Hey everyone!
I’ve been following this forum for maybe a good year now, and you could say that I have the generic cholinergic urticaria. Small hives, inflammation/redness of the chest, extreme itching that feels like pins stabbing you, all due to my body wanting to sweat.
Anyways, I’m from Canada and I know that because we’re all from different areas of the world, we go through different climate changes, and so we’ll have our cholinergic urticaria triggered differently. My Cholinergic Urticaria is very serious during the winter, and very light during the summer. When I say that, I mean in winter, I have the rare, severe symptoms, including loss of breath and the feeling of wanting to faint (most likely due to the loss of breath). In summer, I can feel a bit of the itching, but no hives are present. I’ve had cholinergic for almost 2 years now, so I know that the extremities of my condition will worsen once again in late fall (around early November).
I have an appointment with an allergy specialist (after a 6 month wait), but the problem is that I do know he will be doing tests on me to figure out the trigger. Though, the problem is that it’s currently summer in Canada, so my condition is very weak.
My question is, how do I convince my doctor that something is clearly wrong when I know that the test results will just be a flop? I do have a few photos of my hives that I do plan on bringing to the specialist to see, but I’m still afraid that the test results will convince him otherwise that there’s nothing wrong (as I’ve read online, he’ll most likely inject sweat into me).
Oh, and my last question is (mainly for the people who have hot summers and snowy winters): Do you experience weaker cholinergic urticaria in the summer compared to your cold winters?
My appointment’s on the 21st of July so I’m really hoping for this to be posted soon and see what you guys have to say!
-First time poster,
Edward
Hivesguy says
Welcome to the forum, Edward.
First, it is pretty common for some people with CU to have their symptoms improve (or even disappear) during the summer and then return (or worsen) in the winter. So that isn’t uncommon at all. In the beginning, it would sometimes be better for me during the summer. However, towards the end of my hives journey, it would be equally as bad, if not worse, in the summer.
Regarding your doctor, that is always hard to gauge. Some doctors are not receptive to a patient’s input, and they can actually become offended or irritated if you try to explain to them what the problem is. Others are more willing to listen.
I’d just show the pictures and explain that your symptoms are mild now, yet they become very severe (even debilitating) in winter. You may even want to tell him or her how you were considering rescheduling your appointment so that they could see you when your symptoms were severe. From there you’ll just have to play it by ear and see whether he or she seems to be taking you seriously. If not, then perhaps be much more firm and expressive about how your hives problem is serious.
I hope the visit goes well. Let us know how it went.
Ryan says
I live in the uk so when it’s hot it’s usually about 23-26 if we are lucky and that’s not hot enough to make me sweat so I’m in agony but we have had a heat wave of about 28-31 for the past few days and walking to work I’ve been sweating like Rolf Harris in a nursery! It been great sweating, only problem is 90 percent of the time when it’s hot in Britain it isn’t got enough to make me sweat so I’m i. So much pain until I do sweat and when it’s the witer I get really itchy going from somewhere cold to somewhere warm it honestly makes me wanna die it’s that bad I take my coat off outside to prepare for the heat inside
Sally says
Hi Edward,
I’m from Canada too! Alberta, specifically–summer temp goes to about 25-30 degrees, winters are about -30, give or take 10 degrees. I recall the hives feeling worse in the winter during the first few years I got the symptoms–the prickling sensation was quite pronounced. After a couple years though, I stopped scratching at it and it didn’t feel as itchy as before (I might have gotten used to it by then, who knows?). So for the past 5-ish years, I haven’t noticed a difference in the severity of my symptoms between summer and winter months. It still looks about the same in terms of redness, swelling, and how much it covers my body. I think in the summer, the hives are less itchy maybe just because I can usually force myself to sweat and have em go away faster. But ya, severity seems to be about the same all year round for me.
As for worrying about your results being a flop and not being taken seriously by the allergist, definitely bring the pics. I guess rescheduling is out of the question since your appointment’s tomorrow, but maybe try booking a follow-up appointment towards November or the winter months. Definitely describe your symptoms–that’s part of the assessment. Like Hivesguy says, some doctors aren’t into being told by the patient what they think they might have so I suppose those are some tough waters to tread. Just make sure you clearly describe what’s happening to you though, pointing out the difference in summer and winter symptoms–give the doctor concise and precise info about your experience. The both of you can probably agree to follow up in the winter too.
Hopefully it works out!
Sally