Bonnie- google the Miami Itch Clinic - Dr. Gil Yosipovitch, MD. He is the itch guru- many docs are NOT up on this itching issue. I find myself having to educate them! Also google Dr. Yosipovitch on you tube this past November, 2018. He explains a lot!!! Currently however the best most MD’s do is prescribed a CNS med- you can try other ones besides gabapentin, like amitriptyline or others; and some dermatologists like Dr. Yosipovitch are well versed in compounded creams, that do work well for many.
The PIT injections may take time, so you need something to hold you over. Also you would need to find a skilled functional medicine doc trained in this treatment. I prefer a functional medicine MD but they are hard to find unless you are close to a larger city. There may be some very good DO’s or ND’s that have a successful track record with this.
Itching your arms is pointless. There isn’t anything external.....if it is a neurogenic itch, it is deep, and the scratching only makes it worse. Ice is also a good temporary measure. You can get those pea ice packs at cvs.
Also don’t be disappointed if you find nothing from the neurologist or neurosurgeon. That happened to me. I had spinal xrays and a spinal MRI. It showed some foraminal narrowing but I gave no joint pain and they only treat with medicines and surgery if you have joint pain. Finding nerve entrapment requires a neural MRI and that is a new technology. But my functional MD knows how to look for that by just applying pressure to specific nerves. He if the one giving me the PIT injections. I have only had one treatment and still need the compounded cream. I think I am getting gradual results but it is too early to tell for me.
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@bobbiellen Nerve entrapment can happen in the body because of tight muscles or fascia, and a physical therapist who does myofascial release work can find those and release them. There are some common places where nerves pass through small canals inbetween muscles, bones or joints. It's not the same thing as massage, but it is like a push when you knead bread dough and just hold the push against the body. That creates a shearing action which stretches the fascia, and you just hold it and wait until the fascia remodels and releases itself. The fascia is changing from a semi-solid to a liquid state to do this, and this is how yoga works when you hold a pose for a long time. Internal scar tissue can cause lots of problems like this, and can be treated with MFR therapy. I've done a lot of this with my physical therapist for thoracic outlet syndrome which is a nerve entrapment between the collar bone and rib cage. Some surgeons recommend this therapy, and others don't understand it, and sometimes surgery can be avoided altogether with MFR. See myofascialrelease.com for information.