Triple tx with Vic and brittle skin

[srw920]

Ok - this will sound crazy but here it goes.  The other morning I woke up with a 6 inch significant scratch at the top of my leg along my panty line.  I don't have long nails and inspected the threads on my new panties, pjs and bed linens.   Nothing unusual.

Question: does you skin seem more brittle while on treatment?  

[yolie71]

I found that the itching cont. a couple of weeks past Incivek. I still hat the itching till about week 20. I still have the dry skin and mild itching on some parts but not as bad. Golds Bond did wonders for me as well. I also took Benadryl to help sleep on the restless nights. Dr. said it will take time for the Incivek to leave the system so the itching is still going to be there was you stop taking it

[jogo68]

I´ve been dealing with horrible itching all the time not so much from rash (I start week 14 of 48 to day). I´ve been dressing in clothes pajamas likes to avoid itching - very smart :-). The night is the worst. It seems like the itching get worse when my skin warms up. And when I’m walking, warm up = scratch.
I was so glad when I finish the Incivek, I really though the itch problem was over (and other s.e.as well). But then I had the worst nightmare in my live. First nights in week 13 I sat with ice box try to cool my skin down all night long, so I would not scratch myself to bloody hell. The doc first gave me Imovane, (light sleeping pills), I slept first night last week but the second I woke up two hours after scratching like hell with ice box on my skin the hole night, my skin was like burning up. Then I was giving Atarax and I.ve been able to dressed properly :-) in jeans for example, and sleep better. I´ve not good deep-sleep now but light sleep is better than not sleeping at all. I've also sleeping trouble from interferon the first two or three after the Intf shot I just can’t sleep. Maybe it's the Reba as well. but it is bearable not sleeping reading boring books without scrats.  
I feel bad taking any extra pills. So I’m in a little bit of dilemma. Atarax make me in a haze (it was enough before) and gives me a headache. I try to skip it one day but woke up scratching so it really works for me at this moment. I do not know yet my liver enzyme status after 12 week (get to know that 29.7) maybe it is very high at this moment and could be definition for the itch problem. I’m just wondering if the itching problem is familiar to someone out there doing double tx after the Incivek? Is it from high liver enzyme or maybe allergies? (I hope in my case not autoimmunity). Good to know there someone else fighting the dragon, giving good advice and supporting. Best wishes.

[Advocate1955]

I think it's just the crazy skin rash stuff that happens with these medications.  Perhaps the skin becomes dry and breaks down more easily and that allows bacteria to enter and prevents the skin from being able to fight the bacteria and heal itself as well as usual.  On the panty line irritation or other areas where there may be friction type contact, you might try a combination of Desitin, Hydrocortisone, and an antifungal type of cream.  Try making a paste of those 3 things, just a small amount, and see if that helps protect the skin a bit from the elastic or fabric of the panty.  You could then put something like Zeasorb or some other type of protectant powder on top of that.  You might also try elastic free panties, all cotton.  It's all about protecting the skin and helping it heal.  On the hangnail, you might try an antibiotic ointment like Bacitracin or Bactroban and then cover it with a bandaid.  It might help to soak it in salt water once or twice a day, dry it, put Bacitracin on it, and cover it in between.  Same thing for the splits and cracks (fissures) on your fingers, if that's logistically possible.  If not, you might try putting the ointment on and then putting clean cotton gloves on, especially at bed time, to keep the ointment on the fingers.
Advocate1955

[srw920]

Hi Dee - never too late to chime in.  I can identify every peg Injection site on my legs.  Initially i have no marks But they appear later.  My clothing is leaving marks.  Crazy stuff.  Appreciate the feedback. S

[Dee1956]

Day late dollar short Dee here :)

Another member had a terrible time with her fingers splitting almost all through tx
My skin became very fragile during tx and even now 6 months post however I have hope it will improve.
I have also noticed a kind of time delayed reaction, I will have blood drawn, all looks good, then a few days later I get a terrible bruise, same with bumping into things
I read that Eucerin is good as well as any lotions with lipids in them


Good luck

[srw920]

Figuy no ambien here. :-)

Idyllic I thought long and hard and I am leaning toward a scratch.  Every night I carry my 28 lb dog two flights to my room.  Now that I can't breath I have to sit and rest after the first flight.  I think he may have scratched me.  

Now it's an infected finger which was nasty but getting better.  Pcp order topical antibiotic.  Random things going on.

[BoceprevirGal]

  Hey, I havent checked out the Waxelene link, but I love Waxelene!!  The bees wzx in it smells so good, and I think it puts me in a better mood.
   I use it ater showering, and it absorbs well, so I dont worry about getting greasy sheets.
  Of course, I wouldn't put it on a cut or a scratch,
I usually clean those out well, and then use neosporin and a bandaid.
   Like Pooh, I found my finger-tips got these tiny
cuts on them. Of course, my tongue also would get all dehydrated and swollen and cracked.
  I think drinking tons of water should help with
the dryness factor~

[Idyllic]

It's possible you may not have experienced the scratch the evening prior to bed even though you woke up with it. On Sunday I barely slid through the gate while taking out the recyclables and my shoulder brushed against the rod iron. This was Sunday, mind you. Yesterday (Tuesday) I suddenly had this huge unsightly bruise that cropped up out of no where.

__________________
I would hold off on the Vaseline.  I am not sure I agree with Dr Oz's statement, that "putting Vaseline on your lips is the same as drinking gasoline" since I can't stand the guy to begin with *but* having said that the product I did find the ingredients in Waxelene interesting.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/price-beauty?page=2

Anyway, it is this:
http://www.truthinaging.com/face/waxelene-faces-off-with-vaseline-and-wins

[FlGuy]

Do you take ambien?  There have been many reports about unremembered nightime extracurricular activities while under the influence of zolpidem. I think your husband has more questions to answer.

[srw920]

Thanks Swimmer, Beeblessed and jungleheart.  On my gash I used aquaphor and it is clearing pretty fast.  Now I have an infected pointer finger because of a hang nail.  It's a nasty business trying to counter balance these smaller nuisance sx.  I am more concerned about infection because our immune system is low. Now I am soaking and squeezing.  Aquaphor for that too which is similar to Vaseline but with medication.

[JungleHeart]

First, hello everyone - I will start a thread after I see the doc. in Vegas on the 30th and find out exactly what stage I am and go from there as far as tx (I'm terrified).

On this subject, I read somewhere today that Vaseline was the best thing for the skin while on these meds (I will be doing Vic too).  The idea was get wet then dab water off (in the shower) then do a light coating of Vaseline all over.  It sounds kinda weird to me, actually sounds kind of messy, but..??  The article said that a lot of moisturizers actually take moisture OUT of the skin, even though at first they seem not to.  Well, whatever, I doubt I will try the Vaseline :)  Isn't Aveeno supposed to be good?

[beeblessed]

Hi there,

A liquid band-aid sounds good because you don't want some other bacteria to get in there.  Definitely increase your water intake.  During tx, my skin was much drier, so I used body oil AND Gold Bond Medicated Lotion (green bottle).  When I failed to keep up this regimen, I noticed dryness right away.

Take care,
Bee

Will -- LOL!!!!!

[1swimmer]

Hi there,
I have a theory based on being burned by my oven. I hit my forearm on open oven door. It was really fast and I got a gnarly burn. I think tx dehydrates the skin well below the surface. Normally, my skin would not have burned so badly. Hence, daily moisturizing and extreme hydration are necessary. Imagine putting moisturizer on a lizard, oh yeah, that be us.
C

[srw920]

Thanks Everyone:

Willb-love the humor my sister and my son tore me up.

Pooh, Parker & WD - thanks for the ideas.  Haven't had the rash but my skin is dryer than norm.  Had to stop wearing open shoes, use Aquaphor on my feet with clean socks at bedtime and the AM.  Fingers spilt open easily.  The gash is clearing slowly but I have to go to work therefore no more commando.  Going to pick up liquid band aid.  Hope that works.  Great day to all!

[working dog]

did you have something on other then cotton?...or maybe have used a dryer sheet..maybe not rinsed your cloths from wash enough?...........i have to say i had bad skin and rash problems on tx and still 8 months post have some stuff going on...wherever my cloths were tight it was really bad...very sore...stay away from polyester....of corse keep up on the water intake...billy

[Parker19]

The skin is more brittle while on treatment. And like Pooh said, strange things happen.  The skin is an organ just like the heart, lungs and liver, so when we put theses drugs in our body I think the skin definitely reacts.  Incevek is the worst to cause rashes.  I only lasted 4 days on incevek and they had to take me off for a severe rash.  I now take Victrelis and although I don't have the rash like with the incevek, I still have some skin issues.  The ribo can also cause skin problems.  My advice is just to take extra care of your skin.  I use only aveeno wash or dove for sensitive skin that is non perfumed.  I use Eucerin or aveeno lotion for dry skin (fragrence free) to keep the skin moist, if these are two expensive walmart has a generic in there equate brand and it is just as good. Just hang in there and be good to yourself and your skin and we will all make it through this.  Best of luck to you

[pooh55811]

You may have scratched it while sleeping. Or, it may have just opened up by itself along a pressure line (the panty line).

I don't know if the skin is more brittle but it sure gets weird. Maybe it is just more fragile. Whatever the problem. the skin tends to get weird things happening to it while on these meds.

Here are my examples of bizarre skin problems while on these meds (just so you can see that you don't have to do a thing to get a scratch line or a split in the skin):

*Skin splits on fingers, both length wise and circumferential. They take forever to heal. They just happen, no reason. I get a couple of them healed and then more crack open. They also appear on my right palm. I have between 4-8 open splits at a time.
*Rough bumpy skin ... everywhere I had a rash, which is almost everywhere, LOL. Feels like leather furniture, sort of. It feels thick and tough, but it damages easily.
*Itchy, red, dry skin mainly on the palms, fingers, forehead. This is not a raised rash. It looks more like a burn but no blistering. This skin will split very easily.
*Weird raised red itchy bumps just below the lower eyelids. Sometimes I look a bit like a raccoon.
*Of course, I also had a multifaceted rash which consisted of reddened skin, pimple sized red bumps, hives, papules, flat dark round red splotches. (The rash is still there, just under the skin, but it is under control with Hydroxyzine and 66-68 degree temperatures.)

Those are the skin issues I have now. I may have had others that I have blocked from my memory.

I know others have skin issues. Maybe some of them will respond.

[willbb]

Does your husband have long nails??  :)

Couldn't resist....

Hopefully someone may have some ideas for you ...

Best..
Will