So I went to an allergist and he said he doesn't know what is causing my itching. I itch randomly all over my body. I don't get hives until after I've scratched. It really isn't hives it's more of that dermographism.

Anyhow, he was telling me he wants me to take Zyrtec in the evening and then Claritin in the morning. He mentioned something about supressing my immune system.

Can anyone go into more detail into what taking those medicines are designed for?

Also, does anyone know if I will be taking these medications long-term?

Also how many of you have had to stop eating things that you've enjoyed from your childhood?

Both of these medications are antihystamines and help with sneezing, swelling, itching etc. They are usually used as an as needed basis. I'm not sure why doc prescribed 2 different meds because they are basically the same thing. Are either of the zrytec D or claritin D? The "D" is a deconjestant.

No neither are the "D" versions of the drug.

Hi 'Noct'

how severe are your hives and itching? Are the medications that you are taking helping your symptoms? The treatment that he mentioned about suppressing your immune system is more for severe cases-chronic idiopathic urticaria and/or the problem is related to the immune system where you have autoimmune urticaria(body attacks itself) and that's when drugs like cyclosporine(usually a drug normally taken by transplant patients) may be used. But do not go into that treatment category if your problem is manageable by antihistamines. Sometimes, if the current antihistamines stop working, there are other combo(2 or more different types) that you can take.

However, if you are doing well with just the antihistamines, don't go into the immunosuppresant drugs as they can do more harm. Although the dosage is not as high as those transplant patients getting... one might be more prone to infections.

My mom has dermatographism and hers is due to infection, so after her infection is cleared, the hives no longer come back. So it might be an underlying infection or something. Hope you feel better! :angel:

Hi, I've been dealing with the itching and dermatagraphism since last December. I tried Prednisone several times but can't stay on that. I'm currently taking 1200 mg Zantac (h2 blocker), benadryl, and Singulair which replaced Zyrtec.

I'm getting better, only have flares every few days. None of my docs can say what is causing this. I've got a sneaking suspision that it may be from the Vicodin I take for chronic pain. I haven't had any now for a couple of weeks and itching has been much better. I also noticed the day I had an endoscopy and was given Fentanyl (sp) for pain by IV that I was itching like crazy.

I go back to doc on 11-17 to discuss all this. The only other thing I've found that this could be is called Mast Cell Activation Disorder. It's the mast cells that get out of whack that make us itch.

Hope this helps some,

Julie

sounds like to me you are allergic to vicadin. taking zantac before taking any of those other drugs will delay or prevent them from being absorbed into the body. people on the forums have had good luck taking just zantec and zyrtec for hives. it was recommended you take the zyrtec at least 30 mins or more before the zantac.