comtnman740

Hey guys,
The last couple of days have been really tough. My girlfriend and I are really having a difficult time. Long story short i've had this condition where i've been itching in my bed and on our furniture for months on end..we're talking March. I've been itching mostly at night with the exception of July (on vacation). It's really been wearing on our relationship and i've been trying to garner all of the sobriety tools i have to remain sober. It's hard! I know i can't control what someone does or says but it really hurts the way my girlfriend is acting.
I hung out with a homeless friend this past March and i believe i got some kind of micro bug (mite) that has been causing me to itch. Shortly before then i moved into my girlfriends place and we have tried to eliminate the problem. We sprayed a couple of times, did a fogger and cleaned her place top to bottom. She now thinks i have a medical condition. We seen an allergist and have gotten no help. The allergist said to take 180mg of Allegra. That's the highest dosage! I don't feel comfortable going from 0mg to 180mg.
Bottom line i'm not sure what to do? I'm feeling really helpless. Could use some advice. Thanks!

Ghostlight1

Sounds like you're doing everything you can to end the itching problem.
Don't have any advice, just wanted to offer support.
I hope the itching goes away soon.
And remember, it's nothing a drink will make better.

DriGuy

I think the itching thing comes with age. I've heard other older people talk about it, and I started experiencing it over 10 years ago. First I thought it was my cats. Then I sold my house to live on a boat for three years, and I completely forgot about itching. While living on the boat, I flew back to Montana during the winter one time to visit friends who I stayed with, and I started experiencing itching again. Something to do with humidity? Well, that's part of it, there's nothing more humid than living on a boat in a marine environment.

Now I'm back on land living in a house in Virginia, and the itching is back worse than before. I alleviated part of it with a humidifier, the big kind that are supposed to be whole house humidifiers. Winter is the worst, because the cold air can't hold as much humidity. I still had to use cortisone cream, and it's progressive. I now have three whole house humidifiers going in different rooms, and that's got the problem down to tolerable levels, but I still use cortisone. But the humidifiers are the biggest help.

Doctors don't seem to worry about itching. You tell them about it, and they kind of look like they're thinking, "Itching? Call me when you have cancer, or something serious." I'm surprised your doctor even recommended something, which I'm going to try now that you've told me about it.

A few years ago, I was listening to an interview on NPR with some doctor that wrote a book about itching. He even mentioned that most doctors don't take it seriously, but you know and I know, it can drive us to distraction. It's a problem. Thanks for the heads up about mega doses of Allegra.

And put a whole house humidifier in the room where you spend most of your time. They are noisy, but I'll put up with a lot if it helps the problem. From my experience, three are better than one, but just try one first. I keep the humidity over 60%. The wicks get clogged in a few months. When I replace a wick, the humidity will rise 10% in a few minutes.

Good luck, and I hope this thing doesn't destroy your relationship.

DriGuy

One more thing. If you burn wood to heat your house, it sucks all the air up the chimney, and then the house sucks air from outside which doesn't have much moisture when it's cold. I don't burn wood anymore, except during a power outage, and the humidity drops like a rock when I do that.

Anna

Maybe it would be worth going back to the allergist to tell him you don't want to take the medication. Or maybe he could give you more information about the medication. If not, it might be an idea to get a second opinion from a different doctor. I hope you find some relief.

DontRemember

Personaly, I'd take the allegra to see if it worked and use lotion like crazy. Worst case with the lotion, is I'd have the softest itchy skin around.

Edit: if your GF isn't itchy and you live together , it'd be obvious that is a condition within your body. Why the fear of taking allergy medication as prescribed?

comtnman740

Thanks for all of the great input! As with my recovery this is a day to day approach and i have to remind myself that i can't control other peoples actions and words. I'm trying to remain positive and have joined another support group for this condition. There are alot of people out there suffering from the same thing. One of them recently wrote me and warned that taking that dosage of Allegra made her very ill. I have some reservations because of that. One thing that i forgot to mention is that i had the same situation last year at my place after hanging out with this same homeless guy. Is that a coincidence? I sprayed my entire place with Ortho bug be gone and got rid of the problem. This year i really haven't had that option because my girlfriend is deathly afraid of sprays. I understand that. I hope to find an alternative but i don't know. I'm very frustrated with the whole situation but am not going to drink. Today is Day 668! I hope everyone has a great sober day!
Garrison

ardy

mmm thoughts on this..

do this try a Johnson and Johnson Baby oil.. on your skin all over.. and on her... put just a drop in a small pan on your floor under the bed with water and the babyoil on top.. give it a couple of days. do the baby oil every night..
if you have something in the pan on the top of the oil take a plastic wrap sheet streach it tight over the pan and take it to Doc to look at under micro... maybe just maybe. it will have some answers.. my Grand out at the farm did this a couple of times to find out if she had bugs in the house..
maybe just maybe. you never know..

say what about your ears inside do you have iching in your ears????
my hubby Eddie lee had a set of bits in a circle looked like a bad vamp hit him hard.. no kidding I took photos we went to the Doc they had no idea. have been wiping his neck to chest down with an anti bi for days. helping a bit.. just ekekekekeke good luck

Kid50

DontRemember

I tried diatomaceous earth at one of my rentals a few years ago because the tenants didn't want chemicals...Worked for a while,but the renters continued bringing whatever 'it' was in themselves(ended up being bed bugs). So, once they left I hired an exterminator and haven't had a problem since.

trailmix

Have you seen a dermatologist? It might be time to give that a try. You are probably on to something with a mite of some kind (considering your symptoms went away when you were on holiday) but a good dermatologist might be able to help.

Was the climate different where you went for your holiday (ie: more humid)?

Dee74

I don't have any advice on the itching other than to echo annas advice to seek a second opinion - hope you find out what the problem is comtnman

D

comtnman740

Thanks again guys! We went up to the ID, MT and Canada for a month and felt no symptoms whats ever. That is what's so mind boggling. If it was something internal i would think that i would have it there too. My health insurance kicks in at Jan 1 so i plan on going to see a dermatologist.
This has been so trying on my girlfriend and I. I'm now staying somewhere else because i was getting no sleep at her place. We had a big fight about it last night and now she's gone into distant mode. I definately feel some fear creeping in. : ( I'm trying to remain positive but it's hard.

DontRemember

Do you have like 'bite marks' on you? With my rental, I found out from the neighbors,my tenants would pull things(furniture,bedding,ect..) out of the huge community garbage cans and take 'home' items. unknowingly bringing the 'things' in and then complaining to me about it..it was a pain in the ass to get rid of all parties concerned!

Edit: I even crashed out there one night after they were out and had small red bite marks on my back from the 'bugs' biting me..I itched like crazy!

DriGuy

I bought some Allegra 180mg, as you had mentioned that earlier, but were worried about taking it. It was over the counter, and 180mg was all that was on the shelf, so it's not what I would call a mega-dose. I tried it last night for the first time during and especially bad bout of itching, and I also took a hot shower. I made it through the night with little difficulty and have had very little itching this morning, almost like it's gone.

I'm not jumping to any conclusions just yet, a one time experience is not something I'm going to weigh heavily. Allegra is for hay fever and those sorts of symptoms are a far cry from itching. Yet, allergies are allergies, so there may be a connection.

The pills are about a dollar each and treatment calls for one pill a day. I looked them up from a Canadian supplier where I buy other meds, and 100 180mg tablets are less that 60 cents each. But this requires planning ahead, because of hold ups overseas, and customs inspections. Receiving an order takes about a month.

I don't know about taking them every day, but if this morning's response continues, I'll ask my doctor about taking them daily.