Serious hives for a week after extreme workout

[stradev]

I'm in my early 40s and have been dealing with recurring hives since high school. I've finally found what appears to be the cause, but I'm not sure what to do next. When I heavily use muscles that haven't really been exercised in a few weeks or more, I get very sharp pain in those muscles the next day or two. That's when I know the hives are going to come. Unlike most exercise-induced hives I've read about, the hives don't come when I exercise, but a day or two later - always after the sharp muscle pain. The first few times I got them they got so bad I ended up in the emergency room where they gave me epinephrin, etc. and they went away. The strange thing though, is that they came back again and again over the course of a week to a week and a half. Now that I can recognize them coming right away, I usually knock them out right away with a double dose of Benadryl, which I then have to take every 4 hours - tapering the dosage off over the course of the week. They still come back over the week, but they never get out of hand if I keep up with the antihistamine. So I can live with it if I have to, but the Benadryl does make me less productive and I'd really like to figure out how to eliminate them for good. I went to an allergist several years back and he wasn't particularly helpful. So for now, my best solution seems to be to exercise regularly enough to avoid the "new exercise program" pain that always seems to trigger the hives and then to have a good supply of Benadryl ready when they do come. I experience this week-long bout maybe 2-3 times a year now. Any ideas?

[stradev]

Just figured it out... You must be in Europe and using different convention than us in the US. 154 cm... Makes more sense.

[stradev]

This is great news. Thanks so much for sharing it. I will look into glutamine. Are you taking it in pill or powder form?

1.54 cm huh...?

I'll let you know how this works out for me.

[pequenaana]

Yes, I was born with asthma.

[stradev]

I have never been diagnosed with any form of asthma.

[glennpl]

I am 43 years old. I first experienced this form of exercise induced hives at 21 years old.  This condition led me to totally abandon exercise (e. g., running, weightlifting) for years. During the past two years, I began to exercise again and adopted a vegan diet. I try to make sure that I am consuming half my body weight in water. Most of my workout consists of 45- 50 minutes of cardio, and I have not had any problem.

I recently worked with a trainer to introduce weightlifting, and the soreness and hives followed. Yes. Even with my so-called healthy lifestyle, with lots of nutrients, I had an outbreak of hives.

There is medical research that suggests that pomegranate juice is effective for reducing the soreness associated with DOMS (i. e. delayed onset muscle soreness), but it is not clear whether the pomegranate juice will prevent a hives outbreak.

Everyone does not suffer from this condition, so we might looked to our past medical/health history for answers. One thing that I would like to know from everyone who has posted information to this forum is whether anyone has ever suffered from mild to severe asthma as I have. Allergy symptoms to almost any change (e. g., change of weather, stress such as not lifting weights to lifting weights) can trigger an immune response when you have asthma whether you think you have rid yourselves of asthma or NOT.

Easing into exercise might be the best advice. After all, introducing triggers at modest levels is a common approach to treating, and even relieving people from outbreaks of hives.

[Timo432]

I have been dealing with this since I was about 16 as well and am now 25. It took me a long time to figure out what exactly was even happening with my body. When it first started I tried all the usual things, changing detergents, deodorants, going to different gyms, then I got into the food aspect, changing my diet and eliminating certain known allergens to see if it had any effect.
     It's really hard to do because you have to devote so much of your time and effort into this, you have to completely change your way of life and sometimes avoiding certain foods can be nearly impossible. I've tried removing gluten which seemed to help but I still got the hives, same with dairy, I no longer eat it but still get the hives a day or two after an intense workout which usually involves weight lifting. I've spent countless hours browsing the internet searching for answers and have yet to find anything solid. I've heard everything from people saying you just need to drink a ton of water to people who say just stop taking hot showers..
     I agree many people including doctors are quick to throw out some answer that isn't really thought out and they are not aware of our particular condition which I believe is somewhat rare. I've been to allergists which was no help, he did one of those spot tests on me with samples of a bunch of different allergens like shellfish to see which would cause a reaction. The thing is this was during a time that I was working out and experiencing these reactions so when he did the test my skin rose and puffed up for every single one and he literally just told me I was allergic to everything which obviously is not the case. If he was to take the test during a time when I wasn't working out I'm sure it would yield different results. The only answer I got from him was take antihistamines, which to me is just a cover up and not a solution.
     I have found a couple of cases while reading through the internet where people claimed to have found the cause and are now hive free. One possible "solution" that sticks out to me is taking digestive enzymes. Some people believe that the problem lies in your body not producing enough or the right types of enzymes to break down the food so when your body goes to use food that you've "digested" to repair your muscles it acts as if it's something foreign and shouldn't be there resulting in the hives. One of the cases I read about the guy said he had to take digestive enzymes consistently with every meal for about three months before he noticed a difference.
     Anyway, I'm just as puzzled about this as the rest of you guys and I try not to let it get to me but it can be extremely frustrating at times. Especially when I know I feel the best after a good workout, it's hard to consider the fact that I'll never be able to work out to my potential. I love the stress relief and health benefits a good workout provides and I really hope we can all find a solution to this.