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Posted 1/4/2015 4:34 AM (GMT 0)
about a month ago I started breaking out in hives. The hives are so bad I can not sleep without taking Benadryl. I am currently on two antibiotics, Zithro and Cefdinir. I thought I was having a herx reaction and tried to wait it out. But the hives have happened every day for over a month. So now I think I am having an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics or maybe I am having a histamine intolerance?

I called my doctor this week and she had me stop taking antibiotics to see if the hives clear up. I have been off them for three days and am continuing to break out in hives.

I have had a few alcoholic beverages the past few months and notice the hives get worse with alcohol. I am a brewer, so it is very hard to avoid all alcohol all the time. I was very good at the beginning and did not drink at all for over two weeks.

Anyone else experience this? Not sure where to go from here.
Posted 1/4/2015 5:08 AM (GMT 0)
BD—
Have you been taking any probiotics or antifungals with the abx??

Sounds like a yeast/fungal reaction to me… and then I read that you're a brewer??? I'd bet on it. If that sounds right, I'd ask your doc for a systemic anti fungal Rx (like Fluconazole or Ketoconazole 200mg/day) for a few wks and a local anti fungal like pure Nystatin powder 1,000,000 units to take for a few months. And go no-sugar, no-alcohol, low-carb for awhile until your body can recalibrate.

If it doesn't sound like a yeast/fungal issue, I'd increase your skin detox—lymph detox in particular, do some detox soaks. Your skin is your largest detox organ and it might be that it is having a hard time processing the toxins from your treatment.

If it's a histamine intolerance, maybe you have a food allergy you're not aware of?

Sorry—just throwing some ideas out there.

-p
Posted 1/4/2015 5:18 AM (GMT 0)
Pirouette-

Thanks for the reply. I take a probiotic every day. I took Fluconazole for three days when the hives first started. I try to take 3 detox baths each week and do infrared sauna once a week for 45 minutes.

Looks like I will have to get stricter with my diet! I did a food allergy test and I try not to eat dairy, gluten, sugar, caffeine, alcohol (most of the time) and a whole bunch of other things. I must be reacting to something.

I was feeling so good the first four weeks of starting my treatment and now I am going downhill. This is week eight. It is so frustrating. The worst part is it is impacting my social life. I cannot go eat and drink with my friends like I used to. Plus I feel super tired again. Tell me this gets better.
Posted 1/4/2015 5:23 AM (GMT 0)
btw—where are the hives?
Posted 1/4/2015 5:26 AM (GMT 0)
The hives show up everywhere. Mostly on my neck, arms, feet, stomach. If I itch, my skin puffs up and gets all red.
Posted 1/4/2015 5:28 AM (GMT 0)
Have you changed any products—soap, laundry detergent? Have you used any pesticides?

is it possible some brewer's yeast got on your skin?

any significant changes in your diet?

are you aware of any mold issues where you live or work? in your car?

does your partner have any skin conditions?
Posted 1/4/2015 5:34 AM (GMT 0)
I have not changed any products that I can think of. I get brewer's yeast and beer on me on a daily basis. I have an allergy to brewer's yeast and baker's yeast. No significant changes to diet since I started.

I don't think there is any mold issues at work or home or car.

My husband doesn't have any skin conditions.

I am going to go on a very bland diet for a couple weeks and see if that helps.
Posted 1/4/2015 5:39 AM (GMT 0)
OK—that's a good idea. I would keep diet mainly to veggies and meat protein—eliminate all grains, simple carbs, sugars, alcohol.

It may just be an exaggerated response to the brewer's and baker's yeast complicated by all the abx. Please let us know how things evolve—good luck!

-p
Posted 1/4/2015 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
Actually, you need to stop your abx until you talk to your doctor. Hives is an indication of possible allergic reaction to the abx. I would hate to find out that you landed in the hospital due to a serious allergic reaction because you didn't stop soon enough.

If this isn't an allergic reaction, your doc will have you back on the abx with only a short break and no harm done. Better safe than sorry.
Posted 1/4/2015 11:55 PM (GMT 0)
Traveler,

I have been off my abx for four days, and I feel like I am back at square one. Brain fog, fatigue, insomnia, inflammation. How long do you think the abx will stay in my system and cause hives once I have quit taking them?

Thanks.
Posted 1/5/2015 12:49 AM (GMT 0)
Normally it's about 72 hours I believe, but considering we take higher doses and sometimes take things to make them penetrate deeper into the tissues, I'm not sure. Hopefully someone with more experience with abx will be able to answer soon. Otherwise I would encourage you to start a new thread asking this.

I still would encourage you to call your LLMD and let them know what's going on and what you felt you had to do first thing in the am!
Posted 1/5/2015 1:34 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Traveler. I called my LLMD last week and she advised me to stop right away. Now I just have to wait to get an appointment with her to see what to do next. It is probably going to be a month or so until I get a chance for an in-office visit as I live 3.5 hours away from my doctor and she is booked out.
Posted 1/5/2015 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
BD—
Is there any way you can stay home from work to also avoid the brewer's and baker's yeast for a week or so?

-p
Posted 1/5/2015 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
P-

Probably not since we are a small craft brewery and have limited staff. Will have to wait it out and see what happens.

I cannot believe how bad I feel after only being off abx for 4 days! Is this normal?
Posted 1/5/2015 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
Can you call you LLMD again, and ask her what she would like you to do during this time? If she has no suggestions, ask her about using herbs or prescriptions to help control your symptoms at least.

And can you increase your detoxing any? Like add in a foot soak on the nights you don't use a full soak? Or add in a binder like activated charcoal or cholestyramine, or other that your doc might wish you to use?

Does she do phone appt's? If so that might be another option.
Posted 1/5/2015 5:21 AM (GMT 0)
I don't think it's common, no.

But after thinking about this—the hives are clearly an allergic reaction. And you probably already know that there is airborne yeast you're being exposed to in the brewery. So, if you already know you have an allergy to the brewer's and baker's yeast, it's not likely that you'll have much change in your hives until you can give yourself relief from that environment.

And it seems likely that the abx tipped the balance of your microbiome… and jeopardized your ability to handle your yeast exposure. Thus the hives.

-p

Post Edited (Pirouette) : 1/5/2015 12:20:55 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/5/2015 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
Please let us know how you are doing!!
Posted 1/6/2015 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
Good news...no hives today! I worked all day bottling beer and in the cellar too.

I spoke to my LLND on the phone and she is going to put me back on just one of the antibiotics (Omnicef) I was taking. Then we wait and see if at a time to see if it triggers the hives. Cross your fingers.
Posted 1/6/2015 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
WOW! I did not expect that. So glad I was wrong! Crossing fingers… let us know what happens.

-p
Posted 1/6/2015 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
AWESOME!!! At least now you know!!! Watch closely, as we don't want to hear that you had a severe reaction!!! And be careful to note any changes you make in the next few days.

Let us know how you are doing!
Posted 1/8/2015 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
I started back on one of my antibiotics last night and it seemed to cause insomnia. I went to sleep at 11 PM and woke up at 1 AM. My heart felt like it was racing a bit, and I could not get back to sleep until 5:30 this morning. Four hours of sleep. I see a nap in my future!

Going to hope that was a one night thing since it has been over a week since I last took them.
Posted 1/8/2015 5:43 PM (GMT 0)
Fingers crossed. That is a typical allergic reaction to abx so keep a close eye on it. It could also be due to a hundred other things! If you want to do a search there are quite a few conversations on this forum about waking up from sleep like that so it's not uncommon.

-p
Posted 1/8/2015 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
Be sure to start off slowly (on low doses) as you add the abx back in. And be sure that you are detoxing a lot as you add these back in - remember the bacteria put off a lot of toxins when they die and the body can be overwhelmed quickly.
Posted 1/8/2015 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
I have a history of hives. Arms and legs. It happened almost overnight. (Before my Dx) And I wasn't taking any meds. I honestly think it was the lyme screwing with my immune system and the system goes haywire looking for the wrong thing (Autoimmune). That's my explanation....
Posted 1/9/2015 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
My daughter has a time with hives any time that she is under a lot of stress - so maybe that's what's happening with you as well??
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