My whole body itches!!!!!!!

Okay, so for about the last month or so, I have been getting this EXTREME ITCHING ALL OVER MY BODY. And its usually late at night before bed, and through the night. It's that kind of itching that is so intense you start to claw your skin off.

I haven't been using any new products so i know its not an allergic reaction. Unless its some kind of plant that blooms at night and I'm allergic to the pollen.

My skin doesn't have a rash, bumps, or anything at all, it just ITCHES!!!!!!!!!!

I can barely sleep, and sometimes i scratch so much that i bleed......I don't mean to be dramatic, BUT IT'S MAKING ME CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm 10 days away from surgery, so I don't know if I have time to go to my primary physician.

Does anyone else have this????? Have you ever experienced this extreme itching over your whole body at night???

Any ideas about what you think could be the cause?!!?!

PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!! I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!

Have you *quit* taking any medications lately? I quit taking Zyrtec about a year and a half ago, and it's notorious for causing intense itching for months after you quit it. It caused the itching in me when I quit, and I"ll never forget it. There are other medications that cause itching upon withdrawal. Liver problems will cause itching, too. I would probably try to get in to the doctor if I were you. That sounds miserable. My skin is very dry, and I have found that Vitamin C (in the liquid capsule form because it works better for me) and Flax Oil capsules really help with itchy, dry skin. Hope you get some relief soon!

Liver problems were the first thing that came to my mind.  Please check with your doc, just to be sure it's not that, before you have surgery.  Prayers coming your way.

Thinking back a year ago, I remember scratching a lot too. I think I was lead to believe it can be from all the meds they use to put you to sleep for surgery and the pain meds after. Everything was to sleep and that includes the nerve endings throughout your body. They may be finally waking up fully.They could also be closer to the skin surface with weight loss. This is just one idea that will be bounced by you. Others will give you advice along the way. The only advice I have is some hydrocort cream and body lotions.
Best of luck
Kelly/tink

I had this too, Tatem, but it was dry skin caused by drying meds and age. Lotion helped.

You have a huge amount of stress in your life at the moment Tatem and this could just be one of the ways your body has chosen to deal with that stress.   Try washing your sheets and giving them and extra rinse and cover yourself in cream before bed.   Maybe an antihistamine would be helpful too as long as pre-op it is safe to take.

My guess however though is that this is your body's way of saying there is just way too much stress in your young life.

I hope you feel better soon.

my 20 year old daughter has this,  she itches like crazy,  she is normal weight, seem to think it to be purley hormonal...    

After surgery our skin cannot keep up witth the weight loss and we end up with layers and layers of dry itchy dead skin cells.  Get a good product to exfoliate and start rubbing off all of that dead skin in the shower.  It will take about a week of using it everyday, but it will put an end to the itchy skin.  A lotion with Q10 will help to reduce the saggy appearance of the skin

Have you ruled out laundry detergent? Those concentrated detergents that come in small jugs are, in my experience,  both stronger and more allergenic than the regular kinds.

First try using the old-fashioned laundry detergent, the simplest, clearest kind  you can get, the lowest in additives - Ivory Snow, Dreft, or any of the kinds that say "clear" on the package. Don't add fabric softener or bleach. Wash a set of sheets and nightclothes and underwear with it...half the usual amount. of soap..double rinse cycle. Then run this stuff through the washer again with no soap and ho****er. Then have a long shower with the least soap possible, rinse really well, and let the water run a bit cold at the end. Don't put any lotion, astringent, or other product on your skin. Remake the bed and sleep in the double-washed nightclothes and see if you itch less. If you get relief, I think that's a fair indication that your usual laundry detergent doesn't agree with your skin.

if not, a product called Caladryl Clear will provide temporary relief. Also cold packs on the itchiest places. I have used this with good results lately on my aged mother, who had an itchy spell after a course of antibiotic treatment.

If you establish that it's not your detergent or any residual soap on your skin, see a doctor. Tell him or her how you've tried to rule out detergent. This doesn't have to be your primary care doctor. An urgent care or ER physician is just as good in an acute situation like this.

(If you're not used to oak pollen, say if you've just moved East from a desert area or from a very urban area where there are few oaks...oak pollen has caused some serious skin problems in people who weren't used to it. A friend of mine and his toddler had this experience after relocating from urban NJ to NC, with its many oaks. But this kind of allergic trouble usually happens in the late spring and early summer rather than now.)

I haven't had surgery yet, but when I was perimenopausal I got "the itchies," as I dubbed them.  I described it to my PCP as akin to having ants crawling around under my skin... I also had it mostly at night.   She told me to take an antihistamine. It worked for me... might want to check with your doc?

Sheri