I Re: itching question - Treatment -Marilyn

[Guest guest]

I have to chime in again. Its important to know what the CLL/SLL

symptoms are, just as having night sweats. Here is a warning to

as to what not to do for it. The itching if you have it from CLL (and

I'm convinced mine was so, because with FR it went away plus it is in

the literrature as a symptom of Lymphoma (even if many Heme/Onc's dont

know about it) can keep you from sleeping. It feels like you stepped

into an aunt pile, a mosquito bite is nothing compared with the endless

night time itching . The patches began small in the evening and limited

to face and neck, very itchy for about an hour. As time went on, it

then moved to the instep, the areas became larger, and after about 20

minutes of endless scratching the red areas moved to locations on other

extremities for another 45 or more minutes and until I found help I

scratched all places at once and lost sleep.

<br>

MEDICATE: I was told by more than one physician not to use the over the

counter topicals with hydrocortisone. One brand is CORTAGEL. The reason

is frequent use over a long period shall ruin the skin, dont know

exactly what your skin would end up looking like, but a rheumatologist

gave me a stern warning when I had hives from the Iodine given for

contrast in a CT scan. there is a warning on the package. As we know

Benedryl helps but has side effects of drowsyness. I was relieved (pun)

when my Primary Care gave me a prescrip for Zyrtec. Since then, it can

be purchased over the counter. No side effects, and no itching. I took

it for almost 2 yrs. If I forgot the Zyrtec for a few days, the

nightly itching would begin again. Time will tell when it returns. As

we know, the RF is a temporary fix. P.S. If you google Lymphoma on the

internet, some sites show the symptoms, and included in the symptoms

sometimes is itching.

Marilyn

>

> Marilyn's post on itching is very interesting and very informative - I

may

> have to stand corrected on my previous post - But I can stick to one

point -

> You have itching, what are you going to do about it, except take

topical and

> dermatological stuff? - You're surely not going to rush to FCR or a

chemo -

> That was my point - It itches, but it does not make any difference to

your CLL

> status or treatment -

>

>

>

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