itchiness

[johnbyrnes]

how long does this go on for ? since being taken of treatment at 26 weeks ,iv had a hair pulling time with being itchy almost constantly ,all over my body ,and even worse at night ,my question is does it go on for even longer or just till the drugs leave your system around 6 months,its driving me nuts

[brianmo]

I use 1/2 benadryl. calms the itch down right away, not to mention, cool showers, lots of lotion and water. For me it started about 2 weeks ago, I do shot 11 tonight. Feels like little tiny bugs crawling on my legs and arms not to mention my scalp that I am worried I am going to open the skin I scratch so hard!!  I try to leave the benadryl to night, it makes me a little more tired than I am.

[johnbyrnes]

with so many lotions out there i will leave that for the misses to buy knowing me i would get the wrong one
i have warm baths,other wise i get really sweaty after getting dressed,
cant stand too much heat, a moderate temperature like keeping the window open at night is just fine
i will try anything as long as the itch dies down,

[johnbyrnes]

sorry it was 28 weeks of tx,
i was told at 12 weeks i was U N D
then at 28 they took me of tx ,h c v was back
in january they might put me on triple tx
but just got to get the chest pains sorted first,doc seems to think it might be mild angina,
treadmill test was clear
ultrasound im waiting on results

[nygirl7]

You can try putting on a good, thick moisturizing lotion SEVERAL times a day.  A lot of the itch is really caused by the skins dehydration and the lotion seems to help a LOT. At least it did for me.

Make sure you are not taking hot showers or baths as that will definitely dry your skin out more and it's not advised at all.  I dont know what products you have in the UK but here in the US we have stuff to do an oatmeal bath and that helps a bit (like with kids with chickenpox).  But I'd definitely start lotioning up  until you can get to a doctor.

[johnbyrnes]

glad to hear you got your head down for a few hours of blissful sleep
iv not changed my washing powder ,i dont think its that
i fitted the shower for the wife n kids mainly,i prefer the old bath ,
i will hang in there,not much else to do untill i see the doctor,

[johnbyrnes]

not yet tried anything just my nails
since coming of treatment  in oct im keeping up with drinking plenty of water,shower does help sometimes ,its after iv got out and dressed then it starts again

[johnbyrnes]

still have the thyroid problem(hypo)
i dont get any rash ,just this very annoying itch that wont go away ,
it gets so bad at times that i have broken the skin ,and still scratch
gonna go see the doctor and try and get this sorted

[johnbyrnes]

around 27 weeks of tx,mid october this year

[nygirl7]

John didn't you have some autoimmune problems on treatment (I could be remembering wrongly it's rare for me to remember things at all)?  If so, perhaps somehow you have developed another autoimmune thing - I had the thyroid thing then at about 65 weeks I got a rash that was nothing like riba rash it was killing me it was so bad it itched so much.......I waited and waited and tried to take care of it myself till finally I thought I'd lose it. Went to a derm doc and he was like holy cow why didn't you come sooner.

Gave me some cream to use and stopped the pain of the itch right away.

It might be worth checking out!

[working dog]

its funny last night was my first night of very little itching...i stopped the interferon almost three weeks ago and the riba about 9 days ago..good luck...don't use down anything...watch what you wash your cloths in...and hang in there...no hot showers...my bad itching would last 2 to 6 hours a night...mostly 2...then go away in the very early morning.....billy

[Bill1954]

When did you last take treatment drugs?

[flcyclist]

Sorry to hear the itchies are driving you nuts.  This is a very common side effect that has been discussed many times on this forum, so doing a search should come up with a ton of responses.  

You don't mention what you've tried so far, but a combination of hydocortisone creams, antihistimines and using lotions has help me keep it under control.   Avoiding hot showers, sun, sweating and staying well hydrated will help, too.   If none of these are helping, time to see a dermatologist for an rx.  I've read Atarax has help many on the forum.   Good luck with getting this under control.