Migraines and very itchy head

[Lindaloo66]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site and not very good at telling people my problems. Anyway I’ll have a go. I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia, after being referred to a rheumatologist in 2019, after suffering for nearly 20 years prior,( I was never taken seriously, ) oa and cervical spondylotic myelopathy, which I’ve been told is where the degenerative disc’s in my neck are pinching my nerves causing chronic migraines all over my head. But recently I’ve been itching so bad all over, but mainly my head and I’m wondering if anyone else suffers from this and how to deal with it. Tia

 

[lkitsell]

Hi, I'm just in the process of hopefully getting a diagnosis which would explain so much.
I've recently been getting an itchy head as well but I'm not sure why. Not much help, but I just thought I'd say your not alone in it!

 

[JayCS]

Hi, Lindaloo66, Hi Ikitsell, and welcome!

I have severe itching all over if I don't avoid water, soaps, certain textiles etc. as much as possible.

And the intolerances in my stomach and gut could also be explained as a kind of itching inside (feels different of course).

An allergist decades ago once said all this is an as yet undefined kind of something like atopic dermatitis / neurodermatitis, and cheered me on with finding all my triggers, food and external.

After severely overreacting to my first of 3 CoV-jabs and getting 25 new or changed symptoms additionally to my other conditions, a new allergist confirmed my suspicion that this is best seen as the immune system condition MCAS, a mast cell overreaction. ('Migraines' as severe nauseous frontal sinus headaches I can also get as a histamine reaction, by the way, keeping histamine food very low and under a sharp eye - but also stopping my antihistamine - prevents them.)

That new diagnosis doesn't change much except for the new symptoms, so as ever I need to keep use of water, soap etc. down to a few minutes a day, usually about one to two minutes. Otherwise I'd go absolutely mad.
Itching of the scalp I'm never quite sure whether I've washed my hair too early or too late, seems about 4 days is best for me.

 

[BlueBells]

Hi @JayCS , @Lindaloo66 , @lkitsell

My daughter has sensitive skin and can rash badly from diesel fuel and wheat dust. The doctor recommended Neutrogena fragrance free hand cream, and it works very well.

Might be worth a try

 

[sunkacola]

Hi @Lindaloo66 , and welcome to the forum.
The severe itching sounds to me.....and I am not a doctor.........like an intolerance of some kind. I would suggest that first you remove from your home environment everything chemical that you have for cleaning or other uses, and use only pure vinegar for cleaning. Stop using your shampoo or other hair products, and try just rinsing your hair/head with plain water. Stop using your laundry detergent, and wash clothes in plain water or add just a tiny bit of all-natural mild detergent only if you must. Put away or get rid of all of your soaps, lotions, and other cosmetic products. Avoid going any place where there are strong chemicals in use.

I know this sounds pretty radical, but it doesn't mean you won't ever again be able to use any of these things. The idea is to remove them from your body to see if that helps. If you do this for a period of at least a month, you can discover if any of those things are causing the itching you experience.

 

[JayCS]

My daughter has sensitive skin and can rash badly from diesel fuel and wheat dust. The doctor recommended Neutrogena fragrance free hand cream, and it works very well.

I've heard Neutrogena recommended often. Personally, rubbing my body with anything usually makes it worse, tho. Hands are OK with creams, but don't itch, they chap in winter.

remove them from your body to see if that helps. If you do this for a period of at least a month, you can discover if any of those things are

I agree with this elimination of triggers. But to encourage to try it: in my experience nowadays it takes 2-3 days at most. But yes, if the short easy version doesn't help, then this semi-radical might.
That said: when I first realized water is a severe trigger, I actually went completely without washing my skin for half a year, which is what some docs at the time were recommending for atopic dermatitis, and that was very necessary for a time (using alternatives like carefully rubbing, no one complained about smell). However I realized keeping the contact very short was the secret to not stop completely.

 

[sunkacola]

I agree with this elimination of triggers. But to encourage to try it: in my experience nowadays it takes 2-3 days at most. But yes, if the short easy version doesn't help, then this semi-radical might.

The thing is, even if two or three days is enough for the irritant to stop doing the irritation, and normally it will actually take longer than that, there won't be any way to know for sure if one of those things is causing it in that short amount of time because the places that itch will most likely still be itching from residual irritation.

The only way to determine if any of those chemicals are causing it is to remove them completely long enough for the irritation, if caused by them, to stop happening, AND for the itchy places to settle down and stop itching. Just removing the irritant for a couple of days will not do that. I know this not only from what doctors have told me but also from my own experience.

@Lindaloo66 , another thing to consider is what medications you are taking. I'm not suggesting you stop taking them, but you might want to consider asking your doctor about the possibility that something you are taking could be causing this itching. I was taking a medication a year ago that caused sores all over my scalp, which itched so badly I couldn't sleep or rest. My doctor was adamant that they were not being caused by the medication, but when I stopped taking it they went away. Not immediately, though. New sores stopped appearing right away, but it was a good three or four weeks after I stopped taking the medication before there was no itch whatever left.

 

[BlueBells]

@JayCS

I've heard Neutrogena recommended often. Personally, rubbing my body with anything usually makes it worse, tho. Hands are OK with creams, but don't itch, they chap in winter.

It's worth a try, it was actually a skin specialist that put her on to it, but stressed the "fragrance free" one. It's also an excellent, non-greasy moisturiser At worst, your wife gets a good hand cream

 

[Auriel]

Hi lindaloo66, welcome to the forum
️, it wasn't so long ago that this subject was brought up (I brought it up cos I was I was experiencing it, I had some sores on my head too, it stopped eventually) a few of us on the forum experience migraine (and I know a few people who have sore/ itchy scalp) I also know that brushing my hair is very painfull (odd thing to experience from something as simple as hair brushing?) It was a heck of a long time for me also before my diagnosis of fibro (but I know now and I'm glad )

 

[BlueBells]

@Lindaloo66 @lkitsell @JayCS @sunkacola @Auriel

Hi all, I just thought of something. Many years ago (decades) at odd occasions, I would get a severe itch, I thought was dandruff, but I would get a scabby rash which I would scratch, it would bleed, and so on.

I spoke with a chemist, he recommended Nizoral, a shampoo, and it worked very well. It can be years between bouts of this rash, and my daughter has it on rare occasions as well, and this helps.

There are several types of Nizoral, and I'd suggest chat with the chemist.

Anyway, I just thought of it and figured worth mentioning here

 

[Auriel]

Thanks @BlueBells!

 

[JamieMarc]

I don't know which part of your head is itching, but I have had problems with an itchy scalp almost all of my life. My dermatologist diagnosed some kind of fungal issue, but the antifungal shampoo he prescribed didn't help so I stopped that. My barber told me I had dry scalp, which is different than dandruff. So, I always use a moisturizer, a good moisturizer, whenever I shampoo and very good into my scalp and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. It does seem to help, and I also condition more often than I used to.
The other thing that comes to mind is are you on any opioids? Opioids are notorious for causing itching, but not typically localized only to the Head. Just a thought.

 

[Ian waxman]

ive suffered with fybromyalgia for well over 20 years.i get horrendous headaches most days and no painkiller takes it away,my head also itches like crazy so I asked the doctor for hydrocortizone cream which does help.headache wise it’s a real juggling act and to be honest only ibuprofen help and I’ve tried everything.if possible see the doctor and tell them you’ve got fybromyalgia and horrendous headaches they can prescribe strong migraine tabs.only us with fybromyalgia know how bad our health really is xx

 

[Lindaloo66]

Thanks everyone for all your support and suggestions, I’ve got an appointment with gp so hopefully I’ll be able to resolve the problem, x

 

[Willowtree]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site and not very good at telling people my problems. Anyway I’ll have a go. I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia, after being referred to a rheumatologist in 2019, after suffering for nearly 20 years prior,( I was never taken seriously, ) oa and cervical spondylotic myelopathy, which I’ve been told is where the degenerative disc’s in my neck are pinching my nerves causing chronic migraines all over my head. But recently I’ve been itching so bad all over, but mainly my head and I’m wondering if anyone else suffers from this and how to deal with it. Tia

When I was first diagnosed with Fibro, I read a lot of the symptoms, one of which mentioned intense itching. I do have that. At times EVERYWHERE and I'll grab the nearest sharp edged object to get relief. Not always a good choice, haha. However, when I was a teenager I have severe seborrihic dermattis. Lately, out of the blue I remembered the solution I found. I scrubbed my head very thoroughly with a regular hair brush to loosen dead skin cells. Then I took cotton balls soaked in an astringent like Witch Hazel (at the time I only had Listerine, worked the same) and I scrubed the astringent all over my head before washing my hair. Made a HUGE difference in itchiness. I could always tell if I forgot to use it, as I flaked all over after going without. I also try to remember to use a pumice stone to scrub all parts of my body I can reach before showering, maybe once a week. It loosens the dead skin cells which make you itch so badly. But with every shower/bath I use Curel` which is a hydrotherapy wet skin moisturizer that you put on your body and do NOT rinse off. Just dry as normal. It sounds like it would never work. I guarantee you, your skin will feel amazing. Hope this helps.