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Do you think a medication may have caused your HSP?

Posted , 4 users are following.

LyndaLou7
LyndaLou7

I am excited to find this group. I am in the U.S. I have been looking for others to discuss HSP with since I had never heard of it before this past November. I have been wondering if my daughter developed it because of a medication she took or if it just happened. I suppose I may never know.

My daughter was suffering from daily headaches so the doctor had her keep a headache journal for a month. He prescribed Cyproheptad & said to take one when she had a bad headache. She had developed a cold & fever. She took one Cyproheptad about two days into her cold because her head was pounding. She took another the next day. Four days later she started her first round of HSP, Thanksgiving weekend of 2014, she was 12 at the time.

That Saturday, she started telling me that her knees & elbows hurt. I told her she was way to young to have aches & pains already & assumed she had played too hard that day. Later that night, she showed me what appeared to be hives. I gave her a Benedryl & hoped it cleared up. Sunday afternoon her right leg & ankle started swelling. The swelling progressed & it seemed the swelling was moving up her leg & she couldn't walk. I took her to the ER. They thought she had an allergic reaction to something & prescribed Prednisone. The next day her face was swollen, her leg swelling was down but her arm was swollen. I took her to our doctor & her said she had Erythema Multiforme. A few days later, her rash began changing into the bruising (which really freaked me out) so I took her back to the doctor. He took one look at her & said he thought she had HSP. She took a urine & blood test to confirm it. He had not seen a case in about 7 years.

She continued to develop more spots, & had severe stomach & joint pain. There were many days that she could barely walk. Our doctor recommended that she alternate Tylenol & Morin every two hours to elevate the pain. It didn't totally eliminate her pain but it definitely helped a lot. She spent a lot of time in our La-Z-Boy with her legs up, sipping water. She lost her appetite but occasionally would eat. She had many days that she was in pain & discouraged. She would cry, so I would cry with her. I felt helpless.

She missed 2 1/2 weeks of school & then Christmas break started. By the time she had to go back to school she was almost completely better. She still had a few spots & occasional pain. We continued her urine, & sometimes blood tests, until everything was clear a couple weeks later.

February 16th she developed another bad head cold, sore throat, & was very tired. I didn't think anything of it. Six days later she came to me & said "Mom, don't freak out." She showed me a rash on her legs. She said her legs felt tight & she was having knee pain. I took her to the doctor the next day & told him I thought she had HSP again. He did a urine test & said it definitely looked like she did & ordered a blood test to confirm it. Her rash never fully developed & her pain was very low compared to last time. She hasn't missed any school.

We saw the doctor today & she still has slightly elevated proteins & small amount of blood in her urine. Her tests have been coming back this way for the past six weeks. It just seems to hanging on. We go back in a month. The doctor wants to make sure it fully goes away.

What's strange to me is that the first time she developed it, she didn't have one headache the entire time until it went away. This time, the headaches never stopped.

I'm wondering if anyone else had taken any new medicines before they developed HSP? Also, for those that have had it multiple times, has it always been a milder case after the first time & how many times have you had it?

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • terri27731
    terri27731 LyndaLou7

    Posted

    Both times your daughter's HSP has followed a cold or flu type virus, my daughter's did too. I have read that this is a common trigger for HSP.
    • LyndaLou7
      LyndaLou7 terri27731

      Posted

      Yes, I was told that also because their immune system is weakened when they are already sick. I asked our doctor if there was anything we could do to prevent her from getting it again. He said the only thing he could tell us was that she should wash her hands often & try not to get a head cold. I wish they knew what triggered it in the first place. Hope your child is better now.
  • Beanie926
    Beanie926 LyndaLou7

    Posted

    Like you said, we may never know what caused this for our kids. She had the flu and pneumonia right before it started. She did take Zithromax during that time too so, who knows? Thankfully your daughter was not as bad this time. It's scary, isn't it? It is like waiting for the other shoe to drop, not knowing when she'll be better or if she will get it again. My daughter is still having a very difficult time. 
    • LyndaLou7
      LyndaLou7 Beanie926

      Posted

      Yes, it is scary. The pain & swelling was awful. When the doctor first told me the effects of it & how long it would last I started crying. I was scared & full of questions & he was very understanding. I felt kind of bad for him having to deal with an emotional mother. He took the time to go get his medical book & showed me pictures on his tablet & assured me that it is normally self-limited. He told my daughter that only about 140 per million people get HSP so she was really special. She told him she didn't feel special. I told him that it was a good try in making her feel better but he's lucky she likes him so much.

      I knew it was possible for it to come back but I didn't expect it to happen so soon! I am one of those people that has to research things to find out as much as I can about it. I believe it was 30% of people get it again within the first few months of having it the first time. I told her that made her extra special. She wasn't buying that coming from me either : ).

      Thankfully she hasn't had any serious problems this time. I wonder if I had made her stay home in the beginning & made her do the whole routine of resting in the chair with her legs elevated, drinking water, if she would be over it by now. It just seems to not want to go fully away this time.

      I read your story of your daughter. It sounds like hers was worse than mine. I hope & pray she gets better soon.

    • kelsey46525
      kelsey46525 LyndaLou7

      Posted

      I found that upping my fruit and veg intake helped a lot. Although it hasn't gone it's not so noticeable and I will get my legs out. I haven't stopped anything I have continued at work on my feet. But I rest more after work. In regards to medication I was told by a specialist that it can occur more when you experience a change in medication. 
    • LyndaLou7
      LyndaLou7 kelsey46525

      Posted

      When my daughter lost her appetite, the one thing she would eat were Clementines. Sometimes she would eat 3 or 4 & that was all she ate for the entire day. Sometimes I think our bodies crave what it needs to help itself. Hope you continue to get better!
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