Hives

I've had them randomly throught my life. The most recent was on June 9 when stung by a bee, I was covered head to toe in them. I'm blaming it on the methotrexate I'm now on as I seem to be more sensitive to alot of things now.

I am so glad I found this! I am in the middle of a severe Crohn's flare. Finally got that under control with prednisone and now am on Apriso. BUT now I have HIVES! I have them all over my legs and arms and their "witching hour" to show up is usually around 7pm and don't go away until the late morning.

Dr. can't figure out what is causing them, but he thinks it's definitely related to Crohn's. They are horrible! What have you done to get rid of them? I've had them now for 2 weeks.

Hi, Yes, had hives... but they said i got it from Humira which I am now off as had allergic reaction to it. I also take zyrtec every day now to stop it. Good luck, and try not to stress about them. Hugs, Linda

I have been on Humira for about 1 1/2 years and do have a rash on my legs and arms. It looks and feels like a bug bites first, and then turns in to a hive looking patches. Very itchy! I noticed  during cold month’s they disappear, but come back during warm months especially during summer heat and humidity in area I live in. It feels better when I am inside in air conditioning space and they do go away after a while, but as soon I am back in the heat, hives comeback.  Taking Benadryl helps and also anti itch creams. Never had this before I started using Humira.

Hi,
I also have chronic hives and have had them for about 20 years. about 4 yrs ago I was diagnosed with Sjogren's and put on Plaquenil. My gastrointestinal issues (didn't know I had Crohn's at the time) went crazy while taking Plaquenil, as did my hives. I went to an immunologist, who did a test that confirmed the hives are "autoimmune in nature". He told me autoimmune mediated hives are always linked to some other autoimmune disease, they are not an autoimmune disease in-and-of-itself. My hives were not tied to any medications as I'd not been on any medication other than Plaquenil, and that was only for about 10 days. I believe the doctor is correct and that mine are tied to my autoimmune diseases (Crohn's, Sjogren's and Spondylitis). I personally believe they're tied more to the Crohn's than anything else since the times I've had major Crohn's flares my hives have broken through the medications (Xyzal & Zantac) that I use daily to control them. I had always thought Zantac was an antacid, and in actuality it is, but it's also a histamine blocker (H2 receptor), and we have many histamine receptors in our intestines.
Just wanted to share a bit of my chronic uticaria experience since I don't fall into the category of mine being caused by long term use of medications. Hope it helps.
Chrissy

Hey! The Dermatologist basically confirmed that the hives are being caused by my Crohn's. I'm officially off of the prednisone and still taking my apriso and a zyrtec everyday. He also gave me some Pepcid to take and see if that helps control the hives, apparently it is antihistamine as well.

The hives haven't gone away completely, it's almost like they will do great for a few days and then come back full force. Frustrating, but I'm also stressed right now trying to open my own business in two weeks, so I'm hoping that once the stress of that calms down, that the hives won't be as active.

It's comforting to know everyone else has had similar issues b/c even though my dr's say it's Crohn's related, they still kind of just act stumped as to what to do to treat them other than the usual benedryl.

I've never had problems with hives and just started about ten days go breaking out in hives. It happens a Couple times a day and only while I'm at work. I haven't started anything new since the remicade and I'm having my 4th dose Wednesday. I have no idea why these hives keep coming. I'm seeing the rheumatologist Wednesday morning before the remicade dose so I'm hoping they can tell me something.

From reading all these posts, I have realized that I should be taking antihistimine for maintenance, not just when they pop out. Thank you all who have posted on this subject.

CE125 - I've been on Humira for 2 years, and the only real difference I notice is that I can eat more and have gained 6 much-needed pounds. My doctor is not satisfied, though, since I haven't gone into remission. Hope your experience with Humira is good.

MIssPriss - good luck with your business venture!

 

I used to get hives all the time and also a flushed face. Basically mine was a histamine reaction and got much worse after a TI resection in 97. I'd say I had the hives and flushed face -more often than not- for 35 years. I would take benydryl daily and it would help a lot. The histamine intolerance would get worse when eating high histamine foods. I had to figure this all out on my own and cut out the food offenders. The docs were always clueless. No doc, it's not a lupus butterfly rash because of the concurrent nausea, abd pain, runny nose and irregular heartbeat. In the end I did figure it out myself. But what works for one of us doesn't always for others.

I have since gone dairy and gluten free. I have not had a hive or been flushed in the past 2 years. I figured there was some sort of allergy or intolerance going on. I no longer have joint pain either.
I have never been on Humira and have taken Pentasa for 16 years now.

There are plenty of lists out there for high histamine containing foods and also foods that stimulate histamine production. Many of them are the same.

The enzyme that breaks down the natural histamine is produced in the TI, lose that and lose the enzyme. Similar to those of us who take B12 shots.

Cheese, alcohol, processed meats, fermented foods, tomatoes, red skinned fruit and strawberries are a few off the top of my head.
I find leftovers, especially meats are a problem too.
I generally eat whole foods now, no gluten or dairy. It's difficult but it's worth it to me.

Post Edited (gobnaitt) : 8/7/2012 9:48:18 PM (GMT-6)