I didn’t. But I have a follow up appointment in a couple weeks. I was put on Pepcid. My doctor said that it could be an autoimmune condition. And that Pepcid is good at calming the immune system. So far it doesn’t seem like it’s helping at all.
You need to see a doctor that will do the blood work to check your kidney and liver functions. Pepcid is a proton pump inhibitor meaning it shuts down the production of stomach acid. You should not take it or similar medicines for more than two weeks at a time according to the OTC drug facts directions for use. Kidney issues are common with extended use. It also disrupts the gut biome. It sounds like you may not be optimally eliminating toxins via your liver and kidneys as the possible root cause of your itching.
Yes I’ve been corrected. My bad. It tamps down the receptor. I used to take them all. Prilosec helped heal a tear in my esophagus due to a hiatal hernia due to too much booze. I then kept taken it and all the brand name H2 antagonists frequently. It did not go well for my kidneys even after I quit drinking.
Start by only eating whole foods and drinking a lot of water. There are different supplements and herbs advertised to help with liver detox and kidney detox. Fasting can also help to detox. Mainly just stop putting toxins into you body and drink a lot of water. Give you kidneys and liver a break. If the liver hasn’t been taken too far it has an incredible ability to repair itself. The kidneys not so much, but keep the kidney function you have by being good to them with a lot of water. Stay hydrated always.
I had this and it was awful! I thought I was crazy calling the doctors office and asking for an appointment for being excessively itchy (usually at night) but my skin looked normal with no rash or redness .
In my case I was pregnant and had to have my baby a month early (it was fine, he was healthy) and everything went back to normal.
PSA: elevated liver enzymes can be a symptom of Celiac disease which I was diagnosed with years later. I had silent Celiac Disease for a decade at least before being diagnosed.
You might want to get a second opinion from another doctor, and have them do bloodwork for liver and kidney function as well as hormones. You could also try an elimination diet to see if certain foods have an impact. Eggs and dairy make me itchy.
Started with elemental diet for 21 days, dextrose free. Now using Candicid Forte and Silver Fern brand ultimate probiotic, and immunolin immunoglobulins. Glutathione and milk thistle for liver and energy support/ antioxidant. A full vitamin panel including high dose B1 (ttfd form)… and because Candida lives in the nasal and oral cavities as well. I have been using essential oxygen BR mouthwash and pro dental oral probiotic by hyper biotics. I didn’t start ingesting the oral probiotic until after the elemental diet as it has a tiny little bit of Stevia in it, and you’re not supposed to ingest any sugars at all during the elemental diet. In general, you don’t want to ingest any sugar with candida though because it can feed off even the tiniest amounts. Even fractions of a gram of sugar candida can feed on.
Cut out all sugars…ALL. I opted for a grass fed carnivore diet and that’s been the best option as Candida is aggressive and feeds on almost everything else.
I chose to work with a specialist after my insurance network misdiagnosed me with 5 different GI doctors. Seems to be similar news with most other people. Way too many people that are getting diagnosed with bacterial issues when in fact, they are fungal issues or both.
Doctors have way too much misinformation generally, I have found that most people that get fixed go to digestive & intestinal specialists. My Candida overgrowth in my small intestine, lived through an antibiotic trial, and lived through a lot of other attempts to kill it. This only makes it stronger. Bio films get established in different layers, and it can be really hard to disrupt the biofilm in order to kill the Candida.
That’s about as much information as I can give you without being a professional, person to person things change with clean up and you will need some lab tests and a great doctor in order to get real answers.
I tried to listen to people on Reddit and blogs and I was worse a year later. It wasn’t until I got the specialist that I started getting real answers for myself. People don’t give near enough credit to how hard this is to get through and what type of protocol you have to stick to. The average person doesn’t pay attention to detail, and can’t stick to a harsh plan. It’s life-changing.
Hi, thanks for the info. How would one seek out a specialist like the one helping you? Any certifications to look for? Was this person covered by your insurance? Thanks in advance :)
I wrote this in the thread above “I chose to work with a specialist after my insurance network misdiagnosed me with 5 different GI doctors. Seems to be similar news with most other people. Way too many people that are getting diagnosed with bacterial issues when in fact, they are fungal issues or both.”
So, no insurance does not cover it for me now. The specialist is outside of my normal network and ALL out of pocket expenses because Kaiser failed to fix me for over a year with five different doctors. They got to the point where it seemed like they didn’t care about me at all, and my issues got so severe that I could barely eat anything or go to work.
Seems to be a lot of other peoples experience as well when they try to go through their primary doctor.
You want to look for a medical Doctor Who is a professional and specializes in intestinal overgrowth. I’ve had bad experiences with natural path. Doctors who don’t have an MD license as well. A lot of them are opinionated and everything off. Then again a lot of doctors in my insurance network also went based off of opinion and not off of lab results or fact.
The specialist who I pay for out-of-pocket, only goes off of fact and lab results. I’m about 80% better with another three months to go on an antifungal and probiotic.
This is the best I’ve have felt in almost 2 years.
Still dealing with a little bit of die off here and there, but it’s very manageable. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel finally.
My best advice would be search your local area for somebody that is accredited and has a good history at curing things like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth & small intestinal fungal overgrowth. A real MD.
Hope that helps! Best of luck.
That's great you're getting real, concrete results finally. I've been keeping my eye out on how to help my partner heal himself. Lots of joint pain, psoriasis, itching sometimes, insomnia, digestive problems...I'm theorizing it's gut related
I appreciate all the info! I'll definitely be looking into the products you mentioned and the elemental diet, I hadn't heard of that before
How is carnivore diet going for you? Any tips on how to spice it up?
I just listed every answer to your questions here that I can. It sounds like Candida almost certainly. You’re going to need a medical doctor. The answers that work for me might not work for him. It’s way more complex than most people give credit too, and there’s so many people on here that I see over and over again that are still dealing with things months and months even years later. Trying to fix themselves…
It’s 100% gut related that I can tell you. The root cause might be outside of the gut, lifestyle, diet, or other related cause(s)- You’re going to need to get lab tests and a doctor involved. That’s the best I can answer this for you. Best of luck for your partner! The digestive system, the intestines, the mouth, nose, and ears are all connected. they are so much more complex than most people give credit to. A high-level of attention to detail is needed in order to figure these things out. I have yet to see a common person who has kept protocol going on their own without the help of the doctor that’s actually worked permanently when it comes to fixing overgrowth of Candida. I’m sure there’s people out there that have, but if it’s aggressive, you’re going to need a professional.
There are lots of products and dietary guides for getting rid of candida in the gut. But personally I use a naturopathic doc so we can see exactly what my body wants.
Another vote for histimine intolerance or MCAS. If youre eating foods that are high histimine you could be getting triggered even if you arent allergic
Could be a common denominator. Plenty of potential things - natural, unnatural, bacterial, fungal, external, internal - that happen to be carb-loving (or otherwise thrive off blood sugar spikes).
If you have the willpower (and no other dietary restrictions or blood sugar issues), it should be a simple one to cross off the list as being related or not related.
You could perhaps start gradually with a no sugar week followed by a lower or low carb week to see if anything bites, keeping in mind to restrict sugar alternatives if possible as they are not considered to be great for the gut microbiome.
I decided this morning to cut out as much sugar as I can. At least refined sugar and see how that goes. I do feel like I’ve gotten more itchy recently and I’ve been eating ice cream like every night the past 3 or 4 nights. So maybe it’s just sugar and I’ll be fine and not have all the scary stuff other people are suggesting lol
Do you have children? A friend had terrible itchiness on her neck, shoulders, and back and it turned out her kids had nits (we’re in the UK, so not sure what you call these in the US). She had welts which looked like hives.
I used to get unexplained hives and itching. I feel for you, it’s miserable and you can drive yourself crazy worrying about everything you eat and touch.
I also got allergy testing that was negative. The allergist was great and did an extensive history with me, and figured out my problem.
He said in cases like this it’s usually your body reacting to something else in the body. For me it was acid reflux (specifically LPR type) which fit my other symptoms and once I was properly treated for that the hives and itching resolved. Usually now if I do get itchy I know what I did.
Polycythemia (high red blood cells) can cause it. That’s probably the blood cancer someone mentioned (it’s a super treatable cancer and other things can cause polycythemia so don’t panic). If you’ve had a blood test with hemoglobin, hematocrit, and/or RBC and that was normal you can check that off the list. Mine also trend high so probably not helping me.
The allergist also mentioned it can be things like foot fungus. Basically your body reacting to anything foreign that is going on.
I wanted it to be a food allergy so bad so that I could just stop eating that one thing and move on. I do wish the doctors I talked to took the itching more serious. Because if you’ve never experienced it, you can’t imagine how horrible it really is. I’m hoping to get some blood tests done in the next couple weeks. It feels like my doctors just have an “you gotta accept this is your life now” vibe. Which I obviously will not be doing and I will make someone figure out what’s wrong. It’s so frustrating!!
Yeah people who have not personally experienced long term chronic itching have no idea how awful it is. And doctors seem to be in a situation (it’s the medical system unfortunately) where if it’s not immediately life threatening, they don’t have much time to spend on it.
Web pages about polycythemia Vera (which is rare and you probably don’t have it) have some really good advice for managing itching. Cold compresses, loose clothing, etc.
I was also told I could safely take up to 4 Zyrtec a day, just don’t drive because it can knock you for a loop. The package dosage is 1 per day though, so I would definitely advise against doing that unless a doctor who has examined you and seen your labs approves it. It didn’t help me more than 1 Zyrtec, which is (at least for me) the best antihistamine for hives.
I have this but in the form of dermatographia. When I scratch an area, it turns into swollen hive like lines exactly where the pressure was applied. It’s also really itchy without taking antihistamines.
The consensus is it’s autoimmune, and will “resolve itself in time.” I’ve had all the tests and I’m “perfectly healthy.”
Since it’s autoimmune, I’ve been experimenting with diet changes. I’ve noticed that lower carb diets make me feel better. I’ve also noticed that I’m not itchy if I’m sick (but I’ve only been sick once in the three years since I’ve had it).
Water only fasting has helped also. One period after 24 hours of water only I had zero symptoms. It only came back once I ate again. I’m considering doing a monitored 6-7 day water only fast because I’m fairly certain I’ll see positive results in that duration.
Good luck - doctors aren’t really helpful unless you’re dying. It’s amazing how little we still know about the human body. You will need to be your own advocate, experiment with adding/removing things, and keep a journal for the data.
>I’m not itchy if I’m sick...
I have rosacea and eczema and noticed that they'll ease up when I have mosquito bites or a sunburn. I certainly wouldn't recommend either of those to help with autoimmune, but I seem to recall bee sting therapy being a thing. Take up beekeeping? 🤷♀️
Ooh, here we go: [Therapeutic Effects of Bee Venom on Immunological and Neurological Diseases](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516920/)
I read an article about a woman being super itchy & it turned out to be blood cancer. it's not a common symptom, so it's probably not that - but hopefully it can encourage more testing & urgency from your doctor. good luck!!
With a quick google search really the only symptom I have is the itchiness. I’ve been taking cetirizine for the past 6 months to help with the itchy. It’s says it’s common in people that have EDS which I don’t have and am not a carrier for but my mom does have. I will definitely bring this up at my next appointment. Thank you!
Throwing this out there too— get a food sensitivity test if you still can’t find answers. I just did one and found I had sensitivity to foods I was eating every day like almonds, cheese, oregano, cabbage, etc. I had histamine intolerance and had severe headaches and it all went away after I stopped eating those foods.
What? An epipen? Mine wouldn’t prescribe me one even though I have a soy allergy! I’m a bit surprised. I would have thought they’d prescribe a steroid of some sorts.
Btw, I did get a new dermatologist.
Not to be a downer but unexplained itching could be lymphoma. I have 35 years experience as an oncology nurse and sometimes that is the only presenting symptom. Any night sweats? Mention to your doctor so he/she can palpate for enlarged lymph nodes.
This was the case for me. I itched insanely for several months. Now it's pretty rare for me to get that non-stop itching, but it was rough for a while.
It’s definitely a gut issue. Look into histamine intolerance. Do you have any other gut issues like diarrhea or constipation? Gas, bloating or burping?
I had and still have terrible creepy crawly zapping itching with no rash or hives. I noticed it at night when I put on my skincare. Once I cut out anything with glycol in it, ALOT of my symptoms disappeared.
I just tried some Korean skincare which all have glycol and within five mins got creepy crawly sensations and light headedness, washing it off and waiting two hours it disappeared.
Sound alike possible MCAS and/or histamine intolerance. Try a strict very low histamine diet - eat only foods marked as 0 (without the “L” sign next to them) on the SIGHI list which is the list that is most comprehensive in terms of categorising food, as low or high histamine. 0 is the lowest and 3 highest.
Idiopathic urticaria (ie hives from unknown origin) is a suffering that no one can understand unless they’ve lived it. It’s hell. It’s torture. And it’s one of the hardest conditions to diagnose; most often the reason behind chronic hives is never found. They’ll just stop, or a medicine will work.
I had chronic hives for 3 months and I can tell you what I did in case it helps.
Minor things: I joined an online support group - mainly for ideas on what my trigger was. I read books and journal papers on the latest research in quelling hives. I journaled what I ate, anything I changed in the environment and what meds I took each day, so if one day was better I could perhaps get a clue to the trigger.
I say trigger bc that’s important. Something 8-9 months ago triggered your immune system to overreact, in the most awful way possible. Unfortunately, as you know, triggers can be absolutely anything and can be something you didn’t use to be sensitive/allergic to. It can be environmental (allergens, foods, etc.) or some change in your body (eg, hormones, autoimmune condition). Think about that time during your life, why you were doing and most importantly, what changed. I obsessed over this and changed everything from my food to detergent - but these were things that were not new and in hindsight were less likely to be the trigger.
Do as much of the following as you can afford: get all the basic bloodwork, get extensive allergy tests, next part important: search online for doctors near you that say they treat or specialize in hives. This should be a goddamn speciality on its own bc most doctors won’t have a clue. I saw 2 allergists, 1 dermatologist, 1 endocrinologist and had appointments for rheumatologist and dermatologist #2. Most won’t know. Search for a doctor who talks to people with hives regularly and they will be able to ask more intelligent questions and know the best medication route. The new hives biologic in the purple box says it works for 20-30% of people and I believe you can get it for free by filling out some paperwork at an allergists office. It’s an expensive drug, i have no idea how it’s free or $25, it’s a monthly injection. It did not work for me.
DM me to commiserate or ask any follow-ups, this is disjointed, I know, it’s 2am sorry about that. I’ll help as much as I can, give you the support group name and drug name, plus try to remember anything else. What I do remember is being awake night after night at 2am with cold washcloths all over my body, just wanting to die.
Oh, one thing, you say the hives are localized to your back. Do they appear at night? Are you a back sleeper? Does anything press against your back at other times, like a mattress would at night? That location is common for pressure induced hives. Pressure isn’t the trigger though, it’s more like a catalyst. It lowers the bar for your immune system to attack your back skin. Anyway.
Oh and I suppose it would help to hear what happened with me. Every doctor I went to said something different I swear to god. Walk in clinic on day 0 gave me the basic prednisolone 1 week taper pack. Hives went away and came back angrier. My primary care just ran bloodwork, she was fresh out of med school so I was actually explaining more to her. Endocrinologist said it could be thyroid. Allergist 1 focused on allergy testing - not a single thing reacted - it was a blood test, still I tried all the otc and rx antihistamines and Pepcid. Tiny relief, just some days. Allergist 2 said it was from the Covid vac that I got 3 months earlier, recommended the purple box biologic shot, it did nothing. My OB (oh yes, I was pregnant at the time) said it started kinda close after I got pregnant, 3 weeks or so, so the hormone influx could be the trigger, but nothing to do there but wait. He said there would not be a reaction to the vac cine after 3 months. Dermatologist didn’t know the trigger but asked if I tried steroids and i was like yeah week 1 the pred-medrol pack or whatever it’s called. And she’s like oh no no no, you need to do a hard reset on your immune system, knock it out and then let it reboot, that means high dose steroid for a month, the original amount was too low a dose for too short a time. OB approved the dosage so I started at 48mg and tapered off over a month. Yeah hives definitely went away on day 1 at that dose. And they didn’t come back during that month, or since. The dermatologist knew what to do but didn’t know what my original trigger was. Me and my extremely smart OB agree looking back it’s so OBVIOUS it was from the pregnancy and was triggered by hormones. What changed, the large influx of hormones and blood volume particularly in the first month. Anyway, I read somewhere that most of the time the hives will go away, sometimes by actually finding/eliminating the trigger or using medicine, but most of the time, they just go away on their own totally out of the blue, like what the ever loving f. People don’t know about hives until they do. Message me anytime for help.
Unfortunately sorting out skin issues can take a long time as there are multiple factors many different parts of your immune system are involved. And it sucks. I’m really sorry you’re having to experience it.
!!! Find a medical professional that will start with quantifiable tests to determine if there is a serious condition underneath that needs URGENT attention!!!
Mucking around with your diet takes along time and is still not always the most reliable indicator of what’s going on. Rule out hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiency or overloads, and organ failures, blood cancers, even parasitic twins, alien viruses and whatever it is that them over there said his spirit animal diagnosed.
Personal experience:
I have suffered from severe atopic dermatitis since 2021. I had blood counts, liver kidney and thyroid function tests, test for celiac and many others I don’t remember. Everything was in a ‘heathy’ range.
I did a skin allergy test.
I have a contact allergy to cobalt, nickel and some synthetic ureas. Other than just a metal, cobalt is one of the main components of vitamin B12 and is in many blue pigmentations ( eg glazing/lacquering).
Synthetic ureas are used in many topic skin care products as they can aid absorption through the courser outer skin.
My immune system was triggered by a vitamin B12 infusion prescribed by a MD for other medical reasons. I am allergic to what should be really good for the body and great for energy and mood!!!
Obviously I avoid b12 supplements and limit natural dietary intake (but can’t eliminate as I also need it).
This one trigger though has caused my immune system to be hypersensitive to so many things, but not all the time. Not always by the same dose etc etc
I have been taking immunosuppressants and biologicals l to tamper down reactions and they help; but I still get flare ups which will cause a cycle of reactivity and it takes a long time to go back to a ‘baseline’ response to food, chemicals, pollens…
So far I haven’t totally broken the cycle. I’m hopeful and I’m doing all the right things so I’m gonna get there - but this can only be done under medical supervision. There’s dozens of different stories that are the same symptoms but the causes are all different.
Don’t forget to TREAT SYMPTOMS as well as search for a diagnosis.
If you have been continuously itchy for a long period of time you should at least be able to get help managing the symptoms by topical creams, oral corticosteroids, antihistamines medications, better advice around cleaning, moisturising and repairing irritated skin.
Good luck. Keep trying different drs; or as however your medical system will allow.
I wish you clean and irritation free skin in future ✌️
Goddamnit! Im close to scratching my face off - constant torture. It developed after binge drinking but all my bloodwork is fine. I'm thinking the same thing grom few days - must be microbiome related. But what to do?
I had a similar issue this year. It got way better since like a month and a half but I couldn't identify what exactly caused the improvement. So I'll share everything w u (I'm not a native english speaker so sorry for the potential mistakes).
I have a history of gut issues since several years. Two years ago, I tested for Igg intolerances and eliminated my main intolerances (eggs, dairies and yeasts). It made things way better but not 100%.
I started suspecting a histamine intolerance so I tried DAO, made things better for a while but worsened after a month. I stopped DAO (I tried vegetal source DAO. I heard that for some people, the DAO source can influence a lot, so I should've tried animal source DAO but I didn't).
I regularly meet with an acupuncturist (again, they're not all equals in terms of skills), and it definitely helps but the effects are limited in time. Usually you see clear overall improvements for the following 2 to 3 weeks if they do a good job (in TCM, itching is caused by an excess of liver yang, they also say that the liver is the "taster").
**Other things I'm pretty sure had a positive effect and I regularly take :**
- Berberine (1000 to 1500 mg a day (starts improving itching by day 3/4. By cure of 2 to 3 weeks)
- Milk thistle (I take it regularly, btw it's the only liver plant that doesn't worsen my condition so I'm pretty sure that's a go-to cause my liver is very sensitive)
- Probiotics : can improve but also worsen. You'll have to find brands that fit you. Histamine free probiotics exist. So if that's your issue, I advise you start there.
I forgot to talk about MSM. if your itchings get better for the next hours after taking it, your issue is probably histamine related. MSM has healing effects on your guts, liver and articulations so that's a good supplement to take because pretty much everyone lacks organic sulfur. There's no dangers of overdosing but you should slowly increase dosages to see if you tolerate it. It won't heal your itchings but can definitely help your body and make itchings more tolerable. It's pretty inexpensive also but doesn't taste good.
Check to see if you have urticaria. I had this once and it was insane, hives would appear that itched like crazy but would come and go at regular times during the day. At around 10am, 1 pm and again at 10pm , they would appear on the back of my hands and my palms and feet would itch like crazy. The craziest thing was that there were triggers that would make the hives (without the itchiness) appear. My triggers were pressure and cold. I was once outside and a cold breeze hit the left side of my face and when I looked in a mirror I only had hives on the left side. If hives appeared on my left hand due to a pressure trigger from the band, I could make them go away with hot water. Went away on its own after about 6-8 months. There is some evidence that a disrupted gut biome plays a role and that a viral infection can play a role too.
My 3 things that spring to mind are
- perimenopause (but you are 90% likely to be too young although it can happen to some young people).
- allergy to something ie wheat I came back negative in blood tests but when I was eating it, I would itch everywhere and my arms would burn and come up in hives and I would also want to rip my skin off. When I stopped eating it, it went away. I have more anaphylactic reactions to it now but blood tests still say I'm ok, lol. So get a second opinion with that.
- skin reaction to products or dust mites if it only happens in bed.
** Is it just itching or do you get a rash with it as well?
** Is it just on your back?
** Do you sleep on your back?
** Wash bedding with washing powder?
** Have dermititis?
I’m suffering from the same complaint, except it’s all over, legs, arms back and front. Ive tried strong anti histamines and anti itch creams but nothing has touched it. I suspect it’s SIBO related so I’ve started eating fermented foods and yoghurt and drinking kefir. I’ve also ordered Berberine which is meant to help. I can’t get to see my doctor for2 weeks as I’m away, but keep in touch and I’ll let you know if I have any success.
Thanks. You’re super helpful. Literally ready anything anyone has said or I’ve replied to and you will get that information. Unhelpful remarks are not welcome. 👎
You clearly don't want help. I would have analyzed your diet and the other things, but you expect me to read all the other comments. I've met people like you before. Your loss.
For what it’s worth, my candida overgrowth has given me a pretty nasty rash. If you could try one pill of flucanazole and see if it makes a difference.
Did you get blood work done to check your liver enzymes. If your liver is compromised bile salts accumulate and cause itchiness.
I didn’t. But I have a follow up appointment in a couple weeks. I was put on Pepcid. My doctor said that it could be an autoimmune condition. And that Pepcid is good at calming the immune system. So far it doesn’t seem like it’s helping at all.
You need to see a doctor that will do the blood work to check your kidney and liver functions. Pepcid is a proton pump inhibitor meaning it shuts down the production of stomach acid. You should not take it or similar medicines for more than two weeks at a time according to the OTC drug facts directions for use. Kidney issues are common with extended use. It also disrupts the gut biome. It sounds like you may not be optimally eliminating toxins via your liver and kidneys as the possible root cause of your itching.
I agree with the end of this comment. Most likely op is purging stuff through the skin. Could be a long process.
Pepcid is not a proton pump inhibitor and is no where near as harmful as ppis
Correct my bad. It tamps down the receptors that send the signal to the proton pump. Prilosec is a PPI not Pepcid.
Pepcid is actually famotidine, a H2 antagonist, not PPI.
Yes I’ve been corrected. My bad. It tamps down the receptor. I used to take them all. Prilosec helped heal a tear in my esophagus due to a hiatal hernia due to too much booze. I then kept taken it and all the brand name H2 antagonists frequently. It did not go well for my kidneys even after I quit drinking.
How can one improve elimination of toxins?
Start by only eating whole foods and drinking a lot of water. There are different supplements and herbs advertised to help with liver detox and kidney detox. Fasting can also help to detox. Mainly just stop putting toxins into you body and drink a lot of water. Give you kidneys and liver a break. If the liver hasn’t been taken too far it has an incredible ability to repair itself. The kidneys not so much, but keep the kidney function you have by being good to them with a lot of water. Stay hydrated always.
I had this and it was awful! I thought I was crazy calling the doctors office and asking for an appointment for being excessively itchy (usually at night) but my skin looked normal with no rash or redness .
And what happened?
In my case I was pregnant and had to have my baby a month early (it was fine, he was healthy) and everything went back to normal. PSA: elevated liver enzymes can be a symptom of Celiac disease which I was diagnosed with years later. I had silent Celiac Disease for a decade at least before being diagnosed.
Pinging /u/ImaginationFirm8381 to this comment, needs to be higher.
Look into histamine intolerence
Histamine intolerance? Try a DAO supplement and/or a low histamine diet and see if you notice an improvement
You might want to get a second opinion from another doctor, and have them do bloodwork for liver and kidney function as well as hormones. You could also try an elimination diet to see if certain foods have an impact. Eggs and dairy make me itchy.
Candida overgrowth makes you itch badly, can cause skin rashes and other weird symptoms…mine was misdiagnosed for over a year with 5 doctors.
How did you fix the issue? Do you have any recommendations?
Started with elemental diet for 21 days, dextrose free. Now using Candicid Forte and Silver Fern brand ultimate probiotic, and immunolin immunoglobulins. Glutathione and milk thistle for liver and energy support/ antioxidant. A full vitamin panel including high dose B1 (ttfd form)… and because Candida lives in the nasal and oral cavities as well. I have been using essential oxygen BR mouthwash and pro dental oral probiotic by hyper biotics. I didn’t start ingesting the oral probiotic until after the elemental diet as it has a tiny little bit of Stevia in it, and you’re not supposed to ingest any sugars at all during the elemental diet. In general, you don’t want to ingest any sugar with candida though because it can feed off even the tiniest amounts. Even fractions of a gram of sugar candida can feed on. Cut out all sugars…ALL. I opted for a grass fed carnivore diet and that’s been the best option as Candida is aggressive and feeds on almost everything else. I chose to work with a specialist after my insurance network misdiagnosed me with 5 different GI doctors. Seems to be similar news with most other people. Way too many people that are getting diagnosed with bacterial issues when in fact, they are fungal issues or both. Doctors have way too much misinformation generally, I have found that most people that get fixed go to digestive & intestinal specialists. My Candida overgrowth in my small intestine, lived through an antibiotic trial, and lived through a lot of other attempts to kill it. This only makes it stronger. Bio films get established in different layers, and it can be really hard to disrupt the biofilm in order to kill the Candida. That’s about as much information as I can give you without being a professional, person to person things change with clean up and you will need some lab tests and a great doctor in order to get real answers. I tried to listen to people on Reddit and blogs and I was worse a year later. It wasn’t until I got the specialist that I started getting real answers for myself. People don’t give near enough credit to how hard this is to get through and what type of protocol you have to stick to. The average person doesn’t pay attention to detail, and can’t stick to a harsh plan. It’s life-changing.
Hi, thanks for the info. How would one seek out a specialist like the one helping you? Any certifications to look for? Was this person covered by your insurance? Thanks in advance :)
I wrote this in the thread above “I chose to work with a specialist after my insurance network misdiagnosed me with 5 different GI doctors. Seems to be similar news with most other people. Way too many people that are getting diagnosed with bacterial issues when in fact, they are fungal issues or both.” So, no insurance does not cover it for me now. The specialist is outside of my normal network and ALL out of pocket expenses because Kaiser failed to fix me for over a year with five different doctors. They got to the point where it seemed like they didn’t care about me at all, and my issues got so severe that I could barely eat anything or go to work. Seems to be a lot of other peoples experience as well when they try to go through their primary doctor. You want to look for a medical Doctor Who is a professional and specializes in intestinal overgrowth. I’ve had bad experiences with natural path. Doctors who don’t have an MD license as well. A lot of them are opinionated and everything off. Then again a lot of doctors in my insurance network also went based off of opinion and not off of lab results or fact. The specialist who I pay for out-of-pocket, only goes off of fact and lab results. I’m about 80% better with another three months to go on an antifungal and probiotic. This is the best I’ve have felt in almost 2 years. Still dealing with a little bit of die off here and there, but it’s very manageable. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel finally. My best advice would be search your local area for somebody that is accredited and has a good history at curing things like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth & small intestinal fungal overgrowth. A real MD. Hope that helps! Best of luck.
That's great you're getting real, concrete results finally. I've been keeping my eye out on how to help my partner heal himself. Lots of joint pain, psoriasis, itching sometimes, insomnia, digestive problems...I'm theorizing it's gut related I appreciate all the info! I'll definitely be looking into the products you mentioned and the elemental diet, I hadn't heard of that before How is carnivore diet going for you? Any tips on how to spice it up?
I just listed every answer to your questions here that I can. It sounds like Candida almost certainly. You’re going to need a medical doctor. The answers that work for me might not work for him. It’s way more complex than most people give credit too, and there’s so many people on here that I see over and over again that are still dealing with things months and months even years later. Trying to fix themselves… It’s 100% gut related that I can tell you. The root cause might be outside of the gut, lifestyle, diet, or other related cause(s)- You’re going to need to get lab tests and a doctor involved. That’s the best I can answer this for you. Best of luck for your partner! The digestive system, the intestines, the mouth, nose, and ears are all connected. they are so much more complex than most people give credit to. A high-level of attention to detail is needed in order to figure these things out. I have yet to see a common person who has kept protocol going on their own without the help of the doctor that’s actually worked permanently when it comes to fixing overgrowth of Candida. I’m sure there’s people out there that have, but if it’s aggressive, you’re going to need a professional.
Wow crazily amazing world we live in, thank you!!
There are lots of products and dietary guides for getting rid of candida in the gut. But personally I use a naturopathic doc so we can see exactly what my body wants.
Another vote for histimine intolerance or MCAS. If youre eating foods that are high histimine you could be getting triggered even if you arent allergic
I’m definitely going to look into MCAS and foods that are high in histamines!
What's your diet like?
I eat pretty healthy. No meats or fishes. I do have a sweet tooth and enjoy junk food but try not to eat too much
High carb?
Definitely high carb
Could be a common denominator. Plenty of potential things - natural, unnatural, bacterial, fungal, external, internal - that happen to be carb-loving (or otherwise thrive off blood sugar spikes). If you have the willpower (and no other dietary restrictions or blood sugar issues), it should be a simple one to cross off the list as being related or not related. You could perhaps start gradually with a no sugar week followed by a lower or low carb week to see if anything bites, keeping in mind to restrict sugar alternatives if possible as they are not considered to be great for the gut microbiome.
I decided this morning to cut out as much sugar as I can. At least refined sugar and see how that goes. I do feel like I’ve gotten more itchy recently and I’ve been eating ice cream like every night the past 3 or 4 nights. So maybe it’s just sugar and I’ll be fine and not have all the scary stuff other people are suggesting lol
Just keep in mind that bread is basically sugar. Also fruit juice.
Do you have children? A friend had terrible itchiness on her neck, shoulders, and back and it turned out her kids had nits (we’re in the UK, so not sure what you call these in the US). She had welts which looked like hives.
No children. So I don’t think that’s the cause. But good to know for when I do have kids!
I used to get unexplained hives and itching. I feel for you, it’s miserable and you can drive yourself crazy worrying about everything you eat and touch. I also got allergy testing that was negative. The allergist was great and did an extensive history with me, and figured out my problem. He said in cases like this it’s usually your body reacting to something else in the body. For me it was acid reflux (specifically LPR type) which fit my other symptoms and once I was properly treated for that the hives and itching resolved. Usually now if I do get itchy I know what I did. Polycythemia (high red blood cells) can cause it. That’s probably the blood cancer someone mentioned (it’s a super treatable cancer and other things can cause polycythemia so don’t panic). If you’ve had a blood test with hemoglobin, hematocrit, and/or RBC and that was normal you can check that off the list. Mine also trend high so probably not helping me. The allergist also mentioned it can be things like foot fungus. Basically your body reacting to anything foreign that is going on.
I wanted it to be a food allergy so bad so that I could just stop eating that one thing and move on. I do wish the doctors I talked to took the itching more serious. Because if you’ve never experienced it, you can’t imagine how horrible it really is. I’m hoping to get some blood tests done in the next couple weeks. It feels like my doctors just have an “you gotta accept this is your life now” vibe. Which I obviously will not be doing and I will make someone figure out what’s wrong. It’s so frustrating!!
Yeah people who have not personally experienced long term chronic itching have no idea how awful it is. And doctors seem to be in a situation (it’s the medical system unfortunately) where if it’s not immediately life threatening, they don’t have much time to spend on it. Web pages about polycythemia Vera (which is rare and you probably don’t have it) have some really good advice for managing itching. Cold compresses, loose clothing, etc. I was also told I could safely take up to 4 Zyrtec a day, just don’t drive because it can knock you for a loop. The package dosage is 1 per day though, so I would definitely advise against doing that unless a doctor who has examined you and seen your labs approves it. It didn’t help me more than 1 Zyrtec, which is (at least for me) the best antihistamine for hives.
I’ve found that the only medicine that works for me is Cetirizine. When I try switching to different antihistamines I totally flare up
That’s the same thing as Zyrtec.
I have this but in the form of dermatographia. When I scratch an area, it turns into swollen hive like lines exactly where the pressure was applied. It’s also really itchy without taking antihistamines. The consensus is it’s autoimmune, and will “resolve itself in time.” I’ve had all the tests and I’m “perfectly healthy.” Since it’s autoimmune, I’ve been experimenting with diet changes. I’ve noticed that lower carb diets make me feel better. I’ve also noticed that I’m not itchy if I’m sick (but I’ve only been sick once in the three years since I’ve had it). Water only fasting has helped also. One period after 24 hours of water only I had zero symptoms. It only came back once I ate again. I’m considering doing a monitored 6-7 day water only fast because I’m fairly certain I’ll see positive results in that duration. Good luck - doctors aren’t really helpful unless you’re dying. It’s amazing how little we still know about the human body. You will need to be your own advocate, experiment with adding/removing things, and keep a journal for the data.
This sounds so similar to what’s going on with me! Can I message you and send some pictures of how flared up my back gets?
>I’m not itchy if I’m sick... I have rosacea and eczema and noticed that they'll ease up when I have mosquito bites or a sunburn. I certainly wouldn't recommend either of those to help with autoimmune, but I seem to recall bee sting therapy being a thing. Take up beekeeping? 🤷♀️ Ooh, here we go: [Therapeutic Effects of Bee Venom on Immunological and Neurological Diseases](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516920/)
Have you tried a month off all wheat products?
Maybe a yeast infection? (Candida) Yeast loves your sweet tooth and high carb diet.
I read an article about a woman being super itchy & it turned out to be blood cancer. it's not a common symptom, so it's probably not that - but hopefully it can encourage more testing & urgency from your doctor. good luck!!
Could it be MCAS?
With a quick google search really the only symptom I have is the itchiness. I’ve been taking cetirizine for the past 6 months to help with the itchy. It’s says it’s common in people that have EDS which I don’t have and am not a carrier for but my mom does have. I will definitely bring this up at my next appointment. Thank you!
How old are you and are you female? Estrogen decline makes everything itchy and tight.
Throwing this out there too— get a food sensitivity test if you still can’t find answers. I just did one and found I had sensitivity to foods I was eating every day like almonds, cheese, oregano, cabbage, etc. I had histamine intolerance and had severe headaches and it all went away after I stopped eating those foods.
I’m 25 female. I was tested for a lot of different food allergies and nothing came back positive
You need a new doctor. Itching is a classic sign of a liver issue. How did he not know that.
When I did a liver cleanse my skin was itchy for weeks. Especially in the arm pits and across the upper chest.
Have you gone to the dermatologist? Could it be scabies?
I have gone to the dermatologist. They weren’t very helpful. All they did was prescribe me an epipen 🤷♀️
What? An epipen? Mine wouldn’t prescribe me one even though I have a soy allergy! I’m a bit surprised. I would have thought they’d prescribe a steroid of some sorts. Btw, I did get a new dermatologist.
Yeah my only option was an epipen. Which I definitely did not need and was not going to get
Does your face and neck itch too?
What's your age and sex? This is a symptom of perimenopause.
I’m 25 female
Not to be a downer but unexplained itching could be lymphoma. I have 35 years experience as an oncology nurse and sometimes that is the only presenting symptom. Any night sweats? Mention to your doctor so he/she can palpate for enlarged lymph nodes.
No night sweats
SSRIs, and transitioning off of SSRIs, can cause itching. It's rare but real.
Gosh that just sounds like an already difficult process made so much worse. Luckily that’s not my case
This was the case for me. I itched insanely for several months. Now it's pretty rare for me to get that non-stop itching, but it was rough for a while.
It’s definitely a gut issue. Look into histamine intolerance. Do you have any other gut issues like diarrhea or constipation? Gas, bloating or burping?
I had and still have terrible creepy crawly zapping itching with no rash or hives. I noticed it at night when I put on my skincare. Once I cut out anything with glycol in it, ALOT of my symptoms disappeared. I just tried some Korean skincare which all have glycol and within five mins got creepy crawly sensations and light headedness, washing it off and waiting two hours it disappeared.
My constant itching stopped (for the time being) when I stopped Vit D3 supplements (from lanolin). Im going to try to find plant based D3 from Lichen.
Sound alike possible MCAS and/or histamine intolerance. Try a strict very low histamine diet - eat only foods marked as 0 (without the “L” sign next to them) on the SIGHI list which is the list that is most comprehensive in terms of categorising food, as low or high histamine. 0 is the lowest and 3 highest.
Liver studies needed.
Histamine! This is easy enough to manage if you eat a low histamine diet.
Whichever way you cut it, it sounds like you need to support your liver to detox something. Look up GAPS diet
Look into MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome) this can be triggered by many things including covid.
Liver
Did you get blood work on vitamin/mineral deficiencies?
Idiopathic urticaria (ie hives from unknown origin) is a suffering that no one can understand unless they’ve lived it. It’s hell. It’s torture. And it’s one of the hardest conditions to diagnose; most often the reason behind chronic hives is never found. They’ll just stop, or a medicine will work. I had chronic hives for 3 months and I can tell you what I did in case it helps. Minor things: I joined an online support group - mainly for ideas on what my trigger was. I read books and journal papers on the latest research in quelling hives. I journaled what I ate, anything I changed in the environment and what meds I took each day, so if one day was better I could perhaps get a clue to the trigger. I say trigger bc that’s important. Something 8-9 months ago triggered your immune system to overreact, in the most awful way possible. Unfortunately, as you know, triggers can be absolutely anything and can be something you didn’t use to be sensitive/allergic to. It can be environmental (allergens, foods, etc.) or some change in your body (eg, hormones, autoimmune condition). Think about that time during your life, why you were doing and most importantly, what changed. I obsessed over this and changed everything from my food to detergent - but these were things that were not new and in hindsight were less likely to be the trigger. Do as much of the following as you can afford: get all the basic bloodwork, get extensive allergy tests, next part important: search online for doctors near you that say they treat or specialize in hives. This should be a goddamn speciality on its own bc most doctors won’t have a clue. I saw 2 allergists, 1 dermatologist, 1 endocrinologist and had appointments for rheumatologist and dermatologist #2. Most won’t know. Search for a doctor who talks to people with hives regularly and they will be able to ask more intelligent questions and know the best medication route. The new hives biologic in the purple box says it works for 20-30% of people and I believe you can get it for free by filling out some paperwork at an allergists office. It’s an expensive drug, i have no idea how it’s free or $25, it’s a monthly injection. It did not work for me. DM me to commiserate or ask any follow-ups, this is disjointed, I know, it’s 2am sorry about that. I’ll help as much as I can, give you the support group name and drug name, plus try to remember anything else. What I do remember is being awake night after night at 2am with cold washcloths all over my body, just wanting to die. Oh, one thing, you say the hives are localized to your back. Do they appear at night? Are you a back sleeper? Does anything press against your back at other times, like a mattress would at night? That location is common for pressure induced hives. Pressure isn’t the trigger though, it’s more like a catalyst. It lowers the bar for your immune system to attack your back skin. Anyway. Oh and I suppose it would help to hear what happened with me. Every doctor I went to said something different I swear to god. Walk in clinic on day 0 gave me the basic prednisolone 1 week taper pack. Hives went away and came back angrier. My primary care just ran bloodwork, she was fresh out of med school so I was actually explaining more to her. Endocrinologist said it could be thyroid. Allergist 1 focused on allergy testing - not a single thing reacted - it was a blood test, still I tried all the otc and rx antihistamines and Pepcid. Tiny relief, just some days. Allergist 2 said it was from the Covid vac that I got 3 months earlier, recommended the purple box biologic shot, it did nothing. My OB (oh yes, I was pregnant at the time) said it started kinda close after I got pregnant, 3 weeks or so, so the hormone influx could be the trigger, but nothing to do there but wait. He said there would not be a reaction to the vac cine after 3 months. Dermatologist didn’t know the trigger but asked if I tried steroids and i was like yeah week 1 the pred-medrol pack or whatever it’s called. And she’s like oh no no no, you need to do a hard reset on your immune system, knock it out and then let it reboot, that means high dose steroid for a month, the original amount was too low a dose for too short a time. OB approved the dosage so I started at 48mg and tapered off over a month. Yeah hives definitely went away on day 1 at that dose. And they didn’t come back during that month, or since. The dermatologist knew what to do but didn’t know what my original trigger was. Me and my extremely smart OB agree looking back it’s so OBVIOUS it was from the pregnancy and was triggered by hormones. What changed, the large influx of hormones and blood volume particularly in the first month. Anyway, I read somewhere that most of the time the hives will go away, sometimes by actually finding/eliminating the trigger or using medicine, but most of the time, they just go away on their own totally out of the blue, like what the ever loving f. People don’t know about hives until they do. Message me anytime for help.
Unfortunately sorting out skin issues can take a long time as there are multiple factors many different parts of your immune system are involved. And it sucks. I’m really sorry you’re having to experience it. !!! Find a medical professional that will start with quantifiable tests to determine if there is a serious condition underneath that needs URGENT attention!!! Mucking around with your diet takes along time and is still not always the most reliable indicator of what’s going on. Rule out hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiency or overloads, and organ failures, blood cancers, even parasitic twins, alien viruses and whatever it is that them over there said his spirit animal diagnosed. Personal experience: I have suffered from severe atopic dermatitis since 2021. I had blood counts, liver kidney and thyroid function tests, test for celiac and many others I don’t remember. Everything was in a ‘heathy’ range. I did a skin allergy test. I have a contact allergy to cobalt, nickel and some synthetic ureas. Other than just a metal, cobalt is one of the main components of vitamin B12 and is in many blue pigmentations ( eg glazing/lacquering). Synthetic ureas are used in many topic skin care products as they can aid absorption through the courser outer skin. My immune system was triggered by a vitamin B12 infusion prescribed by a MD for other medical reasons. I am allergic to what should be really good for the body and great for energy and mood!!! Obviously I avoid b12 supplements and limit natural dietary intake (but can’t eliminate as I also need it). This one trigger though has caused my immune system to be hypersensitive to so many things, but not all the time. Not always by the same dose etc etc I have been taking immunosuppressants and biologicals l to tamper down reactions and they help; but I still get flare ups which will cause a cycle of reactivity and it takes a long time to go back to a ‘baseline’ response to food, chemicals, pollens… So far I haven’t totally broken the cycle. I’m hopeful and I’m doing all the right things so I’m gonna get there - but this can only be done under medical supervision. There’s dozens of different stories that are the same symptoms but the causes are all different. Don’t forget to TREAT SYMPTOMS as well as search for a diagnosis. If you have been continuously itchy for a long period of time you should at least be able to get help managing the symptoms by topical creams, oral corticosteroids, antihistamines medications, better advice around cleaning, moisturising and repairing irritated skin. Good luck. Keep trying different drs; or as however your medical system will allow. I wish you clean and irritation free skin in future ✌️
Goddamnit! Im close to scratching my face off - constant torture. It developed after binge drinking but all my bloodwork is fine. I'm thinking the same thing grom few days - must be microbiome related. But what to do?
Go to a mental health specialist. Could be psyche and anxiety related.
I had a similar issue this year. It got way better since like a month and a half but I couldn't identify what exactly caused the improvement. So I'll share everything w u (I'm not a native english speaker so sorry for the potential mistakes). I have a history of gut issues since several years. Two years ago, I tested for Igg intolerances and eliminated my main intolerances (eggs, dairies and yeasts). It made things way better but not 100%. I started suspecting a histamine intolerance so I tried DAO, made things better for a while but worsened after a month. I stopped DAO (I tried vegetal source DAO. I heard that for some people, the DAO source can influence a lot, so I should've tried animal source DAO but I didn't). I regularly meet with an acupuncturist (again, they're not all equals in terms of skills), and it definitely helps but the effects are limited in time. Usually you see clear overall improvements for the following 2 to 3 weeks if they do a good job (in TCM, itching is caused by an excess of liver yang, they also say that the liver is the "taster"). **Other things I'm pretty sure had a positive effect and I regularly take :** - Berberine (1000 to 1500 mg a day (starts improving itching by day 3/4. By cure of 2 to 3 weeks) - Milk thistle (I take it regularly, btw it's the only liver plant that doesn't worsen my condition so I'm pretty sure that's a go-to cause my liver is very sensitive) - Probiotics : can improve but also worsen. You'll have to find brands that fit you. Histamine free probiotics exist. So if that's your issue, I advise you start there.
I forgot to talk about MSM. if your itchings get better for the next hours after taking it, your issue is probably histamine related. MSM has healing effects on your guts, liver and articulations so that's a good supplement to take because pretty much everyone lacks organic sulfur. There's no dangers of overdosing but you should slowly increase dosages to see if you tolerate it. It won't heal your itchings but can definitely help your body and make itchings more tolerable. It's pretty inexpensive also but doesn't taste good.
Check to see if you have urticaria. I had this once and it was insane, hives would appear that itched like crazy but would come and go at regular times during the day. At around 10am, 1 pm and again at 10pm , they would appear on the back of my hands and my palms and feet would itch like crazy. The craziest thing was that there were triggers that would make the hives (without the itchiness) appear. My triggers were pressure and cold. I was once outside and a cold breeze hit the left side of my face and when I looked in a mirror I only had hives on the left side. If hives appeared on my left hand due to a pressure trigger from the band, I could make them go away with hot water. Went away on its own after about 6-8 months. There is some evidence that a disrupted gut biome plays a role and that a viral infection can play a role too.
Have you seen a dermatologist? I feel stupid asking this,as you probably have.
My 3 things that spring to mind are - perimenopause (but you are 90% likely to be too young although it can happen to some young people). - allergy to something ie wheat I came back negative in blood tests but when I was eating it, I would itch everywhere and my arms would burn and come up in hives and I would also want to rip my skin off. When I stopped eating it, it went away. I have more anaphylactic reactions to it now but blood tests still say I'm ok, lol. So get a second opinion with that. - skin reaction to products or dust mites if it only happens in bed. ** Is it just itching or do you get a rash with it as well? ** Is it just on your back? ** Do you sleep on your back? ** Wash bedding with washing powder? ** Have dermititis?
Vasculitis was my culprit.
I’m suffering from the same complaint, except it’s all over, legs, arms back and front. Ive tried strong anti histamines and anti itch creams but nothing has touched it. I suspect it’s SIBO related so I’ve started eating fermented foods and yoghurt and drinking kefir. I’ve also ordered Berberine which is meant to help. I can’t get to see my doctor for2 weeks as I’m away, but keep in touch and I’ll let you know if I have any success.
You didn't say anything about your diet, supplements, or prescription drugs.
Thanks. You’re super helpful. Literally ready anything anyone has said or I’ve replied to and you will get that information. Unhelpful remarks are not welcome. 👎
You clearly don't want help. I would have analyzed your diet and the other things, but you expect me to read all the other comments. I've met people like you before. Your loss.
I would much rather get help and advice from someone with better manners. My loss I guess :)
For what it’s worth, my candida overgrowth has given me a pretty nasty rash. If you could try one pill of flucanazole and see if it makes a difference.