My skin is crawling !

[peej07]

I'm going nuts. My skin is itching all over, almost crawling at times. My main stress is I assume the worst, kidney problems. Now my bg has been inconsistant at best, I'm stressed beyond belief, and it's january in New York. Anyone else out there suffer from the same and if so what have you done to find relief? Thanks all. :)

[JasonJayhawk]

Hi,

I didn't know you had any kidney problems.... do the prescribers of your medications know about them? (I know that with Diovan, the prescriber should know about them).

Also, I saw that you're taking Niaspan. Did you just recently start taking it? Its metabolites accumulate in the kidneys (not to freak you out as much--but if you're having kidney trouble, taking it certainly won't help much). One of the metabolites is niacin. Niacin in large amounts will cause a "skin-crawling" feeling (and also skin itchiness). This sensation goes away in a lot of people according to the makers of Niapsan, but you might want to do some research on it. I know that people who take niacin vitamins end up getting a skin-itching-crawling sensation and the only solution is to stop taking the extra niacin.

And that brings me to another question. Are you getting enough exercise? You can raise your HDL (good) cholesterol with physical exercise, meaning that you might not even need to take the Niaspan. Even more exercise and healthy eating might let you eliminate the Lipitor. If you want to save money (if you pay a lot for the Diovan) -- AND can handle an ACE inhibitor (e.g., no coughing with one), you could even try one of those classes of medications (they're $4/month prescriptions).

I just looked at your list of meds when you mentioned that your skin is crawling and was curious if one may have been the cause for the sensation.

I've never been in NY before -- I'm assuming it's hard to get out and exercise with the snow out there?

[peej07]

I've been on the niaspan for years and your right about the excercise. My kidneys do spill some protien but nothing my endo seems too concerned about. Here in NY it can be cold and dry outside and very dry inside due to the furnace being on all the time. So I don't know if I need to drink more water or start using some type of moisture cream.

[xMenace]

Try both the water and poisture cream. I'm very dry and itchy too.

[peej07]

Mine is mainly my lower legs and belly. Grrr there it goes again....

[princesslinda]

I have had a lot of problems with itching skin on legs and belly. I get this every winter, even before diabetes, sometimes to the point of having a red rash appear, esp. after shaving my legs.

Aveeno lotion or Eucerin cream helps with the itching and is quickly absorbed. They also have a "Aveeno Skin Relief" body wash that is quite good. You could also try soaking in the bath with some baby oil or Avon Skin So Soft bath oil (though this makes the tub slippery, so don't fall!)

Make sure you keep your skin well-moisturized. You might also want to make sure your home is not too dry from the heat, use a humidifier or keep a pot of water on the stove to make the air more humid.

[volleyball]

I have electric heat and non dry skin so I gave a friend some Vaseline Intensive Care Total Moisture dry skin lotion that came free with bath soap. They too as you have warm air heat and dry skin. It worked great for them. Enough for them to buy some more and give me the soap.
My grandmother use to set crystal bowl filled with water all over her house. The spread out bowl would moisten the air without having humidifier issues. Wide bowls work best.

[palefacegirl03]

I was having this a few weeks ago. I got the Aveeno Skin Relief bath wash and skin lotion and it has helped alot. It was driving me crazy, it would come and go.

[notme]

My son also gets intense itching in winter. Don't assume the worst or you will drive yourself nuts. Call your endo and start drinking Ocean Spray Cranberry juice lite. I know it sounds nuts, but that fixed my protein issue COMPLETELY. My endo was surprised. Worst case scenerio, you will be getting a lot of fluids in your body. Get some moisturizer or better yet, your endo my prescribe something for itchy winter weather.

Good luck peej, I am sure all will be fine.