Itchy shins and diabetes or thyroid

Posted by LMH963 @LMH963, Jun 14, 2020

I experience on occasion very itchy shins. It happens maybe every few months. It’s mostly noticeable at night when going to sleep. I first though that it was dry skin but lotion doesn’t seem to help. The last couple of times, I tried Benadryl cream which seems to help enough to get to sleep. I’ve seen some information that diabetes can be a cause. My A1C numbers are good. Have not talked to my doctor yet since it happens so seldom but having an episode now so wanted to reach out to see if others have experience this. Thanks.

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What a crazy symptom, to just have itchy shins. But it is a thing. See these articles.
- Itchy Shins https://www.healthline.com/health/itchy-shins
- Itchy Shins at Night? Thyroid Health May Be an Issue https://www.hampsteaddoctor.com/itchy-shins-at-night-thyroid-health-may-be-an-issue

@LMH963, have you been diagnosed with prediabetes or with a thyroid condition?

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@colleenyoung

What a crazy symptom, to just have itchy shins. But it is a thing. See these articles.
- Itchy Shins https://www.healthline.com/health/itchy-shins
- Itchy Shins at Night? Thyroid Health May Be an Issue https://www.hampsteaddoctor.com/itchy-shins-at-night-thyroid-health-may-be-an-issue

@LMH963, have you been diagnosed with prediabetes or with a thyroid condition?

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Thanks for the articles and I seen some of these before. I have diabetes but never been told if I had thyroid issues.

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@colleenyoung

What a crazy symptom, to just have itchy shins. But it is a thing. See these articles.
- Itchy Shins https://www.healthline.com/health/itchy-shins
- Itchy Shins at Night? Thyroid Health May Be an Issue https://www.hampsteaddoctor.com/itchy-shins-at-night-thyroid-health-may-be-an-issue

@LMH963, have you been diagnosed with prediabetes or with a thyroid condition?

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Have you been tested for diabetic neuropathy?

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@dckuke

Have you been tested for diabetic neuropathy?

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No, I don’t think so.

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@colleenyoung

What a crazy symptom, to just have itchy shins. But it is a thing. See these articles.
- Itchy Shins https://www.healthline.com/health/itchy-shins
- Itchy Shins at Night? Thyroid Health May Be an Issue https://www.hampsteaddoctor.com/itchy-shins-at-night-thyroid-health-may-be-an-issue

@LMH963, have you been diagnosed with prediabetes or with a thyroid condition?

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I have always had dry skin and spells of eczema in my long life. My arms are so dry that I lather on the moisture cream every day. Some products make me itch as I have been allergic to many items, especially when I baked pie crusts with lard. My husband had terrible dry skin due to his untreated diabetes, I believe, but he refused to treat anything until he was dying in the hospital. I have long thought that my low thyroid which I had for years before getting cancerous nodules and having it removed, was the cause of many of my problems, especially the lack of energy and low ability to function. My mitochondria don't seem to do the work they should getting energy to my cells where it should be stored. I studied physiology just enough to ask a lot of questions, but can't really find the answers. I know that the body dries out, the spine shrinks, and you have a problem walking well. Try to find a doctor who knows something about thyroid.
Don't eat rhubarb, don't eat very much cooked spinach and exercise to keep the bones from weakening. The calcium level in the blood needs to be kept at a narrow, correct level for good bone health. I saw my Mother-In-law's bone ex-rays when she was 66 and broke her ankle and the bones were full of holes even though she worked hard all her life. She didn't like dairy products. Dorisena

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@dorisena Just a little info about try skin on arms and legs and itch. You probably do not have what I do, but you need info anyway. I have all this, plus a whole lot more. There are wide bands of purple-black skin on each lower leg, and tiny one-half BB size bumps on each lower arm, and on my tongue and on the rims around my ears. You can feel the bumps if you gently run your hands over my arms and legs. Gelsolin style Amyloidosis, with Fukuyama Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and probably some others, including MRSA and necrotizing fasciitis. In other words, just be sure to keep looking, and know you are your own best lab technician.. OldKarl

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@oldkarl

@dorisena Just a little info about try skin on arms and legs and itch. You probably do not have what I do, but you need info anyway. I have all this, plus a whole lot more. There are wide bands of purple-black skin on each lower leg, and tiny one-half BB size bumps on each lower arm, and on my tongue and on the rims around my ears. You can feel the bumps if you gently run your hands over my arms and legs. Gelsolin style Amyloidosis, with Fukuyama Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and probably some others, including MRSA and necrotizing fasciitis. In other words, just be sure to keep looking, and know you are your own best lab technician.. OldKarl

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The good news is that I am not having any real problems with dry skin right now, but still study about excema to look for a cause which the scientists have not discovered yet. In my family there seemed to be genetics producing rashes in the youngsters who have pretty well grown out of their problems. I concentrate on my balanced diet and try to get some hard work in almost every day now. I just try to give a couple of histories of my experiences for thought and study. My body is staying out of trouble at the present time. Dorisena

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As one of the articles indicated, I tried spraying cold water on my shins when this happen and it actually worked. It allowed me to fall asleep. Lotion didn’t seem to help at all.

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