babyblog

Health Scare

So, the reason for my shitty day earlier in the week .......

I have suffered for around 4 years from an unexplained and unbearable itch on my right arm. It starts about 2 inches below the elbow and goes to about 4 inches above it. It itches 24 x 7 and it is an unbearable prickling burning itch which takes nearly all the willpower I have not to scratch it. If I do scratch it I get approximately 5 seconds of feeling 'ohhhhhhhhh joy' and then I realise that I cannot scratch deep enough to relieve it and it actually becomes worse and worse until my arm is bleeding and I have to force myself to stop by sitting on my left arm to stop it going at the other. The worst thing that can happen is that during the night while asleep I subconciously start to scratch it and the next thing I know I am awake with it burning and itching at it's full horrendous strength and will lie there for a couple of hours before it is bearable enough that I can go back to sleep. Recently it has also started up another patch on my right shoulder, just under my bra strap which obviously aggravates it all day... argh. It is also aggravated by temperature changes (put my arm out of the covers at night? itch like crazy..... wear short sleeves ? Itchtastic) and some fabrics such as anything wool.

I have seen 3 Dermatologists and 3 GP's about this. They all said it was an itch probably caused by 'Neurodermatitis' and gave me various creams. None of the creams helped with the slight exception of the most recent one which is a strong steroid cream. What this steroid cream actually does is reduce the inflammation caused by scratching it.... it doesn't fix the underlying problem but at least during a major scratch attack I can apply this cream and achieve some small relief, the edge being taken off it anyway.

I was never wholly convinced by the 'Neurodermatitis' explanation because I don't exhibit some of the symptoms such as raised changed skin in the area, and because no cream has any effect whatsoever. The docs all said that if I can stop the itch/scratch cycle then it'll go away , but it never does. I can sometimes go 2 months without scratching it but it's still a constant nagging presence. The itch is also somehow deeper than the skin, I never seem to be able to reach the cause of it by scratching.

Anyway, I ran out of the cream, so on Monday I went back to see the Dermatologist that I saw a year ago to get more. I explained that the itch was no better and that there was another patch of it on my shoulder. She hadn't looked at me but she said right, well she no longer believed it was a skin condition and that it was almost certainly some kind of nerve problem. What kind of nerve problem? A pinched nerve most likely. Would I not know I had a pinched nerve in 4 yrs? Umm yes, probably. OK so what would it be then? Well I'm thinking something is compressing on the nerve. Something? What kind of something? Most likely some kind of tumour.

TUMOUR.

My jaw dropped. She then decided to get me out of there as quickly as possible so ushered me to the door telling me that she would be very worried about me and that I should see my doctor ASAP and please let her know the results.

TUMOUR.

I left. I got as far as the car before completely breaking down. I have a tumour. I'm going to die. Gareth was in California and I had never felt so completely alone and scared in my life. I managed to get him on the phone as I drove home, hyperventilating with tears and obviously he was worried sick too. I got home, and simply didn't know what to do with myself. I phoned my friend and through the sobs, told her what was going on. Thankfully she is a great listener and she said ok listen...... American Doctors are sometimes complete twats and will tell you very scary things.... and if she had believed every fatal diagnosis that she had been given she'd be 10 times dead already. She told me that Docs had told her she had breast cancer (blocked milk duct) and all sorts of things..... and at this I began to calm down. How could this Dermatologist, without any examination, presume that I had a tumour?

I then thought back to some x-rays I had taken a year ago.... my neck and spine were obviously tumour free then. I've had the itch for 4 yrs. Didn't add up.

The next day I went to see my Chiropractor and told her. She is a bit of a quack but she immediately ridiculed the idea, saying that she had seen thousands of patients in 20 yrs of practising and that these tumours were incredibly rare, she had maybe seen 4 in her life, and that she had no reason to believe that I had one. I felt better. I made an appointment with a Neurologist.

So this morning I've been to see the Neurologist.... and all is, I think, well. He was quite amazed by this Dermatologists diagnosis...... he said that it is far better to appear stupid and admit to not knowing what is wrong with someone than to send them away with a ridiculous ill informed diagnosis. Quite. He examined me and said he felt there was absolutely no scary underlying thing wrong with me. He thinks that the itch is a form of Neuralgia and that is why the creams on the skin would not work, they're simply not getting to the nerve problem which is causing the itch. He said that what I have is quite easily treated with an oral medication although it was my choice whether to take it during pregnancy...... if I didn't want to he could prepare an ointment which included this neuralgia medicine (rather than being a cortizone/ steroid cream which I've had previously) which would maybe have a little help but maybe not.......... I chose the ointment for now as I've lived with this for 4 yrs I can stick it out for another 5 months until I can take the oral stuff. I felt so much better, I cannot tell you. He said this kind of itch is not uncommon and can be treated! I also discussed my migraines with him and again after the pregnancy, he is going to prescribe a preventative medicine for me, so I will go back and see him. He was so reassuring and inspired confidence .. I feel 100% better.

I'm so cross with that Dermatologist - I am going to write a letter of complaint to the office....... how could she send me away with that kind of flippant diagnosis, let alone do it to me when I'm pregnant..... I could have had a stress induced miscarriage ffs...... and as it is I've had a really shite few days worrying about this!

Posted by katie at January 12, 2007 02:12 PM