Random Swelling

[ashlynapple]

In October 2007, I broke out in hives from my neck to my thighs, and my entire face swelled.  I went to the doctor and got a shot, nothing has happend until January 2008.  Randomly my lip will swell, my eyelid, sections of my ankle or elbow.  One nostril has swollen as well.  They don't all of these at the same time, just at random times.  It has even happend when I haven't eaten or drank anything.  Any suggestions/ reasons why this his happening are welcome.

[sickgal25]

I too, have been dealing with the random swelling since April 07. I have been to allergists, rhuematologists, internist, and neurologist. The docs keep referring to the swelling as angioedema ~ google it. I've had swollen eye lids, the soles of my feet will be hot to the touch and I am unable to walk from the pain, swollen finger tips, swollen nostril, my lip will look like I was punched in the face. The docs can't figure it out. Also, I have had a recent weight gain of 30lbs(Aug.125 - Dec. 155). I have chronic fatigue. I had blood work done last week, and the results are low potassium, low creatinine, and low T4 (thyroid). I am trying to figure out what's wrong with me. Be proactive ~ don't wait on the doc. Demand that they do labs, etc. Good luck to you on your search for wellness!!  

[Margo15]

6 days ago Feb 19/08, my palms of hands started to itch, 2 days later they started to swell as well.My hands started to get better yesterday (Sunday) , BUT when the hives on my hands started to get better, my lower part of my arms stared with swollen, big itchy painful bumps. Each time one part of my body would seem to get better, the hives would jump to another part of my body. its gone from my hands, to my arms, to my waist, to my scalp, neck...and then my face, where i woke with the one side of my face so swollen that i could not open my one eye. going to see my doctor today, but wondered if anyone can help  in the meantime. Thank you very much. Just writing it down helps....:)

Margo

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Was your doctor able to pinpoint the reason for the hives when you had it in Oct 2007? In case of allergies it is best to find out the cause of allergy and then try to avoid it completely. If the reason has not been isolated it would be best to go to the doctor or allergy specialist in an effort to identify what is the reason for this allergy. The doctor may also prescribe you some medication so that you can avoid the symptoms should you develop them anyhow. In the meantime, it would be best if you use some OTC anti-allergics/ anti-histamines to help you tide over the symptoms.

Please let me know if you have any queries. Also keep us posted on your health.

Good luck.

[mmiocev]

For the past 15 years I've had swellings on every part of my body, from head to toes.  Went to allergy specialist, done the test, looked at food, etc.  The trigger I found was stress, either mental or physical but didn't happen all the time.  Finally something changed.

I didn't get swellings for months.  the only  thing that changed was that I switched from an antiperspirant to a deodorant.  After that, the swellings slowely went away.  Now I don't even get the slightest of swellings.  Antiperspirant are apparently not very good for you.  They contain aluminum oxides that stop you from perspiring.  When I switched to a deodorant everything changed.  This worked for me, but may not be the cause of your allergy.  Good luck!

Mike
***@****

[pinzy]

My husband randomly woke up last fall in the middle of the night and said his tonge was swolen? He went back to bed and woke up to it being worse and barely could swollow. He took himself to the hospital and they gave him a shot and it went down. It had happen three more times after that and went to see a allergist but of course no answers and lot of medication and a epy pen to be with him at all time????? Now it happens every couple of months sometimes sooner and for acouple of days at a time. It is his eyed lid, mouth, cheek, and throut. sometimes his hands and feet itch and it hurts to walk. It has affected our marriage becuase I feel he might just drop dead one day. Some of the pills he takes when this happens makes him very mean and tired. We thought it was stress becuase I was pregnant with out second child and was having lots of issues half way through.   Lindsay

[taydawn99]

I woke up 4 days ago with large red itchy bumps initially on my forearms. With in 5 minutes they were all over my neck, waist, scalp and my ears started to swell. I took some allergy tablets ( Chlorpheniramine) and the itching/ hives stopped within 2 hours, but my ears continued to swell. About 8 hours later they started to resume normal appearance. Later that evening i started noticing i was extremely achey (achy), ecspecially in my hips and knees. Shortly after i also noticed that i had slight swelling in my upper lip. I took some advil and allergy tabs and went to sleep. Once again i awoke the next morning with all of my upper lip very swollen and large red itchy bumps on my neck, scalp, forearms, waist and knees. I finally went to the doctor considering i could hardly talk, therefore unable to work. The doctor gave me a steroid injection called Kenalog and said the swelling should  go away within 24 hours. The swelling did go down throughout the day, but the aching continued. I started getting painful areas on my skin( palms of my hands, outsides of my knees and my tailbone). My hips ached so badly i could barely walk, but i just gave it time per doctors orders. Oce again i awoke the next morning with the same itchy "hives". My lip was no longer swollen, but my thumb was swollen and painful in the joint. Throughout the day my left ankle began to swell and hurt to the touch. As the day went on, the pain and swelling in my ankle got worse. By 7 pm i could not put pressure on my foot without causeing immense pain. I took some more advil which relieved the pain, but it still hurt. I woke this morning, no rash, ankle still slightly swollen and red, but less painful. I have absolutely no idea what's going on with my body. The Dr. says it's an allergic reaction to a medication i have been on for years. Seems a little unlikely to me. I'm a 27 yr old female. If anyone can help please let me know.

[Schultzie]

This may not help, but I have a name for the tongue swelling.  I call it clown tongue--especially when both sides of the tongue are involved.  Right now my thumb is swollen.  I think maybe I have clown thumb.

[james13]

what up everybody, i have had random swellings in almost every part of my body, im 24 and have been dealing with this for the last almost 12 years. when i say every part of my body i mean, eyes, tounge, lips, hands, feet, toes, heels, knees, elbows, ankles, and so on. these swellings seem to show up more so around joints. Why? couldnt tell ya. but i have had random patches turn up behind my ears on my side and lower back. i have experienced first hand almost everything  everyone has posted except the hives. ive never had hives with it, just the swelling. and like most i too have been to all kinds of doctors, and they dont know what causes it. i have tried to link almost everything i can think of to these swellings and nothing, no common factor. when reading through what others have posted, here is what i do know. the itching around the swelling is caused by the skin being streched beyond what it should. it wont kill you its just itchy and uncomfortable believe me i understand. and yes it does hurt like hell sometimes to walk when your feet are swollen but again it wont kill you. the swellings without fail will subside within 24-48 hrs sometimes 72. what does work is benadryl. its an antihistamine and will keep the swelling down. i've noticed that if you take benadryl as soon as you can this can sometimes prevent the swelling from getting worse. an epi pen isnt a bad idea either i have also noticed that when combined with a decent dose of benadryl the swelling will about 95% of the time not get any worse and i see noticable improvement within a few hrs. some docs have told me unless you cant breath theres no point in using an epi pen. i find that with these random swellings, an epipen and the benadryl
will produce results better then just the benadryl alone. i have also been put on a mild steriod before, this did nothing to help. i have also in the past been put on a one a day allergie med, again this did nothing. in 12 years i havnt been able find a way to prevent the swellings but i honestly feel that the best way to treat them when they do happen is benadryl and epinephrine. good luck.

[Better2Day]

This is the first site I've found with similar symptoms I experienced.  In summary, here's what happened to my body:  Day 1: a.) Really bad itching on the back of hands looking really chapped; followed by b.) Lumps approx size of silver dollar under each buttocks followed by c.) hard lumps 2" wide by 4" tall on either side of the tail bone down through the inside of my buttocks followed by d.) red spots approx. the size of a U.S. dime in region where arm meets chest both sides; front and back followed by e.) large patches up to  3" by 8" of raised red skin and tops of hands swollen to the point where knuckles couldn't be seen and couldn't make a fist; also by evening, elbows are swollen and I had a sore throat.  I was prescribed and taking Prednisone and Benedryl and an epinepherine pen.  Day 2: a.) Seemed better but in the morning my nose swelled wide and went numb followed by upper lip then lower lip then chin and then throat; b.) ER room gave me an IV with Prednisone and another antihistamine followed by b.) an Epinephrine shot and 30 minutes later, 10 minutes of tremors followed by c.) red blotches/hives from the top of my head to my waist/groin area.  Day 3: a.) red blotches/hives progressing to my feet (tops swollen and itchy) and the palms of my hands look like a red balloon and continue to itch so very very bad yet I am sent home.  Day 4: a.) Wake up with a cough and having trouble breathing ER gives another antihistamine shot, Albuteraol inhaler for cough and observes the large red blotches covering my entire body and now my forehead and the back of my head have small lumps followed by b.) visit to family doctor and referal to an allergy physician who says it's not an allergy but rather an "episode" where only around 2 out of 1,000 root causes are found;  c.) Allergy Doc says stop all the other prescriptions, prescribes a different antihistamine (hydroxyzine) and tells me to keep the epipen in case of a recurrence.  Also says it's highly unlikely to be a food allergy (shell fish, etc.) since I have not had ANY allergies over the past 51 years.  Day 5: a.) Some dizziness and nausea and random numbness in hands especially the thumbs going numb, etc. followed by b.) Improvement with red blotches decreasing to only stomach and groin and a little on chest and back.  Day 6: a.) Continued improvement and stopped all prescriptions with very minor nausea and headache followed by Day 7 where all symptoms are mostly gone and I start recovery including a short walk for fresh air and thanking God that I am better!  None of the doctors I met have an idea what it was and I've eaten shrimp and crab legs so I know it's not a shell fish allergy (some docs and friends said that might be it!).  Anyone got any clues on what it could have been??

[chezweenie]

This is so weird to read other peoples symptoms and still nobody has any answers.  This morning I woke up with a stiff middle finger in my right hand and a lump on the right side of my mid back, right beside my spine.  About 3 weeks ago this all started, where my right foot was swollen and my right hand was completely swelled up.  My left hand had some finger swelling.  This went down in 24-48 hours.  Then a couple of days later my right knee became so stiff over a few hour period, it became extremely difficult to drive my manual car home from work.  It was a nightmare pushing the clutch in.  I have also had random episodes of both my bum cheeks feeling very hard at the top.  It was maybe 3 or 4 inches long on bosh sides and 2 inches across.  I woke up one morning with the entire right side of my face being completely swollen, where I couldn't even bite down properly, my jaw was shifted over to the right.  This was very scary!  And I also had a few fat lips, on my bottom lip.  I have also found benadril to be beneficial.  I have no idea of what this could be and why I sometimes get random red spots in my palms, that don't go away when i press on my skin.  I wish somebody had some answers.  

[djk29]

I have very similar symptoms. I randomly swell. Over the last eight years, it has happened seemingly randomly on my feet, toes, thighs, stomach, arms, hands, fingers, lips, jaw bone, butt, testicles and eyes. It won't happen for months, then I will have one to three incidents in a week. It doesn't seem rashy, but just a section (anything from a 1x1 area on the arch of my foot to a 6x10 area on the side of my stomach). It is extremely itchy, and itching only makes it grow and last longer. Sometimes it moves from one area to another.

It started in the summer of 2001 when I was 21. I've been to the doctor multiple times in the last few years. It happens completely randomly. I have tried to keep track of food/situations/anything that are triggers and can find no correlation. I will be fine for months and then it hits once or multiple times and then goes away again - all during random parts/seasons of the year. I haven't had an episode in approx 4 months and then this last week it was my right hand one day, a section on my lower bicep the next, my inner right thigh (that moved to my butt) the next two days, my left eye the next day, I got a cold the next day (but no swelling) and today half of my upper right lip.

My doctor put me on one zyrtec a day. And I've had many fewer cases over the last two years. When I forget to take the pill, I almost always swell, but even when I'm on it, it still happens occasionally. I also have a prescription for atarax/hydroxyzine (mainly to help with the itching - it doesn't seem to help the swelling go down any faster). It normally goes down in 24-48 hours, sometimes it takes 72-96. Benadryl does not seem to make a big difference - I usually just have to wait it out.

All doctors seem baffled and it really effects my life. Not fun to wake up with a huge swollen lip when you have a client meeting that day.

I really wish there were an answer for why this happens to me. I was glad to find this forum. It is comforting to know I'm not the only one.

[AmandaAnn]

Has anyone with the bottoms of feet, finger tip, palm of hand, facial swelling gotten a diagnosis yet?  To the person talking about "hives" there are no hives with what we experience.  It almost seems "pressure" related in some way - like a build up of something that causes the blood to fill and engorge the area.  Prior to the daily regimen of Zyrtec it would be nearly impossible to walk.

I'm going to an endocrinologist this week to see if they can shed some light on it because, after 12 years, the daily regimen isn't working anymore.  I've been to several allergists and they don't have a clue.  

I think it would be great for people to post their "tried and true" to the avenues they've explored.

[RJ26]

Finally, I thought I was the only one. The random swelling symptons you guys describe are what Ive had for years. Im now 26 and they probably started around 15 or 16 years old. Ive had what feels like gallons of blood taken and tested but never any answers. Ive tried Allegra, Zyrtec and Benadryl and more. Nothing really seems to work. The swelling actually stopped for about a year and a half and I thought i finally grew out of it. But I had recent hernia operation and while recovering out of no where the bottom of my foot started to swell again. now over the past month Its happen 3 times and I woke up this morning and half of my bottom lip is swollen. I wish I could be given some answers :-(

[dsa0214]

I have been dealing with almost every symptom mentioned here (except for the swollen tongue) for about 4 - 5 yrs.  Usually it starts out as an itchy spot anywhere on my body and develops into swelling or hives.  If its on a large area of skin like my arms or chest/stomach, it is hives or big red patches that are unrelentingly itchy.  If its on smaller, more intricate areas like hands, feet, or face, it swells and is itchy, but no apparent redness.  My doctor doesn't know what it is for sure. She mentioned the angioedema thing and she did blood work for thyroid problems and such which came back normal.  One thing I might mention is that I smoked cigarettes for about 15 years, and when I quit cold turkey in July 2009, the swelling completely disappeared for a couple of months, but slowly started up again recently. I noticed one day when I was burning a lot of leaves, the next day I was badly swollen. So one would think, smoke allergy or irritation, right? Well I wish it were that simple; sometimes it happens when I haven't been around any smoke. It might also be worth mentioning that when I was younger, maybe 7 or 8, I would occasionally wake up with one of my eyes swollen shut. Then I didn't have any problems for years and one day it showed up again, 4 or 5 years ago. Anyhow, just wanted to throw in my two cents.

[Simpleman74]

Doctors rarely look into synthetic allergies! And I don't know if that is your case. But I do know that my allergy to synthetics like polyester etc... cause swelling and inflamtion.
And polyester is bad for that. Even all cotton clothing has polyester in the threads! Ususally 50 %. And the tighter to the skin it is the worse the reaction!
Thus the weight of the shirt on your shoulders would cause a reaction in that area. Also around the waist "more if you don't wear underwear or tuck in your shirt. My case is a bit different for I have nervous dermatitis. And the allergen stirs my nerves up causing cracking and swelling. Also other thing when contact is prolonged or greater. Nausea being one.