I hate you, Chronic Hives.

[KMCangel00]

Just thought I'd put that sentiment out into the universe!!!

Seriously - enough is enough is ENOUGH! I have been getting these damn hives at least once a month for like five years now. I am sick of doctors asking if I've changed laundry detergent. Or dishwashing liquid. Or shampoo. Or conditioner. Or skin lotion. NOTHING. HAS. CHANGED.

I've had allergy tests. Granted, I am allergic to everything under the sun, but nothing that any doctor equates to chronic hives.

Is it possible.....at all.....that it could be MS related?? I have found ONE study that indicates that in cases of chronic hives, 30-50% of the patients for whom there is no known reason for them, they've been related to an auto-immune disorder, seen for the most part in MS. But when I mentioned it to my Neuro's assistant, she gave me a blank stare and said she'd never heard of that.

And also, while we're on the subject (or...while I'm on a roll, more like!), put my name next to those who think the cause of MS is related to Epstein-Barr. I had mono when I was 23 and my body has NEVER been the same. Additionally, never had these stupid hives before the mono, either! My brother and sister must be thanking their lucky stars for me...I got all the crappy genes...they got the skinny, athletic genes....but at least I don't have their bird-like nose...take the good with the bad...

I could be making all this up in my head. But damn - everything ELSE that's weird and happened to my body fits perfectly into the MS mold. Why not my friends the Hiveys, too?!

Hangin' on by a string here....about to buy stock in Benadryl....

[salamandertom]

lol kristen. Well, I get hives all the time from well - just about everything and anything. They have no idea why. I am allergic to many, many things - all pollen and medicine though - no food.

But, one thing we dont have in common is the mono thing - I haven't had it.

[GEM]

About 25 years ago (I'm 59) I had a period of about 7 or 8 months where I had chronic hives, too. They were cyclic - they'd come in waves, even on my face (Boy did I get STRANGE looks). Then it stopped. For a while there the sun gave me hives, too. I have both MS and rheumatoid arthritis, but wasn't diagnosed until 45.

[KMCangel00]

lol kristen. Well, I get hives all the time from well - just about everything and anything. They have no idea why. I am allergic to many, many things - all pollen and medicine though - no food.

But, one thing we dont have in common is the mono thing - I haven't had it.

Alright, Sasha - I'm beginning to wonder if maybe we're related. LMAO. I'm not allergic to any food either - just environmental crap (mold, pollen, etc., etc., etc., ETC!) and Penicillin.

Since there's no prevalence of MS in my family, I think maybe you are my long lost family member...care to share family trees?! Just kidding!

[KMCangel00]

About 25 years ago (I'm 59) I had a period of about 7 or 8 months where I had chronic hives, too. They were cyclic - they'd come in waves, even on my face (Boy did I get STRANGE looks). Then it stopped. For a while there the sun gave me hives, too. I have both MS and rheumatoid arthritis, but wasn't diagnosed until 45.

That's pretty interesting Gem - I gotta say my hives tend to come in waves, too. I'll get them pretty much every day or at least weekly for a period of a few months, then go a few months without any, then the cycle begins again...

I know what you're sayin' about the facial hives! I get them there, too, also both my upper and lower eyelids will swell and my lips will swell, too. It's maddening!!

[Shashi]

Have you ever been checked for Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity? There is an itchy rash that occur with these conditions, and both conditions can also cause neurological symptoms and brain lesions like MS.

A lot of people find an improvement in symptoms when they switch to a gluten-free diet. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try and see if it helps.

I hope you get some relief soon.

Hugs,

Lisa

[KMCangel00]

Have you ever been checked for Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity? There is an itchy rash that occur with these conditions, and both conditions can also cause neurological symptoms and brain lesions like MS.

A lot of people find an improvement in symptoms when they switch to a gluten-free diet. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try and see if it helps.

I hope you get some relief soon.

Hugs,

Lisa

Hey Lisa - thanks for the info!! I've never been tested for Celiac or gluten sensitivity that I know of - it's certainly something to look into! Question for you guys, though - can either one of them cause spinal cord lesions, too? Cuz I definitely have those in addition to the brain lesions....

Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones and have this in addition to MS? LMAO...this just gets better and better...

[Stacer]

I went online today to look up this exact topic and found this post! For the last week, I have been getting hives on the neck and shoulders everyday after a bath. It goes away after an hour and is very itchy! I got an ultrasound on my neck and broke out in hives too.
I've been wondering too if this is MS related. Thanks for bringing this up!

[0485c10]

i had yearly hives for no reason starting 2 years after i started using betaseron. i think i developed an allergy to that--my pcp agrees that beta is a protein and people can develop sudden allergies to proteins..it made it tough to sleep at night and benadryl made tough to stay awake during the day.

by my 3rd of fourth episode with hives i started using benadryl at night and non drowsy claritin part d (24 hours) during the day. it still was uncomfortable, but i found my system to live with it. but then i stopped using betaseron and thankfully i didn't need a system for living with hives..

ms treatment is with immune system modulators--maybe that will help your hives?

the interferons are extra cytokin cells. cytokin cells are what the immune system uses to identify virus and attack it.

with ms the immune system are incorrectly identifying the myelin as a virus & attacking it incorrectly.

so the interferons flood you with these fake alarm cytokin cells, so the immune system gets too busy(30% too busy) attacking these false alarms to attack the myelin it had been attacking incorrectly.

maybe the ms treatment will keep your immune system will be too busy with the ms med to cause hive too.

i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the ms meds have this affect on you. i'm certain it would be is nice to sleep, comfortably through the night.

[salamandertom]

Alright, Sasha - I'm beginning to wonder if maybe we're related. LMAO. I'm not allergic to any food either - just environmental crap (mold, pollen, etc., etc., etc., ETC!) and Penicillin.

Since there's no prevalence of MS in my family, I think maybe you are my long lost family member...care to share family trees?! Just kidding!

My hives also come in waves Gem and Kristen. I have been getting them for about 17 years now. They are not fun.

Kristen - we could be related. My great grandfather was a traveling salesman and "brought home" my grandfather to my grandmother one day. He was four at the time. There is no doubt he was his son in our family. Then that grandfather had the same "gene" as my great grandfather and I apparently have some relatives locally as well from *his* wild ways. Ah, love family histories. They are great. So, if you are from New England - the funniest part of our little joke is that it could actually be true! LOL Hell, Who knows what my grandmother was doing? (I am feeling a little punchy tonight - sorry)