Hi, I am a 49 year old male that has been having cholinergic urticaria issues for almost 1 year. I first noticed it in my feet when I started to do any sort of aerobic exercise. Last winter I messed my knee up skiing, so I was laid up for a couple of months at the beginning of 2014. One day while watching TV, it hit me all over my body like a ton of bricks! I have had issues ever since.
I feel the stinging and itchiness when I get hot (or embarrassed, excited, etc…), but do not get any visible hives. In fact, I dismissed CU for a long time because I thought that something that is “Heat Hives” meant I had to have the bumps. I am very thankful that I stumbled onto this website, because it opened my eyes. I am now convinced this is what I have. Unfortunately, I came to this conclusion after spending $2000 on worthless medical tests (MRI with contrast, MRI without contrast, spinal tap to test for MS, multiple blood tests, etc…).
I pretty much have just been dealing with this issue as best I can… I found that if I work out almost every day, it will keep it somewhat at ease. It is painful until I break a sweat, but after I do, it is not bad. If I skip working out a few days, it comes back with a vengeance. I am going to start trying heat therapy in January. I am ordering one of the saunas in hope that it will help even a slight bit.
My question is, how did you come up with your diet? Was it just through trial and error that you found what works for you? Some of the things you eat seem to be in contrast to suggestions I read on other sites for a hypoallergenic diet. For example, you eat strawberries, bananas (usually contains a ripening agent) and turkey (hormones). I have read all 3 of those can cause allergy issues for some people. Also, do you ever plan to try to add foods to your base? A lot of diets after the elimination phase, start bringing back food items one at a time. Finally, have others reported success using your diet as well?
I plan to start the elimination diet in January, so any advise you can provide is greatly appreciated!
Gary
Hivesguy says
Gary,
Sorry to hear of your issues with CU over the past year. I arrived at my diet by researching various allergy elimination diets, diets low in histamine, etc. I then began experimenting with foods using a food diary, paying close attention to symptoms. I tried to eat as few foods as possible so that I could pinpoint any food issues.
I talk about my diet journey in this video: Diet Journey.
It’s illegal to add hormones to poultry in the U.S. I’m not sure about ripening agents added to fruits, but if there are any in there, they don’t bother me. I buy them frozen.
I can eat other foods here and there, but not regularly. I only eat maybe 10-12 foods or so as a snack (craisins, fruit rollups, spinach/lettuce, chips, enjoy life sugar crisp cookies, etc.). I have to eat them only rarely, or else my hives can come back. So I eat this diet strictly, but have a cheat snack every week or so.
I’m not sure if anyone has tried my exact diet strictly for as long as I tried it, but several people have reported huge benefits from removing certain foods or altering their diet.
I’ve recently made a video series that should answer any questions about my diet or hives here: Hives Videos.
Always talk to a doctor before beginning a new diet or treatment regiment.
I hope that helps. God bless,
Ben (Hivesguy)
B says
Hi Gary,
I just wanted to add my two cents :)… I sort of took Ben’s advice, and watched and read some other articles/documentaries etc… regarding food and health and decided to go for it! I have issued with things others don’t and visa versa. For example, I’m greatly limiting my gluten, but honestly I’m not sure it is a huge problem for me. On the hand – I was already a vegetarian, but cut out eggs and dairy completely. Also, no soy (occasionaly some soybean oil or soy lechtin will creep in, but very very seldom. And never in my house, just if I’m eating out sometimes). I don’t eat much packaged foods or canned foods. I limit obvioiusly GMO foods including corn. I still need to my limit my spices. Anything too spicey – including things like curries and such. My hives will increase the next 48 hours or so. My food is blander than ever before – but I prefer that too painful itchy hives. Also, tomatoes (especially canned or jarred) are horrible. I read that tomatoes and onions and garlic are horrible for people with urticaria. I’ve found I can have onion sometimes as long as I cook it down a lot.
Anyway. I’m babbling. I eat a plant based diet. Primarily fresh fruits and veggies. A lot of rice and quinoa based things. Beans. I’m fine with nuts (altho I understand some people are not). coconut oil and olive oil. No sodas or anything, altho I do put lime in sparkling water. It’s quite refreshing :). After a while I actually got pretty used to it. Sometimes I start stepping out, and my body tells me pretty quickly. Actually I was at a party last night with cake and stuff, and I didn’t really even notice it. If anything, I thought it smelled kinda bad. I did eat a jelly bean and though “wow! this is really sweet.” lol. Guess my taste buds really have changed.
I think a good guy to look into. He talks more about heart disease so you can’t follow everything he says and may not want to – http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/ – But I like that he is a doctor.
Also the guy on Fat Sick and Nearly Dead was sstruggling with chronic urticaria tho not cholinergic. I’m not a fan of juice fasts, which is what he does. But he does eat a lot of fruits and veggies, and bring up a lot of good points. I think afterwards he goes back to eating some fish. Anyway. Just some thoughts…
Good luck with your change in diets. It really is harderst at first.
~B
Anonymous says
Thank you so much for your feedback!! I will let you know how things go as I start my quest at the beginning of January. Unfortunately, I am going out of town now for a couple of weeks and cannot completely change my diet yet. I am going to try to avoid known allergens as much as possible, exercise and pray for the best.