Make up your damn mind

[Micer]

Have you been checked for a fungel infection?

And no, though I do find it kinda amusing that one of the few things that curbs my itching is tea tree oil (we're using it for kiddo's mild case cradle cap)

[wheeitsme]

Huh. That kind of itchy break-out is how I found out I had become allergic to sulfa drugs.

[Primer]

The only 2 things that ever helped me with itching are Benadryl (I take generic OTC) and hydroxizine, which is Rx. I have guttate psoriasis (looks like polka-dots) which thankfully has been in remission for about 10 years. But after the past 5 months, I'll be really surprised if I don't have a major outbreak before the first of the year. Stress is a really BAD trigger.

[zzapp the witch]

Was gonna type out a big long list of stuff you can do, first and foremost being to take apple cider vinegar baths, and moisturize with tea tree oil mixed with sunflower oil, but I found this: http://www.optiderma.com/en/skin-dis...-remedies.html

Going to a tanning bed for some light treatment helps, or lay in the sun. I went over my diet, like that site says to, and the suggestion was made by my grandmother to drink one beer a day (which I didn't do, I hate beer and I was breastfeeding, my OB said it would be ok to drink one right after I fed the baby cause I would metabolize it all, but that it would make my milk taste funny to the baby). My grandma SWORE by the whole beer thing to get rid of pregnancy hives. You'd just have to time it well, like for when the baby slept the longest during the course of the day.

Oh, and walking around the house naked, air-drying, with the windows open feels AWESOME.

Also, stop using liquid softener if you use any.

[Micer]

Thanks for the list, I'll check some of those suggestions out, just restocked my tea tree oil, though as much as I would like to lay in the sun, I can't, I burn way too fast and last time I tried and got a mild one even with the sunscreen (when I thought it was scabies) it aggravated the itching beyond belief.

Ran out of my prescription yesterday and had to wait on the refill until today, last night was hell, did try the clothes with the hypoallergenic detergent (never been a softener user, just started recently to throw borax into the wash), seemed to work a little bit since the only part that was super itchy last night was the palms of my hands, and my ankles, could ignore the itching on my legs. Can't really do the naked with the windows open either, apartment complex and very sure the neighbors would be a little upset. >_> But think I will continue doing the pantless/wearing my pool wraps as a skirt routine.

[scruff]

[QUOTE=Micer;973147] Can't really do the naked with the windows open either, apartment complex and very sure the neighbors would be a little upset. /[QUOTE]

thick net curtains. lets the light in but protects your modesty.

[Micer]

Well, can't say its been an improvement, because seriously, it hasn't been. On my second refill of the medication, it burns when I put it on, the itching isn't stopping, and I just finished crying my eyes out because of the pain of putting it on. And now, new symptom, I have small blisters/small hives (they're not red) popping up on the palms of my hands and the sides of my feet and crawling up my fingers.

All the clothes are cleaned in the hypoallergenic detergent, using glycerine soap, no scrubbies in fear that hubby might be putting his soap on it and that its irritating things,the tea tree oil works off and on, and all I can think of doing now is hiding in our bedroom, naked and never sitting or laying down again.

I'm in hell. Going back to the doctor, asking to be put back on steroid pills since that seemed to be the only thing the hives responded to, and asking if I should go see an allergist, though the folks I've talked to have made it sound like that even if it's a reaction to the tape they used on my C-section, or the epidural, I might never know because my body is just in a never ending I hate myself loop and I just gotta ride it out til it can figure out how to calm down. All I know is I'd like to spend a day where I'm not ripping myself ragged and not leaving my clothes to soak to get the blood out. -_-

Also, on my third day of taking Claritin with no real response in the itching.

[ralerin]

Aloe vera gel. Currently applying it to a fungal infection and it itched for several hours but it's helping since I itch much less.

[crazyofficeclerk]

This may sound a little strange, but what you have sounds a little like what I had when I mysteriously got Fifth's Disease. Even though most adults don't get the rash... I did. All over my body. I was miserable. Very little helped. The doctor looked at me like I was from another planet. The only thing that gave me relief was a version of Eucerin lotion. It was a spray. I could spray it on my skin and didn't have to rub it in and that help by not touching it. Of course they stopped selling it in my area. I'm not sure it was the lotion itself of the spray part that helped the most.

[Sapphire Silk]

This is coming rather late, but a thought occured to me:

Micer, did your OB give you Duramorph in your epidural? It is notorious for causing hives and itching.

If he did it should have metabolized out of your system by now, so it seems far fetched. But it's all I can think of.

[Micer]

I really don't know what they gave me epidural wise, but I do know this started when I got out of the hospital, so got a starting point there, otherwise they looked at me, looked at the fact that I had a panic attack last night where my heart was going nuts and I was literally crying for no reason. Wasn't sad, wasn't upset, wasn't sobbing, just tears pouring out of my damn eyes while I was calm and trying to nap with the little guy. I did it again at their office, was talking fine one second and the next, here come the waterworks without any warning.

They want me to go back to my OB and see if maybe I have post postpartum depression and if it has a hand in the fact that the hives haven't responded to anything, otherwise staying on the clobetasol, back on the steroid cream for the raised patches, and switching to Allegra allergy medication wise. That and got a half dose shot of steroid and benydryl to try to calm things down for today (still itching, trying to fight it)

So get to do that tomorrow -_- Wooo.

[bainsidhe]

I hope they can find something that works for you, hives are hell. Earlier in the year I had a rash that lasted for a good two months. It spread over various parts of my person, but centered on my lower right leg. I finally got rid of all but the leg rash before I broke down and went to the doctor. The doc determined it to be a type of contact dermititus. He gave me a cream that helped a little and the rash eventually went away. What helped the most was...just not itching. I know that sounds terrible and it's frankly impossible when you itch just so bad. But clawing at my person just aggravated the hives. I had to force myself not to itch and the rash eventually went away.

It sounds painful, I wish you the best and hope you get rid of this soon.

[Micer]

So the OB didn't have any idea what was going on either, if I was pregnant and hivey/rashy, she'd know what was going on, so woooo.... $88 friggen bucks down the drain, anyhow, they put me on Lexapro (anti-depressant/anti-anxiety med) and suggested I go to a therapist.

Not too thrilled about the therapy thing, but I'm willing to give it a try. Sadly, they're closed til next monday, so that leg of this adventure is gonna wait until they return my call.

Anyhow, still itchy here and there and learned fairly fast that I want to take this medication closer to bedtime... thankfully the little guy took a long enough nap for me to conk out this afternoon myself, but I think I'd rather sleep through the nausea.

And if anything could get any worse, hubby was working on a new model, dropped something and lo and behold, the bats in our apartment have yet again given us the gift of bedbugs like they did in our last apartment. Least I know these aren't bedbug bites, we had the bed gone over with a fine tooth comb and sealed up when we were thinking this was fleas -> bedbugs -> scabies, but for fracks sake - throw us a bone here life!

Management is reeeeeally going to love it when I go into the office tomorrow with the happy little fellow for show and tell, I'm just hoping this is an unlucky fellow that fell through the vents and haven't attempted to establish themselves.

Seriously, which deity did I piss off?

[kpzra]

You've done most anything I would suggest, but I do know it's kinda common to have a postpartum itch/rash from the hormone changes along with you may have had a reaction to something they gave you. I had a mild bit of it, but we knew it was a reaction to the antibiotics they gave me with my c-section. Sorry, i know it sucks.

[Teefies2]

Wait, you have bats in your apartment on a regular basis????? And a newborn?

I'd be calling whoever regulates Landlord-Tenant law, as well as the Health dept. Hope you feel better soon