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Ell: Morphea Scleroderma

When I was seventeen I got three ridged circular marks on my arm, near the wrist. The marks were red, going pink, then lilac and white in the center. They eventually went away after about a year. My doctor could not diagnose it.

At twenty-one it is back on the same arm, only one mark this time, but bigger. It starts out solid, like eczema, then spreads out into a circle, until it fades and leaves a slight shadow, which fades to nothing. I asked my present doctor what it could be after explaining that my father has been a sufferer of morphea all his life and that another relative of ours also has morphea. The doctor looked up the symptoms on the Internet and told me it was probably morphea. If it had not been for my dad I would still be uncertain as to what the marks were.

I am very scared though, as I have heard and read so many worrisome things about morphea. I have not seen a dermatologist and my doctor knows nothing about the condition. I do not know whether it will get worse, what type it could be or if I can give it to any children I may have in the future. I get severe pains in the wrist where the morphea comes up and have problems with my joints. I would like to know if it is linked and where I should go now for help. I do not know if it will spread or come up in other places or if it effects other areas of health.

I did not know anyone else had morphea outside my family, so it is a relief to know I can ask for help from people who understand.

I would greatly appreciate any information anyone could give me about this, as it scares me. I do not even know what makes the marks come up. I know there is no treatment, but I would greatly thank anyone who can advise me about morphea.

I am thankful I now know what it is and that it is still not very serious.

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ISN Artist: Sherrill Knaggs (In Loving Memory)

Sherrill Knaggs, ISN Artist, created the digital photo to illustrate the story on this page. Sherrill lived in New Zealand. Her story was featured in ISN's book, Voices of Scleroderma Volume 2.

ISN Story Editor: Judith Thompson Devlin

Judith Thompson Devlin is the ISN Story Editor for this story. She is also lead editor of the ISN's wonderful Voices of Scleroderma book series!

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