I am 36 male, 5'10, physically good health (blood pressure 110/74, good cholesterol levels, good kidney and liver levels, etc, except my testosterone level is low at 245 ng/dl - potentially from vasectomy from what my research has showed) and high eosinophils level was a 6, which I looked up and shows that eosinophils test counts the number of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in blood. It is used to evaluate and manage allergic conditions such as Allergic eczema, Asthma, Disseminated eosinophilic collagen disease, HIV infection, Infection by Anisakis larva, Infection by larvae of Trichinella spiralis, Infection by Schistosoma, or Infection by Strongyloides. So, great, more stuff to bring up to a doc who didn't bother to tell me about this number....Good thing I asked for a copy of my lab results...Anyways, moving forward!
My Medical History:
I was previously treated by an Allergist in Colorado (Dr. Lora Stewart from Allergy and Asthma Care). I was scratch tested and was allergic to just about everything (all weeds, trees, grass, soy, cat, mold etc) and I was treated for 3 years with injections of these allergens starting with 2 shots a week small doses and building to a higher dose where it capped off and stayed at that dose with 2 shots/month for 3 years. I never ever had hives before this, only asthma, which was why I was getting the treatment, so my airway would not tighten up after exposure to allergies. So fast forward to now, .... hives.
My Diet: Normal diet, mostly eggs, chicken, fish, cooked veggies, 2 generous glasses of wine (half bottle to be exact), I have noticed wheezing if I have too much wine(sulfites most likely but never had hives from wine), protein powders (whey protein), turkey sandwiches, chips on occasion, Cheetos on occasion, chocolate, pancakes, coffee, etc... I eat mostly healthy but cheat every now and then.
about a year and a half ago, my blood test showed that my thyroid was on the low side of the normal range (Range: 1 = High and 5 = Low). Mine was 5.5. The doc put me on Levothryroxine, and a my levels have been very good at 3.5 right in the middle with the 50mcg of Levothyroxine daily. I never had any reactions to this med, and this is the only med I take. (maybe the itching is a sign of thyroid issue?). I stopped the Levothyroxine for a few days and no improvement, so I'm back on it.
I am very curious about the posting from "Peak" at the top of this thread posted in 2009.
Out of the blue about 3 weeks ago, I began itching a lot with zero signs of any skin rash. After two weeks of scratching, I began noticing small raised clusters of whitsh clearish bumps after scratching. The itching started on wrists and arms and then to my fingers. The itching is intense and I want to scratch all the time however I try not too which creates a lot of tense stress from trying to refrain from scratching. It happens mostly at night starting around 9pm but it occurs in the afternoon around 2-3pm too.
I went to a Dr. Steven Reynolds in Long Beach Ca, and he said it is definitely urticarial (hives) most likely from something I am allergic to and it was not scabies or bed bugs otherwise my girlfriend would have . Dr. Reynolds gave me shot of Atarax and hydroxine pills to control the itching....and a week later, no results, in fact the hives got worse and now have bumps everywhere of red patches.
I went back to Dr. Reynolds and now I'm taking the prednisone for two weeks starting with 3 pills a days and tapering down. I have taken the first set of 3 pills and no results. I am super itchy still and it seems Benadryl and zyrtec help only a little. both sides of my neck have started to itch really bad too, along with behind the knees, tops of the thighs, groin, shins, fore arms, belly, arm pits.
The only thing I can point to that changed in my diet was that I had a few juicing drinks of raw veggies. I had roughly 3-4 glasses total spread over a few weeks, like one glass on the weekend, another during the week, and then again the following weekend, so not in high quantity. The veggies I had ground up in the Juicer was Cellery, Raddish, Carrot, Spinach, Kale, Ginger.
After taking the Juices I felt perfectly fine. It was shortly after the (a day or two) juicing, is when the itching began. This is the only thing I can point to that changed in my diet. I did notice too that I have been experiencing the reflux lately shortly after I stopped juicing. I took tums to control it, but it went away, and I am not experiencing it now. I am wondering if there is something in the juice that is causing my hives. Some forums have many people who reacted with hives from juicing and continue juicing/detox made the hives go away, but I am afraid even attempt that.
I have spent hours reading forum after forum reading all the mystery cases of these hives where docs continue to band aid the symptoms with prednisone. I have started to take probiotic Acidophilus and hope it helps but its too early to tell. I began eating yogurt too. The Candida bacteria sounds like possible cause or some other gastrointestinal imbalance or yeast. The one post with the immune blocker medicine as last resort sounds promising but sounds risky...but better than itching and tension stress all night all day every day and reading forums from 1am to 4am every day.
If anyone reads this post and has a real answer to what this may be AND a Solution please contact me ASAP. You can reach me at ([email protected]). I will post a update after the prednisone.
~Wes