Type 2 Itch driving me crazy, scratching doesn't help!!!

nannoo_bird

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215
Hi everyone. I have had this before on other parts of my body, but since last night this itch has affected one spot - just above my wrist at the base of my palm. It comes and goes, but it is driving me crazy. It is like being tickled from inside my wrist by a feather, but scratching does not help at all - in fact makes it worse. The tickle is intense, then spreads up the nerves in my forearm and disappears. A few moments later, it will happen again. It is debilitating. Anyone else get this, and anything I can do?
 

GrantGam

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2,603
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Hi everyone. I have had this before on other parts of my body, but since last night this itch has affected one spot - just above my wrist at the base of my palm. It comes and goes, but it is driving me crazy. It is like being tickled from inside my wrist by a feather, but scratching does not help at all - in fact makes it worse. The tickle is intense, then spreads up the nerves in my forearm and disappears. A few moments later, it will happen again. It is debilitating. Anyone else get this, and anything I can do?
Hello @nannoo_bird.

Are you on any medication or have you recently changed medications?
 

Kristin251

Expert
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5,334
Type of diabetes
LADA
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Insulin
Hi everyone. I have had this before on other parts of my body, but since last night this itch has affected one spot - just above my wrist at the base of my palm. It comes and goes, but it is driving me crazy. It is like being tickled from inside my wrist by a feather, but scratching does not help at all - in fact makes it worse. The tickle is intense, then spreads up the nerves in my forearm and disappears. A few moments later, it will happen again. It is debilitating. Anyone else get this, and anything I can do?
I have. And sometimes still do. No idea what it's from but it's super annoying.
Sometimes I can track it back to a certain food or food group but not always
 

karen8967

Master
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maybe its a certain food your eating i get this on the side of my hands and no amount of scratching eases it hope it stops soon x
 

Freema

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Type 2
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it can come from continued high levels of blood glucose all over the body... it could be kind of neuropathy also, it could be many things causing it.. also allergy... or lack of vitamins or other nutrients..nickel allergy .or that ones handsoap is irritating skin... or carpal tunnel syndrome where the nerve to the hand is somewhat blocked... or some nerve squeezed in the neck and alike... it is so annoying... I think that usually, it goes away again...

all my body was itching while I lost weight rapidly.... really an annoying feeling.
 

karen8967

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From a certain type of food @karen8967? Just interested:)
yes grantgam when i eat the honeycomb whats in a crunchie not that i eat crunchies any more but it was defo the honeycomb stuff in the middle what done it to me every time i ate even a little my hands would tear off me x
 

Guzzler

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Do you use a perfume on your wrists? Or has there been a change in hand soap etc? Just a thought.
 

GrantGam

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yes grantgam when i eat the honeycomb whats in a crunchie not that i eat crunchies any more but it was defo the honeycomb stuff in the middle what done it to me every time i ate even a little my hands would tear off me x
So weird isn't it? I'm lucky I've never had reactions like that. At least you've identified the cause and know to avoid it. I wonder what the ingredient/additive may be. Any thoughts?
 

nannoo_bird

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Messages
215
Thanks everyone. No change in drugs, or food, or soap, or anything else. It has happened before. My BG did spike this morning (I wasn't hungry so didn't eat, and I guess my liver chucked out a load of glucose), but this started last night when my BG levels were normal. I do have terrible PN in my feet all the time, but no itching in my feet - not for a long time.
 

GrantGam

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2,603
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Thanks everyone. No change in drugs, or food, or soap, or anything else. It has happened before. My BG did spike this morning (I wasn't hungry so didn't eat, and I guess my liver chucked out a load of glucose), but this started last night when my BG levels were normal. I do have terrible PN in my feet all the time, but no itching in my feet - not for a long time.
The body is a weird, wonderful and not fully understood. Anomalies do happen and sometimes there's just no answer for them. But I do reckon that persistent scratching won't be helping things any.

Might sound daft, but try slapping your itch instead of scratching it - that was sound advice given to me by my tattooist. You don't want to scratch a fresh tattoo for obvious reasons.

The above advice should come with a disclaimer however, you'll look like a total weirdo slapping yourself silly on a busy train or during a meeting...
 

chri5

Well-Known Member
Messages
445
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi everyone. I have had this before on other parts of my body, but since last night this itch has affected one spot - just above my wrist at the base of my palm. It comes and goes, but it is driving me crazy. It is like being tickled from inside my wrist by a feather, but scratching does not help at all - in fact makes it worse. The tickle is intense, then spreads up the nerves in my forearm and disappears. A few moments later, it will happen again. It is debilitating. Anyone else get this, and anything I can do?
Hi, I used to get this terribly in my forearms and I thought it was related to high bg levels or possibly stress related. From (hazy) memory I seem to recall the advice was not to use really hot water for washing, no scented soaps or moisturisers, camphor or calomine for the itching and anti histamine tablets. Hope any of this helps, I know how horrible it is! Chris.
 
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nannoo_bird

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215
Hi, I used to get this terribly in my forearms and I thought it was related to high bg levels or possibly stress related. From (hazy) memory I seem to recall the advice was not to use really hot water for washing, no scented soaps or moisturisers, camphor or calomine for the itching and anti histamine tablets. Hope any of this helps, I know how horrible it is! Chris.

aha! I should try antihistamine ... that sounds positive!! Thanks.
 

Salvia

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Messages
812
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
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Diet only
I used to get this terribly in my forearms and I thought it was related to high bg levels or possibly stress related.

Me too - exactly the same. Drove me insane for years, but oddly seemed to happen only during summer months from, say, about May through to Oct/Nov. Then eased off till the next year. I tried every OTC cream/lotion going, but no relief. Eventually went to gp, who sadly simply prescribed exactly what I had already tried :banghead: (they just don't listen do they!)

Eventually I found a temporary "cure" using cold water and ice cubes. That was the only thing that has helped me. When the itching started I found that rubbing an ice cube up and down my forearms gave me relief for a few hours. Obviously I had to keep towels and tissues handy, so not very convenient when not at home. Other times (like when at work or in a restaurant) I had to hold my arms underneath a running tap and that would work as well. Trouble was, holding your arms under a freezing cold tap at 2.o'clock in the morning isn't conducive to getting a decent night's sleep. But at least, I wasn't making it worse by the continual scratching, often to the point of making my arms bleed. Sadly, antihistamines didn't work for me, nor any of the creams I tried.

Like Chris mentioned above, I think that mine is related to higher bg levels and stress (though have no medical evidence for that opinion). I have learnt through experience that provided I keep my levels low-ish, I appear to be ok. Have only had a couple of episodes this summer.

:)
 
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nannoo_bird

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Me too - exactly the same. Drove me insane for years, but oddly seemed to happen only during summer months from, say, about May through to Oct/Nov. Then eased off till the next year. I tried every OTC cream/lotion going, but no relief. Eventually went to gp, who sadly simply prescribed exactly what I had already tried :banghead: (they just don't listen do they!)

Eventually I found a temporary "cure" using cold water and ice cubes. That was the only thing that has helped me. When the itching started I found that rubbing an ice cube up and down my forearms gave me relief for a few hours. Obviously I had to keep towels and tissues handy, so not very convenient when not at home. Other times (like when at work or in a restaurant) I had to hold my arms underneath a running tap and that would work as well. Trouble was, holding your arms under a freezing cold tap at 2.o'clock in the morning isn't conducive to getting a decent night's sleep. But at least, I wasn't making it worse by the continual scratching, often to the point of making my arms bleed. Sadly, antihistamines didn't work for me, nor any of the creams I tried.

Like Chris mentioned above, I think that mine is related to higher bg levels and stress (though have no medical evidence for that opinion). I have learnt through experience that provided I keep my levels low-ish, I appear to be ok. Have only had a couple of episodes this summer.

:)

Thank you Salvia. I am waiting to hear from my doctor on the phone right now to find another solution to the neuropathy pains, and I will mention this itch BUT ... I am not hopeful on either. The longer I have diabetes, the more hopeless I feel about the medical profession. I get more information from people here than I ever do from doctors and DNs.
 
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Kristin251

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5,334
Type of diabetes
LADA
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Funnily, I just realized my itching was horrible when my PN in my feet was horrible. I started taking R ALA and the neuropathy resolved and now just realizing so did my itching. Always learning something new!