PTSD after full or partial remission from cholinergic urticaria and other forms of chronic urticaria

Haha, yes I know exactly what you mean! I am 2.5 weeks post mirena coil removal and this has been the cause of 8 months of misery with urticaria. In the last 2.5 weeks my urticaria is almost gone. But like you say, any slight tingling on the skin and I am petrified to scratch just in case! I am regularly lifting up my top to peek at the areas which were effected. I walk around work inspecting my arms! Its madness I know but I am not 100% there yet. Strangely the odd single hive seems way more itchy than the entire breakout but the fear is definitely there!!

Hi Tonello, I believe many of us who are in remission feel just same I know I do. I still wear clothes inside out when I'm at home as one of my triggers is chafing and I worry like you at every itch. People who have never suffered this won't know why we are so paranoid about an itch!

Ha-ha thanks guys. I was beginning to think I was going crazy or something.

Hahahaha just like me , going under sun pressure or run is a big fear and when i feel in small itch i realy feel anxious, now i take telfast(antihistamine) and i am 90% fine from hives and itches

I'm not in remission yet, due to start ciclosporin next week, but I do have things about 80% under control with diet and lifestyle changes. I have cold urticaria and am now very hyperaware of my skin when it is cold and especially when it is windy. I definitely have become over-aware of the sensation of itch, and when I am in an episode it can be hard to not obsess with it.

A couple of months ago I began looking into the mindfulness techniques people like Vijmala Burch of breathworks teach for the management of chronic pain. It's worth looking into for anyone who suffers with Urticaria because a lot of the trauma is shared with people with chronic pain, even though the sensation is different.

She writes about primary and secondary suffereing. The primary being the physical pain or itch or even broken/sore skin in our case. The secondary being insomnia, anxiety, constant severe discomfort, obsessive thoughts, fear, worry, anxiety, loss of quality of life, hard to manage diets and damaging lifestyle changes, job loss, financial worries and a whole host of other nasty suffering even including suicidal thoughts when things get very bad.

I know I felt like a different person the past three years with Urticaria. It has been by far the worst time of my life. I really resent it ruining the good times I would have had during the first two years of my daughters life. I also resent the fact that I had to scale back my ambitions/hopes/dreams and the damage it did to my career and financial position. But all that said, I am feeling 80% better now and actually appreciate how good it is to be healthy.

One thing that has helped me a bit is anti-depressants (Prozac, low dose now) and the beta blocker Propranol (occasionally as needed). They helped with not obsessing over the hives and also took a slight edge of the itch, and especially dulled down the false alarms you describe. The SSRIs do dull the sense of touch somewhat, which I guess is why they are so effective when they are used to treat P.E. in men. I find the the beta blockers seem to help stop the itch-scratch cycle from escalating into the usual vicious circle horror show so that even when I am itchy it tends not to get worse.

The tricky thing about the false alarms for me is not jumping the gun and taking sedating anti-histamines when I might not need them. I find Periactin quite useful when things are bad, but the next day I am sleepy, unmotivated with an increased appetite so I don't like taking it if I don't need it. But if I hold off early and then later find I really do need it late at night with insomnia and intractable, then I will be really sleepy until after lunch. Doxepin was a whole other level of dopiness though.