Itching...is it a symptom?

I'm new to this forum, 26 years old, and recently have discovered that I have what, if left untreated, could turn into full blown lupus.  The doctor says we have caught it very early and now that I'm on meds, the insane pain I was experiencing in the past few months is almost non-existent.

Since this, I have started itching.  Usually about 1 time per day, all over my legs and arms.  The itching fits last from 10 minutes - 45 minutes and I scratch and scratch constantly.  Then, it just seems to stop.

Does anyone else experience this?  Do you think this could be a med side effect?  A condition side effect?  It is driving me crazy.  I feel like I spend half my morning with my pants down in the bathroom, scratching my legs! 

Thanks Carol, it's good to know itching is common.  I didn't see any itching threads at all.  It did occur to me that I should put my meds in there, however, I can't seem to recall the name and I left them at home today.  I'll check back with them though.

I thought maybe, because my doctor told me to avoid direct sunlight especially without sunscreen that maybe somehow the sun was causing me to itch? 

It frustrates me when things come up like this that I'd like to ask my specialist, but I don't see him until next February now. 

Hi Rach,

I am chronically itchy . . . flourescent lights & sunlight make it worse - i feel like i have a case of the crawlies pretty much all the time. Oral antihistamines work pretty well for me, but you will want to call your doctor and make sure this is OK . . . you never know what type of drug interactions you can run into and he may have a better idea on how to control the itchies. When it comes to lotions, Neutrogena & Eucerin seem to work best for me, but everyone is different. I have also found that, the higher the SPF, the better the sunblock, the less I itch. Wear it all the time, even indoors - especially if you are exposed to flourescents.

But in any case, call your doctor and see what he says . . . I believe that chronic "crawly" feeling itchies can be an indicator of liver and kidney issues, so you do not want to write itchiness off as just a nuisance.

Good luck!

Anne

YES! Sunlight and certain lights seem to trigger itchiness. But it's mostly in the mornings, from when I leave the house until about 30 minutes after I get to work.

The meds I'm on are:

apo-hydroxyquinne 200 mg twice per day.

Aveeno with oatmeal bar...I will pick one up and try it, thanks okie!

I have such a beef with sunscreen, I know it helps and I'm supposed to wear it all the time but it makes my face break out! ARG!!! Oh well, I guess it's a trade off.

Thanks everyone. I will start keeping a journal, I haven't been doing that.

I know when I first started Plaquenil I itched like crazy so I know meds can do this to you. I don't have that problem anymore but it was one of those "in the beginning" side effects.

The sun sensitivity has really everthing to do with the UV rays (I think UVB being the worse). I have an antibody "anti-Ro (SSA)" which is the culprit for me. This antibody is found in a lot of lupus patients and it makes us very sensitive to the sun. I get horrible rashes if I don't wear strong full spectrum sunblock. Even then I can only be in the sun for a couple minutes max. The heat makes us very sick too so the combination of sun/heat is terrible for us lupies. Its an adjustment... I used to LOVE the sun!

Hi Rach,

It is the UV in sunlight and flourescents that can trigger flares with lupus which is why sunblock is so important . . . I recently found a sunscreen put out by neutrogena - it's pricey (i believe about $10-12 per tube) that is 100+ SPF that didn't make the skin on my face go crazy (was just in Hong Kong and China for 2 1/2 weeks, below the tropic of cancer - wore it all day, every day in the nasty heat and humidity and had no problems with breakouts and it kept me fishbelly white with no skin flares!). Don't want to give out free adverts for any company, but I have super sensitive skin and this really works for me. Also on the subject of sun, etc., if you are plaquenil or any other anti-malarial, it is important to stay out of the sun because it increases your sun sensitivity.

Good luck!

Anne

I have the itchies myself and sometimes feel like something is crawling on me, half the time it is the hair falling out of my head and the other half nothing is there. Since I was like this before the meds I figure it is a symptom for me.

I also found everyone's experiences and comments helpful... I found out the hard way that I need to stay out of the sun... I over extended my time outside playing with the kids by the pool and ended up with a rash on my arms and legs and it is itching terrible... just when I think it goes away it pops back up again... Summer will be very hard because I love being outside in the sun and getting a nice tan...however I will have to adjust like many to a new lifestyle... Does anyone else swell up when you are outside in the heat?  My hands and feet do... Or get headaches from the sun?  Curious?  Thank you!

Heather