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Itching All Over The Body, Joint Pain, Splotchy Red Rashes. ANA Test Positive, High AST/ALT Levels. Taken Pepcid And Zyrtec. Suggestion?

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Posted on Tue, 12 Jun 2012
Question: please help. I am a 28 year old indian american. for atleast 10 years now, atleast, i have had this condition of itchy skin...more prevalent during colder months, but when i get near spicy food, my head itches uncontrollably. when i work out, for the first 10-15 min, my entire body has red splotches and again, itches uncontrollably. I've been to several doctors, they either say change your soap, detergent, etc...Well, i have, and i have just been dealing with it. A couple years ago i went to an allergist, he did some blood work and i had a positive XXXXXXX test. He referred me to a Rhumetologist, she repeated the test and it was negative. Went back to Allergist who prescribed me pepcid and zyrtec. It helped, but not enough. This year, i was having some hair loss...went to my doc, i had some blood work done, had high AST/ALT levels, high Cholesterol, very very low testosterone. She referred me to a Endocronologist. The endo repeated the Hep Panel and Testosterone tests; Testosterone came back normal but ast/alt levels were even higher. He referred me to a GI. Did US, and US came back with abit of fatty liver. Didn't seem too concerned. He said let's monitor this, will go back in 4 months. Fine. But, still, i'm having these symptoms, along with some joint pain after swinging a golf club. I use to hit 100 balls, i can't even do 50 now without my fingers hurting. Hair loss is still there, itchiness all over the body is still there, splotchy red rash on head shoulders chest back neck still there, joint pain is still there, high ast/alt livers are still there. What in the world is going on? Someone please help. I'm 28. Thank you.
doctor
Answered by Dr. CS Narayan (8 hours later)
Hello and thanks for your query.

I shall make an effort to provide you with good professional recommendations specific to your questions.

Rash, Joint pains, fatty liver changes, AST/ALT ( aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase )level swings, lipid profile abnormalities definitely point to a systemic condition rather than just allergic especially in the wake of such a long history.

This systemic condition could be conditions like autoimmune diseases, connective tissue diseases etc. These are manageable and slowly progressing, but requires a lot of tests to confirm, which in your case too has not been confirmed as yet.

You may not suffering from a full blown condition of the above, but likely a start-up. The XXXXXXX ( antinuclear antibody )test also seems inconsistent here, but is good that it is still negative.

Itching all over the body, has many causes associated like increased bilirubin levels for instance, which I guess would be the closest in your case, given the history of those fatty liver changes and AST/ALT changes. It could be a possibility that these levels would have given you the long standing itch without causing you clinical jaundice.

Now, the issue at hand though might be to treat you symptomatically for your itch, pains, rashes etc - the prime concern would be as to what all other organs affected in this chain of symptoms - for that a complete blood screen for possible immunological conditions would have to performed extensively in order that you know what this is.

Yet again, I duly appreciate your query to me, I do hope that you have found something useful to help you and I shall be glad to answer any further apprehensions.

Sincerely,
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Radhika
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. CS Narayan (18 hours later)
may i send you my blood work for the past few years?
doctor
Answered by Dr. CS Narayan (3 hours later)
Hello and thanks for the reply.

You may post your blood reports by uploading them here.

Alternatively you can mail the reports to my attention at YYYY@YYYY

I shall do my best to correlate them.

Awaiting your reply.

Sincerely,
Note: For further information on diet changes to reduce allergy symptoms or to boost your immunity, Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad
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Answered by
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Dr. CS Narayan

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2004

Answered : 546 Questions

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Itching All Over The Body, Joint Pain, Splotchy Red Rashes. ANA Test Positive, High AST/ALT Levels. Taken Pepcid And Zyrtec. Suggestion?

Hello and thanks for your query.

I shall make an effort to provide you with good professional recommendations specific to your questions.

Rash, Joint pains, fatty liver changes, AST/ALT ( aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase )level swings, lipid profile abnormalities definitely point to a systemic condition rather than just allergic especially in the wake of such a long history.

This systemic condition could be conditions like autoimmune diseases, connective tissue diseases etc. These are manageable and slowly progressing, but requires a lot of tests to confirm, which in your case too has not been confirmed as yet.

You may not suffering from a full blown condition of the above, but likely a start-up. The XXXXXXX ( antinuclear antibody )test also seems inconsistent here, but is good that it is still negative.

Itching all over the body, has many causes associated like increased bilirubin levels for instance, which I guess would be the closest in your case, given the history of those fatty liver changes and AST/ALT changes. It could be a possibility that these levels would have given you the long standing itch without causing you clinical jaundice.

Now, the issue at hand though might be to treat you symptomatically for your itch, pains, rashes etc - the prime concern would be as to what all other organs affected in this chain of symptoms - for that a complete blood screen for possible immunological conditions would have to performed extensively in order that you know what this is.

Yet again, I duly appreciate your query to me, I do hope that you have found something useful to help you and I shall be glad to answer any further apprehensions.

Sincerely,