I had patches show up on my elbows this summer. It is a skin condition that can be related to diabetes, but as far as I can tell, they don’t know whether it isolated to blood glucose levels or if it is autoimmune.
It doesn’t itch or hurt and usually just goes away within a year or two.
My rheumatologist thought it might be psoriasis and I’m really glad it’s not that.
Having had Type 1 for 35 years, I feel fortunate not to have any of the neuropathies or retinopathy. But I do seem to get weird things like this.
Had it on my hand maybe 5 years ago. I don't have D but my daughter has (T1). She hasn't yet had G.A. Like you say, not painful but I did have my doctor look at it and she injected something into the raised areas and it went away shortly after and hasn't recurred. Interesting.
Laddie, although it’s been some years since this thread posted, I am relieved to have found it! Bumps began appearing on my lower torso about two months ago, right side first then left. Dermatologist took a sample for testing and came back with the same diagnosis - granloma annulare. It was explained as a collection of white blood cells, the reason for which no one has been able to determine. I asked if it was linked somehow to autoimmune issues, but doc did not think so… Treatment options explained as topical ointment or injection - but each bump would need the injection. I opted to leave [them] be, hoping two years will pass quickly…
I usually have some of it somewhere on my body, usually near joints (elbows, knees, shoulders, ankles.) It is much less noticeable now than in the past and I’ve gotten used to the outbreaks. My dermatologist considers it inflammatory not autoimmune. My rheumatologist definitely sees it as part of my automimmune/inflammatory puzzle.
I never found any treatments that made a lot of difference. Plaquenil probably helped the most but I was unwilling to live with the digestive side effects. Nothing topical helped consistently.
But is it much more mild than it was the first two years and I rarely notice it or think about it.
This is a blogpost I wrote in 2014 when I was struggling with the skin condition. There are links to some studies that you might find interesting. My dermatologist indicated that most doctors don’t see enough patients with the condition to get a reliable sense of what works, if anything, to combat disseminated granuloma annular.
