My Cholinergic Urticaria Heat Hives Doctor Visit
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My First Hives/Cholinergic Visit to the Doctor?
By this point I felt I needed to see a doctor. So I called & made an appointment with my regular care physician. As I stated in the first page of my cholinergic urticaria (hives) story, I was breaking out much more frequently.
My every day simple tasks (such as going out in public) was very difficult because I would break out in the most intense pain & itching. I felt very odd. Like I was some kind of genetic freak or something. I felt out of place, like I was different from everyone else.
Finally, the day of the doctor visit came. I was nervous, yet hoping that I could put an end to this painful & humiliating experience.
The doctor walked in. “Hello…how are you doing today.” “Pretty good, how about you,” I responded.
I proceeded to tell him of my problem. “I start breaking out in this really intense itch, and it is really uncomfortable & painful. It is mostly when I get hot.” The doctor stood there a minute. Then the diagnosis came… “You know, I think your problem is dry skin,” the doctor said. Dry skin? I thought to myself, “how in the world does dry skin make you break out in hives?” He continued to tell me a few lotions that I should try.
“But, this is really intense. Like I am breaking out in a rash or something. Are you sure it is just dry skin,” I said. “Yes,” the doctor said.
So I went to the store & bought the lotion he recommended. I tried it for a few weeks. NOTHING. I became frustrated. I called & asked for a referral to a dermatologist. I thought maybe they would know more about my problem.
My Trip to the Dermatologist for my Cholinergic Urticaria
The dermatologist was a friendly guy. I was optimistic that he would be able to fix my problem of breaking out in this intensely itchy rash. After all, dermatologists specialize in skin. It was very warm in his office (rare for a doctor’s office/hospital), and I was actually having a breakout reaction while he was talking to me.
I pulled down my shirt. “Hmmm, I can definitely see some flushing in your skin,” the doctor replied. He asked if I had an infection of any kind. I told him no. He looked puzzled. He then explained that for some reason, my body was “stressed.”
He prescribed me some pills (hydroxyzine), which was a fairly powerful anti-histamine (anti-histamines are simply “anti-allergy” pills). People take them often for simple allergies such as pollen, etc.
Yes… Finally a pill that would cure me. Or so I thought.
I took the hydroxyzine right away. I was excited that I could finally put this whole experience past me & move on. It only took about two hours for it to kick in & it knocked me out completely. You see, those anti-histamine’s have a major tendency to make you extremely drowsy. So I fell fast asleep, even though it was still in the late afternoon. I forget now how often I took them, but I know it was at least once a day.
For the first few days, I really thought this stuff was working. I felt better. I was tired for those few days, but I didn’t care if it was going to cure my cholinergic urticaria (hives). Unfortunately, after my body started to adjust after about a week, I quit being drowsy. I also started itching again with hives. Bummer. I was very frustrated.
I called the dermatologist & scheduled another appointment. I told him the medicine wasn’t working & that I needed to come back again. By the way, at this point I was unemployed but a full-time college student. I didn’t attend the next semester because the hives were bad. Plus I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life anyways.
I went back to the dermatologist. This time, he decided I should get a shot. I am not sure exactly what the exact chemical was, but I do know that it was a steroid shot. Looking back it was probably something such as prednisone or some similar steroid.
“Maybe this will help,” I thought to myself. The steroid shot was on the side of my rear end. It stung, but I have never been the type to fear needles or shots.
I went home. For the next few days, nothing changed. I was still breaking out & the steroids had no apparent effect. At this point. I lost hope. I was tired of taking medications that didn’t help. I always worry anyways about these crazy drugs these days. Many times I think they are more dangerous than they are helpful in the long run.
Since nothing was working, and the doctors seemed stumped anyways, I decided to stop seeking medical advice. I also stopped taking my hydroxyzine. I reasoned that it made no since to keep taking a pill if it wasn’t helping me.
For the next few months I just toughed it out. I avoided getting hot as much as possible. I also tried various “home remedies.” For example, I tried lotions, I tried making it more humid in the house, I tried taking showers less frequently, changing detergents, changing soap, I even tried avoiding certain foods in case I was allergic, etc. Nothing worked. It was torture. I would carry around a squirt bottle of water. When I would get hot, I would start to spray myself to cool my body down so I could avoid a breakout.
Summer was soon arriving. And with it was a new beginning.
