Grover's Disease: What works to help find relief?

Posted by 43219876x @43219876x, Sep 23, 2016

I have been diagnosed with Grover's disease under my breasts. I had a biopsy for diagnosis. Tried topical ointment with no really good results. Any ideas?

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@babbs

Nice picture - looks just like me😳

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Not me, but my back looked very much like that when I had the rash! Smoothies took care of that!

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Perhaps generous application twice daily with Witch Hazel solution,14% alcohol, ~ $2.00 OTC. May sting a bit if open areas; hope it helps.

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@jamesbmakos

I agree. You need 1 or 2 biopsies from two different dermatologists to do grovers.

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Biopsies a good way to start. I only had one which was negative, doc said it is based on the if the GD is active. I still had rash at the time going on almost a year, but no new bumps for a few months. Didn't bother with another biopsy as I clearly have the disease. If anyone it unsure the cilantro smoothie is a must try and also I believe the Witch Hazel is a cheap way to control the bacteria.

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@determinedwoman

I have no bumps, I have been test to Celiac disease and it was negative. Been on all allergy meds, Zantac (H2 inhibitor), test for PV negative, tested for metals (negative), allergy tested skin and blood (no allergies), I shake on the inside, under my breast "sweats" and has a funny odor. Tried gluten free, dermatologist soaps and lotions, free on all soaps and washing liquid, CT scans, lung XRays, blood work with an oncologist all negative. DO I have the symptoms of Grover's? I don't fit the symptoms for this do I? I need help! Who test for Grovers?

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Diet- last act of desperation worked for me helped me.
Your symptoms are not like my GD symptoms, yet your internal issues I understand. I have 3 forms of eczema, GD only one. Like you was miserable from internal tingling, tazer like zapping but also burning. I did not have odor to my sweat or no appetite. Because I do have contact allergies I was tested and knew what to avoid. Still the internal symptoms which were worse at night denied me sleep. Lack of sleep is a form of torture and I was loosing my mind. I could control internal symptoms with a Kenalog-40 corticosteroid shot, but symptoms would return and continual use of shot has serious side effects.
I no longer have these internal symptoms- seriously. Gone now for over 2 years. Diet was the key. I gave up processed, natural sugar and all carbs for a 3 month detox. I now allow limited natural sugar, as in fruit and safe gluten free carbs.
Order the William Crook, MD, The Yeast Connection Handbook. It's a simple and uncomplicated diet plan to kill off the yeast living inside your skin cells. Available on Amazon. It will explain how yeast raises your internal inflammation. I had no yeast symptoms like vaginal discharge. This diet detox is brutal and takes will power. I made up a jingle when I passed a candy bowl or others ate dessert or even a piece of fruit, "When will you learn, it is going to make you burn". I have never been overweight and never thought I had a sweet tooth, but ate at least 2 pieces of fruit daily, but when you do a sugar detox you will be amazed at how powerful the need to eat sugar is. During the detox stage when the yeast is dying your mouth will flood with saliva just thinking of a bite of a cookie or seeing a piece of fruit.

If you are miserable enough, desperate for a solution which no doctor could help with and reach the point you are ready to kill yourself like I was you will find the will power. It took 6 weeks to begin to notice improvement which makes it hard to stay motivated, but you have the rest of your life to live and now I have no memory of my previous misery. I will never ever go off this diets maintenance plan, it is for life! Trust me once you totally detox and go on maintenance for 6 months your craving for sugar will naturally disappear. You will have killed off the residual yeast residing in your colon and it is no longer sending messages to your brain to be fed sugar.

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@gardeningjunkie

Diet- last act of desperation worked for me helped me.
Your symptoms are not like my GD symptoms, yet your internal issues I understand. I have 3 forms of eczema, GD only one. Like you was miserable from internal tingling, tazer like zapping but also burning. I did not have odor to my sweat or no appetite. Because I do have contact allergies I was tested and knew what to avoid. Still the internal symptoms which were worse at night denied me sleep. Lack of sleep is a form of torture and I was loosing my mind. I could control internal symptoms with a Kenalog-40 corticosteroid shot, but symptoms would return and continual use of shot has serious side effects.
I no longer have these internal symptoms- seriously. Gone now for over 2 years. Diet was the key. I gave up processed, natural sugar and all carbs for a 3 month detox. I now allow limited natural sugar, as in fruit and safe gluten free carbs.
Order the William Crook, MD, The Yeast Connection Handbook. It's a simple and uncomplicated diet plan to kill off the yeast living inside your skin cells. Available on Amazon. It will explain how yeast raises your internal inflammation. I had no yeast symptoms like vaginal discharge. This diet detox is brutal and takes will power. I made up a jingle when I passed a candy bowl or others ate dessert or even a piece of fruit, "When will you learn, it is going to make you burn". I have never been overweight and never thought I had a sweet tooth, but ate at least 2 pieces of fruit daily, but when you do a sugar detox you will be amazed at how powerful the need to eat sugar is. During the detox stage when the yeast is dying your mouth will flood with saliva just thinking of a bite of a cookie or seeing a piece of fruit.

If you are miserable enough, desperate for a solution which no doctor could help with and reach the point you are ready to kill yourself like I was you will find the will power. It took 6 weeks to begin to notice improvement which makes it hard to stay motivated, but you have the rest of your life to live and now I have no memory of my previous misery. I will never ever go off this diets maintenance plan, it is for life! Trust me once you totally detox and go on maintenance for 6 months your craving for sugar will naturally disappear. You will have killed off the residual yeast residing in your colon and it is no longer sending messages to your brain to be fed sugar.

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With this dry shin from the inside out has any one been advised to take L-histodine and another amino acid? Also, does anyone use a humidifier to help!

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I appreciate your mentioning L-histidine. It is an amino acid which has been shown to improve the barrier function of skin per this article and others (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5634381/) and I will look to take it now.

My GD has been aggressive in the past few weeks, so I have been on the search for a reason. I have been thinking GD might be associated with Herpes. Not a Herpes infection but related in that it shares some of the behavior of Herpes. It can wax and wane. It moves up and down my body, but does not affect the skin where I recently had shingles, suggesting that it, too, resides in the spine and not in the skin. I have been looking into essential oils or any dietary influence, both positive and negative for Herpes. I tried nigella sativa, which I am taking now. It smells like volatile cleaning fluid and I have to take with honey. It did not have any effect on my GD, but it did bring down my blood pressure which is normally 100/60, but had shot up since the GD. Then I saw that the amino acid Arginine can feed Herpes, and Lysine can counteract the Arginine and that people use Lysine to prevent Herpes recurrence. The collagen peptides I'm taking has 3 x more Arginine than Lysine. In addition, my plant based diet with lots of nuts and seeds, and no animal products, is very high in Arginine. So now I am taking Lysine, 3 grams/day - and my GD has faded and I slept super soundly for the past two nights. I was still itchy and used Ben-Gay at night before going to bed, but didn't wake up once scratching (it had been happening every two hours before.) So I would say, I am optimistic, but the jury still out on that one. I have been using large amounts of cilantro in my daily smoothie since the beginning of Feb - it hasn't changed a thing for me, but I continue to use.

I do believe that anything that improves the barrier function of my skin is something I will try because if nothing else, it will make me look younger. Yay!

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@gardeningjunkie

Biopsies a good way to start. I only had one which was negative, doc said it is based on the if the GD is active. I still had rash at the time going on almost a year, but no new bumps for a few months. Didn't bother with another biopsy as I clearly have the disease. If anyone it unsure the cilantro smoothie is a must try and also I believe the Witch Hazel is a cheap way to control the bacteria.

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First time replying on here. Finding this site very helpful. Have not had biopsy for GD. Dermatologist said no need she sees it all the time. The bumps look feel and are triggered by all that has been said and done on this site. I’m on my second year of this 😩 got some relief during the winter months in California where I live but as soon as signs of spring started so did the bumps. I have no known allergies besides seasonal but thinking of starting one of these elimination diets. I’m a little confused not sure I’m reading correctly. Is GD a form of eczema? I do have a mild case of Sebboheic Dermatitis on my scalp. I do get itchy all over my body and don’t always get a bump. Dermatologists have not been able to help with that. I would say the Derms know very little about GD and have found most info on my own. Does anyone get the bumps when working out even when keeping it low impact and not sweating? I feel like I can’t win. Ice packs help with the real itchy ones. Used lotions and topical but no prescriptions yet. Haven’t been advised. Maybe I need to find a better Derm? I first got this horrible condition last year at my age of 49. Never had food or skin allergies. Was wanting to get a biopsy bc I get a few on my arms and legs and didn’t think that was a characteristic but on this site finding that it is.

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I would get a biopsy. I have a rare skin disorder called Lymphomatoid Papulosis- which usually appear on my abdomen, stomach, back. I also had many red bumps under my breasts and assumed it was the same. When I saw Derm- she said oh no- that's Grovers Disease. So I said - PLEASE do a biopsy and she did and sure enough I have 2 rare skin disorders. Sweating definitely brings out both of them. Tight clothing, stress, I have to wear cotton shirts- this is for the Lymphomatoid Papulosis. I haven't figured out the triggers yet for the Grovers. Right now, Grovers in remission. Facebook has a Grover's Disease support page - you should join it. Kathy

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@babbs

I appreciate your mentioning L-histidine. It is an amino acid which has been shown to improve the barrier function of skin per this article and others (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5634381/) and I will look to take it now.

My GD has been aggressive in the past few weeks, so I have been on the search for a reason. I have been thinking GD might be associated with Herpes. Not a Herpes infection but related in that it shares some of the behavior of Herpes. It can wax and wane. It moves up and down my body, but does not affect the skin where I recently had shingles, suggesting that it, too, resides in the spine and not in the skin. I have been looking into essential oils or any dietary influence, both positive and negative for Herpes. I tried nigella sativa, which I am taking now. It smells like volatile cleaning fluid and I have to take with honey. It did not have any effect on my GD, but it did bring down my blood pressure which is normally 100/60, but had shot up since the GD. Then I saw that the amino acid Arginine can feed Herpes, and Lysine can counteract the Arginine and that people use Lysine to prevent Herpes recurrence. The collagen peptides I'm taking has 3 x more Arginine than Lysine. In addition, my plant based diet with lots of nuts and seeds, and no animal products, is very high in Arginine. So now I am taking Lysine, 3 grams/day - and my GD has faded and I slept super soundly for the past two nights. I was still itchy and used Ben-Gay at night before going to bed, but didn't wake up once scratching (it had been happening every two hours before.) So I would say, I am optimistic, but the jury still out on that one. I have been using large amounts of cilantro in my daily smoothie since the beginning of Feb - it hasn't changed a thing for me, but I continue to use.

I do believe that anything that improves the barrier function of my skin is something I will try because if nothing else, it will make me look younger. Yay!

Jump to this post

I did the cilantro smoothies for over two months with out any effect. At one point I was drinking two a day. Nothing. I just did my second round of oral steroids and was blessedly itch free for about 4 days. Now that I am off steroid, the itching has returned, but not yet to the degree I had, before I started to take it. Different things for different people. I did have a biopsy that indicated gd. Now , because my "rash" is so slight, my derm. thinks it may be something else. I have found that this sight gives me a ton of info. Now, I will try the Lysine. I take trazodone at night and sleep like a log. Highly recommended. Thanks for your input.

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@determinedwoman

With this dry shin from the inside out has any one been advised to take L-histodine and another amino acid? Also, does anyone use a humidifier to help!

Jump to this post

I use a cold air humidifier at night but can't testify as to it's effectiveness. Doesn't seem to have any effect.

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