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Cara R: Morphea

I noticed dark colored spots on the back of my left leg.

I was diagnosed with morphea about a year ago. I first noticed it when I had gone tanning. I did not get burned that day at all, just a light tan, but I noticed when I got home that I had dark colored spots on the back of my left leg. I ignored them for a few months, but then the skin started getting hard so I made an appointment with my doctor.

He did a biopsy but did not know what it was so he referred me to a dermatologist who diagnosed it as morphea, a rare skin disease. She x-rayed my left leg to make sure it had not affected my bones, then gave me some cream and told me not to worry because it would go away on its own.

The cream made my skin burn so I stopped using and it and now (about ten months later), the hard discolored skin has spread over most of my upper left thigh and it has started hurting. It is very sensitive to the touch and my muscle is really tight. I am worried about it spreading and getting worse and my muscle possibly atrophying.

I am only nineteen. I called my doctor again and told him it got worse and that I wanted to see a different dermatologist one who knew more, but I cannot get an appointment for a year and I am worried that by that point it is going to be too late to do anything about it.

Has this been the case for anyone else? If anyone has more information please e-mail me and let me know. All the doctors I have talked to do not know anything about it. Does anyone know of a good doctor in the western Pennsylvania, Ohio, or West Virginia area?

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