Cholinergic Urticaria

Antihistamines making me fat

by

Hi, all.

I’ve been suffering with cholinergic urticaria for approx 35 years. I had several years where I’ve had no outbreaks, but then all of a sudden it came back.

Mine is strictly heat related and very severe, welts all over my body. With daily Cetirizine (Zyrtec), I don’t get the welts or itching, just red spots that I can live with.

I’ve put on a fair bit of weight in the last few years due to insatiable appetite. I did a search and found several forums and articles that make a connection between Zyrtec and other antihistamines and weight gain due to increased appetite. I’m very excited, and I decide I’m going to ditch the medication.

Oh my goodness. Since then, I’ve been in agony due not to urticaria, but extreme prickly itching of skin (with no rash). Again, I did a search and found a forum where others have experienced extreme itching after stopping Zyrtec and many of these were taking it for sinus issues.

I would like to know if anyone has had this issue and if so how long would I experience this itching which I find worse than the urticaria.

Thanks,

Rash

Comments

  1. Most times with CU, the pruritus comes first and if one persists with exposure to heat, physical activity etc, then the welts appear. It’s possible that ceterizine killed the pruritus but not the rash. Thus you were able to keep exposing yourself till the rash appeared. Now without ceterizine, the itch is so bad that you most likely stop the exposure before it gets to the rash stage.

    • Unfortunately you’re probably right Tom. I’ve been 2 days without Cetirizine now. Had several major outbreaks with welts and some itching. but not as bad as the pruritis I had the other day. I am still going to try just having a tablet when I can’t bear it rather than religiously every morning.

  2. Don’t know if you found relief. But change your diet before coming off the tablets, idea is to have super low histamine. Also having a good sweat is another way to deplete the histamine. I’m on fexofenadine 180mg, whenever I miss a dose I get the intense itching, especially in my feet and hands. I can control it somewhat with a Sauna, wake up, go to the Sauna, sweat out the itchys.

    What I do struggle with is finding a suitable deodorant, most chaff and swell my pits up, stopping me sweating. Just deodorants cover up my smell for all of 15 mins. Going to try a crystal stick and then work my way through some others. I’ve hear bi carb works good, but also read that it can be a trigger for allergies. As per usual, with this condition it seems very individualistic, yet generalised at the same time.

    Most of my allergies are in the ragweed pollen food group. Plus cats, horses, some grasses etc. Don’t just follow Ben’s (hive guys) advice blindly. You may be allergic to some of the foods he suggests, banana set me off, I am allergic, never was before. My initial reaction involved a banana too, though so many other allergens were involved that I didn’t pinpoint it til months later.