Hi. This is my first ever post and I would really welcome any advice that I could be given
My mother has non hodgkin's lymphoma which has become aggressive.
Over the last few days she has had horrible itching all over her body. She has scratched herself raw in places.
She has tried anti histamines but they aren't working and she stuggles to swallow pills.
We have an appointment with a consultant tomorrow but I don't know how to help her. It's heartbreaking seeing her so distressed
Hi Barneythedog and a warm welcome to this corner of the Community although I am sorry to hear about your mum’s diagnosis. I am Mike and I help out around our various Lymphoma groups.
I don’t have DLBCL but I was diagnosed way back in 1999 at 43 with a rare, incurable but treatable type of skin Low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (CTCL) eventually reaching Stage 4a in late 2013 so although my Lymphoma ‘type’ is different from your mum’s I do appreciate the challenges of this journey rather well.
Tell me about itching…… as my NHL was a skin Lymphoma I had years of horrendous itching …. but eventually my treatments did the trick.
Itching (There are some tips in this link) is one of the symptoms of Lymphoma but on the whole for High-grade non-Hodgkin lymphomas like DLBCL once treatment starts the itching tends to go.
Has she started treatment yet?
As for swallowing pills, she should try taking her pills with carbohydrates drinks like coke, fanta as this helps stop the reflux action when taking meds.
Do ensure that this is discussed with her consultant tomorrow as they are the best people to advise the best way forward.
Thanks for this…… so we’re are taking about side effects of treatment and more specifically post treatment ‘left overs’ and itching can be one of the problems.
Chemo and Radiotherapy can have a significant and at times long lasting effect on the body and the immune system allowing things like itching to kick in post treatment….. let’s look for her consultant to help her out…. there are some creams that can calm this down along with regular antihistamines….. along with other treatments.
If she only finished her radiotherapy the end of November this is most likely still working in and on her body….. I have had a total of 45 (zaps) over my main 2 years treatment and although some treatment was on all my lymph nodes it did have a sign effect on my skin….. and more importantly on my immune system lasting a good 14 months as this was seen as part of my treatment for my second Stem Cell Transplant 14 months after my first.
If the immune system is not functioning well skin problems can kick off.
It is hard…. many a night my wife was covering all my body with Hydromol Cream and I was sleeping with cotton socks, gloves and at time at hat to help the cream sink in then we would have to change both my PJs and all the bed sheets every day.
Yup….. this unfortunately is normal for a Lymphoma journey……. I have been doing this for over 24 years 
