Candida Treatment is Finished: Not Related to Cholinergic Urticaria

Hello everyone,

Well I just wanted to give a quick update on things with the hives, candida, etc.

Update on Candida Fluconazole (Diflucan) Treatment for Cholinergic Urticaria:

The anti-candida treatment is over, and I am done taking the meds. So I wanted to update everyone on all of my issues (stomach, hives, tongue), and evaluate the effectiveness of the anti-candida treatment.

Stomach Issues:

I have had digestion issues for a while now (such as bloating, cramping, diarrhea, etc.). It only occurs when I eat certain foods, and I suspected perhaps the Candida treatment would help this.

So far, there has been no noticeable difference. Yesterday was the “Easter” celebration at my family’s house, and some of the foods did slightly give me some bloating & gas. So apparently it is caused by something other than candida.

Tongue (Thrush) Symptoms:

My tongue appearance has improved significantly after taking this treatment. I would say it looks 95% better, and may improve even more over the next few days.

So I am glad that it did at least help that. Of course, I wasn’t really concerned about the tongue, I was just hoping that the Candida treatment would help the hives. But it is nice to have the little bit of “whiteness” gone from the back of my tongue.

Cholinergic Urticaria Symptoms after Candida Treatment:

The hives seem to be about the same. They aren’t worse, and they really aren’t better. I have had a few reactions (yesterday), so it seems as if Candida may not be to blame after all (at least in my case).

Of course there is still a possibility that the hives can get better within the next day or two, but at this point it is highly doubtful. So I guess Cholinergic Urticaria isn’t due to Candida (in my case), so I can cross that off the list of possible things.

Zyrtec D Didn’t Prevent Cholinergic Urticaria Attack Yesterday

As I mentioned above, I was around all of my family yesterday for the “Jesus Rose/Passover” celebration. It was great to see all of my family again.

I always go outside & play with my younger nieces & nephews. It was around 65-68 degrees, and sunny outside. I had taken a Zyrtec D before I left, and it had plenty of time to get into my system.

After playing with them for a bit, I did start to get prickly. So it seems Zyrtec D definitely didn’t help to stop an attack 100%. It may have helped a little (although it is really hard to tell), but I still got prickly a few times and had to stop & cool down to prevent a massive attack.

Oh well. I was hoping I had found something that really put the hives down for a while, but I guess not. I will still probably take a Zyrtec D on occasions when I need it, but now I know that it won’t stop attacks 100% & I still need to be very careful. I hate these darn hives…

I have also been sick the past 2-3 days with a cold (sore throat, weak body, runny nose, etc). I am finally starting to get better with that, and the Zyrtec D also helps with the runny nose thing. I am just glad I didn’t have a fever or strep or something more serious.

I am going to watch House M.D. with my wife here in a few hours. The last episode was pretty crazy (the character “Dr. Kutner” killed himself). So it will be interesting to see what happens throughout the next few episodes. Smallville has been taking a break (it comes on again next Thursday I think). American Idol comes on tomorrow, so I can hear Simon get mean with people (it is so funny…mean, but funny). Also, we reactivated our Netflix subscription a couple of days ago, and my wife & I have been watching several movies online (I love movies).

Anyways, I just wanted to provide a quick update on everything. I hope you all are doing well, and your hives magically disappear soon…

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This post was written by Ben on April 13, 2009

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Continuing Candida Treatment, Funeral is Over

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to update on several things. In my last post, I talked about taking some anti-candida treatment, my mom’s visit to the dermatologist, and the passing of my sister-in-law. So here are a few updates:

The Anti-Candida Treatment, Hives, & My Tongue (Thrush)

As I mentioned, I am taking Diflucan (Fluconazole) to treat the Candida on my tongue. I am taking it for a couple of more days, and that will probably be it. I have taken it 4 days so far, so I will have done a total of 6 days of treatment when it is over.

So far my tongue looks a little less white, but still has some Candida on it. I have read online & it does seem to take a few days for the meds to start working, so we will see if my tongue improves within the next few days. It really doesn’t bother me at all, but I would prefer it to clear up a little better. But the main reason I am doing this is to see if it helps the hives.

My stomach feels a bit better, but it is hard to tell if it is from the medicine, or the fact that I have been eating very little over the past few days. I don’t know yet if it will have any effect on my digestion issues & lactose intolerance.

As far as the hives, I still have them. It doesn’t seem quite as intense, but I did have an attack today (I was sitting in the hot car with my wife while doing laundry). But again, it is still a bit early to see if the anti-Candida treatment will do anything at all to the hives. Maybe it will, maybe it wont. I should know in about another week for sure.

My Experience with Zyrtec D Antihistamine for Cholinergic Urticaria

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently tried Zyrtec D for the first time ever. I have tried several other antihistamine’s in the past (Claritin, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, etc), but I had never tried Zyrtec before this week. Other antihistamines seem to help only a little bit, but always make me so drowsy.

This one did seem to help quite a bit more than the other anti-histamines. Also, I really like the fact that it did not make me drowsy at all. Not one bit. I first tried it when my wife & I went to be with our family, and I didn’t get 1 attack that day.

I also tried it at the funeral. The building was super-hot during the day when my wife & the family went to the family viewing earlier in the afternoon. I was wearing 2 shirts (a dress shirt with a t-shirt underneath), and I stood up front with my wife to greet everyone who came through to view the body. The Zyrtec D helped a lot, and I did feel a few pricklies, but it seemed to make me much less reactive, and I was able to get through it.

Later, during the actual funeral, I didn’t get itchy. I had felt like I had a small sensation for a minute, but it quickly passed, and I was able to get through the whole thing with no hives. I think the Zyrtec D helped quite a bit, but of course, it doesn’t cure it. The real test will come on the graduation party for my wife in about a month, and our trip to Dollywood that we plan to take later this year.

So I did want to share that Zyrtec D may help some of you a bit if you have never tried it before, and they are over the counter. Just make sure you read the instructions & follow doctor’s orders. I don’t plan on taking them daily as the dermatologist recommended to my mom (I will probably only use them on days when I will be in public), but it is nice to know there is an antihistamine I can use that will help some, and not make me drowsy. Come to think of it, it did make my heart beat fast last night though in bed….

I may try the every day antihistamine thing, but I remember when the first time my hives went away for a couple of years, I wasn’t even taking antihistamines at the time, so it may not have anything to do with CU going away. But then again, maybe it does help? Who knows?

Final Words About the Funeral

The funeral itself was very nice. Kayla looked beautiful, and very peaceful. They took a scrap book she had recently made, and displayed a bunch of pictures on a board of her life, friends, & family. It really sparked a lot of memories, and was really hard to look at.

I think it really helped everyone to see her one last time, to say our final goodbyes, and to get some closure. There was a really huge turnout as well, and I know that if Kayla could see the amount of friends, family, and former teachers that showed up to honor her, she would have been so very happy.

Of course it will still take time for us to heal, and as they say time heals all wounds. But she will always be in our memories. My wife is doing much better as well. She is now an only child, and has no other siblings. She said the very last time she saw her sister a few weeks ago, her sister got out of the car & hugged her really hard & told her she loved her. So I am glad my wife will always have that final positive memory between them.

Anyways, I just wanted to update everyone, and as always I will continue to update on the Candida thing & hives. Life goes on. Yesterday was the past, tomorrow is the future, and today is a gift–that is why it’s called the present. Let us make the best of this gift we call life, and our time on this Earth—hives or no hives.

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This post was written by Ben on April 9, 2009

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