By Sheena on Friday, June 30, 2000 - 11:34 am:

I have been told I have HMS. I have been looking at some pictures at www.ednf.org/articles/pictures.htm and I have hypermobile hips and shoulders. I have always had flat feet. I get pain on my left side in my lower back and shoulder and frequently just ache all over, like flu.
I have a lot of trouble with blisters and skin rubbing off my feet. I often pick up bruises without remembering how.
I definitely do not have elastic skin like in the picture.
So do I have HMS? The doctor who diagnosed me did not mention any skin conditions.

By Gwen on Friday, June 30, 2000 - 10:21 pm:

Elastic skin is only one of the symptoms of EDS/HMS and not everyone has it. Check out the EDSA website. It has a very good description of the different types of hypermobility disorders. Even though EDS/HMS is subdivided into six main types not everyone in each category will necessarily show all the symptoms and, equally, may have symptoms of another category which is what makes it so frustrating trying to get a diagnosis.

By Barbara on Sunday, January 14, 2001 - 06:05 pm:

I have been diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome type III (Hypermobility Type). I have very minimal skin involvement. It is thin and slightly transluscent and I bruise easily, but it is not very stretchy. As Gwen pointed out, you do not necessarily have to have stretchy skin to have EDS.