Does Pregnancy (Pregnant or Giving Birth) Cause Cholinergic Urticaria?
Post by: MayLane on February 28, 2009, 03:19:09 AM
Hello all,
Really so pleased to have found this website and all the support available. Have tears in my eyes because I’ve realised how much this condition is getting to me.
I know I’ve always had dermatographism – when I was younger I remember showing my arm to my Grandma and she said that’s nothing look at mine! So I think that part was hereditary. I also get cold urticaria.
Anyway, I developed Cholinergic Urticaria last Feb and I am just getting to grips with identifying my triggers – which seem to be
1. sitting stationary for long periods! (e.g. train journeys, long haul flights)
2. getting hot (e.g. baths, showers, at work)
3. eating a large meal (esp if combined with sitting at the table for a period afterwards)
4. going to bed soon after eating an evening meal (after which I either can’t get to sleep for itching or wake up itchy)
5. exercise
Seems like I’m lucky because anti-histamines do seem to work for me, however I’m now considering whether or not to stop taking these because we would like to start a family. I would really like to hear of any members experiences in pregnancy. I’ve just done a small amount of research so far – and am quite concerned to hear about
1. body temperature changes in pregnancy (don’t need more frequent attacks, at the moment they are daily).
2. The other thing I’m quite worried about is not being able to take anti-histamines – talking to a pharacist, all state “Not recommended during pregnancy”. As a scientist I know that Mast cells are important for implantation etc so I don’t want to risk my chances, but on the other hand, I think I might go mad if I can’t take them.
Does anyone else have experience of Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy? It’d be great to hear how you coped!
Thanks All.
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: HivesGuy on February 28, 2009, 08:55:38 AM
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Hello MayLane,
Excellent post & welcome to the forum!
I can totally relate with you! Just last night I was talking to my wife (yet again) about how much this “bugs” me. I even had another attack in my sleep last night, which is really annoying. So just know that you definitely are NOT alone in your frustrations with this!
Someone else just recently made a post about dermatographism, so that is stange that you too get this & cold urticaria, on top of Cholinergic Urticaria! Wow, talk about a triple threat.
I agree that there is some evidence that some of this could be hereditary. I know my mom didn’t ever have anything like this, but I don’t know anyone from my dad’s side or if my dad had it (I had a deadbeat dad lol).
I was reading your triggers and I can relate with many of them. Getting hot, eating a big meal, exercise, etc. seems to really do it for me, and yes I get the occasional “hives in the sleep” thing sometimes as well.
That is great that antihistamines do seem to help you. I completely understand your fears about a possible pregnancy and dealing with Cholinergic Urticaria.
I looked up a few articles as well, and it does seem like there could be a small risk taking antihistamines while pregnant, so you definitely want to talk with your doctor about that. Personally I don’t think if I were a woman I would take them while pregnant. I have 2 sisters that have a child with a disability (one has down’s syndrome, and the other has autism). They didn’t take antihistamines while pregnant, but I am sure at the same time they would tell anyone to be as “drug free” as possible, and also to eat a healthy diet, etc.
At the same time, I know how hard it would be having hives while pregnant (even though I am a guy). I do know that as you said, women tend to get wild hormone fluctuations, heat flashes, and sometimes even develop hives while pregnant. So I know it may be a difficult thing for you to deal with, especially since the antihistamines keep them under control for you right now.
It is sometimes hard to tell the “sex” of people on this forum. I know the majority are probably guys, but I do think there are at least 5-10 females on here with Cholinergic Urticaria. I am not sure how many may have children or be pregnant.
I only know of 1 person for sure who has had children and a very long struggle with Cholinergic Urticaria, and that is “bbroom.” She has taken a break from the forum to help support her husband who has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. But she did make a short post regarding having children.
If you do decide to have children, good luck! This is something I have wondered about myself and I have worried about possibly passing this problem to them. But then again, I do want them in a way, and my wife does too. We plan to wait about 5-10 more years though.
Anyways, thanks again so much for the great post, welcome to the forum! I hope your hives stay under control, and maybe some females on here can give you some more advice on having children while dealing with cholinergic urticaria.
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: billysielu on February 28, 2009, 09:17:17 AM
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I don’t recall seeing anyone mention Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy – although most people find that anti-histamines don’t help – so it’s even less likely to find that combination, which is really what you need to know.
I imagine it depends a lot on your age. Cholinergic Urticaria does go away after a time, supposedly! So I guess it’s about whether you want to wait for that, or to go ahead and either take the risk of anti-histamines, or go ahead without anti-histamines. The basis of that is purely pharmaceutical – I suggest you base it on your doctor’s advice alone.
That being said, if you choose to start a family and not take the anti-histamines, this forum is full of people with advice and suggestions on how to deal with Cholinergic Urticaria. Given that most of us don’t take anti-histamines anyway, you might get some good suggestions.
As you might be the first case of pregnancy+Cholinergic Urticaria that we’ve heard about, it’d be great to know how it works out for you.
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: MayLane on March 02, 2009, 01:17:35 PM
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Thanks so much for your messages.
I think my next step will be to try and get to grips with preventing/limiting some of my attacks to avoid regularly using lots of anti-histamines (they work most of the time when I take high doses).
I’ll also get another appointment with my dermatologist – so can let you know what his advice is.
I’m not going to delay having children because of Cholinergic Urticaria – don’t want to leave it too late (I’m 31) so determined it is not going to stop me. At the moment my Cholinergic Urticaria is a constant annoyance but it does not limit my life in the dreadful way it affected bbroom.
Yesterday I was on a long haul flight back from Washington to home in the UK and normally these trips really set me off, but I avoided all hot food and hot drinks but drank lots of drinks containing ice and wore only a few thin layers of clothes and limited my reaction to only a minor one – so I am feeling more up beat today!
So, think that’s all for now (the jet lag is setting in) but will have to keep you posted.
PS One thing I picked up from the Pharamcy to limit my anti-histamines was some Magi-cool spray – found it quite good at distracting me from itching when I woke up in the night – don’t know if you’ve tried this one?
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: billysielu on March 03, 2009, 11:01:20 AM
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I’ve not heard of Magi-cool, but I will get some to try.
I have some other stuff called “Menthol in Aquaeous” creme. It does work, but it comes in a big tub and really stinks – so it’s not very appropriate for frequent use.
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: HivesGuy on March 03, 2009, 07:34:11 PM
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I haven’t heard of the Magi-cool either, but I may try it at some point. I have tried vaseline and didn’t really like it (I hated feeling all greasy).
I completely understand about wanting to have children, and I wish you best of luck. Maybe you could try with no antihistamines for a while and see what it is like. Maybe your doctor can give some other recommendations as well.
I agree with you about not letting Cholinergic Urticaria hold us back in life!
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Title: Does Pregnancy (Pregnant or Giving Birth) Cause Cholinergic Urticaria?
Post by: BGILL on April 08, 2009, 08:47:37 AM
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Hello every one. I just wanted to tell my story. The first time I ever got this heat rash was when I was about 13. I had went to a waterslide park with friends. I had been sitting in the hot tub for a while and when I got out I had this rash all over my whole body. At first I thought it was just a rash and would eventually go away. After cooling down it went away. I went on enjoying the rest of my day. Well, upon returning to school in the fall, I started breaking out in this heat rash everytime I would be in PE class. It was weird because I get this all over my whole body…not just in a particular spot. I was concerned.
My mom took me to a dermotologist and he put me on zyrtec. It did not work at all for me. As I got older I would break out (again, all over my whole body) whenever I would exercise, sit in the sun or a hot car, get embarrased, get scared, and even vomiting… anything that makes me hot or flushed…you name it I broke out. I just learned to live with it. When I was in PE class one day in my freshman year of high school, I broke out so bad my lips and eye lids even had hives. It actually moved into my throat and couldn’t breathe. I had to go to the emergency room. They gave me some benadryl. But it seemed to just go away after time..like an hour or so.
When I got pregnant it seemed to go away for the pregnancy and for a couple of months after birth. Then one day it came back. I was so disappointed. I thought maybe it just went away on it’s own. I then realized that I do not sweat at all when I break out. So I have been really stumped. I thought maybe my pores were blocked. And at the begining I thought maybe I got some disease or something from the hot tub. But now, thanks to a generous person telling me about this site, I realize that it is more common than I thought.
I guess I will try an antihistamine. I will keep you all updated and see if there is anything else I find that helps me.
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Title: Re: My life with hives
Post by: HivesGuy on April 09, 2009, 04:22:25 PM
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Hello BGILL,
Excellent post & welcome to the forum!
I can definitely relate a lot to your story. I too get extremely itchy when I do anything that raises my body temperature (getting hot, exercise, having a fever, laughing hard, etc.). It is really frustrating, and extremely uncomfortable to deal with.
I too have had a lot of difficulty with antihistamines, and many do not work well at all. Recently I have tried the Zyrtec D, and it helps quite a bit, but I am sure it wont stop the symptoms 100%.
This definitely is a very common type of hives, and in fact, I even live in a small country area and the dermatologist told my mom he treats this a lot. So I hope it provides some comfort to know that you are not alone. This is really frustrating, but I am really optimistic that we won’t have this forever. I too had a period of “remission” where the hives went away for about 1-2 years, but they did come back.j
Many doctors say it will definitely go away some day (it seems to for most people), and we may never have it again.
Thanks again for the excellent post, and welcome to the forum!
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: Juliea on April 10, 2010, 06:12:11 AM
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Hi all,
I’ve just joined this site to see if anyone has gone through childbirth with cholinergic urticaria? I’ve had cholinergic urticaria, cold and pressure urticaria for 5 years now and I’m 3 months pregnant and incredibly anxious about giving birth. I used to be incredibly active and now I get a severe reaction from walking to the train station in the morning. If I do try to do any aerobic exercise, my attacks are so bad I begin to feel light headed and faint and my whole face swells up and it can take 24 hours for my eyes to look like those of a human again. The thought of childbirth is making me incredibly anxious (beyond alll the normal reasons).
I saw the post from last year with someone wondering what treatment you can take while pregnant. First, to answer that, I miscarried just before Christmas and my doctor said this was likely to be due to the fact I was taking Xyzal (an antihistamine I’ve been taking daily for years to control my symptoms, which it did do successfully).
My doctor and a consultant dermatologist I’ve seen have both said taking anti-histamines while trying to conceive or while pregnant is a big no. There is only one which is safe (Piriton – an ‘old fashioned’ anti-histamine which makes you incredibly drowsy – not really an option if you have a job to do or life to lead!) but it doesn’t actually control my symptoms at all.
So, I’m afraid that during pregnancy you just have to grin and bear it – or to take the incredibly unhelpful and soul-destroying advice of the last consultant I saw, “be lazy and indolent”. That doesn’t really seem like a solution to me.
Anyway, if anyone has been through pregnancy with this condition or knows anyone who has, I’d be incredibly grateful if they could offer me any advice. I’m going to push for a C-section with my obstetrician as I worry what effect a big attack will have on my baby and me during childbirth. But obviously that isn’t a great option so any advice would be wonderful.
And just a note on Xyzal (the anti-histamine I’ve been taking). Now that I’ve come off it my symptoms are much worse than before. Both the consultant who initially diagnosed me and a homeopath I’ve begun seeing have said that a trigger for the onset of cholinergic urticaria can be taking drugs such as Ibuprofen and anti-biotics. I was running a number of marathons at the time my Cholinergic Urticaria started and I had to take a lot of ibuprofen to deal with tendonitis. Simultaneously I had a number of infections in my wisdom teeth which necessitated a couple of courses of antibiotics and again ibuprofen for pain relief. Both the consultant and homeopath independently feel this could have been what caused the switch in my body to flick. When the consultant initially put me on the Xyzal she said this might put further strain on my liver (as the Ibuprofen and anti-biotics have done) and that certainly seems to have been the case, as my symptoms are infinitely worse now.
I don’t know if anyone else has had advice from professionals that link the liver to this condition?
Many thanks,
Julie
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: Snuff on April 10, 2010, 12:11:02 PM
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Long train rides? thats bad news for me im expecting to take a amtrak from Fresno,California to Walnut RidgeParagould Arkansas. its gonna be 3 days: that should be lots of fun if i take my hives with me:) Im also worried about passing this to my kids. i dont want my kids to have to go thru this if they could get it from me..
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Title: Re: My triggers and concern about Cholinergic Urticaria and pregnancy
Post by: nithya on April 16, 2010, 08:13:05 PM
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Hi,
I am a fairly new mom(have a2 year old) and suffer from Cholinergic Urticaria. I have had this problem since 06 after a freak accident with hot tea. Since i was trying to get pregnant,i avoided any anti histamines(didn’t think they work) and just tried to avid the situation. In spite i which i had attacks many times during which i used aloe vera gel or some ice pack to cool me off…But its the best you can do since docs advice is not to take any meds at all. I also tried to eat foods that make the body cool…like cucumber and milk(part of Indian diet idea my mom gave). Also avoiding eggplant and really spicy food helped.
Good luck with your baby!
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Title: Hormonal changes as a possible cause for cholinergic urticaria
Post by: Irishhivegirl on August 12, 2010, 07:55:30 AM
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For me personally, my theory is that hormonal changes is what did it to me. My first outbreak was at 16. As all the gals out there know this can be a very tumultous time hormonally. Then it disappeared for years till after the birth of my 2nd child (only 13 months between my 2 daughters.)I’ve had it ever since, 3 and a half years now. It seems to be slowly deteriorating too. Worst attack ever 2 days ago. I wrote all about it in the ‘my story’ section of the forum. For me personally, I’m convinced it was the raging hormones that started it up again after all those years and are responsible for the increased intensity also. I could be way off base here but I don’t think so. Anyone else with similar theories??
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Title: Does Pregnancy (Pregnant or Giving Birth) Cause Cholinergic Urticaria?
Post by: mozartthekat on February 16, 2011, 09:52:12 PM
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Here’s my story…
I’ve always had allergies. Asthma, eczema, lactose intolerance; you name it, I got it! As a child, a life filled with Dr. visits, ointments, creams, antibiotics, steroids was something I have known to understand and deal with. However, I didn’t let it get the best of me. I was in martial arts, swimming, hula dancing, break dancing, and extremely social. Going out with friends to clubs, concerts, gigs during high school and college …I was having the time of my life. At the age of 14, I got a pass to a local gym and for years would work out, usually at high intensity and at least two hours worth. Even during the beginning to middle duration of college I would work out and take aerobic classes for phys ed. credit. And then one day, it changed.
It’s almost one full year since I started noticing the hives, which brings me to writing this post. I’m not sure of the exact anniversary but it maybe a year in a few days. I was 25 years old and living in the student apartments at my college. After exercising, I took a hot shower one afternoon. My skin was itchy. It felt prickly and I saw red patches appear on my body. They grew in number as I dried off, almost as if I was making them spread from contact with the towel. I ran for my boyfriend, who is a registered nurse to have a look at my skin. He said it looked like hives. I’ve had hives before from cat scratches but never like this.
I didn’t understand what was going on with my body. I was stressed at the time with other things. Being a full-time student and working is rough. It didn’t help that I was without a car! My stress level grew even more so when I found out I was already a few weeks pregnant. WAIT!!! I was pregnant, in school, living on campus and uninsured with a restaurant job. More significantly, the father of my baby said he didn’t want it. Not only was I sad for myself, I was sad for my relationship. I wasn’t ready for a baby. It was my personal choice to not have abortion though. As my stress sky rocketed so did the rashes. I quickly googled “hives during pregnancy” and all that came up was some condition that happens mostly during the third trimester of a pregnancy. I felt relieved I would only deal with this for only 9 months at most, but still was irked with the idea of having hives. I was taking less hot showers and trying to remain calm which required lot’s of effort. I remember going to the health center at school one day and as I was arguing with my boyfriend, the hives started appearing on my neck, chest, and arms.
It died. The baby died. At two months, I miscarried due to an infection in my uterus. Wow, I can’t believe I just said that…I mean it’s true, but it has been a long time since I have acknowledged my pregnancy. Tears It still hurts. The hives continued. They got worse after the miscarriage. Feeling almost empty inside, I felt as though I wore these red itchy patches as my punishment.
Spring came along and when I felt like I wanted to start over, fresh and healthy; I broke out all over my body. [b]ALL OVER!!![/b] I haven’t been to the gym since May. I found out I can’t exercise without my body exploding with bright red, prickly, and swollen dots, including my face! School Dr. visits only led me to Claritin, Benadryl, and Zyrtec. I avoided Prednisone. During the Summer and I couldn’t walk outside without looking like I was a walking disease. I cried and cried. People looked at me funny. I couldn’t even go swimming because of a reaction with the water!!! By this time I wanted to die. I was sorry for being pregnant. I was sorry for stressing out the people I love (boyfriend and his/my family). I was sorry for not doing so well that quarter in school. I was and STILL AM SORRY. Still searching for an answer I tried running energy on myself (Quantum-touch), a gluten-free diet, and exercising through the hives to no avail.
Time passed. Fall came and so did the cool weather. Walking outside in the sun was bearable. Not wearing wool was quickly learned. Winter arrived and I tried hot showers. YES!!! I now can take hot showers. Only my chest maybe a bit blotchy afterward, and rarely do I get hives as I dry off. Cold weather is my friend. I just can’t exercise in cold weather. That’s when my body goes in shock and freaks out with an outbreak from hell! So I just don’t.
I’m sick right now. With a cough and a cold that loves to linger for over a month now it seems. Bronchial spasms leads to vomiting, sometimes a few itchy hives but nothing serious.
So this is my story. It makes me sad writing this. It makes me sad to know that I am one of many people living with this condition. People who have lives and are doing great things. People who love and feel pain. All of you do not deserve this, myself included. I hope one day I can make a difference in this world. I really do. One of my passions in life is meeting new people and sharing a few laughs. With my marketing degree only a few short months away I must admit I am a bit scared. How can I be in marketing when you have a condition such as this? I don’t have an exact answer yet, but I will say that I will do everything I can to work through it.
To those who have lived with this condition longer than I have; I admire your strength and courage. It gives me hope to move forward with my life and not let it get the best of me. One day I’ll have peace within myself. It’s one of many goals I have for myself. But until that day…
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Title: Re: Pregnacy started the hives…
Post by: HivesGuy on February 17, 2011, 07:40:03 AM
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WOW. Just…Wow.
That is a crazy story, and I am so sorry for your loss. I know that must have been so hard and stressful! That is also odd that your boyfriend is/was a registered nurse (my wife is an RN).
I can only imagine the stress you experienced, but that time period for me (around age 25) was also very hard. I was in accounting in college, and decided to drop out 1 semester shy of graduation to pursue my own business. I was struggling finding out what I wanted to do with my life, etc. My wife’s sister committed suicide, there was family drama, etc. etc.
So on many levels I can sympathize with you.
Also, about the marketing thing–don’t worry about that and hives. In fact, I would say to focus your energies on the online world. You can use your marketing skills to make a lot of money. Start your own business, or find someone to work with. Marketing is a HUGE industry online. So you could potentially do that until your hives resolve. You could make videos and chat with people since you enjoy that.
Anyway, thanks for opening up and sharing that. I hope things improve for you, and the wounds are able to heal over time.
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Title: Re: Pregnacy started the hives…
Post by: nowash on February 18, 2011, 07:01:13 AM
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Sorry about your pregnancy and everything; I couldn’t possibly imagine how disheartening that is. Don’t worry, though, ’cause we’ll find a cure; I’m not going to stop researching til I understand everything there is to understand about the human body, and why it works the way it does.
If you want to know why your pregnancy may have caused your hives, it’s because whenever a woman is gestating, she has to develop a tolerance to her unborn fetus. An unborn child has different cells than its mother, so the innate immune system (cell-mediated) must be suppressed, which gives rise to the adaptive immune system (antibody/allergen-mediated) since they counterbalance each other. This can exacerbate certain adaptive immune-mediated diseases, such as allergies or systemic lupus. You mentioned your hives got worse after the miscarriage; it is known that MS patients experience worse symptoms postpartum rather than during pregnancy. Perhaps that parallels your case.
We’ll figure it out.
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Title: Re: Pregnacy started the hives…
Post by: mozartthekat on March 05, 2011, 12:03:30 AM
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Thank you so much for shining some light on this. Would that mean that if when I decide to have a baby that after the pregnancy the hives would potentially go away???
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Title: Re: Pregnacy started the hives…
Post by: mozartthekat on March 05, 2011, 12:06:09 AM
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Hivesguy,
Thank you so much. Yes it’s been really hard thinking about this horrible anniversary but also to receive news that my father has prostate cancer and needs a new kidney. Meanwhile, I’m trying to finish up this quarter and get ready for my last one before getting my BS. ::Sigh::
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Title: Re: Pregnacy started the hives…
Post by: HivesGuy on March 05, 2011, 06:10:36 AM
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Hey Kimmy,
Sorry to hear about your father. I hope all goes well, and I know things like this are tough. Keep pushing forward, and hopefully things will get better.
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Title: Does Pregnancy (Pregnant or Giving Birth) Cause Cholinergic Urticaria?
Post by: kiwimum on April 26, 2011, 07:58:23 AM
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I havent been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria yet, as i havent been to a doctor yet because im not sure they will be able to help much and i dont want to waste anybodys time. But i am 100% postive this is what I have. I havent met anyone with this before. So here is my experiences with Cholinergic Urticaria. Please comment for you have had similar symptoms, stories or any advice for me 🙂
My first experience:
It first happened 5/6 months after giving birth, and i went for a run outside with a friend to get rid of some of the baby weight i had gained. I usually know how far i can push my body, but this time i didnt realise how hard i had pushed myself, to the point of nearly being sick, i havent done that before in my life and i was a very active person. Walking back to the car, i noticed the rash all over my arms and body, i thought it was just from pushing myself so hard and it would go away and never some back, unfortunately its just gotten worse and ive had it for over 2 years now.
What i think caused it:
I think i may have gotten it straight after giving birth. I went to have a shower to get cleaned up and i was soooooo cold, i stood in the hot water trying to warm myself up and it wasnt working i was shaking i was so cold so i kept turning up the hot water (i think i was cold because my body was adjusting to not having a baby inside my tummy anymore). Anyway i shivered the whole time i was in the hot shower, i noticed my skin was going red, so i think the water was VERY HOT but my body’s temp gauge was broken so i couldnt feel the hotness of it. I hoped out of the shower and immediately got unbelieveably HOT. Nearly to the point of fainting. I havent experienced anything like that before. So i always thought my broken temp gauge has now made me super sensitive to heat. But i could be wrong of course. Its just a possiblity.
My symptoms:
I get an itchy rash if i have a hot drink like a coffee, have a shower, eat hot (hot as in temp as well as spicy) food, exercise, walk to the shop, do the dishes in the sink, hang out washing, sleep under blankets, sometimes i even get it from hugging my child as her body heat makes my body temp increase, making me itchy (which is so sad and not fair on her), straightening my hair, being in a hot room, or going outside on a hot day. Also from stress, such as driving (which may be anxiety???), rushing to appointments, etc..
I get a rash just about on all parts of my body, such as my face, neck, chest, arms, hands, fingers, back, but, legs and feet.
The itch is crazy and drives me nuts, the stingy pain only comes after itching.
Sometimes i scratch like a mad women, which makes it worse, sometimes i can hold off scratching and it goes away faster. It happens multiple times a day, like i said, pretty much if i exert any energy at all, which obviously is all the time. Sometimes its mild, sometimes its more intense. In some places on my skin such as my chest its possible to see where im going to get the rash before i even get hot, its like a mild rash that doesnt itch, but as soon as i exercise or something it goes bright red and the spots pop up. Sometimes if i havent had it happen in a while it does go back to normal skin colour.Over time the tiny red spots have joined in some places making big red puffy marks on my skin when it happens.
Things i have tried:
I have used a couple of over the counter anti-histimines, which have helped with the itch (which is the worst part for me) but doesnt help with the rash. So if i take a pill in the morning i wont know im experiencing it until i look in a mirror, then i get embarrased that i have a rash all over my face as ive been out and about around people.
Worst experience:
It was a typical hot 36 deg celcius day in Australia and my family and I all had lunch outside and went for a swim in the pool. I got the usual itchy rash (which my family has seen and doesnt bother them)so i quickly jumped into the pool water to cool my skin down ( its a salt water pool). A few minutes in the water i felt a burning sensation on my legs so i hoped out of the water to have a look at them and everyone was shocked, my arms and legs were completely covered in a puffy fat looking rash, 10 times worse than any rash i have ever gotten. It looked like a severe allergic reaction. My skin didnt even feel right. I had to completely dry off and change my clothes for it to dissapear. Has anyone else ever experienced that?
Background:
When i was a child i would get hives if i ate more than 3 oranges. If i only ate 2 i was fine. The hives were normal itchy bite sized. i stopped eating “too many” oranges and havent had hives like that since. I also get hay fever seasonally.
Im a pretty sensitive and shy person.
Up until my first experienced i used to sun bath for hours, dance at the clubs for 3-5hours per night sometimes twice a week, i played alot of sports etc. I didnt experience any sort of rash, or itch during any of those years.
I am 172cm tall and normally weight about 65kg.
Im currently pregnant so i cant take any pills for Cholinergic Urticaria right now, which is really hard. I get it worse it hot weather. So summer is worse for me.
Im really happy to find this website as i was struggling to find much info on the net. Im hoping to try new things that may be working for others. Thanks!
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: HivesGuy on April 26, 2011, 09:03:01 AM
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Hey Kiwimum,
Excellent post and welcome to the forum.
That is very interesting how your hives developed. I have read other posts in the past online about how sometimes pregnancies can seem to induce Cholinergic Urticaria for some people. Perhaps something to do with the hormonal changes in the body or something??
It definitely sounds like Cholinergic Urticaria to me, although a doctor could tell you for sure (actually, most of us have to tell our doctors =)). Your symptoms pretty much sound like most all of ours. Same triggers, same itching/stinging sensation, etc.
That is odd about your reaction when jumping in the salt water. I can’t say that anything like that has ever happened to me. My main issues are just hives and some food intolerances. It is possible something was in the water that set it off. It is pretty common for people with Cholinergic Urticaria to have some other allergy or urticaria issues. Many on this forum alone have cold urticaria, asthma, eczema, seasonal allergies, anaphylaxis, etc.
Another thing I find interesting is that it seems that for some people, their hives improve in the summer, and for others, it improves in the winter. Mine definitely get worse in the summer, due to the inescapable heat everywhere, and the fact that I cannot sweat no matter what. So winter/fall is my favorite time.
With regards to medication–that is great that you are able to get so much itching relief by taking an antihistamine. However, I know it must be very frustrating not being able to take them due to your pregnancy. I know that must be really hard, but there have been many pregnant women on here before, so you aren’t alone in your struggle with this issue.
The only advice I can give is to perhaps try some other ways of managing this that don’t require medicine (maybe light exercise can help). Maybe some cooling lotion or cooling spray could take the edge off. Also, if you can get your family/spouse to support you, and make sure you’re as comfortable as possible for the remainder of your pregnancy. Keep the AC on, and minimize things that you know cause an attack (foods, hot days, etc). Then, once you have your child and/or stop nursing, you can go back to antihistamines since they seem to help.
Thanks again for the great post, and welcome!