Itching

[Guest guest]

I have been following the group messages for six weeks or so now and have only

come across hints that persistent itching might be part of rls. As the result

of things I have learned from all of you, I tapered myself off Sinemet (beause

of rebound) and replaced it with Ultram which I already had for another problem.

So far the Ultram seems to be working pretty well. A week or so before

Christmas, however, I had another attack of itchiness that was confined mostly

to my right forearm. The resulting scrapes in my skin appeared to be infected

so I got a prescription for an antibiotic by telephone before we left town for

the holidays. The infection appeared to clear up, but the itching got worse.

Someone suggested Benadryl gel and that seemed to help some. The only other

thing that helped was rubbing my arm with ice to the point that the skin went

numb. This week I finally saw a dermatologist who said to stop the Benadryl

which was probably making things worse and use an extra strength cortisone-type

ointment which he prescribed. That helped some. What I have noticed is that,

no matter what I do, the itching comes back strong in the late afternoon and

gets progressively worse. The Ultram at bedtime knocks it out, but about three

hours later I am awake with really intense itching and rls. The itch feels like

I am being stabbed with needles. This afternoon I took an Ultram when it

started. I got about three hours of not much discomfort. Tonight I am going to

take another Ultram as soon as I wake up and see if that gets me through the

night.

I'm really not sure how long I've had rls, but I suspect since childhood. I

don't think insomnia is common among six year olds, and I can remember having

that. The itching has also been a long term problem. It is often worse in the

winter when my skin gets dry, but it doesn't ever leave me. It isn't always as

intense as it has been lately, but this has happened before. Last time I wound

up with a staph infection. When that cleared up with antibiotics the intensity

of the itch faded.

I would really appreciate hearing from others about this problem. I have

appreciated Dr. Levin's comments on questions others have raised. Can you

comment on this, Dr. Levin. Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences

with rls. It has helped me a lot, and there are still a number of things I want

to try. I'm taking it slow, however, in hopes that that will help me figure out

what remedies have what effect. That's all for now.