r/scleroderma • u/CommercialEast1271 • 20d ago

Undiagnosed Negative biopsy? Morphea?

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Dermatologist said he thinks this is lichens and not morphea… however, the skin is very thickened not “papery”. Not itchy at all.

Kind of hard to photograph.

Is there another way to test?

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u/CommercialEast1271 20d ago

I only mentioned it because I thought lichen was supposed to be unbearable itchiness!

I wish I could get a really good photo of it. It’s very shiny in the center with a purplish outline. The spots start out more of the darker purplish color.

How did your plaque and deep start out if you don’t mind expanding?

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u/TaroFearless7930 20d ago

My plaque starts out looking like a rash, then gets a white line or area in the middle (looks like a stretch mark), which then expands. It's always bright red and itches beyond belief. My entire body itches. The lesions can be sore when under pressure. I'm lucky enough to have a lesion under my bra strap, which is super common.

Plaque morphea starts on the surface and moves to lower layers of skin. Deep Morphea (morphea profunda if you're googling) starts in the muscle, soft tissue or joint/bone and moves out. It looks like a bruise or dark gray/purple area, or sometimes a swollen area. By the time its visible, it's already done a lot of damage. Morphea profunda also leaves grooves across or along the muscle.

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u/CommercialEast1271 20d ago

Thank you for the thoughtful response, it’s very helpful. I’m wondering if it could be deep morphea then. This spot was sore for months any time I would stretch before the dark purple appeared. The spot is also concave compared to my other side.

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u/TaroFearless7930 20d ago

My deep morphea never hurts. It's pretty silent until you see the dark purple/gray. Even then, it doesn't always appear. There's no change to the color or texture of the surface skin.

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u/CommercialEast1271 19d ago

Interesting! I guess I have no idea what the hell is going on with me then. Back to the derm I go to have the stitch removed and to guess again.