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Posted 8/27/2008 5:24 AM (GMT 0)
Tennille - acquired cold urticaria is not well understood. You can try the hydrating regime that Ann talks about, but if you are carrying an epi-pen for your problem, it is likely not going to work in your case. I am guessing about the epi-pen based on your remark about it possibly killing you. Sorry that I can't be more encouraging, but it is a bit beyond my poor wits. There are some new treatments in the pipeline, so don't give up yet!
Posted 8/30/2008 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
Hello to all who suffer from hives and wierd unexplaned rashes, I am a 46 year old mom of three and have suffered severly pretty much since my teen years with a rash on my face,hair line on head and occasionally on my arms, legs,chest and back its horrible oh ya also behind my ears.I was so glad i found this web site as its given me some hope.At least im not the only one with this. I have been to every type of doctor dermatologist,allergist,stanford to see specialist,natural docs,fibromyalgia docs,etc.....none of them know what i have.I have had biopsy,colonics,IV of hydrogen peroxide,taken herbs, had allergy shots that seem to help alittle, but with a change in our insurance that was interupted.
My rash looks more like a pimple.stays itchy and very sore and takes forever to heal, looks so bad i wont go out of the house.
The good news is i think i figured out what helps me,i had a test to see if i had heavy metal poisioning, my reading was off the charts for mercury!!!!!! no wonder i have been so sick with chronic fatigue fibro, face/body rash, anxiety etc....you name it i seem to get it. Anyway i also was positive for tin, lead,cadium and bi****h, any way these will do alot of damage and destroy your immune system to say the least.
What i have found out is what works benadryl at night 25-50 mg and claratin 10-20 mg in the day. Also i cant eat any type of nuts this includes palm oil or coconut oils , no caffiene, absolutly no milk,no chocolate, mango or paypaya,or avadado, no wheat, no butter basically no dairy! it sucks, but to have clear skin its so worth it.I have to read the ingredients of everything i buy and be very careful of dinning out!
I am sad to say we had to get rid of our sweet puppy and kitty too as i am so allergic to animals. Even to walk around the block would break me out, as im allergic to all weeds, grasses, trees, molds,its really tuff cuz we live in farm land and well im surrounded by plants and pesticides.
So the good news is i have not got a new bump or break out in 1 week staying clear of all the above !hopes this helps someone out there.
Ill keep you all updated on how i do in the weeks to come, also there is a new antihistamine in canada called Rupatadine the is suposed to be really good for chronic hives. Its not approved in the usa yet probably cuz it works. Has anyone tried it yet? let me know!
to all who suffer i send a big hugg i know how life altering it can be.
sensative1 keep serching and ask for wisdom!
Posted 8/30/2008 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
Seasative,

If the meds you are using get to be to much you might try NAC or Quercetin. I hadd good luck with these for some major hives and it helped with outdoor alergies. I have also used Biochem aller-max with good results and many of their products are gluten free.
Posted 8/30/2008 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
I have just been reading about an acupuncture treatment that is supposed to clear allergies. It is called BioSET and is available in only a few states so far. It sounds interesting from what I have read (admittedly written by the inventor of the system). They have a web page at: http://www.bioset.net/
Posted 9/15/2008 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
Ok lately my hives have been ok, I still get them, but not as bad. My take in drug is Benardyl 75 mg and Zantac 175 mg and 10 mg of Doxeipin, usually take two doxepins so 20 mgs if my condition is bad. Lately I noticed my voice gets hoarse and my lips tend to get swollen a lot and I feel lumps all over my scalp which goes away so guessing their welts. Today at work my writst got a nice hive, and my lip was swollen, feels like a sore comin on and then it swells, hope its not herpes as I been with my girlfriend for two years and she is tested a lot for pap smears and other check ups. Anyway, i have no idea, i had a microwavable philly cheese steak sandwich today and some potato skins cheddar and bacon ships and sun flower seeds and a coke. I have had sun flower seeds and coke and philly cheese steak in the past and never had hives or lost of voice or swollen lips before. I can't believe their isn't an answer to this. Of all medicines and time we been through in decades no answer to unexplained hives, swollen lips and hoarse voice. I have not went to a internal dr which is my next step, because I have had it with an Allergist. We have two cats, which is funny that when i hold the cat i dont break out right away or have issues breathing, lol. Very weird. Could it be some sort of cancer, prostate or whatever, that could be causing this? Unprotected sex, could my gf have given me something? lol, i noticed after unprotected sex i started getting hives ever since. My elbows were irritated before unprotected sex, but seems like my ordeal has gotten worsen since. What I hate about this delima is you start to think of this or that, if that is the cause or what, gets tiring. I have not had much of any hives yesterday and at work i get a nice one on my wrist and lost my voice throughout the afternoon. I sit at a cube all day.
Posted 9/15/2008 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
I may also point out Doxepin is not a good drug to take. It really changes your mood and makes you very angry. I been calm when i quit taking it.
Posted 9/16/2008 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
See I get home last night, hives everywhere, Swelling on head, forehead, then eye, this morning my hives are gone but my eye is a bit swollen. My head hurts as well. I think i need to see an internal dr, and hope i don't get referred to see an allergist.
Posted 11/24/2008 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
I'd just like to post that I tried the re-hydration method for my hives and it worked! Let me explain my situation:

I woke up with slight hives that intensified for 3 days. I had never had hives before and initially thought bug bites until I mentioned it to my Mom and she suggested I go to to the doctor. Well I went to the doctor and he gave me a steriod shot and prescription xyzal. My insurance didn't cover, so I just used the 2 weeks of free samples he gave me. The majority of my hives cleared up within the 2 weeks, though I was still seeing 1-2 new spots a day that would disappear after a couple days.

After only 4 days of being off the medicine my hives came back!! I went again to the doctor and he gave me 3 weeks worth of free samples and had some bloodwork done. It all came back okay. In the meantime, I did my own reasearch and stumbled upon this thread about rehydrating. It made perfect sense to me as I didn't drink water, or really much of any fluid for that matter.

I started drinking the normal amount of water for my body size and after about 2 weeks of the medicine and water I didn't notice any new hives at all!! After finishing the medicine and still continuing the water I'm hive free for almost 2 weeks!! (I get the occasional hive-like bump, but its gone within hours) I've only had 2 hive-like bumps in a week and a half.

All I can say is that if you don't think your hives are being caused by an allergic reaction assess your liquid intake and try drinking more water. At first I had a hard time drinking all the water, but it gets better and becomes much easier.
Posted 12/9/2009 10:58 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Anna and everyone else for their posts!

I have had chronic Urticaria for over a year.  Like you, I've been to all kinds of immunologists, etc., a years worth of lab tests and they haven't been able to diagnose the hives.  I shoudl alsop mention that my hives started teh day after I had a flu shot, but my immunologist swears that's purely coincidental.

My hives are very aggressive.  I break out from head to toe often and usually begins around noon (I think this pattern is telling).  Once they begin, I tend to double or even tripel dose my Xyzal and Hydroxyzine and it takes about 6 hours for them to go away.  Not good for business I can assure you.

I can tie my outbreaks to three things typically:

  1. drinking alcohol, especially more than 1 drink
  2. excessive exercise (and I'm a long-distance runner, so this is tough)
  3. and pressure hives in my hands from raking, hammering, etc.

I foudn this posting on a google search of "hives that happen around noon" as the timing is really the only part of my bouts that is completely consistent.  And your postings have given me renewed inspiration to figure figure this out on my own.

I read about the detoxes and liver toxins and all of that makes sense.  I've always felt it had somethign to do with my liver because of the alcohol causality.  But the dehydration idea MAKES THE MOST SENSE.  I drink a lot of coffee, run a lot and obviously alcohol can dehydrate.  At one point I thought it was because of the coffee.

So I'm postign today as I plan to first try hydrating as much as possible.  If they go away and I can reduce my meds, I'll let you know.  From there, I will go on to some of the other detoxes.  I hope to report back to you what's worked for me.

Posted 3/23/2010 4:41 AM (GMT 0)
i am new to this site i have had hives for the past two months have tried everything and goin some where pther then home to stay to see if it was soe\mething around that was making me break out the more i sweat i find the worse i break out. i have been to the emergency room 2 times sofar i was on predisone first but it didnt help the second time i went in i was covewred and they gave me a couple shot and precribed me something different that i took for 6 days and it sayed gone all along but it slowly came back and im trying every thing i can to stay out of the hospitals seeing as i already have over a 700 dollar bill that i cant pay.i have been taking cough medicine to slow down my immune system,benadryl, drinking green tea and using a face wash called oxy,chill factor which makes them go away after i have a bad break out but lately its been coming back faster so im not sure how much longer all this will work so i have been trying anything to make the go away but they never go away for good.
Posted 3/23/2010 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
Maybe it's a food allergy?
Have you seen an allergist?

Joy
Posted 3/24/2010 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
hello zeke1990,

i've had hives for just over one year so i can understand what you're going through. like many others with chronic hives i've seen every dr. you can think of and nobody can tell me what's causing them. my allergist prescribes me meds that help take away the itch and severity of the hives, but they don't totally take them away. i also started taking an anti-depressant, because months of being constantly itchy can be really depressing. i think since i started the anti-depressants, i've seen some improvement of the hives.  but everyone is different, and hives can be caused by so many things. may i suggest that you start eliminating possible sources of your hives.........possible food allergies especially dairy, gluten, and dyes found in foods, medication allergies, and pet allergies.  when i first started seeing my allergist he told me i have "chronic autoimmune urticaria."  so what that basically means is they don't know what is causing them, and that can be the most frustrating part--not knowing why you're breaking out in hives! anyway, since the day i got them, i've been searching for an answer to the cause of my hives and i don't plan on giving up. hang in there and i hope you find some answers. smile

 

Posted 3/31/2010 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
I sure am glad to find this site ! I have suffered from hives for over 6 months now and have resigned myself to the fact that I will have it for some time. Doctors have been of no help except for the drugs to help with the constant itching,swelling and burning pain. You can tell by my name what I suffer from in the morning ! (angioadema)
I have just completed a self imposed short course of Prednisone just to relieve the distress for a week.I took 20mg for 3 days,10 mg for 2 days and today I am done. This dosage is just barely enough to keep the welts at bay.I feel good with no side effects which I have had with larger doses after discontinuing the Prednisone ( burning tongue..Thrush ?) My main therapy has been two Allegra in the morning (180mg ea.), 1 10mg Singulair,1 10mg Claratin,2 400mg Tagament at night. I tried Doxepin for two weeks and went from 10mg to 30. It really didn't help but I sure slept good ! Problem was I was 'drugged' and sleepy for 24 hrs and couldn't do anything so i knocked that off !
I am going to try Anna's method of massive water intake (I have to force myself to drink) and Probiotics. It certainly can't hurt and with all these antihistamines ,I need the water !
I too have no clue of how this stuff started or what,if anything,is causing it. Thank God I am retired and don't have to work ! This would make life doubly hard !
I will certainly keep you advised of my results. This short course of Prednisone has worked well and has made me feel good. I wonder how often I can repeat the cycle. (once every 2 months,twice a year ?) I am well aware of the nastyness of this stuff and will only use it if I need to and in minimum dosage.I did continue my antihistimine dosage while taking the prednisone . I tried to wein off the antihistimines for a few days but it was not long untill the hives came back with a vengence !
Thanks again all ! It helps to know I am not the only one.
Posted 4/1/2010 2:08 AM (GMT 0)
Dear Lumpy Butt,

I'm sorry you're suffering from chronic hives.  Have you considered it might be hormones?  A lady I work with said she got hives when she went through menapause (I'm sorry if this offends you--i noticed you said you are retired so i'm guessing at your age), and she got something to balance her hormones and they went away!  I'm not saying this is the cause of your CU but just incase it's something you may not have thought of........

Good luck to you. smile

Posted 4/1/2010 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
hives b gone,
I don't have menapause. I am one of the few males that have CU I guess. I didn't make that specific. My age(65) doesn't bother me one bit . I wouldn't want to be any younger as the mess we have coming down the pike in our country is not too palatable. I was able to enjoy real music,fun times, nice cars,etc. But,I digress.
I don't have depression anxiety or any of that other stuff either. I fly airplanes,restore British sports cars,drink beer (I quit that for awhile too,but didn't help) and all that other"manly ' stuff. I just have these big patches and painfull lumps to deal with which is not helping my retirement much. I have gone 2 days now since I quit taking Prdnisone and so far so good. Few hives are visable but, of course, that means nothing yet as it is too soon.
I started taking TrLac pro biotic yesterday and am drinking copious quantities of water as Anna sugested. When I came off Prdnisone the last too times within a week I had this burning tonque which I had a devil of a time getting rid of .That' could have been Thrush which is candida.So perhaps that is my problem. I also had my gall bladder removed over a year ago and am having intestinal upset after I eat sooooo...maybe that is also a symptom of candida. I am hopeful and will definately keep everyone advised if it works or does not. I am also continuing with the 6 daily antihistimine pills I take. They do help but I think they have a tendedcy to fatique me in the afternoon even though they are "non sedating" I will try to wein off them little by little as time goes by (sounds like the song )
Thanks for your concern and how are you doing with hives ? Are you any better ?
Dick
Posted 4/1/2010 8:49 PM (GMT 0)
one positive I forgot to mention. I have hay fever and we are having a very bad pollen season this year in NW Florida. The news programs are covering all the suffering going on in the local area. For the first time I can remember,it is not bothering me !!! So,there is some good from taking all these antihistimines !
Dick
Posted 4/2/2010 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
Oh No!  I'm so sorry I confused you as a woman!  blush  My apologies. 

It's so frustrating not knowing what the cause of your CU is.  I always have hives on my body but over the past year they have slowly gotten better.  When I first got them they would join into plaques and cover my entire body but now they're bumps around the size of a quarter...sometimes a bit bigger, sometimes a bit smaller.

I truly hope you find the cause of your CU! smile

Posted 4/2/2010 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
No problem !
I woke up this morning with a patch of welts (on my butt of course..thus the name). Mine too are at least the size of a quarter and usually larger. They protrude about 1/32 or so above the skin level. But because there are so few,at this point, it does give me some hope.I know that it has only been a few days since stopping Prednisone so I expect more to occur.
I have quit taking artificial sweeteners,aspirin (although needed for my heart),bannanas (which I love !),tomatoes and bell peppers. These food items,which I don't think will have any bearing,were because of another members success. So I will try it for a while. Again I am consuming huge quantities of water and Trilac (2-3 times a day)
If I stay at this level then next week,I will start reducing the antihistimines. I will go from 6 to 4 and see how that goes. I will also start introducing some of the other items one at a time waiting about a week in between.
This is all wishfull thinking of course.
This whole ordeal is kind of like being in a foreign prison. At first you want to find a way to escape because the day before you were free. After time goes by you realize it isn't going to happen and you resign yourself to your fate. I am still a "newbie" (6 months) and am looking for that excape route.
Maybe some of the things I am doing,and Anna suggested will help you or others. I certainly hope so. Doctors are of little use as I found out.You sit in their waiting room for hours,endure bawling babies,no place to sit,etc. Then you see him for 2 minutes and pay $160 in order to get some perscriptions for drugs. I had to suggest what drugs to take on one occasion(ala; internet forrums) They don't check to see how you are doing so it is up to you to be your own doctor. This and other internet foruums have been great for that. My doctor told me that we would fix this problem but the internet said otherwise.For some reason that made me feel better.I know this was not going to be short term thing and don't look for quick cures.
Just talking to someone that has this problem,as I do, has been a great help. Since no one around you has the problem you get tired of hearing : "maybe it's your nerves" Yeah right !
I too have been diagnosed with the autoimmune type of CU.But that was because the Dr couldn't find out what might be causing it(if anything)
I think as one guy said : " I would rather have an Elephant sitting in my waiting room then someone with Chronic Urticaria" certainly applies
Take care and hang in there !
Dick
Posted 4/6/2010 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
Well today I have a wooper dose of hives ! I am covered head to toe with huge welts ! My legs wrists and hands are swollen big time ! Boy do they hurt ! I have taken 3 180mg Allegra and after an hou it is helping the pain somewhat. I think I probably instigated this by mowing in the sun yesterday.I had to find out and I did.
Am continuing to take TriLac and large amounts of water. The water has improved my skin texture and the TriLac has pretty much stopped the stomach upset,gas etc I was getting after about every meal. I will get some more of this stuff !
I am tempted to take another short low dose course of Prednisone but don't know how often I can use the Prednisone therapy. I finished a short course a week ago and don't want to take Predisone unless I absolutely have to !
I sure don't get much sleep with this stuff. Every afternoon I feel like a nap. Maybe it is all the antihistimines.
I do drink alot of coffee. Has anyone heard of coffee as a trigger ?
Dick
Posted 4/8/2010 1:27 PM (GMT 0)

I found a great cream on another internet site and mixed some up. It works like right now on painful wheals.It is Cromolyn Cream. I used 1/2 bottle of Eucerin Calming itch-relief treatment, and 1 bottle of Nasalcrom nose spray. I emptyed out 1/2 bottle of the Eucerin (into another container) poured in the whole bottle of nose spray ,shook it up and now have a terrific pain relieving cream ! I will get another bottle of the nose spray and mix with the leftover cream to have another batch available.

Nothing new on my hives. They keep me company 24 hrs a day and hurt like hell. I am trying colchicine now. Don't know what a gout drug has to do with hives but my Dr gave it to me. ThreeLac continues to work well with my digestives problems I had,will continue.

          Dick

Posted 4/11/2010 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
I started using French Green clay on my hives and it helps to cool them. I just started an anti yeast RX 2 days ago and I don't have hives today. They were really bad in Jan and Feb and I was still breaking out. This forum made me think about yeast. Did not know there was a connection. I thought and worked on hydration, foods etc. I have Lyme and on 3 antibiotics pulsing them. I did not have the "usual" yeast symptoms these months but started diflucan and I seem better for now. Will see......
Posted 4/12/2010 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
Well I jumped the gun.  I forgot that I had also drank a cup of tea made from Red clover and Nettle.

The store and articles I had read said that Nettle is a natural antihistamine.

My hives can back Sunday and I had not had Nettle since Friday. I drank another cup on Sunday and my hives went away within the hour and stayed away all day. Now this am, I'm gradually breaking out again. 

I see my doc tomorrow.  I have also read that when treating Lyme with ABX that hives are possible.  I don't know if I should be taking antihisamines at all, but it is the only thing that can keep me sane when I am itching all over.

Anyway, just wanted to update.

Regardless of the cause I am still getting hives with no really pattern at all. Everyday since March 2nd I have awaken at night with hives.

Good Luck to all you itchy people.

Posted 5/15/2010 10:33 AM (GMT 0)
I have had hives off and on since I was 18, I'm 43 now. I'm going through a bout with them now that started in February. I have been through allergy testing and down through the years, they have been treated with steroids and antihistimines. Neither truly being effective, they just had to run their course. They would vanish just like they came (after a few months). I finally decided to see an accupuncturist. The effects were almost immediate. They are much more manageable after one treatment. Plus, I'm rarely taking any antihistimine now, and no steroids. I am taking chinese herbs and natural vitamins. Her diagnosis is that stress/anxiety takes it toll on my body and causes my liver to stagnate. Keep in mind, the liver is functioning, but the energy in the liver is not what it should be. She has suggested a more whole foods diet, eliminating processed foods, and meats full of antibiotics/hormones. In two weeks I have found relief, I still have them, and its not perfect, but I am able to not go through the day clawing at myself. She also gave me a liver detox pill to help cleanse out the toxins in my liver. I feel like for the first time I'm on the right track to getting to the root of the problem and not treating it just symptomatically. I wish all of you the best because I know how miserable you are. The first time I had these, I had them for a year and 9 mos. I should also mention, I have the type that leaves bruising (urticaria vasculitis), so even when the hives go away, they leave a nasty bruise for a few days that still has me looking like I've been beat with a stick. Not very attractive during the summer season!

One other thing to add, I do have hypothyroidism, which is also autoimmune.  The accupuncturist is working on that as well because I had read so much about thryoid antibodies causing this problem. 

Posted 10/5/2010 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

I have been suffering from hives for about 2 and a half years now and have done what many have done, doctors, naturopath, food elimination diets, cleanses, etc... Today I had what Oprah would call an "aha moment". I do believe that my hives could be the cause of chronic dehydration.  What I have found is that whenever I'm having drinks, no hives. But the next day, like clockwork, BAM! What I have found to be the only relief is having a couple of drinks the next day and almost weening myself off of the hangover I guess you could say. I'm not sure why after all this time I didn't realize that dehydration could be the cause. It seems to make soo much sense.

I have never been a big water drinker. I drink tons of coffee and like to indulge in the alcohol on the weekends as well. Today I have guzzled about 8 glasses of water so far and am planning to try and rehydrate myself over the next while to see if this helps. I will keep you posted and let you know if it works.

Charlie
Posted 1/19/2011 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
From another site I saw that yellow food dye no. 5 can be a trigger and it was mentioned it was found in wine, it might also be in beer and might explain the alcohol outbreaks - perhaps combined with the dehydration alcohol causes.
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