Itchy skin!!

[rosekxx]

Hi. I wrote a post a few days ago about lymph node been up for a while. I went to the doctor and he wanted to book an appointment for bloods because my symptoms indicated more serious things however he said he highly doubts it and believes it's my anemia causing issues. He wasn't really worried however, my skin is on fire I cannot stop scratching I've had issues with iron for years and years and never felt so itchy in my life! My lymph node the is up apparently feels large because there's 2 super close together.. I'm in two minds weather to trust what he says or get a second opinion.

How old are you? Just been reading a menopause thread and this intense itching is a peri/meno symptom

I'm 24

Not this is if any help but I got urticaria at about the same age. Think extreme nettle rash everywhere. I couldn't move with some bit flaring up and anti histamines only worked for a little while.

It hung around for around 6 months and left as quickly as it arrived. No idea what caused it, not food or washing powder etc etc.

Have you tried antihistamines?

It sounds like your doctor is taking the right steps in arranging blood tests to investigate whether the itching is related to anaemia, or something more sinister. Hopefully, you'll have an answer soon

Itching, anaemia and enlarged lymph nodes are signs of lymphoma so it's a good thing the GP is investigating, ask for a referral to haematology

I was in pretty much exactly the same situation at the beginning of this year. A gland in my neck was really swollen (it still is 6 months on). I ended up paying for a private scan which concluded it was just a reactive node which calmed me down. I did end up getting a referral to ENT because I was also very anaemic and had some bloods were low/raised and they biopsied and confirmed it was just a reactive node that didn't get the memo that the mystery virus had gone away.

I just spoke to another doctor on the phone he prescribed antihistamines and basically tried saying sometimes when you notice a itch you feel itchy when your not necessarily that itchy😂 I've tried ignoring it, I'm definitely not itching for the fun of it.. it makes me nervous because I know something is up weather it's small or big and doctors like to make out it's in your head.

Will they do this if I request? I didn't know you could just ask for referrals

Maybe say you're worried it's lymphoma, list your symptoms and ask if they'll refer you. But a blood test should help to indicate if it's possible. I had lymphoma that was picked up because I had a lump on my chest, the GP wasn't concerned but I had a blood test (full blood count) and every measure was out of range. They then sent me for an xray and after other tests I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Then I looked up the symptoms and realised I'd had them for at least 2-3 years without realising. I wish I'd done more about the itching at the time. Other symptoms are loss of appetite and weight loss, do you have that?

I should say, lymphoma is rare and there are lots of other possible reasons for itching so it may not be! But given my experience I do tend to mention it when I hear people saying they have similar symptoms

I had extreme itching come on one day when I was about 21. It felt like my skin was on fire and I was literally jumping up and down, but had no rash. It was like my blood was itchy. I went to the pharmacist who gave me OTC antihistamines which took the edge off, but as soon as they started to wear off it was back with a vengeance. Bloods were fine. I was eventually referred to dermatology who were stumped but prescribed fexofenadine which gave me more relief than OTC (you can now buy fexofenadine OTC). At the same time I started suffering from crazy night sweats every night to the point I had to set up two sleeping areas so I could move to the other when I'd soaked the first. Doctors were concerned about lymphoma but nothing was found and it was put down to 'one of those things', although I still feel like they missed something.

It went on like this for about three years and then one day it suddenly stopped. I do still get very itchy sometimes. I agree with PP, ask for a referral if you feel you're being fobbed off.

I'm in two minds weather to trust what he says or get a second opinion

I could well be being really dense here, but a second opinion on what, exactly? He hasn’t given you a diagnosis or said anything other than ‘Let’s do some blood tests to rule out anything nasty’, has he? How has he made you feel like it’s all in your head if he’s taken you seriously enough to organise blood tests?

I’m genuinely not being snarky; I just can’t see what I’ve missed.

Because he pretty much straight away said it anemia before even really allowing me to talk. I've have anemia for years and never experienced symptoms like I am now. He wants to do the bloods mostly for iron but will check other things just to get more sinister ideas out of my head. I brought up the idea of an ultrasound and he made it sound pointless regardless of the lump that's been sat in the side of my neck for multiple weeks.

Ah, that makes sense.

I think I’d wait and see what the bloods say, especially if he’s told you he’s checking for anything nasty, and not just your iron levels. Anything dodgy should show up in those results and you can go from there. If you get told it’s nothing to worry about after the results come in, that would be the time to kick up a fuss. If you do it now, any other doctor is just going to order the exact same blood tests, which delays any diagnosis for you.

Fingers crossed it’s something that can be easily fixed with a few pills 💐

Get a second opinion and in the meantime try different anti histamines to stop the skin itching. I have year round skin allergies and find that cetirizine helps and acrivastine helps but others do little or nothing.

Try them one at a time for a few doses though because some of them interfere with how other ones work I believe

I'd await the results of the blood tests. Ultimately it's itchy skin, antihistamines are treating the symptom and the bloods investigate the cause. If you're chasing a second opinion before the results are back then it increases the suspicion that it's all just health anxiety.

It's typical to request a fairly standard range of blood tests initial to consider common causes/weighed against your presenting symptoms and medical history. If this correlates to a cause/diagnosis can be made then great. If however they don't, or indicate an alternative cause this can guide the more specific tests in regards to USS/chest xray/bloods. A lot of these special tests don't work in isolation, they've got to be undertaken as part of a hypothesis.

Many symptoms are idiopathic and stop before a diagnosis is ever made. So there's a balance in 'over investigation' which can be harmful - i.e. just give everyone a full body MRI and which will find multiple shadows/slight abnormalities in the healthiest of patients which will then trigger a host of further tests/biopsy/harm.

Say your GP says these initial blood tests come back normal, and the GP says still think it's anaemia and no further tests occuring that would be a good point to get a second opinion.