[All-I-Need]

Hi All,

I posted a thread on here back in April asking to hear from all hives sufferers hoping for a miricle cure. One whole year on from when I first started getting hives and I still dont have an answer and I'm still covered in hives.

Yep, ONE WHOLE YEAR of itchiness and some days severe depression. I've had skin prick tests, tried several different medications and have been taking 4 Zyrtec tablets daily. Some days they work, some days they dont.

I did notice the hives are more angry on certain days leading up to and after my period - I discussed this with my specialist and he said that it could well be a hormonal issue as they actually started after I finished breastfeeding my fourth child (8years of being pregnant or breastfeeding so hormones could well be stuffed up! lol). He put me back on the pill, the hives did calm a little, I dont 'welt' up as much anymore, just itchy 'spots' but they are still there EVERYDAY.

(I've also tried natropath, chinese medicine and accupunctor to no avail)

Can anyone provide me with a suggestion on what to do? Im willing to try anything.

[30bt]

There are immunosuppressive drugs you can take for chronic urticaria that can be quite helpful but you can't be bfeeding
Talk to your immunologist!

[dogged]

I can only sympathise. Mine haven't been that bad - yet. I had them for the first time in June, had a round of oral and topical cortisone, they almost disappeared and then came back agin. I've just finished a second round of cortisone - again, tablets and cream. Zyrtec had no effect. Double dose of Telfast ( the strongest one) did take the edge off the swelling and welts but didn't stop the itching. I also bought some menthol and tar cream _ Hamilton I think the brand was - and kept it in the fridge and that worked to stop the burning.

Has your doctor/specialist talked to you much about the underlying cause? In my case it's stress related which is scary because I'm not in a position to eliminate the stressors in my life. I'm finding exercise helps. But it's been a week since I finished the cortisone and already I can feel the itches returning a little.

[kay11]

Not all hives are allergy based. Head to an immunologist and get a proper diagnosis. I had chronic hives for years (not very itchy, but sometimes burning) and it turned out to be an extraordinarily rare immune system condition. One genetic diagnosis later and on my own miracle treatment and I feel so much better.

[Flaxen]

My skin issues are stress related, but its not like i have a stressful life.
Have you tried the products called Moo Goo?
I know when i eat better, sleep better and use hypoallergenic everything (toilet paper/washing powder/handsoap/moisturiser/everything!) it goes away 90%, but its hard keeping it up!
But none of that works if im stressed about something or during the week before AF.

[fizzy19]

Hi is it possible that its a stress cycle. You said you somedays suffer from severe depression, but could it be possible that this depression could be in turn causing the hives? I am on anti-depressants and I also suffer from bad eczema, but I do remember in times of great stress they come out really badly.

sorry if I've rambled, good luck

[kay11]

Actually none of you guys are from SA are you?

If so, try googling "FCAS auto inflammatory" and see if it fits. It's very rare but I suspect that there is a large family group in SA that has this (a family subset is currently getting diagnosed) and need to start trying to get the word out.

[All-I-Need]

Kay11 - Im from Victoria.

Thank you all for your responses. I'm back to my specialist in October so will be asking about all of the above.

Keep those suggestions coming tho. The more info I get the better.

Thanks again

[All-I-Need]

Not all hives are allergy based. Head to an immunologist and get a proper diagnosis. I had chronic hives for years (not very itchy, but sometimes burning) and it turned out to be an extraordinarily rare immune system condition. One genetic diagnosis later and on my own miracle treatment and I feel so much better.

If you dont mind me asking Kay - what was the diagnosis and treatment?

[Pompol]

Hi OP. oh how I feel for you. I broke out in what I thought was hives immediately after my daughters birth. They looked exact,y like the hives I get from penicillin so my GP, and then the next 6 doctors I saw (!!) just kept pumping me full of antihistamines. Or telling me to change soap, washing powder, diet, cleaning chemicals, shampoo, etc etc and so on and so forth Until I was pretty much living off rice in a chemical free bubble (i literally moved out of my house temporarily in case if was environmental) and it still had absolutely no effect.

It turned out to be a rare auto immune condition called pemphagoid gestational, it's pregnancy related but can appear after birth in some cases like mine. In most women the hives turn into large blisters but mine never did, they were just ordinary looking hives at first and eventually became hard, rough hives. Of all of the doctors I saw, none had ever seen a case. And it's not the rarest auto immune disorder by a long shot!

PG is not likely to be what you're suffering from (unless you has unexplained hives during one of your pregnancies, in which case it might be a fit?). But I also get flares before my period, stress mskes it worse, etc.

But my point is, once I found a doctor who didnt write it off as "unexplained hives" I very quickly had the right tests, and even while we waited to confirm the diagnosis i was given a script for high dose prednisone and within a few days the agony was over. Until the prednisone agony started but it was still better than the agony of unexplained severe itch!!!

As I understand it, prednisone (both oral and topical cream) is used to treat a range of auto immune type disorders, could you discuss that with your GP? Or could you request a biopsy of the hives (there's a test they run on a biopsy that confirms the presence of antibodies for PG, not sure if this applies to other auto immune skin disorders but worth asking)? I believe there are also blood tests that can be done. October is a long time away, maybe your GP can begin some tests in that direction at least to rule auto immune out?

Good luck OP, and i really hope you find relief soon!!!

This post has been edited by Pompol: 11/09/2012, 10:12 PM