HAIRDOER

Humm. Symptoms...very large hives that appear on any body part that is under any stress. Like bottom of my feet. Can't wear tight pants, belts, or put much pressure anywhere without getting welts that itch and get red and drive me nuts. The hives itch but mostly hurt. I have developed hives just from shopping for an hour and having the hangers over my arm on my way to the dressing room. Within a couple of hours I will get hives if I get a massage. I also get hives in places that have had no pressure and then they usually go away within 24 hours only to pop up in a new place.
Last winter I tried every anti itch medicine. I did the benadryl, allergra, and a few others that do a good job making me sleepy. I have two kids and no time for resting most days. I also did 4 or 5 rounds of steriods last winter. I got a couple of cortizone shots. The steriods helped when I was on high doses but as soon as I got down to 20mgs a day the hives would come back with a vengence. I have had them internally. Head to toe.
I got on this board and someone said they took the sulfasalizine and had taken it for 5 years I think till it quit working. I went to my Doc and said, hey can we try this medicine. She said she had not tried it before for this but it may be worth a shot so wa laaaaaahhhh. She listens to me cause she knows I KNOW more than she does about it!! I got it and it took awhile before the hives went away completly but they did so I decided to taper myself off. It took about the whole month of Jan. before they started to appear again so I am taking it again and I will see if it works again. I sure hope so. I had a big hive on the bottom of my foot all night last night and could not walk on it this morning and was itching all night so I could not go to church this morning, but by noon the swelling was starting to do down and it is almost gone now. I have a few small welts on my tummy and back but they do not bother me very much. Wonder where the next ones will be.
If you do a search on the drug name you will find info about it. No where did I find that it is used to treat chronic hives but it worked for me and at least one other person. I think it is much safer than anti-histamines forever and steroid use long term. I think these hives are not caused by allergies but something internally that is all mixed up. It has to do with IgE antibodies and the autoimmune system. It is so complicated that there is no know cause that can be pinpointed by Drs. SO it is up to us to do as much research and help ourselves so that we can someday figure out a way to stop this. Keep reading all you can. Good Luck to you too!!!