DEE!

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:10 pm

Wahoo, Dee. Great news about the soy-free spread!!! BTW, how was your endoscopy? Did I miss your report?

Love,

Polly

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:29 pm

Hi Polly!
Just had my endoscopy last Thursday & won't get the report until April 16th..
That's unless I call my GI's secretary 7-10 days from the scope.
I have alot to discuss with my GI when I have the follow up.
Oh! I have an appt. on Wednesday for an ultrasound of my gallbladder, also.
GI ordered that too!! For Joy!!
I posted before that the Zantac that I started the first week of this month was controlling the upper abdomen discomfort & it must have been working on the hives, also.
But, the hives returned last Tuesday.
About 4 hours after the anethestic for the endoscopy, I had hives on both inner thighs, so I want to know what was in the anethestic???????? Those ones were raised and itched like crazy...
Have to admit that I'm feeling a bit frustrated with wanting to know what is causing this hypersensitivity, delayed reactions. I start checking my body anywhere from 3- 12 hours because that is when I seem to break out in different places on my body.
Right now, I have one that is about the size of a 50 cent piece on the inside of my arm between the elbow & shoulder.
I checked my CBC bloodwork that was done in November and my eosinophil level was 0.. And all the others were in the normal range.
So whatever started at the end of November with the abdomen discomfort and hives has to be related IMO!!!! So hopefully I can compare my recent CBC that the GI ordered with that previous one.

Love
Dee~~~~~~

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:31 am

I'm so sorry the hives have returned so badly. It is really turning into a puzzle that I surely hope your GI can solve. I can't imagine having hives like that for such a long period of time.

Don't give up girl, keep on "squeaking" (the wheel you know) until they figure it out.

Love, Shirley

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:49 am

Update!
Just got up and I have hives on the inside of both legs, from the knees up, and both arms, from the wrists, clear up to my shoulders. ARGH!!!!
Plus, my top lip has some swelling...
I'm sitting here trying to figure out what I could have ate yesterday to trigger these ones???????
Rice Chex & banana
pear
I baked chicken breasts, topped with olive oil, fresh garlic, sage & thyme
After they were baked I picked those apart and added the meat, drippings, and the roasted garlic to tinky'ada brown rice fetticinni noodles & steamed broccoli & asparagus.
A few GF/DF/SF sugar cookies
A few GF/DF/SF pretzels
About 8 oz. of fresh brewed ice tea
Any ideas?????

Love
Dee~~~~

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:18 am

Hi Dee, the early bird!

Sorry to hear about the continuing hives. Here is some info I found on the internet from a Dr. Donohue, who is answering a patient's question about chronic hives. (You probably know this already, but here it is........)

******************************************************************

ANSWER: "Hives lasting less than six weeks are called acute hives, and the list of causes for them is long. Allergies (food, drugs, insect bites, infections and on and on) are big causes, and antihistamines often control the itching until the hives go away on their own.

Your hives are something else. They've lasted more than six weeks, so they're called chronic hives. Chronic hives are a formidable foe.

For one, their cause often isn't found, and that makes treatment difficult. In addition to hives, the tissues beneath the skin often are swollen.

That's angioedema, and it adds to a person's woes. The lips, for example, can be grossly swollen.

One reassuring piece of information is that even chronic hives disappear in six months for half of the people who have them.

A less than reassuring bit of information is that 20 percent of chronic hives patients have to contend with them for as long as 10 years. Some serious hidden illnesses spark chronic hives - hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Lyme disease and blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis).

A tip that hives might be linked to one of these conditions is the persistence of an individual or many individual hives for longer than 24 hours. Most of the time, hives go away and a brand-new crop appears.

The older antihistamines, like Benadryl, Atarax and Chlor-Trimeton, often control the itching of chronic hives, but the price that's paid is the grogginess they can bring. Sedation makes them a good choice for nighttime use. Newer antihistamines, which aren't sedating, can be used in combination with the older ones.

Furthermore, an antihistamine can be combined with Tagamet or Zantac, two stomach medicines that also have an antihistamine action for increased action against hives.

Some people find Singulair, an asthma medicine, worthwhile. For unbearable hives, a short course of a cortisone drug is justified".

************************************************************

I thought the sentence in red might be reassuring. Also, the fact that your hives seem to go away and then a brand new crop appears (isn't this correct?) means it is less likely that you have a serious underlying condition. It might be worthwhile getting a Lyme test......it is easy to do, and Lyme disease can masquerade as other things. How about your dental status? No possibility of an abscess, right?

Good luck getting to the bottom of the hives. There is nothing worse than constant itching, as I was reminded several years ago when I got poison ivy.

Keep us posted..........

Love,

Polly

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:21 am

Some studies have shown that infection with Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria commonly connected with stomach ulcers, is also associated with chronic hives.
This may sound weird, but I'm kind of hoping that it is H. pylori and that after the treatment for it my hives disappear also!!!!!

Love
Dee~~~

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:28 am

Yes, in a few hours from now they will disappear and I can vaguely then see them under the skin.
Then by this afternoon, there will be no signs of them....
Like I've always said, " I'm a tough nut to crack"!!!!!

Love
Dee~~~~

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:32 am

Hi again Dee,

Yes, let's hope they're due to infection. H. pylori makes sense, since you are having stomach symptoms. I'll keep everything crossed!!!

Love,

Polly

jodibelle352 · Post by **jodibelle352** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:59 am

Goodmorning Dee:

The waiting for the results is the hardest especially when it seems like you've been waiting until hell freezes over just to get the scope done. LOL But hang in the friend infact just call the nurse practitioner and have her give your results. I dan't believe the GI didn't at least come in after your scope and let you know if there were any ulcers or any suspicious area's. My GI told me about the ulcers, acid reflux right after. (Actually she told David because I was still pretty out of it from what ever they put in my IV to relax me)

I react very strangely to most drugs that they give you. I feel absolutely NOTHING until the medication starts working its way from my system.
Hope they find out soon whats causing your hives.

Love and God Bless:
Jodi

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:01 am

If it is H. pylori I sure hope Cipro is one of the chosen antibiotics to treat it!!
I know that I've read ammoxicillun and Flagyl and I cringe thinking about those 2!!
I sure don't want to deal with the explosive D on top of everything!!
Of course, if I have the option of Cipro, I'll address that issue with my GI..
Plus, a probiotic....

Love
Dee~~~~

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:10 am

Dee,
I hope it's H. pylori too. At least that is treatable and fairly familiar.

Love, Shirley

Post by **tex** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:43 am

Dee,

Sorry that this is still going on. From a histamine viewpoint, the only suspicious item that I can see in the menu that you listed, is the tea. All tea is implicated, (though coffee is not, strange as it seems).

I agree though, I still think that H. pylori is the most likely suspect.

Love,
Tex

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:44 am

I figured out the tea, also.
But, I have had iced tea forever as my drink of choice instead of Pepsi/Coke, etc.... Maybe 1 8 oz. glass an evening.
I just don't think it is food related.
SIGH!!!
Just when I've started to gain a few more pounds.
I'm going to continue eating like I normally do. I want my peanut butter & jelly sandwich!!!!

Love
Dee~~

jodibelle352 · Post by **jodibelle352** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:36 am

It's me again Dee.

OMG! A peanut butter and jelly sandwich sounds devine! I'm not able to handle peanut butter at all and haven't been able to since I started with this illness over 19 months ago. However, I am able to eat Reese's Peanut butter Cups without any problems. How strange is that?
I also stay away from Iced Tea because I have a very unpleasant reaction whenever I drink it. I am the Iced Tea lover of all time! David said that our children should have been born with a glass of Iced Tea in one hand and a Chocolate Candy Bar in the other! Now that how much Iced Tea and Chocolate (especially Reese's) go together. LOL
We both will get where we need even if it takes us one day at a time and one mouth full of food at a time. One day girlfriend we will finally look like were NOT malnurished!

Love and God Bless:
Jodi

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:18 pm

Jodi!
I've found that I can do sunflower seed butter that I find at my local HFS.. I actually like the taste better than the Schmucker's All Natural that I use to eat.
The closest that I get to a Reese's is if I make my own with melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips and my sunflower seed butter and mold them in the tiny foil muffin liners...
Yep!! My motto at present is "I try to take one day at a time, but lately several day have attacked me at once!!!"

Love
Dee~~~~