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chronic uticaria and thyroiditis

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Posted 3/11/2006 12:20 PM (GMT 0)
I can't help you with the hives in your throat but I just wanted to welcome you to Healingwell. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to help you........take care :)
Posted 3/12/2006 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
 

  Thanks Sherry..this is a great site i'm soooo glad i found it..everything has been so helpful..I dont feel all alone anymore.

 

 

 

                                                     thanks again

 

                                                                Kim

Posted 3/17/2006 2:07 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Ortiz, do you have hives all day long and something triggers the hives in the throat?  Do you have have hives that are kept at bay by meds and when you are stressed out or allergic reaction to food or meds?  When you feel you have hives in your throat does it start there and close quickly or are the hive reaction causing your tongue to swell and panic sets in and throat feels closed?  Reason i ask because...my hives only do that when i have a reaction to a med i can't take......and i get a feeling of my tongue feeling fat or slow to move......then i get a tingle and full feeling in the back of my throat and then will close if not taking care of.  I have 2 hours before my throat will shut and for me.....a epi penn will not stop the track it is on for me that is....i have to get to a hospital and have the shots that work for me and in a order but i also blow up like a tomatoe along with my throat so that is most likely why 3 shots of epi penn don't work for me  :)  since i tried that :)  Please hang in there....I know having hives sucks in both frustration and embarrassment to out right anger, but keep going....it can get better...sometimes it bad, good, great and just okay or it just goes away...who knows.  But i do know and say this every time and can't tell you how important removing stress will make a difference ....take care    

Posted 3/27/2006 5:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jintir, welcome to Healingwell smile Thanks for sharing your story. What alternative medicines are you currently on? I believe in both traditional and alternative medications because many of the things that will help us are actually found in nature or has come from nature.
Posted 3/29/2006 4:07 AM (GMT 0)

Hello all!  I feel like I finally found a spot where I will be understood! Most people don't understand how serious hives can get and think I'm just a nerve case when I tell them about it.

 

I have had hives for almost 3 years.  They started when I was 33 and after I had been in private practice for 2 years.  I am a criminal defense attorney and it was an extremely stressful time for me.  I am now convinced that the stress somehow messed me up - brought out something I was predisposed to develop.

 

My hives started with itchy palms then spread up the arms to the whole body.  The hives are triggered by:  nothing, heat, sunlight, stress, exercise, alcohol, ibuprofen, friction and sleep (increased body temperature?)  I have been to several regular doctors, two dermatologists, an autoimmune guy and a thyroid doctor.  I have had a thyroid test and the test where they take your blood, make a serum of it and inject it back into you to see if you are allergic to yourself (autologous serum skin test).  They say do not have the autoimmune version or the thyroid version.

 

I will say that my cousin has suffered from this too.  But hers has come and gone.  I believe there has to be some sort of hereditary effect.  Our grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis that confined her to a wheelchair.

 

Here is what I know:

skull Prednisone did not work.

skull  Doxepin helped but depressed me and contribued to a 25lb weight gain.  (it is hard to not be stressed out when your meds make you drowsy, cause you to crave sweets and you are getting more and more overweight!)  After a year on Doxepin, I was almost 200lbs, sobbing at my desk at work (I am so not a crier) and was ready to walk out on my career.  My doctor at the time told me I just needed to exercise portion control.  I got a new doctor. 

cool  The new doctor put me on Zyrtec.  It helps to the extent that the hives are still there on a daily basis but not readily noticible to others to the extent that I hardly get them on my face now unless I work out.  There has also been no weight gain/ depression side effects.  I have been able to lose 15lbs and am currently working on the remaining weight with Nutrisystem and at-home workouts (going to the gym is embarrasing since exercise gives me a hivey face).  The depression is gone but a took a few months of 'forgiving' myself (not working too hard, going to bed when I was tired no matter what time it was) to get balanced back out.

eyes  Doctors don't know jack.

sad  I have been surfing several websites and the themes I've seen are:

A.  stress = hives (it messes up your immune system, causes allergies, thyroid, etc.) (I have seen several different stories - hives break out as a doctor does his residency, as someone is buying a house, after a promotion, etc) ,

B.  most people with chronic hives have not found a cure (Lord, that is hard for me to type).

Is there a lesson in all this?  Take care of yourself.  I know it is impossible to avoid stress - I've stood in front of numerous jurys and had to explain why I was covered in hives - but do what you can.  Adopt a pet.  Don't feel guilty about holing up with the t.v. if you need to escape.  Always push your doctors - though stress is a huge contributor it is not necessarily the cause - only an aggravator.

So I am going to a new doctor tomorrow.  A 'natural medical' or homeopathic doctor.  I decided to do this after reading on another cite about another sufferer getting relief from acupuncture.  I never thought I would be into acupuncture but if he recommends it, I'll tell him to bring on the needles - anything to get over this.  I will let you know how it goes.

Pray for me - I have a two week long jury trial in May.

Super Hive Girl

Posted 3/29/2006 12:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there and welcome to Healinwell! :) My heart goes out to you for having to endure these chronic hives..........and I believe you are 100% in your stress asssessment. More and more people now a days are developing odd or resistant diseases and if you think about it, stress is now common place in many households. Is there a connection? I do believe so yes. We as a society are more stressed because of the demands on our lives. Sometimes we just can't step away from our lives but we can make things easier on ourselves just by doing simple things for ourselves.

Good luck with the acupuncturist and once again welcome!
Posted 3/30/2006 12:07 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Super Hive Girl.....I fully understand what all your talking about. about the acupuncture I don't know what part it plays in the Hive part since when i started acupuncture i no longer had hives 24 hours a day just heat cold pressure...medication all those other hive issues. I do acupuncture for my Fibromyalgia and for stress releif and my now found arthritis in lower and upper back neck knees...sure there are more but it hasn't talked to me yet....something to look forward to. When you go to a needle doc have a open mind and find one that has been doing it for a long time and make sure him or her tell you what the needle placement means so you understand and can see if they know there stuff and you can see if they are excited about doing what they do....not the inflicting the needle part...hee hee. I found it helpful to have a acupuncture/chiropractor to also keep the body in alignment also. When you give it time and use it to relax bring a walkman and have music that calms you and shut your eyes give them a break too...i know sounds silly but if you open your mind and believe that you will feel better and get better...might not be fully hive free but better to live and to learn to not worry about what others think and after you explain to them what is happening to you and if they don't get it and judge you on your skin then screw them they don't deserve to have you as a friend. Keep trucking and do stress management and eat really good cause it has made a huge difference for me and keep a journal of food, medications you took and if they worked or didn't and what time of day they stopped working and happenings in your life and mark down the reactions you have no matter how small and figure how you can handle things differently the next time, cause hives work from the inside out so when you react to something and think you handled it fine your body might have other ideas....my hives were brought on by severe stress at work.........and i can only speak for myself...and remember you have to try many doctors of all kinds before you find the right one so if the first acupuncture person doesn't work try another.....i use mine for all my arthritis needs my bad headaches i use to have and my back and neck and for my sinus problems from my med's they cause bad congestion......but it was hard to get use to the needles on my face but it works...so if they tell me to put pennies up my nose i'll try it and won't tell anyone unless it actully works...hee hee (have not done and was not suggested) :) Well good luck if you want to see what all i have gone thru i think you can read my postings.....cause i have gone through a lot of crap as many people on here have......so we all understand one way or another.....
Posted 4/3/2006 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hello all.

 

This is my first post on this site.  My name is Chris and I am a chronic hives sufferer.  The reason I write to you right now is because I'm home from work - too embrarrassed to deal with my clients with massive hives on my face. sad

 

I have been dealing with chronic hives for 9 months now.  My symptoms are similar to what was in the other posts.  This is a quick synopsis of my experience so far:

 

At first appearance, I was given a steroid shot and fexofenodine.  Hives reappeared after 2 weeks.

 

Second trip to doctor I was sent to a dermatologist.  He passed the buck to an allergist.  I've seen the allergist 4 times now.  He diagnosed me with Chronic hives and said that the best thing for me is to take a combo of Singulair and Clarinex.  He also suggested I see a GI specialist and set up a sleep study to determine if there are other things that may be influincing my hives.

 

Singulair and Clarinex controls the hives to an extent, but I still have major outbreaks and side affects that negatively affect my life.

 

I've been to the ER twice.  One ER doctor prescribed pregnisone.  It worked for the two weeks I took it but, of course, had crazy side effects.  After that, hives showed up bigger and badder than ever.

 

Without going on forever about how much money this is costing and how frustrating this has been, I would like to throw out a few questions.  Hopefully, someone can add to the conversation.

1. Is there a hub for all hives talk and research?  It seems to me that with so many sufferers that there should be a center for it.

2. Is anyone looking at other possibilities besides allergies, stress, etc?  I have always had digestive problems and am now finally getting it looked at in hopes that there may be some connection to the hives.

3. I also feel lethargic, short of breath (not due to swelling), and have no energy.  Is this common or is this a result of the medications?

It's good to hear about stories similar to mine.  I just hope there is a solution to this problem.

Thanks.

 

 

Posted 4/4/2006 11:40 AM (GMT 0)
Chris...first welcome! There are many things that might be the cause of your hives. Since you have just started on your journey of hives please read everything you can on all forms of hives. Having hives or having a hive reaction to an allergy from something are two different things and can be triggered by the same thing. What is keeping your hives is now the question...so stop looking at what started this in the first place. Start keeping a journal...i know to many i sound like a broken record on this, but journal keeping is very helpful on finding out things that make hives angry. It can also help the many doctors you will see and help you keep track of foods, medications stress factors. With you having Issues with your tummy this will help you a lot...when you eat something write it down and what time same for meds...with meds write if you took with food and no matter on how small a reaction or none write it down...you can see if your meds work better with or without food or time of day cause some meds even if they say won't cause you problems with sleep or upset tummy or reaction in the form of hives you may find you might be the small percent that it does cause problems with. With me and my hives i don't have a normal reaction to things right away.....i might have something stressfull happen think nothing about it and wham hives.....so i write it down because there might be a pattern some where some time...not trying to make you feel bad but hives are not any fun they not only mess with your system but also your self-esteem big time and that is where the stress comes in big time....and hives looooovvvvvveeeee stress! I stopped looking at hives in the sense of i have failed......hives really doesn't care who you are or what you do. Well if you have any questions please continue to ask, everyone here is really nice and helpful....if you have a e-mail address i can send you a few really good site that talk about allergys both food and chronic hives and other stuff hive related...start that journal cause trust me it will help you take control of your life in many ways not just with hives. well i guess i better go to work now......take care and remove stress and take control!!!!!!
Posted 4/4/2006 7:29 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks hunybun,

My fiance has been on my case to start a journal so I think I will begin to do that.

I know what you mean about it playing with your head.  I'm really beginning to get scared in the whole experience.  At first, I just had the hives and I seemed to control them, to an extent, with the antihistimine meds.  But now, I have trouble breathing at times, I get severly winded just walking to my car, I'm constantly tired, and I just don't feel like doing anything.  I sometimes seem to get asthma attacks and I've never had asthma before in my life!

I've also read about Churg-Strauss Syndrome and vasculitis among other things and it seems like all of these symptoms point to one of these rare disorders. Yet doctors don't think anything of it. 

I also have 3 lumps under parts of my skin on my arms and legs. I asked my doctor what they were and he said that they are nothing to worry about and that it is just fat cells that gathered together under my skin. It's strange to me that these lumps showed up about the same time I got hives.

Do you have any other symptoms besides the hives themselves?  I've had 3 blood tests so far and the only thing that looked slightly abnormal were that my alkaline phosphatase levels were a litte high.  The doctor said they weren't at a level that was concerning.

Well, I have an upper GI test, a lung test and a sleep study setup towards the end of the month.  Maybe more doctors can take my money and tell me that there is nothing else they can do.........I can't wait! Sorry for the sarcasm, but I'm getting worried that they won't be able to help me and it scares me. I feel slight comfort in knowing that there are others that are going through the same thing.

Thanks for your reply, Chris

Posted 4/5/2006 11:17 AM (GMT 0)
good for you with starting the journal. Don't worry about the sarcasm...wasn't seen that way to me just as humor. With keeping a journal please write down your doctor visits any meds and what you thought of that doctor, have all your questions written down and when done with the doctor keep those questions and the answers in your journal and don't feel weird writing down what the doctors says in front of them...remember you are paying for there time and have a right to use it. Remember doctors don't know everything, specially now we have 5 or 6 doctors that take care of us now not like when i was a kid and had 1 doctor that knew pretty much everything. Work really hard at not crying or getting upset when seeing doctors they don't like that or have time for that even though we are in pain and that hurts and why we are seeing a doc in the fist place....With my journal i started it way too late and it is hard to go back for a lot of things so please do start it today! You will find with hives they can be many things, i was tested for lupus and many other things before they figured i had chronic urticaria and fibromyalgia.....why i got hives mostly stress......why do i have fibromyalgia.....induced by the large dose of predinose meds.......no steriods don't cause fibro but from my reading fibro in in our genes and it takes stress medications car accidnet or illness to wake it up. Now a lot of the things you have said you have i have....the tiredness the very winded from doing things but then fibro mocks many other things too. Now the lumps i have all over under my skin on my outer thighs and outer arms, you can't see them but the hurt too touch, you can't feel them by just running your hands over the skin you have to push down to feel them. Your feeling of having an asthma attack might also be a little bit of a panic attack or of a feeling of just not getting enough air in......i can't walk up hills without feeling very tired and as though not getting enough air in and then soon i start to some what panic but i just stop moving and calm down and take a minute for myself......this happens when i rush around doing to much stuff....i can walk for miles if there isn't any hills...go figure! Have you had any testing for maybe whey or glutten allergies? My first 4 years of this i went to many different kinds of doctors and many different doctors that did the same thing.....i finally found a doctor that even though didn't know much about hives or fibromyalgia she had a sister inlaw that had fibromyalgia and was willing to learn about that and the hives. I really think if i had kept a journal i would of made my life better and maybe helped with my conditions and learning to manage it better. When i go to the ER when i have bad hive attacks i do tell the ER doctors how to treat me......and not too mention inform them yes get the interns to see me since you won't see a hives attack this bad for a while or until i come back again :) I know it is heart breaking to go through this i have been to the point of oh well let's just wait for my life to go away.......it can't get worse...but it can and might get worse...but always keep this in mind and not trying to be mean here.......when i say this to you i say it to myself......there are people that are a hell of a lot worse than us...we have all our limbs and yes they are spotted but the work, we may not have a cure but we have something that we can manage, our suffering is no less then anyone else so don't let anyone tell you you don't hurt but we can come out of this with humor and surrounding ourselves with caring people and doctors (they are out there....hello where are you...hee hee sarcasm..hee hee). And last but i'm sure i will babble more but stress...get it out of your life....i change my job to yes a lower paying and to some a step down the latter, but guess what i work only 8 hours a day....no work comes home with me and no boss calling me about a meeting the next day. I removed all friends that were toxic...one i had for over 20 years......that killed me but now i am amazed at how much life she sucked out of me. Well i'm off to work.....i now am a receptionist and i was a assistant to 3 directors........step down to some to me freedom......take care and i hope i was helpful feel free to ask whatever you want......
Posted 4/5/2006 7:19 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks, for the kind reply and I will try to keep that stuff in mind.  I will continue to get tests until I can get this thing figured out.  I need to rule alot of stuff out before moving forward.

It's funny you mentioned taking a step down in the workplace because I'm in a similar situation.  I was working in a high pressure/high stress position, running around all the time in a 60 hour a week job.  My new position is a 9-5 behind a desk.  The strange thing is that when I took the new position, I put on 10lbs. and that's when all of my problems started. I almost feel that going back to a quick paced/high pressure job might cure me!:) 

Anyway, good luck to you along the way.  I'm sure I will check these threads shortly to see if any new developments arrive.

Chris

Posted 4/15/2006 12:38 PM (GMT 0)

Hello everyone,

 

I have been a victim of urticaria myself for more than 10 years. In the beginning it was more on/off thing. The shapes and styles had changed from their first appearance. To make the long story short, I know couple things now: they come out when I am exposed to sunlight for too long (sweating), and when I take food which is not fresh; oh yes and last but not least – skin pressure. As long as I keep fresh food only, nothing processed, I am fine. I still haven’t found out what specific food additive, exactly. 

Being a human I sometimes eat/ drink something, but then half a prednisone pill and half of astemizol does the work for me.

Today, while surfing on the internet I found something interesting, and I don’t know should I try or not. Check the link

http://www.otan.us/webfarm/emailproject/uticaria.htm

If anyone tries the remedy, let me know…because I am in a place right now, that I can’t get hold of Korean Ginseng!

 

Later,

Elita

**I had to erase this article due to this forum rule:

8. No posts of copyrighted material.  Information copyrighted or owned by any individual or entity other than the person posting should not be posted on the message boards without the consent of the owner.**

Post Edited By Moderator (Red_34) : 4/15/2006 9:14:38 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/15/2006 3:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Elita, welcome to Healingwell. Try this link to get the Korean ginseng:
http://www.puritan.com/pages/file.asp?xs=D9839E15B9CD4A2698F5C0C30678EFF2&Pid=5267&CPid=7973&np=1
This is a greatwebsite that offers a wide variety of supplements and they often have great sales. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from where you can't get this?
Posted 4/15/2006 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
I am in Baghdad, Iraq!
Posted 4/16/2006 1:11 AM (GMT 0)
hmmm well that could be a problem then huh??? lol Try calling the toll free number for the website I gave you and see if they will deliver there...never hurts to try yes?
Posted 4/21/2006 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
 I have been experiencing hives everyday for the last three months. It all started after a gym workout, however worsened over time.  I wake up every morning with hives on my arms, palms and feet.  I've even woke up with them covering my entire body and face. That's when I started seeing doctor after doctor. I've been to the ER after having hives, coming out of what seemed like every pour on my skin.  I went on prednisone after that bout and also carry an epipen.  It is unhealthy to stay on Prednisone for to long, so I've been taking radinadine, hydroxyzine, and zyrtec which keeps the hives at bay.  After many attempts to determine the source, they have ruled out food and environmental allergies.  I've also been screened for Lupus.  Thankfully it's not that, however the mystery goes on.  For people looking for iche relief, it sounds silly, but I actuall sleep with a bottle of Caladryl under my pillow, so my sleep does not have to be interupted too much.  Ice also works well escpecially if the bottoms of your feet swell with hives.  I'm a new member and am pleased to see there is a place for people with a common problem to share their frustrations and advice.  Thanks!!!

Posted 4/22/2006 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, my name is Holly and I've been suffering from chronic uticaria for 5 years.  It really sucks.  I've been seeing my allergist for 4 years.  I still don't know why I have them.  I have tried zyrtec, doxipin, hydroxyzine, allergra. singular, zantac, and presidone.  The only thing that works is presidone but the side effects are not good.  They are always worse in the spring.  This year there not as bad as they have been in the past but there still there.  I wish I could control my hives better but they usually control me.  They limit me in what I can do.  Physical activities make them worse so that limits what I can do.  I must wear the same pair of sneakers everyday or my feet will bother me (sometimes there so bad I can't even walk).  If I mow or rake my lawn my hands will bother me.  If I sit in a chair that I'm not used to I get them on my butt.  It feels like I'm sitting on tennis balls.  Usually I wake up with red dots all over my body.  sometime there quite large and they hurtand of course itch.  I found this web site this morning and I'm glad that I'm not the only one who suffers like this.  Most people don't understand what I go though.  It's nice to know I'm not alone. 
Posted 4/28/2006 9:05 PM (GMT 0)
I can SO relate to all of you. After suffering for 8 years, and seeing more specialists than you can shake a stick at, I gave up on Western medicine and started trying herbs and accupuncture. Please understand what a big step this was for me...I am such a cynic about stuff like that. But I must say I have seen some improvement in my outbreaks. I went to an accupunturist who put me on a liver and blood detox regimin as well as accupuncture treatments once per month. I laughed all the way home, but decided I had nothing to loose. He also felt like this had a lot to do with imbalanced hormones, so I was put on several herbal formulas to help regulate the estrogen, progesterone, etc... running though me. For about the last 6 months, I have had fewer outbreaks and even those have been less severe. I still can't excersize aerobically, but I can lift weights as long as i crank down the AC while I'm working. Stress gets me everytime, so I do yoga and take lots of B-vitamins and keep an anti-anxiety med in the cabinet for "emergencies."  Back when i did get bad attacks, I found that sometimes extra strength Ben Gay would help with the itching (but not the rash). Good luck, everyone.

Posted 5/2/2006 2:09 PM (GMT 0)
I have been concidering accupuncture was unsure if was even worth it. But I guess you're right I have nothing to lose. I'm a new suffer of CU and have had hives now every day for about 4 months.  I'm starting to get very discuraged especially now that summer is coming.  I want to be able to wear tanks and short and even a bathing suite.  Any suggestions???

Posted 5/2/2006 2:44 PM (GMT 0)
I've just had to accept that summer is not a good time for me. Of course I live in Texas, where we hit 100 most days from July to Sept. I like to tell myself it's divine intervention to protect me and my fair skin from melanoma, but it still sucks. I try to schedule accupuncture appts the days I know I'll be out in the sun or swimming, which WILL cause an outbreak for me. Sometimes in the past the accupuncture has prevented it completely, but more often it just keeps it to a minimum.
Posted 5/7/2006 5:33 AM (GMT 0)

Hi there.

I have for about 10-15 years(just found out 4 months ago that it acually had a name uticaria).I was not sure why I would get these itchy hives.I get them when pressure is applied,stressed or sometimes just because.I thought I was crazy and the itching DOES drive me there.I am going to the allergist on Monday and hopefully I will know more.The only thing is I don't want to be put on some meds with bad side effects.The worst is when your shoes put pressure on your feet in stupid places and for the next hour you are scratching,they get red and hot and wealt up in the spot where the pressure was applied.When I get stressed they are on my face,nothing is more embarrassing and annoying.I was wondering if anyone has found a home remedy or herbal pills that seem to help??????

Thanks itchytree confused

Posted 5/14/2006 12:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone,
I'm so glad to have found this discussion group. I have chronic uticaria. The first bout lasted for about a year when my daughter was born five years ago (I have Hashimoto's disease, too, which seems to make one more inclined toward getting hives). Zyrtec worked. Since March 2006, I have had a second bout, but the zyrtec stopped working last week. Now I'm taking a combination of drugs which just alleviates the itching (minimally) but the blotches are still there. I'd like to try homeopathy. Does anyone have any suggestions about what to take?

Thanks,
Posted 5/15/2006 3:42 PM (GMT 0)

My doctor is looking into Hasimoto's disease for a reason for my UT.  What are some symptoms of this.  I have recently experienced wieght gain, retaining fluid in feet and ankles and being tired all the time. 

Thx for any insight.

Posted 6/4/2006 3:36 AM (GMT 0)
After 3 years my hives are getting better!

I posted a message several back about suffering with hives for 3 years, trying several specialists, and getting ready to try alternative medicine, possibly acupuncture. Well, I found a homeopathic medical doctor - has a medical degree but treats the whole person. He said hives are a sign that something is wrong with my body so we needed to check that out before trying acupuncture or anything. Though I had tons of tests ran in the past, he did new ones - including a blood test for food allergies, something no doctor had done in the past (I have no clue why, seems logical, huh?)

It turns out, I am completely healthy (thank God!) but have a horrible yeast allergy (among other things, including gluten issues) which my doctor feels has thrown off the bacteria balance in my intestines - causing more bad bacteria (candida) than good which has been poisoning my system and causing hives. He put me on a restricted and rotating diet (nothing I'm allergic to, no gluten, no yeast (wheat), no milk, no chicken eggs (duck okay), etc - I have a whole book I tote around as a reference), and put me on herbs and probiotics to kill off the bad and build up the good bacteria.

Now, candida/ candidis overgrowth in the intestines is not widely supported as an actual medical problem by traditional doctors. BUT, I have to tell you that after starting this diet and herbs/ medicine my hives have gone down to averaging a 2 (they had been daily around 7 on a scale of 1 to 10), my skin is clear, I am no longer lethargic and depressed, my bloating went away immediately, my migraines have almost dissappeared (I had thought they were purely hormonal) and I've lost 10lbs!!!! The hives are not completely gone - yet - but its no longer an automatic that I will get hives when stressed, in the sun, hot or when I drink alcohol (which I'm not allowed to do but have cheated once or twice and didn't break out.) The diet is hard, but I am convinced!!

Here is what I've learned:

* I LOVE my homeopathic medical doctor - he approaches you as a whole. The specialists I went to couldn't see outside their little boxes of expertise.

* Find a homeopathic MEDICAL DOCTOR - not just a homeopath. My problem was medical. Had I gone to just a homeopath, I wouldn't have discovered my problem. My mom made the mistake of going to a natural medicine person who was not a doctor and merely got her chakras cleansed.

* Don't dismiss your other symptoms - bloating, fatigue, depression, migraines, hormone imbalances (excessive facial hair, irregular periods, acne), weight gain, horrible hangovers - can be signs that help point to the problem.

* Don't eat the same thing all the time - make sure your diet has variety: my doc says my food allergies/ intolerances were likely brought on my eating the same thing most of the time and stress (and possibly hereditary - my cousin gets unexplained hives).

* I think we are just now beginning to understand candida/ yeast related problems and predict its going to be a bigger issue since our society relies heavily on wheat/ yeast based food. There are other wheat-like grains out there that can be used for pasta and baking - but I didn't really know it until now.

My goal is to someday be able to lay out in the sun again - I think I can get there by next summer. See you on a beach in Hawaii?!?

Super Hive Girl
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