Stop B(itching)

I have spent a day and half alternating between scratching the ever-loving heck out of my neck and arm joints, whatever they are called - sorry, don't know the proper term for that body zone,  and I really wish I wasn't itching enough to have to think about it.  I have bought every anti-itching cream on the market, have applied ice to calm the itch down, and it seems like it only intensifies.  I have virtually OD'd on Benedryl and, as a result, slept pretty soundly for most of the day thanks to the little pink caplets.  After a ridiculous amount of prayer, the answer came to me.  DO something about it.  Well, duh!  I rescheduled an appointment with an allergist I had been referred to last year when this same type of itching occurred.

This is about the third or fourth time this insane itching has occurred over the last year.  My general practice doctor thoght it was contact dermatitis last year and shot me up with steroids.  Then, when it didn't get better in a couple of weeks, I returned to Doc, and he shot me up with more steroids.  When I complained it wasn't better the third time, Doc (aka Drug Dealer at this point)  pulled out the big guns and shot me up with yet more steroids (I should look like Popeye now), prescribed steroidal cream, and recommended an allergist.  The third round of steroids did the trick and I ended up cancelling the allergist appointment.  Just brilliant.  Now I sit here once again, welted and waiting for relief.

Well, here we are, the middle of July, and I again look like a victim in the burn unit!  Splotches of red welts cover my arms and neck.  The itch never goes away and reminds me of that movie Bugs where Ashley Judd played one messed up girl who got involved with a loonie druggie.  They ended up tin foiling every part of their hotel room to keep the aliens or bugs or whatever from picking up on their conversations.  While I haven't yet resorted to that level of paranoia, I can see how uncontrollable itching could drive me to a new level of crazy. 

I did choose to cruise the Internet in search of diagnosis, remedies, and such.  What did people ever do when they wanted to figure out what was wrong with them before the Internet?  I think I have narrowed this down to eczema.  All the pictures on the Internet of exzema look just like mine and exzema is occurs in these two places quite often.  What a name - exzema.  Sounds flaky, doesn't it?  Now that I have scratched so much, these red patches are leathery and very tender to the touch, so it is just a matter of time be for they scab up and flake off, so I guess the name is appropriate.  I looked at the pictures and, if this is exzema, it's a mild case.  I wigged out when I saw how  bad it can get.  That spurred me into immediate action.

I called the allergist this morning.  I have an appointment next Monday at 9:30 in the morning, but here is the kicker.  I can't take any anti-histimines until that appointment!  Yikes!  How will I ever stay sane?  So folks, if you are of the praying kind, PLEASE say a prayer for me that I survive this week.  If you're not the praying kind, please say a prayer anyway...I can use all the help from everyone I can get.  Well, I am off to try to concentrate on anything other than itching and have a hunch that sleeping may be my only excape from this madness...well, I haven't itched that much writing this blog, so maybe more entries are near at hand.  Whatever happens, I will try to stop b(itching)!