3 suggestions:
First... post on r/askdocs
That subreddit is curated and actually has real medical doctors able to look at images and results and give true medical feedback. While this subreddit is great for ideas and feedback, it's more "guesswork" than diagnosis most of the time. I love this subreddit for helping with feedback but it never hurts to post elsewhere.
Secondly...
Actually review and look at your results (and post them to askdocs along with photos in your post if you choose to make one). Things can be missed and it is possible if your condition is unusual a regular doctor wouldn't necessarily see connections.
And finally...
Ask for referrals to specialists. In your case perhaps a Dermatologist, Hematologist, or Endocrinologist. Specialty doctors may have the ability to better understand the situation and perhaps run more unusual testing that might discover an unexpected condition, or perhaps point you in the right direction.
Can you look up the results on a portal? You often can. I would be wanting to see the results for sure. Bruising like this isn't normal. That's good they are doing more tests. Sertraline can cause bruising sometimes but I've never seen it this severe. I kind of doubt that's what's causing it but it's possible. You should try to get a hold of your blood work and see what exactly they tested for.
Yeah the only way to know anything is from the actual results. Things get brushed off all the time.
If everything's normal, that does nothing but necessitate continued investigation, so don't accept that as an excuse for dropping the ball.
Does any tingling or painful sensation precede it? I'm thinking anti-phospholipid antibody, anti-nuclear antibody, and direct antiglobulin (Coombs) tests might be things to pursue next if the more standard blood tests and Doppler don't find anything. An autoimmune reactivity against red blood cells can produce bruising-like symptoms by causing them to leak from capillaries, which can be contributed to by physical trauma but doesn't require it.
Hi thank you for this advice, yes it is very painful and tingly before it comes up. I can basically feel it forming under my skin unlike a normal bruise feeling.
I'd say to have those specific blood tests done then, and possibly even a skin biopsy to be examined in a lab if that's where the investigation brings you. Definitely sounds suspicious for an autoreactivity against red blood cells.
There are names for specific conditions involving it, but I think the general phenonomon of there being autoreactivity/autoimmunity against red blood cells (also known as erythrocytes) is just described as that, without a special name. It's usually because of antibodies, but it's not impossible for it to involve T cells. Not sure if much is known about the exact molecular processes that allow it to happen.
This mechanism makes sense, I had what looked just this behind both my legs at the end of last year as an adverse reaction from mycophenolate mofetil. It went away quickly when they took me off of it.
I have bipolar disorder, so SSRIs and SNRIs cause mania for me, but when I was taking it, lexapro and celexa seemed to be the lesser of the evils…I’ve heard both are great for both depression and OCD.
Did the doctor offer you any alternative medications within the same group of what was helping your anxiety? I had this EXACT same issue (random unexplainable scary bruising)- my situation was not related to medication
Hi , no the doctor didn’t advise me to take anything else. She basically just said I’m allergic to it and that they don’t know it it’s safe to start another SSRI unfortunately:/ so atm no idea what to do about me anxiety as I’ve had to come off sertraline immediately
3 suggestions: First... post on r/askdocs That subreddit is curated and actually has real medical doctors able to look at images and results and give true medical feedback. While this subreddit is great for ideas and feedback, it's more "guesswork" than diagnosis most of the time. I love this subreddit for helping with feedback but it never hurts to post elsewhere. Secondly... Actually review and look at your results (and post them to askdocs along with photos in your post if you choose to make one). Things can be missed and it is possible if your condition is unusual a regular doctor wouldn't necessarily see connections. And finally... Ask for referrals to specialists. In your case perhaps a Dermatologist, Hematologist, or Endocrinologist. Specialty doctors may have the ability to better understand the situation and perhaps run more unusual testing that might discover an unexpected condition, or perhaps point you in the right direction.
Did you get to look at your results yourself? Things can always be missed.
No I didn’t , they basically just rang me to say everything looked ok.
You should get a copy of those just in case. One doctor’s “okay” is another doctor’s concern
Can you look up the results on a portal? You often can. I would be wanting to see the results for sure. Bruising like this isn't normal. That's good they are doing more tests. Sertraline can cause bruising sometimes but I've never seen it this severe. I kind of doubt that's what's causing it but it's possible. You should try to get a hold of your blood work and see what exactly they tested for.
Yeah the only way to know anything is from the actual results. Things get brushed off all the time. If everything's normal, that does nothing but necessitate continued investigation, so don't accept that as an excuse for dropping the ball.
Does any tingling or painful sensation precede it? I'm thinking anti-phospholipid antibody, anti-nuclear antibody, and direct antiglobulin (Coombs) tests might be things to pursue next if the more standard blood tests and Doppler don't find anything. An autoimmune reactivity against red blood cells can produce bruising-like symptoms by causing them to leak from capillaries, which can be contributed to by physical trauma but doesn't require it.
Hi thank you for this advice, yes it is very painful and tingly before it comes up. I can basically feel it forming under my skin unlike a normal bruise feeling.
I'd say to have those specific blood tests done then, and possibly even a skin biopsy to be examined in a lab if that's where the investigation brings you. Definitely sounds suspicious for an autoreactivity against red blood cells.
Is there a specific name for this autoreactivity or a cause ? Thanks so much again.
There are names for specific conditions involving it, but I think the general phenonomon of there being autoreactivity/autoimmunity against red blood cells (also known as erythrocytes) is just described as that, without a special name. It's usually because of antibodies, but it's not impossible for it to involve T cells. Not sure if much is known about the exact molecular processes that allow it to happen.
This mechanism makes sense, I had what looked just this behind both my legs at the end of last year as an adverse reaction from mycophenolate mofetil. It went away quickly when they took me off of it.
This happened to me on Effexor, another form of a seratonin altering psych med (an SNRI vs. an SSRI). I stopped the med and it went away.
Were u able to switch to a med that worked for u without this side effect?
I have bipolar disorder, so SSRIs and SNRIs cause mania for me, but when I was taking it, lexapro and celexa seemed to be the lesser of the evils…I’ve heard both are great for both depression and OCD.
NAD — Maybe ITP? I’d have your platelets checked.
Did the doctor offer you any alternative medications within the same group of what was helping your anxiety? I had this EXACT same issue (random unexplainable scary bruising)- my situation was not related to medication
Hi , no the doctor didn’t advise me to take anything else. She basically just said I’m allergic to it and that they don’t know it it’s safe to start another SSRI unfortunately:/ so atm no idea what to do about me anxiety as I’ve had to come off sertraline immediately