1. Community
  2. Skin and nails
  3. Urticarial Rash

Chronic urticaria

Posted , 6 users are following.

nellythe
nellythe

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share my story.

I'm a 35 year old male and ive been suffering with urticaria for 3 years. It tends to go into remission in the winter but comes back with a vengeance when the weather warms up.

The first 2 years it was mostly controllable with fexofenadine and occasional prednisolerone (think that's how you spell it), but this year it is out of control to the point it put me in hospital 2 weeks ago with a tight chest, swelling throat, face, hands and feet. I now have to carry around 2 epi pens.

Previously my doctor didn't want to know and had me taking 4x the reccomended dose of fexofenadine saying "no-one has ever died overdosing on antihistsmines".

Last year I paid for an intolerance test which indicated wheat and dairy along with a few other things. I have since removed them from my diet and my condition improved massively until 2 months ago. I'm now taking 4 piriton a day, 2 ranitidine, 2 fexofenadine and 30mg prednisolerone and it still isn't under control. The doctor is reluctant to give me more of the steroids but at the moment these are the only things that give me somewhat of a normal life. I have been refered for allergy testing but don't hold any hope of them finding anything. 9ne thing I will add is I've been on esomeorazole for acid reflux for 15 years and I do believe these are the cause of my issues. They work by stopping you producing acid but in doing this you do not break down your food properly so you don't absorb vitamins and minerals. Also new research indicates that because you don't break down proteins properly your body's immune system reacts to these proteins and can cause an allergic response. So I am currently trying to wean off these.

Also I read on here about Epsom salts and I'd say they are definitely worth a try. I have just tried them for the first time and I'd say they have reduced my rash and itching by at least 50%!!!. Thank you for reading and thank you everyone for all the advise in this forum

0 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

Next
  • wendy62425
    wendy62425 nellythe

    Posted

    Hello nellythe

    first I am sorry you are going through this with the Urticaria.....I too have suffered from the hives severely.  The past time was July 2015 and nothing worked to control them until I was referred to a specialist.  She slowly put me on Cyclosporine 25mg then 50 mg and went up to 150 mg took weeks. Instead of going up to 200mg ( as I was still breaking out in some hives she slowly added Prednisone until I was completely hive free.  She kept me on those two meds for a couple months then slowly took me down off the Cyclosporine. Then slowly went down off the Prednisone 1mg at a time for couple weeks and if still hive free would go down another 1mg and so on.  I am still hive free I take 1mg Prednisone in the morning with a Fexofinadine and same at bedtime.  I will go down to 1mg next week....if still hive free for another week or so then I will go down to 1mg Prednisone,  the key is to so slowly go down on meds so your body can adjust.  If you start to breakout due to stress or something you go back up some then slowly go back down again.  I Want to be Prednisone free and HIVE FREE!  I hope this helps you will get helped by many others as well.  You are in a good place to get helped!

    i wish you well

    Wendy

    • nellythe
      nellythe wendy62425

      Posted

      Sorry to hear about your plight. It is truly horrible and people just don't understand what it's like. I regularly wake up in the night bleeding from scratching, I try to refrain from scratching in the day but it's easier said than done sad

      I regularly get comments like "positive attitude" and the likes but again it's easier said than done when all you want to do is scratch yourself to death. Sometimes I think people believe I'm exaggerating it but even when I have no hives I itch all over. I am withdrawing from the world, depressed, anxious and feel like I'm drowning, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

    • wendy62425
      wendy62425 nellythe

      Posted

      Hi Nellythe

      how are you doing?  I just read this and am concerned about you.......you can get through this.  How are you treating yourself with the hives now?  Please keep us posted...we are all here for each other!

      Wendy

    • nellythe
      nellythe wendy62425

      Posted

      Hi Wendy

      Thank you for your kind comments, I am ok. I am eating more now and on a new regiment of anti histamines. Although it never really goes away I am finding it easier to cope now but still waiting for my referral to a specialist. One thing I will say is the advise on here has been a massive help. I bought myself some Epsom salts and when I have a bad flare up I have a soak for an hour and it really does help. I can say I laid there watching up to 50% of the hives disappear. I am taking daily multivitamins, lactospore probiotics, and digestive enzymes and I'm definitely seeing an improvement in my mood and energy levels, but it is still too soon to say if the are helping with the hives as I've only been taking them for 3 days smile

  • SailingDreams
    SailingDreams nellythe

    Posted

    Have u tried an elimination diet or fast?
    • nellythe
      nellythe SailingDreams

      Posted

      Yes tried the elimination diet in year one and got nowhere so I decided to have the intolerance test to point me in the right direction. I regularly fast for 24hrs to reset metabolism but never any longer due to reflux issues
    • joe77579
      joe77579 nellythe

      Posted

      Sorry to hear what you're going through.

      Ive suffered from chronic urticaria for 3 years.

      I had the same pattern as you in terms of it cooling down in the winter and coming back with a vengeance in the summer months.

      What i did was, drink 12 glasses of water for 3 months and i was completely hive free after that. I now lowered down to 8 glasses of water and am hive free for over one year.

      Best of luck

    • nellythe
      nellythe joe77579

      Posted

      Cheers for advise, I already drink a lot of water/juice but I shall increase my intake to see if it helps.

      I am also starting to take digestive enzymes as I'm convinced it's my acid tablets but if it doesn't work my my urticaria it can only help my health.

    • wendy62425
      wendy62425 nellythe

      Posted

      Please let us know how you do with the digestive enzymes...I hear that is something we should try.  Where do you find them?  Do you take with food? 
    • nellythe
      nellythe wendy62425

      Posted

      Hi Wendy

      I have been taking digestive enzymes for 3 days now and they are definitely helping with my mood and energy levels, it is still too early to say if they are helping with my hives though. I am also taking lactospore and multivitamins. I bought them from a site called bulk powders but I need gluten and dairy free ones and they were really quite difficult to get hold of. I'm not sure where your from but you can get them online or from places like Holland and Barrett or any health shop. A lot of people on here say to take the dao enzyme for hives but I am not taking this yet but plan to add it in a month or so depending on how I get on with my current ones smile

    • nellythe
      nellythe

      Posted

      The ones I'm taking you take straight after a meal

    • wendy62425
      wendy62425 nellythe

      Posted

      Hi Nellythe

      is it too early to tell how you are doing with the digestive enzymes for the hives?  Have they lessened?  I'm currently on 2 Allegra a day, 1 in Am and 1 in Pm. I'm trying to do 1mg Prednisone each day and if I do well will try to do every other day and slowly ween off Prednisone and just be on the Allegra.....time will tell.  I would like to try the digestive enzymes as more natural.

      have a good day!

      Wendy

       

    • nellythe
      nellythe wendy62425

      Posted

      Hi Wendy,

      Been on them around 2 weeks now but I do still think it's too early to tell. However my hives have reduced to the point I have around a dozen on my entire body and they are only small. I have had the odd day where I have had it bad but I have more good then bad. I'm not sure whether it is other factors that are reducing my hives though as I have made a lot of changes recently.

      Best advise I can give is to try them as they will only do good, they have massively improved my digestion, energy levels and mood and hopefully they are the reason for my improvement in the hive department

    • SailingDreams
      SailingDreams nellythe

      Posted

      Hi DAO users

      How much DAO are you taking? I bought a bottle of DOA supplements from Ancestral Supplements and I'm not sure how much I should try taking. That said, Ancestral Supplements doesn't specify how much DAO is in their product. Strange.

      Cheers

      Eddie

    • nellythe
      nellythe SailingDreams

      Posted

      I'm currently not taking dao as I'm struggling to get it wheat and dairy free. I am taking other enzymes which at the moment aren't really doing a lot for my urticaria (May take time) but are doing wonders for my digestion and energy levels.

      I would maybe start with one tablet after a meal and see what happens.

      Good luck smile

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.