Hello Everyone!
Well I went to a local park today with my wife. It was about 93 degrees today & sunny, so I thought it would be a good time to see how the Cholinergic Urticaria reacted.
I still did get itchy. I didn’t have a severe outbreak (which was nice), but did definitely get some stinging/prickling sensation in the car, and while walking in the sun–which did pass after a few minutes. I was then able to almost sweat. It felt good getting outside, because it seems like it has been a while since I have been out in the sun.
So thus far the diet has definitely NOT made any major impact on the Cholinergic Urticaria symptoms alone- but it is still a bit early to rule it out. There have been other positive benefits of the diet. For example, my stomach & digestion have been way better without all the junk food & sugary foods. I can see my stomach getting more defined (hello again abs). Also, I feel it does help my skin to clear up & I have no rashes any where right now. Also I am saving money by mostly eating rice & tomatoes, which is cheap & probably amounts to less than $2 a day lol. But I am still going to finish this out, and give everyone an update to see if it helped or not.
But this poses a good question: Just what in the World Causes This?? Is Cholinergic Urticaria Genetic?
If this diet doesn’t work, then I will have to assume that something else causes it–which doesn’t exactly narrow it down since it could be anything from genetics, to sun exposure, to lots of other environmental possibilities, etc.
There was a great post on the cholinergic urticaria forum by Klope, and also a comment on my recent post by Kin on the site that suggests Cholinergic Urticaria could be inherited genetically. They both have relatives that have dealt with this condition. I have also read a couple of other comments made on other websites that indicate relatives having this condition. So perhaps this is genetically involved? But it is still strange how it can spontaneously “disappear.” Who knows?
Some Good News About Cholinergic Urticaria:
Even though it is really hard dealing with this, and I definitely have my little “moments” where I get so frustrated I almost have a breakdown, I try to remember this one little fact: We probably aren’t going to have this forever!
I say that because most research articles online suggest that the majority of people that have this only deal with it for a period of time, and then often it goes away (sometimes forever).
Kin left a comment about her dad also having this condition, but one day it just “mysteriously went away.” This is exactly what happened the first time mine went away for that period of time a few years back. It just suddenly stopped & I enjoyed a long period of time (2-3 years) with no CU. But I actually got it again-for a lot longer than I had it before. But I keep faith that I will soon be cleared of this!
Also Klope posted about his dad having it on/off for several years at a time throughout his life.
So let’s just focus on the positives here:
- This could disappear any day, and we can finally put this behind us
- This probably isn’t going to kill us soon (something I worried about a lot at first), since several people have relatives that have had this, and they are still alive several years later.
- Sweating is great!! I will never again take sweat for granted, and I can’t wait until this is gone & I can sweat normally again. I hope I am the sweatiest guy in the world! Bring it on! I want sweat dripping from my nose, & everything else even if I am sitting down in the air conditioning. I want to walk into a hot room, and get wet instead of itchy! lol
Klope62 says
“which is cheap & probably amounts to less than $2 a day lol”
Haha. I hear ya there. 😀