severe chronic urticaria

[MLF]

Hi there
I am a new member with chronic hives, no known cause. I've had them before (a few years ago, I had them for about a year, then they just went away for no apparent reason). Like everyone else, this is a total blight on my life - particularly as the hives are very bad first thing in the morning, and I'm due to be starting a new job soon - I dont' want to keep on looking like I've been beaten up/attacked by mosquitos/have measles!

What I want to find out is more specific information about anti-histamines - what combinations work, what don't, and what kind of dosages I should be taking. I realise that everyone is different and different types of medicine work differently for everyone. But I'd like some ideas about what combinations people take, and how much they take on a daily basis.
At the moment I'm taking 10mg Zyrtec and 150mg Zantac each day. They only cure the hives for a few hours in the late afternoon and early evening - then the hives come back before I go to bed. They are always there in the morning, no matter when I take the anti-histamines. However, as ineffective as I think they are, if I DON'T take Zyrtec and Zantac, I get loads more hives all day long, and no respite whatsoever.

Another question I have is: does anyone have bloodshot eyes in the morning? I get angiodeima (swollen eyelids) most morning, and I've noticed my eyes are also bloodshot, even when I've had lots of sleep.

Any advice that anyone has about any of the above, please let me know!

( this question removed by the moderator )

Thank you.

[Godsboy]

I have also had severe hives head to toe, two to three times a week for over a year. And none of the doctors could come up with an answer as to why, so from there I knew I was on my own. However, I did finally trace it down to food allergies--it was not any certain type of food, but rather it turned out that I was allergic to foods that contained starches--pastas, breads, nuts, potatoes, etc., which for a junk foodaholic was in about everything I ate. Once I cut out the majority of the starches in my diet the problem disappeared. I hope this might help some of you, because I still remember that when I got the hives, all I could hope for is that someone would just put me out of my misery.

Ron

[lilboo99]

I am seriously in shock. I have been dealing with this since I had mono three years ago. I have been to the allergist, my family care physician, and even a dermatologist. From the reaction that I was getting from these doctors, I thought I was the only one who had this annoying problem. My last step was to go to the dermatologist and he called my allergist. He came back into the room after making that phone call to tell me that my allergist had not been clear with me about what was going on. Everytime I would take an antihystimine, my feet and hands would break out in hives. So I would stop taking that medicine. After a while, I would have another episode, go back to the doctor, and again he would give me another one. This whole time I thought that I was allergic to antihystimine. The allergist just said that I was a rare case. Thanks for the info doc. This past week I had what I thought was an allergic reaction to some lotion. Went to the doc and he gave me another medicine called Doxepin. An antidepresant. My reaction to that was that I am not depressed. I took the medicine and when I woke up in the morning my entire body was covered in hives. Everywhere but my face. So then I was definitely depressed. To make a long story short, the dermatologist told me that I had Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria along with dermagraphism (?). Anytime I scratch or my clothes rub in the same spot, there are hives in that spot. I am so tired of it. I am getting to the point that I don't know what to do. I wrote my name on my arm and watched it pop up with hives just to see. Sure enough my name in welts on my arm. I have another appointment with the allergist but am I supposed to trust what he says since they weren't really clear with me in the first place? Reading all of this stuff that everyone has been through makes me really nervous. Looking at all this medicine that can cause cancer and these blood thinners??? Freakin me out. I'm almost so nervous I'd rather deal with the hives. The dermatologist told me that my immune system is overacting. The pills that I take and the scratching is like foreign objects to my body and my immune system is trying to protect me. If anyone has any thoughts or any relief for me or in this case any advice, please let me know. The only thing that I really want to do is take a cold shower. Cools them off. Thanks for your time.

[ttddttdd]

Hey all! I haven't visited for a while. Busy summer. My hives have been in check for a while. While I still have some every day, I have not had the deep muscle pain for a while. I still get welts on my hands and feet, but the body hives seem to have left for a while. I still get pressure hives from sitting, standing, etc. And, I have dermagraphics, so when the dog or cat scratches me it turns into a big welt. But, I haven't had full blown hives for a while. I was taking Doxepin, Hydroxyzine and Lexapro every night for about 4 months before this period of less hive activity. The Doxepin makes me a zomby, so a few weeks ago I weened off of it and I am only taking the Hydroxyzine when I am really itchy. So, I have actually had some mornings when I woke up feeling refreshed! This may be the best I can ever hope for. Good luck to you all. Hairdoer and Angel Monkey - how is your summer going?

[ttddttdd]

Lilboo99 - Glad you found us. I didn't know there were other people like me until I found this forum. I wish I could give you sound advice, but nothing has completely worked for any of us. If you have insurance and it doesn't cost you alot, I would try some different doctors. I have found that a drug combo might help for a while, then I am back to square one. I agree with Hairdoer that we are not suffering from an allergy or reaction from food/environment. This has to do with the body doing battle with itself, we just haven't found the trigger. Steroids worked the best for me, but you can only take them for a week. However, it's good when you have a major-full blown set. Hydroxyzine temporarily takes away the itching for me, but also makes me tired. So, I take it at night but it wears off halfway through the day. Do a lot of reading on the Internet. I have been doing my own research for about a year now. I even wrote to our local university hospital to see if anyone was doing hive studies. I couldn't find any local studies that I could participate in. Good luck, I hope you find some relief. You are not a rare case!