tests? Also, I sought another rheumatologists' opinions, who tested both lab an clinical evidence. They all say that I don't have an autoimmune disorder. So why should I insist on having autoimmunity?

I believe Complement C3 means nothing. At least not necessarily autoimmunity, not in my case and not in yours either. If you search, for example here (or in other sites too, of course): w w w. nlm .nih .gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003539.htm
you can see the context in which decreased complement activity is seen. These are the following:

*Bacterial infections (especially Neisseria)
*Cirrhosis
*Glomerulonephritis
*Hepatitis
*Hereditary angioedema
*Kidney transplant rejection
*Lupus nephritis
*Malnutrition
*Systemic lupus erythematosus

If you see, Malnutrition is listed. Why wouldn't I have been malnourished? I had B12 deficiency, have Vit D deficiency, zinc, and probably many other. If I correct the malnutrition, wouldn't it mean that if my values came back to normal, then the abnormality was caused indeed by malnutrition?

You say you haven't taken any medication and healed spontaneously. So that definitely points to an autoimmune disorder with "spontaneous regression"? Not to me. In fact, I believe many medical conditions can regress spontaneously. See the example of B12 deficiency. If you google, you will see what I'm talking about. There have been people with all my symptoms and paralysis in the legs. It regressed spontaneously. Years later, they got sick again. Got tested and it was B12 deficiency. You don't have to be vegetarian, vegan, lack intrinsic factor or whatever to be deficient. All people of all ages can be affected.

As for the discolouration, Raynaud's was totally ruled out on me. I got a cold test for Raynaud's. Plus, internet and docs say that Raynaud's doesn't cause permanent discolouration. Honestly, I still don't know what to think of it, as I've found very little evidence on the internet (yet, it's still evidence) of hyperpigmentation due to B12 deficiency. We'll see soon.

And yes, of course there's a possibility that low B12 was not the origin of the problem. But at least it's 99% probable I guess. The facts I have are the following:

*Homocysteine is a protein which is regulated with the help of B12.
*I had H Pylori, lacking of B12.
*Intense exercise elevates homocysteine.
*My symptoms were triggered after overexercising.

So my theory is the following:
I was already B12 deficient by H Pylori but yet asymptomatic. I overexercised and elevated homocysteine, thus needed more B12, so wasted the last stocks of B12 in my body to regulate it... And got symptomatic. In that way, it all would be due to a sudden vitamin deficiency.

The facts you mention were not mere coincidences, indeed they don't share nothing coincidental:

-I was in Rome the same month you began to get sick (you began to get sick, I didn't)
-Alteration of the C3 (mine was low, yours was high, high and low complement mean different things)
-Compatible symptoms (ok, how many diseases have compatible symptoms... I didn't have paralysis by the way)

It all sounds very similar to what you said about going to the Lyme forum. They experienced Lyme, so they'll say I have Lyme. Then I come here and you (believe you) had an autoimmune reaction, and you will say I have an autoimmune reaction too... And I was B12 deficient, I'll tell you and other people to check their B12 levels... A neverending circle.

Well, that was a long answer... There you have my opinion mate. Regards