Itch driving me bonkers

[doublevision1]

For the past 10 days or so I have had a relentless itchiness on the upper right quadrant of my face. It's worst at the hairline and my eye socket and eyelid. It's driving me beyond crazy. Last night it woke me up repeatedly. Scratching gives only momentary relief. My dermatologist says it's not dermatological. It is not red nor swollen, no rash. Even still, I stopped all topical skin care products and makeup with the exception of sunblock when I go out. No improvement. I tried topical Benadryl. Nothing. I've mostly had to wear my hair back as even the slightest grazing against my cheek triggers the itch. There's also a mildly painful tenderness and sometimes when I touch my place, fir the first brief moment my finger feels sharp like a needle on my skin.

I'm quite convinced this is neurological and due to MS. I'm going to call the clinic on Monday. If this is a relapse, I'm pretty reluctant to do steroids. As much as it's interfering with my sleep and my life, I had such bad side effects from the last round of IVSM I'd really rather them.

Does anyone suffer (yes, it's pure torture) from something similar and does anything bring relief. I'm already on gabapentin and nortriptyline so I guess they aren't helping much. Or maybe it would be a whole lot worse without them, who knows.

[doublevision1]

Thanks Everyone for your feedback. This #*+*!!! itch continues to plague me night and day. Worse at night. In the day I grab an ice gel pack for some temporary relief. At night when it wakes me and is so intense, I rub and dig at the skin and pretty soon the delicate skin around my eye is going to be a saggy stretched out mess.

Anyway, talked to MS nurse. I understand her desire to rule out other possible causes, but I do not have allergies / shingles / hives / reaction to products / 'detoxing' withdrawal symptoms from the sugar and wheat I eliminated almost a month ago (give me a break!) I felt like she wasn't listening to me. I told her I had used no new products, didn't have rash or swelling, in fact my dermatologist said it is not a skin problem, yet she kept coming back to this, even after I told her I stopped using products just to rule it out. Aargh!

She knew nothing about hydroxyzine which I learned about in the MS Society web site (U.S. site) as a possible treatment for paroxysmal itching. She suggested I see my GP and see if he'll prescribe it for me. With Friday being a stat holiday I won't be able to see him till next week. He's always helpful so I'm sure he'll let me give it a try. As for the MS nurse, no help at all. Oh, and she commented "well at least it's not painful." I told her I've lived with constant dysesthesias in my left hand for six years, and this itching is far far worse. I love how someone who doesn't have MS thinks they are in any position to decide which symptoms are worse than others.

I have an appt with neuro about a month from now to renew my DMD. I'll be interested to hear what he thinks of the 'detoxing' theory. Though I can pretty much guess what he would think.

I'll let you know if/when I find relief.

Nice to see you around, Dr. Quix! And thanks for the chuckle....you always did have quite a way with words. :)

[rendean]

Have atypical TN and have been on  Trileptal after Tegrotol didn't work for me. Also, on gabapentin, and Neudexta.  Makes things tolerable most days. Mine presents as many variants including itching, burning, numbness and/or pain.

Hope you can find a solution that works for you! Know your pain and wouldn't wish it on anyone!!!

Best,
Ren

[Quixotic1]

Different images of the distribution of the Trigeminal Nerve


Do a google search for "trigeminal nerve distribution"

Q

[Quixotic1]

Hay there!  ummm....Hey, there!  I am having a similar thing only just above and behind my right ear.  You are clearly (to me) having an atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia just as Poppy and Ess suggested.  You are describing the classic distribution of the first branch of the Trigeminal Nerve.  And any involved sensory nerves, especially the cranial nerves, can show up with the different sensations they carry.  Itching without cause is, indeed, a paresthesia.  And it is one to which it is difficult to develop tolerance to...thus leading to madness, ice cream cravings, episodes of  running through the streets waving one's arms and and speaking in tongues.

Are you sure the CIA is NOT after you??  What a cleaver guise it would be to masquerade as TN in order for you to divulge government secrets and the 11th herb or spice used by the Colonel's secret recipe.

Numbing meds would have little or no effect because  the lesion is not at the skin surface, but rather in the brainstem or in the main TN1 trunk.

The usual meds are carbamazepine (first choice), but many docs go directly to something like Lyrica.  I'm on carba* (Tegretol) but it has done little to calm this.  My patch itches all the time, but when I touch the scalp there it feels simultaneously itchy, sore and numb - generally icky.  Tomorrow I am seeing my Derm guy (a hotty and a sweety), not only for the pleasure of seeing him, but also to have him inspect the scalp and make sure that I don't have swamp rot.  The spot I have corresponds to a small part  of the 3rd Branch of the Trigeminal Nerve which extends behind the ear to varying heights.  The 3rd branch has been my most troubling spot on that side.

My next HP will definitely be to finish the Cranial Nerves, troublesome buggers that they are.

Quix

[essdipity]

deebs, the first thing I thought of is trigeminal neuralgia, especially when you mentioned even hair grazing your cheek sets it off. I've never had TN and am far from really knowledgeable, but if I were you I'd research this both here in past threads and via Google. It would not surprise me if TN can be experienced as an itch rather than as pain.

I think the area you describe fits the area the first branch of the trigeminal nerve innervates. There are meds for TN (when it's MS-related, anyway), which I don't remember at the moment, but I do know that many here have been helped by them.

Do some research, talk to the doc, and let us know, 'kay?

ess

[immisceo]

Oh, DV. I feel for you. I've never had it last nearly so long, but when it does happen, I feel like I could go insane. Seriously, I think severe itching without relief could easily be used to extract government secrets or induce madness. I've not taken medication for it, but like you (based on other things I've tried) have a suspicion it's neurological.

Thanks everyone for chiming in. The itch may drive us mad, but at least we know we're not mad full stop!

[karryon55]

I have had this & hate it with a passion as well. I was told to put an ice pack on the area & try your best to not scratch because this apparently makes the neuropathic itch more antagonistic.

I tried numbing creams but didn't find that helped me. If it wasn't on your face I would say cover the area to avoid any damage & wear gloves at night to avoid the scratching you may not be aware of. I have always found this is always at it's worst at night for me & very frustrating when you are woken to find yourself already scratching. Itching & tiredness are not a good combo.

I am on Amitriptyline & did try Gabapentin but I was so much more sleepy I quit it before I gave it chance. I hope it settles for you soon.

Take care,
Karry.  

[supermum_ms]

Hey DD,

I now get a tingly or numb patch, where i had one of my relentless itchy splotches on my face, the other one went away with no sensory changes happening again. My itchy splotches were.... part of my upper right eyelid going up the side of my nose and that one is the one that goes numb, the other was on the left side of my face below the cheek bone.

It was itchy non stop for months, and i was pretty good at not touching it when i was awake, but i seemed to do a lot of scratching in my sleep, it also woke me up in the middle of the night. I ended up with scratched and broken skin from all my nocturnal itching and scratching, oh and my eye got so swollen i woke up one morning looking like i'd been bashed, sooooo not a good fashion statement lol

I tried everything too and no modern medicine helped relieve the itch, though a humble icepack became my best friend lol because making the splotches numb actually made the itch feel heaps better and unfortunately an icepack is the only tip i can pass on, not perfect but it did help limit the crazy itch so might be worth giving it a try.

Cheers..........JJ
  

[Poppy7402]

Have you changed the dose of your Nortrip or Gabapentin at all in the past few days?  I found when I decreased one of my meds it caused my hands to itch so badly I wanted to scratch holes in them.

The other thing it could be is maybe an atypical trigeminal neuralgia???  Have you tried either a heat pack or cold on it?  When mine is killing me despite the truckload of meds a heatpack gets helps with it and cooling my body temp (weird I know).  Instead of an itch I get the feeling the side of my face is in a vice, as well as earache so a little different.

The fact it's waking you heaps at night and is ?worse could also raise the possibility of a bit of an Uhthoff's phenomenon going on maybe??

Just some thoughts - hopefully one might help a bit :-)

Best wishes

Poppy

[doublevision1]

* I'd really rather AVOID them.

Geez the typos!

[doublevision1]

* my face, not my place, lol