Whew, my wife & I went to DollyWood yesterday with my nephew & his girlfriend. I had purchased my wife season tickets as a part of her graduation gift, and we finally had a chance to go for the first time this year.
It was an absolute BLAST! I love that place. They have so many fun rides, neat shops (although a little pricey), and great food.
We rode so many rides: Daredevil Falls (probably like 7 times), Blazing Fury, the Scrambler, Dizzy Disk, River Rampage, Sidewinder, and more. My wife actually rode the Tennessee Tornado, which is a fast roller coaster (the ride only lasts like 30 seconds). I don’t really like roller coasters because they tend to give me a splitting headache afterward, so I sat that one out & she went with my nephew.
Overall, the trip was a blast. It was really so much fun, and if anyone ever has a chance to visit DollyWood, I would definitely recommend it. Especially if you live close to it.
How Did the Cholinergic Urticaria Hives Hold Up at DollyWood?
This past weekend I tried a basic Zyrtec for the first time as an experiment. I have taken Zyrtec D before, and it does help some. It isn’t a 100% way to stop the hives, but I would say it helps at least 20-50%. But I had never taken a plain Zyrtec that I can recall.
But anyway, the basic Zyrtec made me really drowsy for some reason. I was tired all night, and a little the next day. So I decided I liked the Zyrtec D much better (it doesn’t make me drowsy at all), and my wife & I ran out to the store the night before DollyWood so I can manage my heat hives easier without being so drowsy.
I made sure to take a Zyrtec-D before leaving in the morning, and also packed a couple just in case anyone else had an attack of allergies. Overall, I would say it did help quite a bit. I was actually lucky, and it was cloudy most of the time. It was forecast to rain most of the day, but we were once again lucky and avoided most of the rain as well. So the clouds helped a lot with the temperatures.
The first time I got hot was when the sun was peeking through, and I got a little prickly, but avoided a major attack. At one point (about mid-afternoon), the sun came out for about an hour, and I had to walk from one end of the park to another to get food.
This was the one time I had a full blown attack. My nephew & his girlfriend were eating at one of the shops, and they didn’t have any food I could eat (the food there would have upset my stomach). So my wife & I had to walk to this Hickory Barbecue place. The only problem is it is about 7 minutes to walk there, and another 7 to walk back. Not to mention waiting in line in front of hot ovens for your food to be done.
So my wife & I ordered some chicken & fries. I got the tray, and my body was already a getting really hot. We started our walk back, and between the sun, the hot grills everywhere cooking food, and the fact that I was already a bit hot, I started getting prickly & itchy.
I was thinking to myself, “Okay great, I am walking holding a tray of food and I am going to have an attack.” I hate having public attacks anyway, because I always want to scratch all over, but I am afraid people will think I am crazy (perhaps I am?).
So I knew it was going to come full force at this point, and it sure did. I tried my best to take my mind off the pain from the stinging & itching. I just continued to walk and I tried to keep saying in my mind, “You can take the pain, you can do this.”
Finally we got back to the place where my nephew was eating, and I sat down in the shade. My hives were still going, and I scratched for a second. I tried to start eating to take my mind off of the itching and pain.
My nephew’s girlfriend was like, “Are you okay?” I said, “Yeah, I have this allergic hives thing where I get really itchy when I get hot. It is really hard for my body to sweat, and instead of sweat I get itchy.” She was like, “Wow, I am sorry.”
After a few minutes it went away, and I was so glad. I looked down at my arms, and they were covered in tiny red pinpoint hives everywhere. That was probably the most hives I have ever seen after a reaction. There were probably hundred of small red hives on my arms. Mine are usually small, and don’t come out every time (usually just after really bad attacks). It looked like someone took a red ball-point pen and made dots all over me. Of course, after about 10-15 minutes they all disappeared leaving no trace of the terror they inflicted on my body for that short time.
So that was the worst of the hives. I did have a couple of moments later where I got a little itchy again, but nothing like the first time. Also, I never did sweat at all. I would cool off on the wet rides as much as possible, and occasionally I would walk under some mist of water, or intentionally get wet to help cool off & stop any prickling I had. I did get soaked on a few rides (p.s.-never sit in the front on Daredevil Falls unless you want to get totally drenched at the part when the ride finally gets to the top of the hill).
Overall, the trip was a blast. I am glad I didn’t let the hives ruin it. I did have to suffer for a moment, but it wasn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. I am determined to have a great summer, and a great life, whether I have hives or not.
J.D. says
Oh. My. Gosh. Your story just nails what happens with me. To a tee (except I’ve never been to DollyWood!), you declared exactly what happens. That prickly feeling – OH it’s the worst feeling EVER. You’re lucky to have encountered clouds at an amusement park of all places! I’m a high schooler who has to endure the sun every time we have fitness (always outside, and we -always- have sun out). The norm for this time of year is around 75 – 90 degrees fahrenheit. Your description of the hives as tiny red pen marks – millions of them – is exactly what it’s like!
From one CU victim to another: good luck, and I wish you many cool, windy, rainy days!!
Ben says
Hey J.D.,
I can definitely relate to how terrible the “prickly/itchy” feeling is. I hate it. I have often mentioned that they should try to figure out a way to induce cholinergic urticaria so they can torture terrorrists or something.
I know it must be hard dealing with this in high school. I had it during college, and it practically drove me crazy. Thanks for the comment & good luck with your Cu!
Darolyn Smith says
Hi, hopefully you will read this comment and it will be of some encouragement to you. I have had this condition since I was a small child (and I still have it) and I have found that of all the medications that I have used, the Zyrtec tablet(not the Zyrtec-D) that you are referring to is actually the most effective. It is important to know that is makes you drowsy for the first few days, but this normally wears off in about 2-4 days (at the most). This was my experience and this is what the normal experience is for most people. I also found that after taking Zyrtec for a few years, I actually didn’t need to take it daily. Most of the time, I can take half a pill or skip a dose every now and again. There was a time when I would break out severely at least twice a day; now I may have a light break out once every few months. Unbfortunately, If I go longer than a few days without taking Zyrtec, moderate symptoms return. I hope this helps, let me know. Also, I was wondering whether you also have asthma and eczema as I just learned that these are co-occuring disorders with the the chronic colinergic urticaria, and I have these conditions as well. Thanks
Ben says
Hello Darolyn,
Thank you so much for your comment and advice. I am shocked to hear that you have had this since childhood (and still have it). I know that must be difficult, but I am glad it doesn’t seem to bother you very much any longer.
About the Zyrtec, I completely understand what you are saying. I did actually take a Zyrtec about a week or two ago, and it did indeed prevent an attack for the rest of the night. The only problem is, it did make me very drowsy (both that night, and the whole next day). I do know that the body does usually adjust to the drowsiness after a few days, but in my experience, the body also adjusts to the antihistamine and they seem to be less effective. I have never tried this with Zyrtec, but I have experienced this with others. For example, I once took hydroxyzine when I first got CU, and it literally knocked me out cold that day (I took a long nap).
After about a week, it didn’t make me quite as drowsy, but the hives returned to almost the same even though I still took them. So eventually I stopped taking them all-together. I suspect Zyrtec may be similar, but it is interesting that it helps you that much.
Plus, I tend to use the approach you mention, and I only take an antihistamine when I am going to do something big. I hate to take medications because I always worry about the negative effects on the body. I never take them when I am going to be home all day sitting around. In those situations, I never have full blown CU, and if I get a little prickly, I just go cool down or flip on the AC. I only take them to events such as DollyWood, outdoor activity, or if I know I am going to be in a potential situation that causes hives.
So that is hard because that means if I take a regular Zyrtec on those rare occasions, I will automatically get drowsy since I don’t take them regularly. That is why I like the “D” a little better. It does help some (perhaps not as much as the regular, but it is hard to say in comparison), yet at the same time doesn’t make me drowsy. I still have a lot of Zyrtec D left (which will probably last for several months), but when I run out, I may get some regular Zyrtec for a while and see if I notice a big difference.
As far as the allergies thing, I do not (and have never) had asthma. I do have a stuffy nose a lot. I have made several posts about bouts with eczema, which started about 3 years after I first got CU. I basically get some skin rashes, which I have actually pinpointed to be caused by foods. I had eczema so badly at one point, that the back of my calves both had a huge red patch, my arms had a huge red patch, the back of my neck was covered in eczema, and it was an itchy mess.
I eventually cut milk out of my diet, and that knocked out about 99.9% of all the eczema. As of right now, I have a couple of itchy bumps on my arm (very small pinpoint size), and I small round patch about the size of a nickel on my shoulder. That is it, and that will go away when I continue eating raw veggies and fruit for a few weeks (as it has in the past).
I have also posted in the past how my CU gets dramatically better (but not 100% gone) after eating a super clean diet for a week or two, consisting of foods such as rice, veggies, fruits, and very lean meat. This really leads me to believe that all of it could be allergy related in some way (both environmental and food allergies), but it is just speculation.
Anyway, thanks again for the information & great advice. I hope your CU continues to not give you too many problems.