Posted 8/21/2014 9:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all. Have read many posts on chronic urticaria and misery loves company I guess, makes me feel better to know others are out there. I have had CU for 7 months and have tried a whole bunch of options. All of the over the counter antihistamines, zantac, montelukast, H. Pylori treatment, etc. Moved to the second line treatment after I saw an allergist. He increased my antihistamines to 4 zyrtecs and 4 claritins (2 at each of the meals and at bedtime, total 8). That, along with a week of steroids helped for six weeks, then I tried to taper the antihistamines and got to about 2 total a day and the hives went wild again. These puppies are as big as oranges and are horrid. Makes me want to stay home. Increased the antihistamines again but the hives would no longer go away. My poor internal medicine specialist is truly upset she can't help me. She has prescibed doxepin (25mg X 2 at bedtime). All of this wasn't really supressing the hives; but afraid to go off of them because it seems like the hives got truly unbearable without them; I do dread nighttime as histamine levels in our bodies rise at that time. The thought of it being an immune reaction BY my body TO my body freaks me out; it feels like my blood is poisoning my skin. When I started thinking this way I sortof randomly thought maybe my blood is too acidic. Googled ways to alkalize my body and read of keeping water with cut lemons in a pitcher (don't squeeze them into the pitcher). So, for about a week now I have been drinking lemon infused water all day and when I wake up at night. My rationale is that its really not a "treatment" that can hurt me. LO and BEHOLD I generally have not been having hives while I have been on this regimen. Granted I am taking a Zytec/Claritin combo at each meal and 50mg of Doxepin at bedtime; but none of that did the trick before I added the lemon infused water. Have forgotten to keep the water up a time or two and the hives roar back in. Promise, I am not a whack job. This has me intrigued and I am headed to the health store to get test strips to see how alkaline/acidic my body truly is. Typical American diet is apparently acidic; and some things that you think would be acidic (lemons) actually have an alkalizing affect on the body. All this aside, I am scared of what all of the antihistamines may be doing to me. My doc has gotten health insurance to approve Xolair for a year and I will start that next week. This, of course, is not without its side effects, and a note to Findacure14-your symptoms sound like an allergic reaction to the Xolair which, for less than 1% of its users causes anaphylaxis! Check with your doc before you have another injection...