Cholinergic Urticaria

My Cholinergic Urticaria Story…

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I just came across this forum today and wanted to briefly share my story. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one out there.

I was diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria in 2003. My triggers are exercise/physical activity and stress/emotional responses. After not getting results from antihistamines, I was prescribed Doxepin to mange my CU. It has worked well to manage my outbreaks.

-Crystal

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Comments

  1. Crystal,
    Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experiences on this site. I’m glad this treatment seems to be helping you, and I hope you continue to do well with it.

    • Glad to share! I hope my story lets others know that CU can be managed well. Don’t give up hope if you haven’t found the treatment that is right for you!

  2. It appears that your CU is exactly like mine. I heard people saying that spicy food triggers CU for them but I don’t feel anything when I eat spicy food. I only feel it in the same circumstances that you mentioned. I will talk to my doctor about this and see if he can prescribed me with that medicine and hopefully it goes away. Thanks!
    Ali

    • Hi Ali,

      Spicy foods definitely aren’t a trigger for me. I love spicy foods! I tried the Claritin, Zyrtec, etc.. route. Those did not work for me at all. Doxepin was a life savior for me. Definitely talk to your doctor about it!

      • Can you tell me how many times did you take Doxepin? I just got it yesterday and I took one pill before I go to sleep. I didn’t have any high expectations but I was surprised that it seems like it’s working! But the problem is that it has side effects it makes you feel dizzy for the entire day. So do you take Doxepin daily? Or have you stopped taking it?

        • I take it at night a couple hours before bed. I’ve never had any problems with dizziness. The only side effect I’ve had is it makes me a little sleepy which is why I take it a couple hours before bed. If the dizziness continues, I would talk to your doctor.

          • It’s weird.. the first night that I used it I felt dizzy for the entire day but I also didn’t feel itchy. I was able to sweat in a sauna without feeling itchy.. for a second I felt that the attack was about to come but then I started sweating from my head. I got happy and I thought that Doxepin is working. But that was only the first day, I got CU attacks in the rest of the days. My doctor told me that I can take one extra capsule every week if it doesn’t go away, until I reach 4 capsules and if it still doesn’t work then I should go back to him.
            How many capsules did you take? Do you just take one? I am currently taking 2 and I don’t think it’s working 🙁