[Ski]

#1072541

I can’t really help with the itchy skin, my apologies. Is the itch located in a specific part of your body?

As for diet soda, I have heard that connection suggested before ~ and, as a matter of fact, for nearly 5 years before my Graves’ diagnosis, I steadily drank more and more diet soda until it was nearly the only fluid I ingested. Once I was diagnosed and heard the "rumor," I quit. Of course, the horse was out of the barn by then, there’s no "un-getting" Graves’, and I can’t prove anything regarding diet soda anyway. I also had genetic connections to Graves’ and several other environmental triggers that could easily have produced Graves’ without any complications from the soda. Now that I’ve quit, I can’t even stomach it any more, it just seems like a giant glass of chemicals. And, ironically, the substances inside it actually cause cravings for sweets and other empty carbs, so the fact that it has one calorie helps NOT AT ALL.

[twhite]

#1072542

Ski, There is no specific area that will be itchy, it is often the back of my neck and back, like right now, but it can be almost anywhere on my body.

[mamabear]

#1072543

I have no medical degree so don’t quote me with anything I am about to say ok ” title=”Wink” />

Have you been tested for allergies?

Do you have eczema/psoriasis?

What kind of soap do you wash with?

Do you moisturize? I know I know men don’t but from what I have read about men and Graves’ is that itchy skin is a big part of it. ( I look at a lot of forums but of course this one is my home, and the little I hear about men and graves’ it still comes up that skin is a big part for them).

Do you dye your hair(just for men dye or anything like that), or do you use other treatments on your hair?

Do you take other medicines that might cause a reaction?

Click on

---

> Here For some tips on skin.
Drink plenty of water and stay away from caffiene in any form.

I have to go for now but will be back shortly after dinner to post more.

[SharieS]

#1072544

I also have this problem with itchy skin. At first I thought it was due to the cold winter and dry skin, then I was diagnosed with GD (March 13th) and was thinking it was due to my medication. I don’t take any medication for it, and I don’t have a rash. The itchiness can occur almost anywhere and will go away only to re-occur in different spots! It doesn’t cause me a lot of distress, it is more annoying than anything else.
Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone! If you find out a definitive cause, please let us know.

[twhite]

#1072545

Hi Mamabear,
Thanks for your input! I have allergies to grass, weeds, etc. and was treated for it long ago and hasn’t been bad lately, but that was with my sinuses, there is no rash what so ever on my body, my skin may get red if I scratch it alot, but other than that no rash or eczema, I have tried different soaps and now am using ivory for my skin and a moisturizing head and shoulders for my hair and I try not to let the shampoo get all over my body when i rinse, I do mosturize, but mainly when I feel itchy, and sometimes after a shower, I know I should do it more……no hair color or treatments, I don’t need it yet I haven’t been on any medication regularly, until now, except benadryl, I will be drinking more water, and don’t intake much caffiene, I love diet dr pepper and I am going to miss that ” title=”Sad” /> and am trying to remove that completely from my diet. I also have been considering giving up aspertame too??

[Ski]

#1072546

I just took a look at a generic list of hyperthyroid symptoms, and there was an offhand comment to "skin that may be hot, red, and sometimes itchy," so that may be where this originates. It’s hard to know, since not all people get the same symptoms from being hyperthyroid. Leave it to us to be each unique, one to another, even as to symptoms. ” title=”Very Happy” /> Let us know if it gets better as your thyroid hormone levels improve.

[mamabear]

#1072547

Hello again.
Unless you were treated with injections to gradually build up a resistance for your allergies you might still have them, or no longer have the same ones or have new ones to boot. I would retest if it has been more than 2 or more years of your last testing.

Allergies can come in many different forms. My daughter who is 4 going to be 5 this summer has eczema and we thought it was due to allergies. She was tested twice and she has none at all. I was shocked and mad because well I can fix eczema due to allergies.
My daughter’s eczema gets flared up due to contact dermatitis to things like detergents. I thought using a "baby detergent" would be great for her since it is supposed to be gently. Yeah NOT! Then my mother in law thought that using a "gentle" detergent on her would be better. Oh heck NO! So finally I decided to use Free and Clear. Any brand will due, i have used the expensive ones(Tide) and the cheap ones too (ALL) and they do the same and what is great is that they don’t bother her skin and mine(I have eczema too, i’ll get into that in a minute). Someone even makes a Free & Clear dryer sheet and I use that as well. I miss the great smell of detergents and fabric softeners but our bodies are worth it. I don’t even let someone use the washer with anything but what I use because that just gets into her clothes.( i have my own washer/dryer but I do use the wash and fold sometimes and they use the same as I do).

Just some notes for you on what we tried;

We were using Dove on her but that didn’t help her.

I started to Head and Shoulders as well and realized that using it on the parts that are flared up worked great for her eczema.(it depends on the day and if she is in a flare or not).

After she is out of the shower, pat dry and immediate cream on her entire body. Moisturizing is key even if you dont have any patches or redness.

As for me well I have allergies just like you do(outdoor and indoor) and unless i get hit with pollen and wind up with an attack , i usually only get contact dermatitis from it. It’s so weird.
I can be near the dogs and never have a problem at all but once they touch my skin I am done for. The skin reacts so fast.
Grass touches me and my legs are all hived up. Again I use the same stuff like Free and clear to make sure we dont have any issues with contact dermatitis.

Funny thing is, I am allergic to Ivory ROFL, I swear it I am. LOL
I have used dove and am currently using Dial soap because it’s antibacterial (long story) and I love the stuff although I wish it was so purfumy. But again teh key is to get out of the shower and pat dry and get a good cream all over the body. I use Cereve (lightly) because it works well and doesn’t have a strong smell to it. I notice that many products when I am red/inflamed burn so have a care if you do wind up breaking skin.(use vasaline petroleum jelly when/if that happens).

Good habit to start is (shower,rinse well,pat dry DONT wipe down hard, then moisturize asap).

[twhite]

#1019567

I am a 43 year old male and I just found this web site today. I was diagnosed with Graves disease about 3-4 weeks ago and went to the specialist last week he put me on methimazole 10 mg 3 x per day and increased the metoprolol my PCP gave me from 25 mg once a day to 3 x per day. The reason I first went to the doctor was I had itchy skin but no rash. I have been taking benidril 3-4 times a day to cope with the itchyness, this has been going on for almost a year. The Dr. also told me to take the benadryl only at night and he gave me clarinex to take in the mornings, it seems to be working ok, but not as good as the benadryl …I also feel a bit out of sorts….absent minded i guess, along with some of the other common symtoms like a pounding heart and the feeling of being super caffinated. I have also been getting short headaches, I went to the eye dr. and all is well right now. I have been getting dizzy on occasion too. I was challeged last April to loose wieght. I dropped about 40 – 50 lbs. now recognizing that the GD may have been, at least, part of the cause of the wieght loss which is a bit discouraging! Also that is when I started drinking diet soda and I have read the some people think aspertame may be a cause to GD, although no dr.’s I have talked to agree. Any input, especially on the itchy skin would be greatly appreciated!
Tim

[LaurelM]

#1072548

My 4 year old daughter also has significant trouble with eczema. Be sure that you do not use too hot of water when showering as this is also drying to the skin. Alas, I love a nice hot shower.

I know this may sound a little strange but our Dr recommended using vegetable shortening or olive oil instead of petroleum jelly as moisturizer. Since we have to slather so much on her daily (nearly every square inch of her skin), it is nice to use a more natural product rather than a mineral oil base. We notice significant flare ups during winter (when we are inside with the heat on or other low humidity conditions) or when she has a cold (darn those overactive immune systems). We are just about to consider pursuing elimination diets to determine if a food allergy is contributing to the problem. Skin issues are a common manifestation of food allergies. My other daughter had a dairy allergy as infant but has since outgrown it (she had different symptoms like intestinal bleeding at 3 months old). My cousin’s 3 year old has a dairy allergy as well. His only symptom is itchy skin that then flares into eczema if he has had enough exposure. Wheat/gluten, soy, egg, & nuts are some of the other usual suspects.

We also only use dye & perfume free laundry products. I only wash her hair when I have to and only at the end of the bath so that she is not sitting in any soap. I use a diluted dandruff shampoo (Selsen Blue or Nizoral) and rinse it off as quickly as possible.

This may not be the problem at all but it is something else to consider.

[belldandy112]

#1072549

I never had itchy skin with GD, but I used to have horrendous hives (due to allergies). My doc recommended Aveeno oatmeal bath. It did help a lot — in fact, the whole oatmeal product line is quite nice. One caveat about the oatmeal bath — other than making the tub disgusting — is that this stuff is very slick, and one has to be careful getting in and out of the tub. (This also helped my dry skin when I lived in Alaska, where I got really itchy-dry.)

Melissa
Austin, TX

[mamabear]

#1072550

just to let everyone know, The best thing we have seen help with hives is the Johnson & Johnson Band Aid brand itch gel.
Wow it works great

[muted]

#1072551

My itching get so horrible that i cant sleep! i discovered spraying "stingose" (the stuff you spray on mosquito bites) makes the itching stop! of course, once you shower the itching comes back. I didnt know it was a symptom until my endo commented on it. Try the stingose, see how it goes for you…..only way i can get a good nights sleep now ” title=”Smile” />

[mamabear]

#1072552

belldandy, have you tried the Johnson & Johnson Band Aid brand Anti itch gel? It’s great on hives, works fast and works on mosquito bites as well. Awesome stuff for a quick fix. Do you take allergy meds as well, that will help with your allergies, even if it’s just over the counter zyrtec(i use the generic).

[belldandy112]

#1072553

mamabear,

I have a veriatable festival of allergy treatments in my medicine cabinet, LOL! I was taking Claritin sublingual tabs even before they were OTC, so I stuck with those. Optivar for eye itching. A nasal inhaler — I’m still sorting through my samples to find the one that works best.

I haven’t tried the Johnson & Johnson brand anti-itch cream — I didn’t even know that it was made! I get a cluster of hives on my torso once a month or so, and I’m sure that I stratch them in my sleep. Right now, I have three festering on my right lower ribcage. I’ll give that a try and see how it works. I’ve used topical steroid cream (RX), and honestly, I wasn’t too impressed with it.

[twhite]

#1072554

I was treated for my allergies with shots to build up my resistance, and I never had a reaction on my skin when exposed to an allergen, it was always a sinus problem. One thing I did leave out was that super bowl Sunday, Feb. 08, I was in a hot tub that seemed super chlorinated and I got itchy as my skin dried. I really don’t remember it bothering me daily after that until I went into a friends swimming pool in late spring/early summer and within 5 minutes got REALLY itchy. This happened again when I went into a pool so I thought I was allergic to chlorine. I figured it bothered me all the time, although not as bad as it did in the pool, since my city water had some chlorine in it. But I moved and now have well water and there is no difference. That Sunday in the hot tub seemed to be the trigger to my itchy skin??
My PCP also put me on two different antibiotics initially, while waiting for the blood tests, thinking it might be caused from some thing (can’t remember what it is called?) that the antibiotic would treat, no change.
I just bought some fragrance free soap for the clothes washer and will try that, but call me a pessimist I don’t think that will make a difference either.
The itching is under control most of the time with the benadryl. But when I forget to take it or get caught away from home for a long time without it, my itchy skin can drive me crazy! I will try pat dry vs. rubbing. I really appreciate all the input!
Tim

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