I've been battling ICU for 4 years.
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi, I am Emily. I have been battling ICU for 4 years, and I am going into my 12 month of treatment. I turned to Xolair after multiple treatments failed. For anyone battling severe hives, redness, itching and pain I understand how you feel. I just came across this site. I am happy to be among individuals who are dealing with my same issue. Life has been hard living 24 hours a day with ICU but I know remission is out there for all of us. Keep your heads up.
1 like, 5 replies
Eminor12
Posted
wendy62425 Eminor12
Posted
wendy
Eminor12 wendy62425
Posted
wendy62425 Eminor12
Posted
I am currently on cyclosporine and slow taper of prednisone down to 8mg this week since Xolair did not work as it should have. I have been hive free for several weeks which has been a blessing. If I remain hive free on 5 mg of prednisone and can go off it then I will slowly taper off the cyclosporine. My case was very severe and doctors had no choice but to medicate this way. I just pray for remission as we all hope for. I am not taking any antihistamine. I just hope for a cure of this terrible disease...there is so much suffering......and not enough help. Keep us posted.
take good care
Wendy
mh96526 Eminor12
Posted
Please try taking 1 antihistamine (like Zyrtec) AND 1 antacid daily. I had severe hives for two years following my hysterectomy. Sometimes my feet would swell so much that I had no arch and my skin would split. My hives were caused by pressure, stress, heat, you name it. Once I started taking both the antihistamine and the antacid together every morning, I stopped having hives after a couple of weeks.
From what I understand, those individuals with chronic urticaria need to block both the h1 histamines and the h2 histamines. H1 histamines are blocked by the allergy type of antihistamine and h2 histamines are blocked by antacids.
I took that combination for 9 years with great success. Zero issues with hives. Now, I don't have to take either.