Cholinergic Urticaria

Cholinergic Urticaria a Blessing in Disguise

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First, I understand the pain caused by this disease and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy but with my personal experience I think CU might actually be a blessing in disguise.

Let me explain my story:

Before cholinergic urticaria, I was very active. I was at the gym at least 3 times a week for about 3 years . Then university started, and I got too lazy, spending too much time on the laptop being a couch potato. Then, from time to time I would feel the occasional itch on my chest, arms, back etc., but didn’t think much of it.

As time went by, it started to get worse. At one point it got so bad that I was terrified of doing any activities, even simple ones like walking, drinking hot drinks or eating hot food. Everything I did seemed to cause an attack ,and after a few months ,I had my fair share of suicidal thoughts . However, I told myself if I give up now I’ll just be a coward, and that’s not me.

The cure:

So this is what worked for me: I’m a pharmacologist, so based on my knowledge, I took some antihistamines (cetirizine) and nothing much happened. I quickly realized that I will need to combine it with a h2 blocker as well, which showed some relief but not all.

Then I started thinking really hard and asked myself, “What was I doing before this started, that I’m not doing now?” The answer was exercise.

So by combining exercise, along with an h1 blocker and an h2 blocker, I managed to cool down the effects of this disease by about 90%. I am now fit, strong, healthy, and most importantly, cholinergic urticaria free, which is why I think it was a blessing in disguise.

I managed to get off my lazy butt and get some sexy muscles. I should also mention that I get more girls, which is always a plus ;).

-Dr. Sina

[Editor’s note: Always talk to a doctor before trying antihistamine combinations, as it may not be safe or appropriate for everyone].

Comments

  1. Thanks for taking the time to share that, Dr. Sina. I’m so glad to hear this is working for you!

  2. Dr. Sina,

    I got the same results from exercise and steam/sauna. Exercise relaxes your mind and the stress that accompanies this dreadful kind of goes away! Good for you!

  3. I played soccer for 7 years and late last year I stopped and got lazy. When I noticed I was gaining some weight I joined a gym in February. I noticed I was getting itchy April or May of this year and that then I started getting rashes over my arms. I knew this rash was caused by heat/sweat and now I know it is CU. From reading your post I suspect my case is similar to yours. I will go jogging early in the mornings, and if I notice changes I will post an update.

    • sounds good, and also make sure that the exercise is intense enough (if your doctor says it’s safe for you to try) so that the body releases most of its histamine, u will feel the rash for a while during exercise but it will eventually go away (hopefully). once the body releases the histamine it will take quite a long time to build it back up so if u do regular exercise the histamine levels won’t build up as much and the attacks won’t be as intense (hopefully). good luck buddy.