Prednisone and Hives

[nUUts]

I have been suffering from hives for 6 months.  Right now I am out of town on business and have hives on arms, inner thighs, and hands.  These are the big ones that don't itch as much as they hurt.  I have taken Benadryl and  Prilosec which is a histamine 2 antagonist.  I have 10 mg Prednisone tabs with me but the directions are to take 40 mg for angioedema and gradually decrease dosage.  I know that if I take this dosage I will be up all night but am really uncertain about how much I should take.  Using Aveeno to sooth the welts with minimal effect.  I empathize with anyone going through this experience.  Any suggestions appreciated.  Am thinking of thinking an immunologist since the allergist was absolutely no health.  Or as I read somewhere a physician would rather see an elephant in his office than a patient with hives.

  
  

[jstarfromwash]

I've had chronic hives for 2 years and occasional angioedema. I took Benadryl around the clock along with Zyrtec (1 or 2 a day or else my lips blister), Zantac (H1 blocker) and Allegra. After 19 months, I was prescribed cyproheptadine and that worked pretty well although I had to take the maximum dose and it really dries out your mouth and skin. My RA flared up and I was prescribed Prednisone. That really helped, absolute Heaven. The hives returned when I stopped the Prednisone so I am back to the cyproheptadine, Zyrtec and Zantac. I am sure my hives are autoimmune related since I had them and the angioedema back when I was 10 years old. Having read the many experiences of others, I am going to try some probiotics since that couldn't hurt and I am desperate. If you can tolerate Prednisone, it is worth having a break from the chronic hives because the hives can drive you crazy. It is good to get some relief. The cyproheptadine isn't covered by my insurance without the extra paperwork submitted by my doctor but I would pay for it just to keep my sanity.  

[krissyp60]

I have had skin rashes/hives for 13 years, the heat can set mine off, so can stress, I hold off taking steroids if I can, but usually I have to give in because the pain and itching gets so bad. I had a biopsy at the hospital last year and it showed no particular reason or remedy. I have been told by a dermatologist that I could be just unlucky and be in to a 15/20 year cycle of suffering from this. I feel very sorry for myself and others that suffer from this condition. I have to start on 40mg and work my way down to 5mg over a week or two, it works for me, but is not ideal, and there is no cream available to ease the itching, believe me I have tried them all over the years

[Dgraphism]

I am 33 years old and have had dermatographism since I was about 9 years old. I went four years suffering and no doctor being able to explain so I basically scratched my self to bleeding constantly.  When I was 13 my little brother went to the hospital and I randomly asked a doctor about this condition and I was lucky he just attended a conference on the subject. I started Hismanal and it worked decently but was then removed from the markets. However, during my child hood I experimented with foods and chemicals often and found detergents and soaps with fragrance made symptoms worse. Foods like cow milk, coffee and red meats tend to make it worse for me. I drank almond milk which helped but now found I have RA and am transitioning to coconut milk. After Hismanal was removed from the market I tried several over the counter and prescription drugs. For me Benedrayl and Claritin worked slightly but did not help enough. Zyrtec has worked wonders for me and I have now been on it for almost ten years. There have been times I forgot it when it was only prescription form and used Benadryl to take the edge off but it is not as good. However, if I forget nowadays it is sold over the counter at wal-mart, CVS, Walgreens, etc.  Coffee is the one thing I cannot really quit and when I drink it I can feel the itch a little more even after medicine but I love coffee and unless it is worse will drink it. Alcohol makes it much worse too.

[TS1985]

This is really good advice. Took me years to discover it; though I don't need to take any antiallergy meds. I found colostrum quite useful too. Also, I was suffering from chronic constipation for over 15 years, I think that had a strong link with my allergies. I have been able to regularize my bowel movements, but if I do not have a bowel movement in over two days, my allergies surge up and the relationship is quite evident.

They also found H. Pylori in my stomach, which I took a regimen to treat, which had a good effect. Also, I was lacking Vit D. I regularly take supplements for that; I hear that may also be related to the allergies.

Anyways, would you have any advice on how I can stop the constipation from triggering break outs?

Thanks!!

[Sabby87]

Thank you so much for your post! I am unfortunately suffering from hives for almost 2 years now. I read your post and started taking probiotics, colostrum and l glutamine. My hives are still there but not as much as before.
My l glutamine is in tablet form. What about yours?
And how Re your hives now? I really pray to god you get well and so do I

[Taralake23]

I have been living with these hives since I was 16 and I'm 25 now I've been prescribed a steroid for over 7 years I completely understand how you feel the only thing that I could get other than steroids which are not good for you to make these go away is a injection from xhual unfortunately I had to stop taking the injections because I lost benefits I've been back on the steroids for 4 months after 6 months worth of medication and I'm telling you it feels like my body is falling apart itchy hives all the time even when I'm taking the steroids they only work for a few hours and then come back it just gets worse the injections do work but they are up to seven hundred at at the lowest if not more a month just to have normal skin and not be itching and going crazy and hurting and crying and feeling disgusted with yourself

[chan8]

Hi, a few months ago the same thing happend to me, I know how you feel!!!! I went to see a dosen dokters and took every medication possible, nothing helped. Then I started drinking natural medication that help your PH levels. I stope eating sweets no artificial sugar, no soda and NO ALCOHOL. I think it may be acid but not 100% sure. I drink these PH tablets every day for a month now and had some wine, it seems to be much better now. Not entirely gone but I don't get them every day and as bad (looking like shrek lol) any more. It started after bench drinking for a month in the holidays (not proud of it, but true) now I have to take care of what I eat and drink less than before. Try drinking a lot of water and fresh fruit like berry's lots of apples and take all the vitamins your body needs. Our body tells us when it needs attention. I hope this helps you, please let me know if it does, I would love to know if it helped you as much as me.