Has anybody here had very itchy patches that just will not heal? I've seen two different dermatologists and an allergist and been on several meds and three different topical creams/salves and the only thing that has really taken the itching away is being on a high dose of steroid for several days, and can't do that too often. I've assumed it is an allergy and have gone off some meds that I can safely withdraw from, and off the most likely foods, including chocolate (which was as awful as is sounds!) without finding out anything! When I saw my onc a couple of weeks ago, she suggested it could be a reaction to my stressed out immune system, from the cancer and other health issues. Has anybody here had their compromised immune system cause skin reactions? Did you find something that helped? I do take some supplements that a former primary care DO suggested for me--turmeric, fish oil, glucosamine-chondrotin and tart cherry juice.
Stressed immune system and skin erupt... - SHARE Metastatic ...
Stressed immune system and skin eruptions
You haven't had radiotherapy lately, have you? I had such a bad itchy reaction to that, that I had to sleep on an icepack. Old fashioned calamine worked best and antihistamine tablets - Piriton was best. You probably haven't or you'd have said - but just in case it's helpful... Have you tried antihistamine? Hope it clears up soon - so draining and dispiriting, things like that. Thinking of you.
Thank you for responding! The allergist put me on three different antihistamines at the same time! Zytec, Xyzal and Singulair. They dry me out but don't seem to do much about the itchy skin spots. And I've not had radiotherapy at all.
I have a severe case and my pain doctor wrote me an rx for stronger strength antihistamines to be taken four times a day. I told by her third day I stopped. It seemed to aggravate it more. Mine is so severe. I think from photos it is plaque psoriasis when your body is unable to shed the dead skin cells so more and more cells just keep piling on.
I swear that this will drive me insane. It looks awful and is getting worse. On top of it that leg is also very swollen. I can barely get my foot into shoes I used to be able to wear. My leg is like purple, red and black. That I think is from poor circulation. I am trying to find a dermatologist that specializes in this bc I have to find the right doctor before I have a mental breakdown. It seriously gets so itchy. Even my hands the skin is coming off. So I have the issue of the psoriasis on top of having a severely swollen ankle and foot. I think its from just a weakened immune system from all this nonsense with the darn cancer.
Wow, that sounds just awful! I'm so sorry!
I'm also sorry that I have no insight for you...
But, as someone who has a history of very severe allergies to various foods/drugs, the "fish oil" caught my eye. I think if I took fish oil it would kill me due to allergies. Just want to make sure you've tried eliminating that, too..
Allergies are so mysterious and hard to pin down, which can be frustrating, and in the meantime you're suffering. I'm hoping you're able to find the culprit...
p.s. Is the doc saying that it might be the immune system issue *rather than* and allergy or are they viewing this as one and the same, i.e. you're having severe allergic reactions *due to* issues with your immune system? I'd be curious about this...I think it's the latter but would love to know your understanding of it...
Wishing you the best with it,
Lynn
Thanks, Lynn. And I also have a bunch of allergies. When I was younger and was tested for getting "allergy shots" I reacted to each of the skin tests except mouse, feathers, and the saline control spot. And had anaphylaxis when I got the first pair of shots so they had to be reduced from 1 part in 10 to 1 part in 100! I've often joked that my parents should have bought stock in Benadryl! Your question about allergy and the immune system is a good one and I hadn't thought of it quite that way. My impression when my onc talked to me about this was that she was saying that my immune system is so compromised that this allergic skin stuff just cannot heal.
OMG.. Me, there is a whole thread on my issue. Its my left lower left and foot which is so severely swollen that it barely resembles a foot. I have major discoloration on my lower leg and now on my feet. But it is the itchiness. It (from the pictures I have googled) looks like severe psoriasis (due to I believe poor circulation). I let it get worse way too long. I was at the cancer center yesterday bc I was so depressed and told the pain specialist I cannot deal with this. I am going to have a mental breakdown. The urge to itch is unbearable. I CANNOT NOT scratch it. I cannot even watch a movie or talk to somebody because the urge to scratch is like torture. And then I go crazy on my leg scratching (it does not even feel like skin...like a severe plaque of skin), and I go crazy scratching.
I have a routine where I lay down several sheets of Bounty paper and then I go crazy, scratch so much until I am bleeding and so so much skin comes off but it just is there the next day.
My leg and foot look awful and now the feet are turning a deep black and purple. I was reading these threads bc I listed the same effect and then I was going to go back to search for a dermatologist who specializes in severe psoriasis. From what I read, its when the body does not shed the old skin cells so more just keep growing and growing so its like plaque.
I also have to go to a vein doctor bc my leg and worse my foot is so swollen, that it no longer has the shape of a foot.
But it is the itching. It feels like a form of torture. Mentally, this will break me more than the cancer.
My pain specialist had written me an rx for it (stronger dose of basically what benadryl contains) but I was to take one pill 4 times a day and said I think it made it worse because the itchiness then became non-stop.
So now trying to find a dermatologist who has more experience with this type of advanced skin disease than than just removing skin tags or moles.
It is severely making me depressed bc I scratch so much I bleed and then I put loads of Aveeno moisturizer on my left leg and my entire left foot and then put in cotton socks.
I now see that the soles of my feet skin is coming off. This is all I can think about. Let me know if you find anybody and if what they give you helps. I do not care what my leg looks like with the discoloration but I have to stop it from the constant itchiness.
Good luck and I will check back to see if you found any help and if I do (please God), I will let you know.
Hi - there’s a doctor that specializes in skin during and after cancer treatments. His name is Dr. Lacouture and he wrote a book or two all about this topic.
I saw him at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC for a painful rash that formed on my face shortly after starting Everolimus. Dr. Lacouture was very kind and knowledgeable and concluded the drug triggered a dormant eczema on my face (I used to have it on my leg when I was younger).
This is an excerpt from an interview on an article (see first link below).
HOW DO THESE SEQUALAE AFFECT A QUALITY OF LIFE?
Dr. Lacouture: These are not just cosmetic issues. They also impact quality of life. With itch, for example, you can’t sleep, and scratching skin can lead to severe skin infections that can become systemic. In studies that we conducted, 34 percent of patients say that dermatologic side effects are the most significant, above severe diarrhea, hair loss, and nausea.
practicaldermatology.com/ar...
cancer.net/about-us/cancern...
Good luck and all the best. Jonesburger
Thank you. Unfortunately, since I am on SSDI and Medicare (but I also have full Medicaid) I know that NYC Sloan Kettering does not take people on Medicare or Medicaid. I am going to check on the links. I have become beyond depressed from this. It is like torture.
So upset. He seems perfect. But of course, they do not accept the medicare/medicaid. I will google and try to find a dermatologist that has experience with cancer at the same time. I do not want to go to a general one that can make things worse. Thank you. I wish I could go to him.
I have that same level of itchiness at times, having to actively will myself to not scratch! It really is like being in Hell! I hope you find a doctor who can help you with this! Oral steroids did help me while I was on them but I could only do that for several days at a time and then had to stop.
I have tried. I can't watch a movie or even have a conversation on the phone bc it is unbearable. Now even between my fingers is driving me insane. It seriously messes with your life. I guess I can't see the cancer, but I can see this. I have to go in to the itchiness. My pain specialist said I need to go to a dermatologist immediately but I live in Brooklyn, so I need one who knows about this and not just one who removes moles or skin tags.
Hi--I do have a spot on my upper leg (just under the panty line) that comes and goes. It is dry and "bubbly" but fortunately does not itch. It comes and goes, and sometimes can be seen as a red spot. It's about 2 inches by 3 inches. Long ago, my primary doc had prescribed a mild steroid cream. When bad, I use that, but can only do that in the morning, so I don't lie awake all night!
I just assumed that it was related to my body being messed up from all of the drugs (Fulvestrant, Verzenio, Zometa, and now Procrit), so I just deal with it.
I get weird very itchy bump that I have to scratch. It breaks the skin then is like a hard bump that just won’t heal for weeks. Then I’ll get another (always on my right leg). After a while it gets dry, flaky and intense itch. Never had this kind of sore before treatment.
I read on Dr Google that garlic kills cancer cells so I took a slice of fresh garlic and placed it on the sore and covered with a bandage. The next day the lump was gone and skin began to heal. This worked for me several times.
Be careful because I once put garlic on a sore that was really open and raw and the garlic burned me so instead I used Caladryl Clear lotion and it healed eventually. The sooner I use the garlic the better result.
I know this sounds crazy, but it worked for me.
Maura ❤️
The are of my lower leg is so large and also my ankles and top of my foot. There is too much. It is not just a small patch of skin and it's getting progressively worse very quickly.
I’m sorry you are suffering so with this. I wish I could offer some advice that would help.
I didn’t know a hospital could refuse to treat Medicare patients! 😳 OMG
Yes NYC Memorial Sloan Kettering does not accept Medicare and/or Medicaid. Which is sad. I believe their Rochester location does but I am way way too far away.
IF they don't accept Medicare, that means they don't see most people over 65! That is just crazy! Do they see people with Medicare plus supplemental insurance?
Apparently they will accept Medicare with supplemental see in quotes. I have NY Medicare with Full NY Medicaid so I do not pay for anything. I got a statement last year for January through September and it showed they paid over $100,000 for me for that period only. I also get (bc I have NY Medicaid) free private car service to and from all doctor appointments which is a blessing bc I live alone and have no family or friends around and the way I feel I would not be able to take a bus and then a train and then walk to the cancer center so I am thankful for the free car service.
But I will search bc it is moving up my leg. And I am mentally about to break. I am less worried about the new masses that they found in my last CT scan than I am about the discoloration of my entire leg and foot and the discoloration which seems to be spreading up. I am sure a vein specialist will want me to wear compression stockings but I am NOT until this horrible horrible rash is cleared up. See below:
"Memorial Sloan Kettering's New York locations are in-network with the Emblem Medicare Advantage Plans."
I need to find a dermatologist that also has experience with cancer. With my coverage, I do not expect to find anybody good.
I had already been told by someone who works in a hospital (other than NYC Sloan Kettering) that they did not accept Medicare or Medicaid, but I had hoped maybe that was just for cancer. But as I looked at the insurance that he and his other colleagues I did not see Medicare at all and I was not looking at supplemental insurance (but I don't remember seeing it) anyway bc I do not have it.
I was so so upset because my leg is progressively getting worse. The itching is insane and it is spreading quickly. I am just overwhelmed trying to find the right type of doctor that deals with dermatology and the cancer thing. I do not want to find a general dermatologist that has no idea of the cancer part of it.
My onco is useless. The last dr. she referred me to (after I asked for a referral) I found out afterwards he had NEVER done the surgery I needed in the area I needed and it was a disaster. So I will not ask her plus she tells me to ask my primary. My primary tells me he can't deal with the cancer so I should ask my onco for a referral.
That doctor seemed perfect. I thought and still think it is pretty cruel for a well-known cancer center in NYC not to accept people on medicare with full medicaid but I guess it is the case there.
I guess I will try and google for dermatologists with cancer experience. It is getting worse and mentally I am at the end of my rope and now next month I find out what the new masses they found in my lungs. I am NOT doing any treatment until this is fixed. It is horrible looking, I have to scratch until I bleed. I am putting moisturizer on it non=stop, I live alone and I cant even leave my apt. right now because my foot is all swelled up but for now, I would be happy just to have that. Its the itching that is driving me mad and its all day and I wake up and I am getting angrier and angrier about my situation.
I really do not know what they can do but they have to know how to deal with it. I dont want to go to a regular dermatologist who will just prescribe me cream after cream after cream....
he seemed perfect. I cannot afford perfect LOL...Mediocre + at the best with my medicare and medicaid.
Thank you to all who responded! I'm not sure whether or not I thanked all of you, which is not at all like my pre cancer self! I am trying two of the things suggested here. I bought clear Caladryl and some garlic cloves when I went shopping yesterday. (And the price of groceries has sure gone up in the last two or three years!) I put the Caladryl on most of the skin spots last night and again after my morning shower today. I think it may be helping a bit. And I also put garlic slices on the worst spots, much to my husband's disgust! LOL He has alot of digestive issues and can't eat garlic or spicey stuff any more and has grown to hate those smells. I tell him it is a huge sign of how much I love him and want him in my life as I now cook pretty much spiceless/herbless dinners. Boring! I'll let you know how these things work for me. Next week is going to be very busy! Wednesday I am seeing a cardiologist who specializes in seeing cancer patients at a big med school Medical Center about a three hour drive from home. My cardiologist sent me to a cardiac surgeon about the leaky mitral value and a fib I've developed with questions about surgery to hopefully fix both those. One of those heart docs spoke with my onc and concluded that I should not have any major heart surgery. So that's one of the big things I am going to be asking about. Then Friday, I'm going to have a procedure, by a urologist, to examine a blockage between one kidney and the bladder, and then either removal of the blockage or some kind of stint. Seems as though I am getting about one or two other diagnoses a year and my brain, digestive system and liver are the only healthy parts of my poor ol' body!
I have a horrible recurring itchy rash on my right hand and I just found an amazing product called Eczema Honey they sell it at CVS or you can buy direct online. I also purchased a box of cotton gloves from them so I don't scratch at night. HEAVEN!
Thanks! I will look for that.
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