Re:Coping Tips--apologies for the length

[Guest guest]

Hi :

I just wanted to tell you that I related a lot to what you had to say. I feel the same way.

Tami (NJ)

Hives for 7 years, scared about my future

[Guest guest]

Hmm...coping tips. Here's what has worked for me.

When my hives first start getting bad, I increase my zyrtec/zantac

dose. I'm truly sorry for the people who are on only 10mgs/day of

zyrtec and their docs won't prescribe a higher dose. I was on 40

mgs/day for about 10 months when my hives were out of control and I'm

blessed to have docs who are willing to prescribe meds out of the

normal dosage boundaries.

The increased zyrtec/zantac usually gives me about a week before the

hives get worse and I can't stand the itching. At that point I

usually end up on prednisone, which is a miracle drug because it

completely eliminates my hives and I go from a stark-raving mad and

whiny itching/puffy person to a calm cool and collected sane person in

about 24 hours. It's a shame that this wonderful drug has it's

horrible long-term side effects, but I'm not afraid to use it when I

really need to because it has truly kept me sane more than a few

times.

Sarna lotion works to take the edge off the itch, and I also will

spray " Solarcare " on my skin just before I try to go to sleep so that

I CAN go to sleep. Solarcare is advertised to spray on sunburns--it

contains lidocaine, which deadens the nerves in the skin. The only

downside is that it only lasts a short while--maybe 10-15 minutes--but

it works really well for that period of time. It also feels marvelous

to spray the cool liquid on your skin...aaaahhhhh

I'm blessed to have a very supportive partner and a very supportive

boss and co-workers. One of the senior VPs at my workplace got hives

from a medication, which he is still very mildly afflicted with 6-8

months later, so he has some idea of what I've gone through in the

past 2+ years. However, there are still many people who don't get

it....my division director said to me one day " what about

antihistamines? have you tried those? " Ha! I was speechless for a

second and then told her that I've been on massive doses of

antihistamines since this all started--and that they are of very

limited help. Her only response was " oh. " *sigh* My division

administrator compares my hives to her allergies where her nose gets

stuffed up--as if there's any comparison! Ha! However, I realize that

they mean well and I do give them credit for that. There is simply no

way for them to understand what living with chronic hives is like.

I find that I go through cycles of being depressed about having

hives--especially when I have a flare up. I keep hoping that these

darned hives will go away some day and I'll be able to look back at

this in a few years and say that " yeah, that was a tough time and I'm

sure glad that it's over. " When I get a flare up, it feels like I'll

have hives for the rest of my life. I usually end up having a crying

fit, and then I face what I need to do to alleviate the hives (like

taking more prednisone).

One of the hardest things for me to cope with is that I used to be

very active and fit before I got hives. When I first got them, they

were on my feet along with everywhere else and I couldn't do any sort

of exercise because I couldn't walk anywhere. So, the lack of

exercise, on top of taking Doxepin (made me very hungry) and

prednisone (ditto) has resulted in my gaining about 50 lbs over the

past 2 years. I'm worried that having chronic hives will lead to my

getting other chronic diseases because of my weight gain. I now have

more problems with back pain than I had before and I just wonder

what's next. It's like I have a cascade of things that lead to my

continuing to be inactive. I remember reading somewhere that chronic

diseases are very insidious because the resulting inactivity leads to

the development of other problems that just continues the cycle of

inactivity. Am I on this treadmill? Only time will tell.....