The Joy of Itching
I couldn’t sleep last night, because my legs were itchy and tingly. They jump and jerk involuntarily when the neuropathy gets bad. And I toss and turn trying desperately to get them to chill out. What I feel is a lot like restless leg syndrome (RLS), except the severity of the sensations depend on where I am in the chemotherapy cycle. I’m smack dab in the middle of the worst part, having taken Round 6 on Tuesday night.
Sometimes I put large ice packs on my legs and that helps. But I was too cold for that last night. So at 2:00 in the morning, I got out of bed and jumped on my FitDesk exercise bike. I rode for 20 minutes—which is a long-ass time for me in the middle of treatments—until the uncontrollable urge to move around and scratch my legs subsided.
By some miracle I was able to fall asleep before the itching and prickling returned. But here I am this Easter morning wondering what would happen to me if I just biked all day. As a chronic pain aficionado, I’m here to tell you that chronic itching is infinitely worse than…well, anything. Chronic pain might depress you, but chronic itching will make you lose your bloody mind.
Anyway, that’s just the legs. They’re the worst, by far, but I itch everywhere. I scratch my face. My head. My neck. My arms. When I reach peak itching, it feels like there are bugs crawling on my forehead and hairs tickling my face. It’s a real joy, let me tell ya.
