Doctors!

[jhol]

so,

 

went to the docs today to see if i could hurry up the allergy tests. while there i mentioned the weird tingly thing thats going on with my "ladybits" the really dry mouth, cold hands, feet going "white" in the bath, the rash on face thats not gettin any better ect,ect. 

 

what did she do for me? she told me to go and buy some anti histamines , take one a day for 8 weeks and if it helps your symptoms ( or something like that) then you do have allergies????

 

i just said ok and left. so do i eat the foods that i think are causing me problems- coz if im not eating them how will i know if the anti histamines are working!!! or do i just completely ignore what she said.

 

this is why i hate going to the doctors- i just feel like a complete wimp now for not saying-seriously are you having a joke!

 

[1desperateladysaved]

I would leave the histamines at the drugstore, but That's me.  I left prednisone at the store recently when I had an unknown rash.  The rash went away a few days later.  I would see if you can figure out which foods do cause a problem.

 

I have had my allergy tests and am glad for them.    I hope yours will help you out too.

 

Diana

[GottaSki]

I would take Benedryl the next time you have the symptoms you think are allergic in nature.  I have to take it whenever one of my intolerances jumps in my path -- I'm not a big fan of the prophylactic anti-histamine approach -- my allergist had me trying several different ones to try to solve my heat/exercise intolerance/allergy -- the only one that worked was Benedryl -- of course it also makes me so tired that I no longer have a desire to exercise - so I only take as needed.

 

If you aren't sure what is causing the reaction -- maybe try the one a day method?

[pricklypear1971]

Have you discussed Raynauds Disease with your doctor?

Open Original Shared Link

And the interesting thing about antihistimines is that they can suppress autoimmune as well as allergic responses. So, if I'm in an AI spiral I will take Claritin every other day for a while. It helps pull me out. Of course, it isn't advisable to stay on antihistimines to suppress AI symptoms....but it may be useful to know. Also, using them can mask symptoms, so be careful.

[Takala]

Yeah, the time I got the really horrible poison oak rash in places you cannot imagine (including my face  ) I was dosed to the gills on Benedryl, and spent several weeks dozing on the couch waiting for it to go away - but at least the side effect was that my arthritis didn't bother me.  Why is my hip not killing me, I wondered ?  So I looked up the Benedryl side effects for the first time, in between naps and applying caladryl  lotion (the liquid form), and found out it acts somewhat like an antidepressant and anti- inflammatory.     If only one Benedryl capsule didn't wipe me out.    I will still take Claritin (the elixer of the Gods) when I go skiing, because the elevation change coming and going plays havoc with my inner ears otherwise, and the descent from 8000' feet to home in less than 2 hours can make one deaf if they have any congestion.  I think this is a double edged sword because this class of drugs, anticholinergic, besides making one drowsy, do also tend to make one's mouth drier (not good if you already have this) and decrease sweating, plus they can make you slightly less coordinated and long term use can cause memory loss.  Open Original Shared Link

 

I wet my hair down to provide cooling in warm weather exercise, and sometimes my shirt, giving me a perpetual look as if I just fell into the water bucket or hit myself with the hose spray. Those lightweight, wicking synthetic fabrics that you can get for hot weather sports really do make a difference.   I used to think that this stuff was too frou-frou, but growing up without air conditioning, where a hot day was only 85º F,  I didn't have much concept of life goes on anyway in the triple digit heat.  To many people, they might still think 85ºF is a hot day.     We are having cold nights this spring, and still every morning when I first go outside I am still shocked that the sort of warm day could be followed by temps dropping that far, and I'm used to this.  Next month, swimming, I think. Oh, my, gosh.

 

Other people here have reported that they have taken acid blockers which also have the side effect of acting as a sort of antihistamine/anti inflammatory in those situations where they really need to damp down a reaction.  I know that the time I have combined the claritin and zantac to get thru a situation of possible exposure to cross contamination when traveling it worked, other than I was groggier than usual (the regular disclaimer, "kids don't try this at home and don't think this fixes your food reactions" applies) 

[Gemini]

so,

 

went to the docs today to see if i could hurry up the allergy tests. while there i mentioned the weird tingly thing thats going on with my "ladybits" the really dry mouth, cold hands, feet going "white" in the bath, the rash on face thats not gettin any better ect,ect. 

 

what did she do for me? she told me to go and buy some anti histamines , take one a day for 8 weeks and if it helps your symptoms ( or something like that) then you do have allergies????

 

i just said ok and left. so do i eat the foods that i think are causing me problems- coz if im not eating them how will i know if the anti histamines are working!!! or do i just completely ignore what she said.

 

this is why i hate going to the doctors- i just feel like a complete wimp now for not saying-seriously are you having a joke!

All of your symptoms are related to other autoimmune problems that occur in tandem with Celiac.  I am not saying that you have another AI disease but your doctor should have known this and tested you for a few.  Mainly.......really dry mouth can be Sjogren's Syndrome.  Cold hands can be from thyroid disease or Reynaud's Syndrome and the blanching of your feet in the bath definitley sounds like Reynaud's to me.  I have both of these but my symptoms are loads better after being gluten-free for 8 years.  Maybe a full thyroid panel and blood work for Sjogren's antibodies might be a good idea?  There is no test for Reynaud's but the fact that your feet go white is a no brainer for that one.  That's your circulation shutting down, momentarily.  Do your feet turn bright red after the blanching stops?

[jhol]

hi,

 

gemini- i had thought of these but i thought id see what the doctor had to say- think im gonna have to get a bit more "aggressive" in my dealings with them lol. thing is all my tests came back negative so ive kinda been left to it- as far as the doctors concerned theres nothing wrong with me. im thinking of finding out how much it,d be to go private, at least id get some answers then. 

[GottaSki]

hi,

 

gemini- i had thought of these but i thought id see what the doctor had to say- think im gonna have to get a bit more "aggressive" in my dealings with them lol. thing is all my tests came back negative so ive kinda been left to it- as far as the doctors concerned theres nothing wrong with me. im thinking of finding out how much it,d be to go private, at least id get some answers then. 

 

Hi J!

 

I wish I had been more proactive when each and every doctor I went to found nothing wrong with me for over 25 years -- listen to your body -- when doctors say nothing is wrong -- they should say -- I don't know the proper tests to run to find out what is wrong with you.

 

Stick to your guns - find another doctor - read all you can and don't ever give up.  You are the only one who knows what is going on in your body.

[Gemini]

I know how very difficult it is trying to find a doctor who will work with you.  That was my life for over 20 years and I ended up giving up, knowing full well that at some point, whatever was wrong with me would really come to the surface and it did.  I am still pushy with regards to whatever I need and don't feel guilty about it either.  You do what you have to do.

 

Good luck and I really hope you can find out some answers but keep in mind the AI problems I stated because those could be the culprits.  They occur very often with Celiac, regardless of what the blood work says.

[foam]

Don't knock the anti histamines I take Zyrtec every single day and it's improved my quality of life a lot. No more itchy acne like sores, like above they can be a pretty good and relatively harmless immune modulator. p.s cold hands and tingly extremities (don't know if lady bits qualify but they might) is classic B12 deficiency. I've had tingly and cold hands when I've been really low a few times. I hope that's all it is.