Itchy all over

[SaltyMyDear]

Anyone know reasons why I might be itchy all over?

It comes and goes but can be anywhere. There is no rash except it goes red and inflamed and hot after I’ve scratched.

I think it’s worse in the evenings but I’m not sure. Although I say it comes and goes I’m itchy a lot of the time.

It started suddenly about 2 weeks ago and hasn’t gone away.

I really don’t think I’m allergic to anything. I have no allergies and nothing has changed.

GP did liver, thyroid, vit d and vit b tests.

I’m worried it’s a liver problem. Because when I was on a multivitamin with vit A in it it caused liver problems..... (which went away when I stopped taking the multivitamin - but should never have happened in the first place)

Could it be a liver problem? Even after she’s tested my liver function?

What else could it be?

What other tests could I get done?

I suffered from all over body itching a few years ago. Like you, no rash, but the skin under my eyes ended up red raw and flaky. After trawling the internet I decided (for no reason other than desperation and the fact I'm a bit too easily taken in) to download and follow the Anti-Candida Diet plan. Which is essentially an 80 day (severe) elimination diet starting with a 'cleanse' week involving downing pints of water with cayenne pepper and vinegar in. It was hell. But, my itching disappeared within 2-3 weeks. At the end of the 80 days, you're supposed to reintroduce eliminated foodstuffs one by one and see if symptoms return. However the end of my 80 days coincided with a trip abroad and I was so sick of the diet I ate/drank everything again all at once. My itching didn't return though and hasn't since.

Some musings I've had due to that experience which you could think whether apply to you...

1. As a result of the diet, I stopped drinking Diet Coke and chewing gum neither of which got reintroduced, so could've been an aspartame reaction? Do you have a lot of aspartame products?

1. Didn't reintroduce caffeine due to sleeping better and subsequent pregnancies/breastfeeding. Do you drink excessive caffeine?

1. I had been a long term vegetarian prior to the diet but decided to eat meat again for the diet as without it I would've been surviving on eggs and green veg. So, could've been I had nutrient deficiencies from years of no meat which eating meat fixed. Are you vegetarian/vegan?

1. I changed birth control just before the itching started and stopped it during the diet. Hormones have a lot to answer for. The diet even specifies only buying organic meat so you don't take in hormones that may have been in animal feed.

1. I saw a chiropractor (one of the hippy ones not the sports ones) who reduced stiffness in a few areas of my back and claimed these areas were linked to a heightened allergic response

1. My body might just have needed a 'reset' and the diet did this.

Anyway, sorry for the essay, but maybe think about whether any of the above applies to you?

Wouldn't recommend that diet though!

What is your urine and faeces like in terms of colour? Dark urine? Pale stools?

When I was itchy all over I had a gallstone blocking my system (not in gallbladder at that point) and it was due to the bile backing up and getting into my system.

My urine and stools seem normally.

I’m (mostly) on a fairly strict grain free and bean free diet.

I don’t have any aspartame or caffeine. I eat meat. (But not organic due to cost)

Could be hormones. Could be thyroid. Could be liver. Could be gall bladder.

I’m also quite tired. Which I think suggests liver or thyroid.

GP is away so have next appointment with her in 2 weeks. So if I’m still itchy I’ll ask her to do every blood test she can think of.

I’m sure the answer is diet. Just not sure what bit of my diet is wrong. I eat very healthy.

I've suffered in and off with 'chronic idiopathic urticaria ' . It usually presents as hives but not always. Hormonal changes have sometimes been a trigger for an episode but not always. Eventually disappears but can take months. Heat, exercise and alcohol definitely aggravate it.

In the meantime, a low dose of antihistamine keeps it under control or if, like me, you're sensitive to antihistamines and they make you drowsy you can get a prescription of Telfast.

It may not be a problem with your diet at all. You may never know the trigger

Thanks. I took anti histamines for over a week when the itching was really fiery, but now it's less painful just itchy I've stopped taking them.

I don't want to be on medicine when I don't really know what's going on....

Maybe that's what I've got. 'chronic idiopathic urticaria'. Maybe I'll never find out the cause. But I hope I do.