Vicki raises an excellent possibility about...do you have restless legs syndrome (RLS)? Is this the sensation of "itchiness" to which you are referring? If so, RLS can affect the arms and trunk as well as the legs (RLS affects the arms and trunk when the syndrome is in state of relatively more severe progression). I believe I also posted about RLS at one time - you might want to search those postings, just to see how others responded.
I have fairly severe and often unrelenting restless arms and legs -- although RLS these days affects my neck, shoulders, and arms about 90% of the time. I've also read that there seems to be a very high correlation between UNM disorders and RLS. This does not mean that UMN cause RLS (or vice versa), but that they are related.
I've had RLS since 2002 or so -- the itchy, creepy-crawly, electric feeling can be extremely uncomfortable as well -- it can occur during the day as well as at night (which is typical of "classic" RLS). To be honest, I'd much rather have controlled pain that RLS symptoms (RLS sx. tend to be much worse in my own circumstances). My version of RLS tends to be sporadic - it does disappear for as long as 2 weeks to a couple of months....but when it returns, it returns with a vengeance (I have used the term "vengeance" to describe reignition of symptoms -- just as you have above -- which makes me wonder if you are, in fact, referring to RLS). Your neurologist can treat RLS (or a sleep disorder doc).
I am on Requip (ropinorole) 2 mg. twice daily for RLS -- even though this is the highest dosage of Requip suggested, my RLS is not very well-controlled. About 1-2 years ago or so, the FDA approved Gabapentin for treatment of RLS (as Vicki says above); sinemet is also prescribed. There is also a relatively new medication for treatment of RLS -- called Neupro -- it is worn as a transdermal patch (I need to pursue this approach).
Hope this helps!
Mike
