Hello everyone!
Probably the biggest problem I have with this hives thing is the painful prickling sensation. Sure it itches too (and the rash/bumps aren’t my idea of fun either), but it is those stinging little pricklies that make you have to scratch, but yet scratching provides no relief. That is the most uncomfortable part of the Cholinergic Urticaria symptoms in my opinion. Sometimes I think if it wasn’t for the stinging it wouldn’t be that bad at all. I could completely manage it. But the stinging & itching sensation can be so strong (and even painful), that it can almost make you turn into a fit of rage. Ahhh, how I dream of those days when I could run & exercise & walk outside with no fear of hives, and sweat would drop from my nose & forehead…I miss those days!
Diet Update:
Well I have now been on the diet of NO MILK a couple of days now. I have not seen any results yet, but this is not surprising as it will take weeks instead of days before any results will likely be seen anyway. It seems as if I am not quite as reactive as I was about 4 days ago. I do still have the red bump on my inner index finger as well (which will probably also take a week or two before it goes away).
The way I see it, it is kind of like any other diet. If you went on a diet to lose weight, then you would not expect to see results the next day. Instead, it is a very slow process. So I will be looking for subtle changes over the next few weeks/months. I will be seeing how my skin feels, if the bump on my finger clears up, and if the hives become less sensitive with everything else being equal (no sweat therapy) or other changes.
If I don’t see the results, the I will cut back wheat/gluten out of my diet as well & see if that changes anything. Here is what my diet has been like so far:
Sunday Meals: For breakfast I had a bowl of Dyno Bytes cereal (a generic form of cocoa pebbles) with some rice milk. Rice milk actually tastes pretty good, and has no real milk in it. For lunch I had some beef stew been burritos my wife cooked. Very tasty. And we had the same for dinner. As a snack I had some banana nut bread that my wife cooked from scratch. It was her first time making it, and it turned out great. I was actually surprised at how easy it was for her to make. Just some flour, bananas, walnuts, sugar, and vanilla. Here is a picture of it:
I also snacked on a few cashews, and half of a yellow bell pepper. Everything was milk-free. The cereal, the corn tortillas, even the banana nut bread. I was careful to read all ingredients on every label while buying the items at the store. My wife is also being a great sport & actually avoiding milk with me, which makes life easier on me since she is the cook.
Mondays Meals: Today, I had a dyno bytes for breakfast again, and the tortillas/burritos for lunch & dinner (left-overs from yesterday). I also snacked on a half of a yellow bell pepper, a few cashews, and had a couple of chips & salsa. Again, everything was milk free.
So I will continue on the diet & see how things work over the next few weeks. I am optimistic about the the diet. If nothing else, it will let me know for sure whether anything in my diet is causing (or at least worsening) my hives. So in due time I will have my answer! And if it turns out that a food intolerance isn’t causing the Cholinergic Urticaria, then I can at least mark that off my list as a possible factor.
UPDATE: 1/21/13 This is an old archived post, and I have made more recent posts regarding my new diet and how I was able to finally get my hives under control. Read more about it on my cholinergic urticaria diet page. What I essentially did was keep a journal and do several allergy elimination diets.