Itchy skin all over

[jamie999934]

Im 20 year old male. NO RASH. No inflammation. Just itching all over. More like pins and needles. Have had all blood work done and all normal. The itching comes with burning sensations as well. I have been to the doctor several times. Eventually they said it was from anxiety and/or depression. I had a bad reaction after one pill of anti-depressant celexa and was given xanax to take instead to help. Xanax doesnt do much except calms the nerves but it doesnt go away. I dont feel depressed or anxiety at all! I stopped taking xanax. I went out of town last week to chicago and the whole wee i was up there i didnt have these symptoms at all. Why not? I have horrible posture. Could it be a pinched nerve?

[birdie0907]

I doubt any posture issue could cause a nerve problem related to depression.

The xanax is just for short term anxiety, and as you said it doesn't go away. Celexa is intended for long term treatment of dep and anxiety. There are many other meds to choose from, and since you claim to be supersensitive to Celexa, you should probably be seeing a psychiatrist as they have more extensive knowledge of the meds to choose for your situation than a GP. Who prescribed your meds?

[birdie0907]

If you could go all weekend without any issues, I question why you needs meds, other than the Xanax for the occasional problem of an anxiety attack. You mentioned in other posts that the problem started when you thought you had an STD, so has that fear been resolved? You also mentioned a fear of your pores being clogged, so have all the fears been taken care of now? You have quite a few posts so I didn't read all of them.
Try to figure what you did in Chicago that was different than your normal routine. Stayed active, talked with friends, etc, what was the key that kept the anxiety and dep away? It seems you might be able to solve this alone or with a little professional help if not. There are also many therapy procedures that work well, but you have to find something you like. In your case, a trip to Chicago may be necessary every other week. (Just kidding.)

PS Your health is your wealth, as they say in hospitals. Protect it by maintaining good posture at all times. Slouching makes the edges of your vertebrae get ground down, then they don't fit so well anymore, and you end up compression on your disks which creates permanent back pain. Quite a price to pay later on for a few moments of slouch enjoyment today!

[jamie999934]

thanks for responding to my posts. My family doctor prescribed my meds after talking to other doctors. Yes the fear of an STD has been resolved and thats when i thought i would feel better. My fear of clogged pores is over as well. Yes all my fears of any major health problems are gone but i still have this stupid itch and burning sensation. It was something to do with the weather that kept me from itching in chicago. I do admit however that the more active and busy i stay, the less i feel this itch. Right now im 20 years old, i dont have a job and my family is struggling and im not in school. Still i feel no anxiety or depression. I wish i could go to chicago every week lol. I should mention i was getting hives this past winter. the hives would go away once i broke a sweat. I had the hives but didnt have any inflammation or rash. Just a 3 minute itch attack..... Now the itch feeling is 24-7. Thanks for your help.

[birdie0907]

Make notes of this, and maintain the mood tracker which is on your site. Take the data to a psychiatrist if you can, because they have a much better understanding of the mental relief meds and of diagnosing you.
If the docs think the itch was caused by dep and anxiety, it can't be Chicago weather. Plus your active/busy note helos reinforce the doctor's idea about anx/dep. Don't delay, because a depression may start out slowly in your case, but over time tends to keep pulling you down more which becomes harder and harder to come out of. A psychiatrist is the best place to go for long lasting relief, as opposed to dragging it out fighting it.
Therapies might include meditation, yoga, cognitive behavior, talk therapy or any of many others. Your library will have lots of information about those choices, so it is a matter of you finding something that you like and sticking with it. A change of philosophy may be useful enough to "cure" you and save plane fare to Chicago, but I can't diagnose you, however it is encouraging that you achieved 1 week of relief. All the philosophy I read couldn't touch my condition other than briefly until my med kicked in, but then the change of attitude was able to sustain me then and now that I quit the meds, however I hope that you can pull out of it med-free as I explained before.

Write back and advise if it is possible to see a psychiatrist. I think it is best for you to maintain this thread instead of starting so many new ones, since someone might take more of an interest if you have a longer thread that lists your updates and others ideas over time, rather than digging for your background info.
If the responses start dropping off, just repost a reply to this thread and you go to the top of the pack.

[jamie999934]

well i dont feel depressed or anxious so i dont feel the need for therapy and neither does the doctor. i just have an itchy feeling.

[birdie0907]

Your first post says the docs claim the itch is due to dep and anxiety, and Celexa is a dep and anxiety drug only. It does not affect itch problems. The Xanax you were prescribed is only useful as an anti-anxiety drug, to the best of my knowledge.
I also see that you say numerous other times however that you are not anxious or dep, so I am confused.