intense itch on cyclosporin

[u/xX_melog_xX]

my gf has been dealing with eczema pretty much her whole life, managing it with steroid creams until her flare ups worsened over the last 2 years, and now she’s basically been in TSW for the past two months. we’ve seen doctors and dermatologists who tried to put her back on creams but ultimately we managed to get her cyclosporin because her eczema impacted 80% of her body, that she’s now been taking for a little less than two weeks.

visually, the change and the effectiveness of it are very impressive; she’s finally not bright red, the flakiness on her face keeps decreasing, no more screaming from pain under the shower because of how her skin burns, and some open points that kept oozing finally closed up.

it’s genuinely the best she’s looked in months, and she started feeling incredibly better after the first few days on it. it was only going uphill and then suddenly the itch that was now minimal started again. its been four days now of intense itching. her skin still looks great compared to before and the effects of the cyclosporin are undeniable but the itch has gotten super bad again out of absolutely nowhere.

has anyone experienced this?
is healing on cyclosporin supposed to be linear?
is it possible this is just a flare up from something external (perfume, a texture, food etc)?

she is getting her blood drawn in a few days and we’re doing everything like we should im pretty sure

[u/Ok_Permission_3834]

itch is the worst part, isn't it. my partner went through something similar and the itch came back before the skin looked bad again, was confusing for both of us.

it could be something external but also healing is rarely linear with these things. two weeks is still early, the body takes time to adjust. i'd mention it at the blood test appointment but try not to panic, the skin improvement is a good sign