Mine started on my scalp. Now it’s spread to my ears, my neck, my upper back and my right upper arm. Now I have scabs and bloody open sores on my back and my scalp is so sore when it isn’t itching.

After many visits and even biopsies from two different dermatologists. Nothing worked. Liquid cortisone gave me about an hour’s relief, but other than that, nothing helps.

I have several spinal stenosis, mostly cervical and the worst of which is severe at C5/C6. I’ve been convinced since soon after this whole thing started that the compression on the nerves due to stenosis were responsible. I was right.

Yesterday I found a professional paper verifying what I found. I have a new and so far wonderful PCP. I sent him the article not really expecting a busy internist to read it, let alone nearly immediately, but he did.

And he agreed and offered to prescribe Gabapentin. I told him to hold off because I have an appointment with a neurologist at the end of the month.

It’s taken a year of crazy-making miserable itching to figure this out, but now I know that I’m on the right track.

I’m not sure if I can do it, but if you want to read the academic paper I’ll try to link it here.