Okie Dokie,
In my last post I was talking about how I have just been so sick of my hives. They have been so strong and completely unmanageable even with antihistamines as of late. So, I called and went to the dermatologist. I am now back, so here is the recap (I will also post this on the cholinergic urticaria forum here in case you have any questions or want to follow my progress to see if any of this actually works. I will also probably make posts on the blog as well.
Quick Recap of My Dermatologist Visit
- Had a mole removed–I didn’t even go in for that, but I asked him to look at a mole on my back that was a tad irreglar and large. He said it looks somewhat suspicious, but is probably okay. He said he would like to go ahead and remove it to be safe, so I let him. I didn’t feel a thing! He numbed the area (I felt a slight sting then), and then he sliced it right off. If you ever need a mole removed–don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt at all and took literally 1 minute to do. It was a bit odd though, because I didn’t expect to have this done today. But I guess better safe than sorry. I just hope my bill isn’t outrageous.
- Got a Steroid Shot–The guy I spoke with didn’t really want to give me one, but I explained how my hives just won’t stop, and that in retrospect I think the last steroid shot I had 10 years ago was what put my hives in remission. Finally, he caved in after speaking with the other Doctor who actually gave me the shot 10 years ago. I got a shot in my arm (it was actually more painful than the mole removal). My arm is still kinda sore. It was a corticosteroid, and he quickly mumbled the name, and I didn’t hear him. It may have been hydeltrasol or something that started with an “H”. I am not sure. I don’t know the dosage either. Hopefully this will be on my bill. If not, I will ask him directly if the stuff actually helps in case anyone wants to give it a shot (no pun intended).
- Got a New Antihistamine–He said he wanted to try me on Periactin (generic name is cyproheptad). According to him, it may be more useful in my type of hives. I looked it up and it seems interesting-it can actually mess with your seratonin and other stuff. So maybe it will work better than others. As of right now, I haven’t taken one. He told me to take 3 a day at 4 mg (note–please only take that on a doctors orders). So I will let you know after I have taken a few on the effectiveness. I have never really heard of this one, and I can’t recall anyone mentioning it on the forum off the top of my head.
- Got an Epi-pen–He also prescribed me an epi-pen in case I have a serious allergic reation. I didn’t fill the prescription for that though, since my mom has one and my insurance plan doesn’t cover medicine. Plus, I am not that worried about anaphylactic shock.
- Going Back in 1 month–I am going to go back for a checkup in 1 month. So if I have any new questions, or if anything works, I can find out more about it.
Okay, that is the summary of what happened. Overall, he was a nice guy. I don’t think he was an actual doctor, but rather a physician’s assistant (but I can’t complain because I got what I wanted, and they seen me the same day I called). He didn’t seem incredibly knowledgeable on my specific type of hives (cholinergic urticaria), but then again, most people aren’t. But he seemed somewhat knowledgeable on hives in general. He said I also had mild dermatographia (after he stroked my back a few times).
So now I wait. Hopefully the corticosteroids do something to reduce the inflammation. I am also looking forward to trying this antihistamine, although I will try that tonight. I will wait a day or so before I post on that so I can get a good idea on how it is working. I just hope I don’t get any crazy side effects.
I suppose it will take at least a few days, possibly even weeks before the corticosteroid starts to take effect. So it will be a slow road waiting for that one.
Thats it! If you have any questions, feel free to ask on the forum (see the link at the top of the article). Let’s hope it does something–because I am hating the hives right now.
