possible ehlers danlos. is it worth seeing an actual doctor/getting diagnosed?
Recently I started getting treated (by a professional) for gangliatic cysts and that lead me to research more about joints and stuff.
there's 2 major diagnostic criteria for EDs,
Skin hyperextensibility and atrophic scarring and
Generalized joint hypermobility.
I have diagnosed hypermobility so no questios there. I am here mainly to ask about the skin.
I can stretch skin on my on my neck around 3-4cm , 2.5 cm on my hand (opposite side of my palm), 2.5 cm on my forearm (same side as palm) and only 1 cm on my knees.
I do not have any atropic scars. I mainly/only have hypertrophic scars. One scar healed so badly, at one point I got prescription gel/cream to rub on it because it hurt so much I couldn't function.
the issue is that my stretchy skin might be caused by 2 outside factors:
one being fluctuating weight. when I was 13 and under I was overweight (bordering on obese) and then when I was 14 I lost weight and became underweight. Then ages 14-16 I had fluctuating weight (underweight to fatter end of healthy weight). I'm now 19 and lightly overweight (my weight still fluxuates but not as extremely).
second being dehydration (?). I now drink water like a normal person but when I was a child I would be constantly dehydrated and I don't remember willingly grabbing a glass of water until I was like 17.
can my seemingly hyperelastic skin be just a result of damage? how can I tell? and most importantly: should I seek a doctor like a genologist? how do I bring to my dermatologist (who helps me with the gangliatic cysts) "hey I web searched my symptoms and now I think I might have a rare connective tissue disorder" without sounding like an insane person?
quick recap just in case I didn't mention something:
pre existing: I take prescription Sertraline antidepressants 100mg and testosterone gel and I have asthma. I have diagnosed hypermobility and I'm lactose intolerant. I used to have extreme weight fluctuations 5-3 years ago (ages 14-16) and all of my childhood I was somewhat dehydrated.
all things that are required to be mentioned:
- age: 19, sex/gender: ftm on testosterone for 3ish years
- height: 5'3" / 160cm weight: 145 pounds / 66kg
- geographic location: Eastern/Central Europe
- race/ethnicity: white and Slavic
- symptoms and duration: hypermobility, gangliatic cysts, being able to dislocate thumbs, seemingly hyperelastic skin without atropic scarring (in fact opposite, hypertrophic scarring) all of them for a long time but no idea for how long
- pre existing: second to last paragraph (the one above this one)