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kinda itchy/kinda prickly sensations

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Posted 11/5/2013 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
I have read various posts from folks about the extreme itching they feel.  I can't say I have extreme itchiness but would like to describe what I'm feeling (increasingly so it seems) and see if anyone can relate and/or help me understand what might be causing this - and if anything can help with it.  Thanks in advance!

I feel like there is "something" on my body - sometimes on my arms, or my legs, my head or my back.  Most typically on my arms or legs.  It can last from several seconds to much longer.  But thankfully, it's never anywhere on my constantly. 

The best way I can describe it is that it has the sensation one has after they get a haircut and some of the loose hairs gets caught between your skin and clothing - not exactly itchy to where you want to scratch yourself raw to relief it, but more like I want to brush my hands over it to get the sensation away.  But, of course, that doesn't make it go away.   It almost feels like it does if you've ever gotten into something that has fiberglass in it - but not quite as "raw" or dramatic. I don't know if I'm making any sense.

I've also ready where folks have posted something feels like its crawling on them - it kinda feels like that too.  It's this sensation that something is "there" and I want to brush it off. ?!

I'm grateful it's not severe, but it sure is annoying!  Can anyone relate and if so - what is causing it? It is a nerve thing?  Does anything help?  I can't take benedryl (sp?) or the like as it makes me so sleepy.  I've tried oatmeal baths, but they don't help either.

I will mention it to my dr next time I see her (in Dec) but am hopeful someone can give me some input/help/information here.

Thanks all. 

Posted 11/5/2013 3:48 AM (GMT 0)
It probably is nerve related if the oatmeal baths don't help. When I was herxing I would get an extreme itchiness over my body. Now I find that I still have some skin issues but I don't know if they are from lyme or not.

I do have a theory that when you remove the bacterial load even if it is not eradicated that the body goes in to shock a little bit hormonally. For me it was sleep and lady issues and body jerking. That seems to have calmed down a bit.

Others have numbness and the prickley sensations. It can of course be other things like yeasts so you need to keep other possibilities in mind but I would guess it is neurological. I'll look over my notes and see if there is anything to calm the nerves maybe?

How are your other symptoms Ms. kathleenta?
Posted 11/5/2013 4:36 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Opugirl.   My other symptoms are varied - thankfully not as severe as many who post here.  I have "stuff" that comes and goes - but is never really gone for any length of time.  The longest time I have that I feel "ok to fairly good" is about 10 days.  The rest of the time I feel no so good to poor. But, thankfully, I am still able to work - which is so important to me and for me.  I love my job and it also provides me and my DH our health insurance.

My other symptoms include headaches, ear discomfort, feeling like my glands (and ear tubes) are swollen, but they're not -just sore.  I also have pain in my back and in the muscles in my arms and sometimes legs.  I have noise sensitivity. And pretty consistent fatigue.

I had my first appointment last week with my new LLND.  I was very pleased.  She listened well, seemed very knowledgeable and is within 6 hours of me - so it's doable, distance wise.  She has ordered some testing and I will see her again in December.  I am hopeful she will be able to help me in the healing (and coping) process.

She was very supportive of "my approach" which includes no gluten, meat ( I do eat an egg a day), dairy and sugar (I do use organic stevia).  I try and eat at least 90% organic and no processed foods.  I also juice wheatgrass everyday and she was pleased with that being a good detoxer.

So, I am anxious to see what her recommendations will be and I'm hopeful I will be able to afford what she recommends. I remain stunned and saddened at the impact this has on all of us in SO many ways.

This forum and the folks here are part of my health and I am deeply appreciative.  Kathleen

Posted 11/5/2013 6:46 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Kathleenta, I have those sensations you are talking about. Mainly on my face. I get feelings of being "snapped" on the face to feelings that I have hairs brushing my face that arent there!! Pretty sure its neuro. Most of my symptoms of Lyme have been more neuro and muscle that joint pain. Let me know if you find anything that helps. I was on Flaygl for quite sometime and that help my symptoms. Unfortunatly, its not working anymore and have to move on to somthing else. Good luck!
Posted 11/5/2013 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kathleenta!!!

So glad to hear you are seeing a LLMD and that you are pleased with her.  I will be interested to hear how your December appointment goes.  Besides our abdominal issues, I also have the skin sensations you describe and the throat always feeling like my glands are swollen.  It tightens right up and sometimes feels like I am being choked.  Like I have a cold, but I don't.

The various skin sensations are crazy with this.  Sometimes from my feet up past my knees are on fire hot, but not to the touch.  The intense prickly, tingling can drive me nuts.  I also get where it feels like I walked through a spider web on my face, trying to brush away something that isn't there.  When I am leaning against the back of a chair or sitting up against a pillow in bed, it feels like there are critters crawling under my skin.  Really creepy.  Thankfully these sensations vary in intensity, and are not there all the time.  Just the feeling of a beehive inside me, that is there all the time, but I can distract myself from that some of the time.

I hope your doctor appointment has left you feeling optimistic and that she will have a clear path for you to follow to wellness.  I think of you often and am crossing my fingers and toes for you!

Best,

Carole

Posted 11/5/2013 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
Carole,
How lovely to see your post. Thank you. I think of you so often. I'm sorry you have these weird sensations too. Today has not been a good day for me. I went to work not feeling well and just got home, taking off early. I couldn't hang in there, which is pretty unusual for me. My back feels like it's cracking in 2 - from the bra strap up. It's sooo painful. My chest also feels sore -deep in the bone-like sore. My ears are hurting, I'm so darn tired and my head is not good either. And the icing on the cake is that the inside of my mouth is sore too -feels like there are blisters there but they're not visible.

As you and so many here know - this is maddening!

I am hopeful about my LLND and am trusting we are on the path to getting answers and/or help. We will travel to Seattle this weekend (about 14 hours round trip) as our insurance will pay for most of the initial labs the dr has ordered -but only at a lab facility in Seattle. The hoops we all jump through and at the same time, there are no words for how grateful I am that I have insurance and that it will pay for most of these initial blood tests (not ingenex, etc.). She is testing me for bartonella - so we shall see about that too.

I hope you and all experience feeling good/better - in whatever timeframe it presents. Hang in there.
Posted 11/5/2013 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
Remember that Neuro Lyme affects the entire nervous system - so the nerves 'misfire', sending or receiving the wrong signals. The minor instances are when we have that itchy sensation like you described Kathleenta, you want to brush it away but can't.

The bigger misfires can manifest into muscle spasms, twitching, and cramping - which is what it sounds like you are dealing with in your back -above the bra line. I dealt with that a lot! Heat helps to relax those muscles. They are getting the wrong signals. I used Avena Sativa to help my nerves issues and it worked great for me.

When a person has that feeling of a lump in their throat that won't go away - it's time to check your thyroid if it hasn't been checked recently. There are many with Lyme that develop Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which needs treatment or it can really turn ugly. If it's not the thyroid, then it's likely the Lymph glands, a lymph massage by someone trained in how to do that properly can help a great deal. My Practitioner had me use a tincture that encouraged the lymph glands to drain and she told me that if they hurt to use heat and massage them lightly.
Posted 10/31/2015 6:31 AM (GMT 0)
OMG, Kathleenta I can so relate. I was diagnosed with Lyme in 85 and had iv antibiotics for 2 weeks, but I periodically get something that sounds so much like this, I'm having it now and it's driving me crazy. It usually lasts for a week or so, and it's prickly, usually on my upper back, sometimes on my ribs too. The feeling of "after a haircut" really rings a bell. I looked up "prickly, crawly sensations" and found your post. Sometimes it's almost bordering on pain, too, if that makes any sense. I feel like I'm starting to come out of it now, but it makes me feel pretty crazy and very depleted when it's going on. I just finished a bout of flu-like symptoms, too, right before this, swollen glands, tidal feverish, but low-grade, lasted way longer than I would like. Traveler, do you take the avena internally? Fresh green tops, or just oatstraw? It makes sense that it's nerves misfiring, so great to hear something that makes some kind of sense, I've been dealing with it for so many years, and can't afford the alternate testing, I have kaiser now. It doesn't happen that often, I recently was in a car accident, and I think that just threw my whole immune system out of whack. It's something I've learned to live with, but I will try the heating pack and treating the nerves. Thank you!
Posted 10/31/2015 5:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Alchillea - welcome to our community!

I just wanted to let you know that this is an old thread (last post two years ago), and I don't know if kathleenta will be back to respond.

But, I am glad you have found us here. This is a great place for support and learning about Lyme disease. So much information shared here.

It sounds like maybe your lyme infection was inadequately treated in 85.

If you do decide to test down the road, the best place is Igenex - the Western Blot costs a little over $200 for both the IgM and IgG.

There are herbal treatments you can try on your own if you can't currently afford to see a LLMD.

You might be interested in reading through the "New to Lyme?..Start here!" thread at the top of the page - full of great information - symptom lists, info on probiotics, detoxing suggestions, and more!
Posted 10/31/2015 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds great, I am going through it. I did just test negative on the elisa, and have been doing the buhner protocol, think I'm going to have to slow it down a bit. I think when I was tested in 85 it was western blot, they had to send my blood to the cdc at the time. I have been taking epsom salt baths regularly, have been for years, and started skin brushing in the 80s, but it's hard for me to keep that up when I feel really bad. I used to add peroxide to my baths, so I'll resume that again. Thank you so much for a specific $ amount for the test, that's at least something I can look into. I'm making my way through the thread, thanks again!
Posted 10/31/2015 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
You're welcome - glad to be of some help to you!

I'm from Canada - and we have a two tiered testing - IFA (similar to Elisa, i think) - if negative, the Western blot isn't done. I was negative on the IFA.

I then tested through Igenex - and was Igenex positive.

So, please don't put much thought about your negative elisa...

Buhner is a good protocol - many on this forum do Buhner's herbs - either solely to treat, or in conjunction with antibiotics.

You can reduce your amount of the Buhner herbs....and then try to increase your detoxing...then when you feel better...just raise it slightly. How many drops are you doing?
You don't need to ever get to the maximum dosage that is on his website.

Are you drinking lots of water all day long?

You can start a new thread about the the Avena Sativa...or do a search (blue bar - upper right) and type in Lyme - Avena sativa and see what comes up in older threads.
Posted 11/1/2015 5:32 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, the IFA is what is known as the ELISA in the US.

Hi Alchillea!
Welcome to our community!

In all honesty, it sounds like you either didn't get enough treatment the first time around or you have been reinfected, so I'm really glad to see that you have already started Buhner's protocol. It's the herbal protocol that I recommend most often.

You asked about my use of avena sativa. I use a tincture that I make of oats in the milky stage, but I first tried it out with this product: [url]http://www.gaiaherbs.com/products/detail/401/Wild-Oats-Milky-Seed-Certified-Organic[/ul] If you shop around, you can generally find a decent price for it. Gaia herbs is overseen(? Not sure that's the right word) by Buhner, so it's a brand I trust.

It has helped me in many ways, and I still use it! It not only helped ease my nerve pains and tremor feelings, but has helped me with other aspects of the nervous system as well. I am definitely more calmer that without it!

Please do keep on posting with questions, and looking for support!! That's what we are here for!
Posted 1/27/2016 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,I too experienced this. I got healed with vitaminb12 medicines.it's due to vitamin b12 difeciency. Now no more prickling .
http://www.steadyhealth.com/topics/pins-and-needles-all-over-my-body
Hope this wd be helpful . Thank u
Posted 1/27/2016 4:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mahesh!
Welcome to our community!

While B vitamins do play a role in nerve health, B vitamins alone will not take care of the infection that is causing our issues.

But, since it took away your issues, that means that you didn't have Lyme, so that makes us happy!!
Posted 1/27/2016 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, I get this. It makes my body sort of twitch in bed as I try and rub my shoulders/back/arms etc against the bed to 'itch' the sensation. Most of my symptoms are neuro, so I just chalked this up to more neuro lyme fun!
Posted 1/27/2016 5:04 PM (GMT 0)
Exactly, Raincity. For us here, it's due to neuro issues from either Lyme or Bartonella or a combination of the two.
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