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dlp252

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    Shopping, working out, crocheting, painting, singing, relaxing, playing games, traveling, making jewelry and makeup. :)
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  1. I usually have my rashes and hives in one or a few designated areas each time, for you it sounds like it is the legs. Have you ever considered going to an acupucturist Donna? Just a thought since the main stream medical world hasn't been able to help you re this.

    Actually, I HAVE considered an acupuncturist...I do have the name of someone who is supposed to be good. Maybe I should pull it out (if I can find it--my house is a bit messy...it's the black hole of condos, lol, things go in never to be seen again).

  2. I am having a colonoscopy and endoscopy at the same time next tuesday. Just curious if anyone else has had this done? I am very glad they are taking care of both of them at the same time. I am assuming I will be completely knocked out. Hope so... Stories to share?

    I had both done at the same time in April. I don't remember a thing except having the IV put in and getting wheeled into the room. Afterwards they wheeled me into a recovery room, where my mom was waiting. Don't remember too much about that...apparently I was there for 30 minutes...appearing to be awake and talking to my mom and the nurse, but don't remember any of it. My mom said I asked the nurse the same question three times and she answered it three time, but not only do I not remember what the answer was, I can't even remember what was so important that I asked three times, lol. :lol: I finally did come out of it enough to be released, and barely remember the ride home. :lol: Felt fine the rest of the day, just tired, so plan on resting afterwards...the nurse asked my mom to stay with me for a couple of hours to make sure I could function, but it wasn't necessary. I had no restriction on diet, so was able to eat what I felt like afterwards.

    Oh, did have a very slight sore throat afterwards, but it wasn't bad at all...hardly noticable.

  3. More scientificness regarding hives:

    Hives can be caused by allergic or non-allergic mechanisms . In a majority of chronic cases, the exact cause is unknown.

    Often hives are caused by an adverse reaction to some food or drug. Foods likely to cause hives include chocolate, nuts, tomatoes, shellfish, and berries. Drugs often responsible for producing hives are penicillin, sulfa, anticonvulsants, phenobarbital, as well as aspirin, or food colored by tartrazine, which is yellow food dye #5.

    A common cause of hives is dermatographism , which occurs in 5% of the population. It is caused by stroking of the skin or rubbing as occurs with scratching or tight-fitting garments .

    Cholinergic urticaria is the medical profession's term for hives which can develop after activities which increase the body's temperature after exposure to warmth or heat . Such activities include a warm bath, shower, jacuzzi or hot tub use, exercise, a fever, or emotional stress. It has been estimated that 5% to 7% of patients who have hives experience the phenomenon of cholinergic urticaria.

    Cold induced urticaria occurs after exposure to cold wind or water. Hives may appear on limbs, arms, and generally on any exposed area. Cold water or liquids can provoke symptoms on the lips or in the mouth.

    Another type of hives is called solar urticaria . It is caused by exposure to sunlight or to a sunlamp and a reaction can occur within one to three minutes.

    According to physicians, the factors (heat, cold, and sunlight) causing the hives in these cases involve no defined allergic substance even though the body mechanisms may resemble allergy.

    Exercise is another common cause of hives in which there is no allergic substance involved (in most cases). Those individuals affected can also develop respiratory obstruction and/or lose consciousness. Such a severe reaction is caused exercise-induced anaphylaxis

    Okay, I get itchy when I exercise, but usually only intense exercise which I don't do often any more. All of the foods they mentioned are foods I have been eating a LOT of. :huh: Today the darned legs itched in the shower...maybe the water temp was too high...

    The only thing that keeps stumping me is that I don't get the itchyness everywhere...just on my legs. Weird.

    Oh, and I meant to respond to Evie's post, but it wouldn't let me reply directly either.

    Evie - Maybe you're right...maybe the scratching IS what brings them out. I noticed a couple of "drive-by" earaches this week too...just quick little "ows" then their gone.

    You asked about improvements...can't remember if you meant after gluten free...but yes I've seen a lot of improvement since going gluten and casein free...for the last few years I haven't had a sense of smell, and that is returning ever so slightly. I'm not dizzy everyday like I was for nearly a year. Abdominal pain is virtually gone...just pops up here and there, but it was a daily occurrence for a long time. Pain in my knees is gone. I went so far as to see an orthopedic surgeon who basically said he didn't think he could help me because he didn't see anything majorly wrong in the MRI...after gluten/casein free the pain is gone. There are lots of other little things that have improved. What's improved since joining this thread is no more daily D and no more dizzyness. Yay.

  4. No, the heat doesn't cause them, but it does make them feel 100 times worse. My doctor actually warned me against getting too "enthusiastic" with my hubby when I had my last outbreak!!! I thought that was a bit personal! But cool showers, a fan, &c. can help keep the misery at bay.

    Hum....my mother was telling me about someone she worked with who had the same thing on her legs only...she'd go soak her legs in the swimming pool...I was thinking it was the chlorine, but I bet it was the coolness...maybe I'll try cool shower.

  5. OMG...I've been Racheling my own corn tortillas too! The other day I ate two! Not two tortillas.....two packages of tortillas. :o Needless to say I'm in histamine hell right now. Not to mention all the rice bread. <_<

    If I had had two packages I might have eaten them, lol. At the whole darned package in a day and a half. I was thinking (this morning as I was eating my LAST ONE) that I'd by two packages on Saturday...now I'm thinking I shouldn't, lol. :lol:

    DRIVE BY

    Aren't rashes that get worse in the sun a symptom of lupus?

    :o:o:o Off to go research...

  6. When I have had hives, they were less spots than blotches... just kind of everywhere. I don't get them often but when I do, they sure do itch!!!! Heat makes them much worse by the way so if you have a flare up try to stay cool.

    Yep, definitely worse when it's hot...if sun directly hits my legs, it's almost unbearable. But it also happens in winter, so the heat isn't the only thing going on...maybe they're so much more itchy now because it's been so hot this summer.

  7. I think they can also be red splotchy patches, I found this:

    Hives (medically known as urticaria) are red, itchy, raised areas of skin that appear in varying shapes and sizes. They range in size from a few millimeters to several inches in diameter. Hives can be round, or they can form rings or large patches. Wheals (welts), red lesions with a red “flare” at the borders, are one manifestation of hives.

    Thanks...that may be what I'm having...they're not super red though, just slightly "pink".

  8. I'm very interested in the discussion about antacids, as I'm on Nexium. I tried "weaning off" to Zantac, but the rebound reflux did not improve and actually got worse as the week wore on, so I went back on Nexium. I've had reflux since high school, but didn't know what it was until I was 25. I hate the idea of being on meds for it, but hate the reflux even worse. I already sleep elevated, and if I have anything like lemonade or orange juice, I mix 1 part juice with about 10 parts water, I don't drink alcohol or coffee, so I don't know what else to do. While it did get somewhat better after I went off gluten, it didn't go away or even mostly go away. :( I do have a hiatal hernia, but it's not huge.

    If anybody has had good luck getting rid of such severe reflux after 30 years, please let me know...

    Oh--about the water-drinking issue--I used to drink more than 8 glasses of water a day, because I was always thirsty. When I went off gluten--the constant thirst stopped--to the point where I sometimes get a bit dehydrated before I realize that I should drink. I still wake up thirsty, though. Obviously, there's cause-and-effect going on there--but durned if I know why gluten would cause excessive thirst (without diabetes or something like that).

    Thanks for letting me parachute in here! :)

    Parachute in any time you'd like, lol. I'm still working on clearing the reflux...I usually don't have heartburn, but my esophagus was damaged on my first endoscope, and actually several years ago when another doctor (allergic) looked down my throat (that wasn't fun, lol), so I know there is reflux. Up until recently I never had any burning...so this is new for me. <_<

    Also, I seem to become resistant to antihistamines and have to take larger doses after awhile, or change to another. Has anyone else had this problem? Maybe I should alternate?

    I go "off" my antihistamines every so often...I try to go off for a week or two, and have managed as long as a month. I started doing that because usually they help me sleep but I started noticing that after I'd been on them for a while, they would actually work the opposite...if I go off them once in a while, it seems to help. So maybe switching serves the same purpose?

  9. This is where my focus is as well...I wonder how they can identify a deficiency (or can they)? Another thing I've been thinking about is carbs...particularly starches like potatoes, yams, rice, all that stuff. I get histamine reactions from too many carbs. I've read that too many carbs can lead to a rise in histamine levels...due to intestinal fermentation. We all know we are damaged and therefore arent digesting like a healthy person. This might explain why I did better on my candida diet....no carbs. I didnt have any of the head stuffiness type symptoms at all back then...no headaches either.

    I'm wondering if the intestinal damage has created a DOA deficiency and on top of that with slowed digestion, due to both damage and low thyroid function (in my case), there is now a toxic level of histamine constantly circulating in the bloodstream.

    We know that anything "fermented" = high histamines. So....if we cant digest starches very well they will ferment and in turn the histamine levels will rise. It makes sense to me. When I eat alot of starchy foods is when I get that strange sweet smell on my skin. Back when I was really researching the candida stuff I used to think of this smell as something fermenting inside me. Maybe I was right? If so....I wonder how it can all be fixed?

    Okay, this makes sense to me...the two times in the last 4 years that I felt the best was when I was doing the lower carb anti-candida/anti-yeast diet. I KNOW I eat too many carbs now, I can always feel it when I eat too many, and I've been feeling it a lot lately.

    I've been Rachelling my corn tortillas! :ph34r::lol:

  10. Donna-

    I did the same thing you did I weened myself off the reflux meds- it was hard each step I went down I felt!!! But within a day or so it went away. Finally I was off of them WE don't realize how powerful these meds are so its no suprise we feel such a dramatic effect when we stop taking them.

    I find I can usually control my reflux through diet , I sleep somewhat elevated , and I know some people say they can't have it but I take pure glutamine powder mixedd with a little juice- for me carrot and I find it soothing. Aloe also is supposed to be helpful and it is very benign.

    I hope some of this is helpful!!

    Miamia

    Very helpful! I was trying to control it with diet first, but doc wanted me to take PrilosecOTC...I did for a week or two but it caused such bad abdominal pains that he had me switch to Zantac instead. That seemed to work without the pain...now that my endoscope is done I want to get off again, but since I took them everyday for 3 months wanted to get off gradually.

    I sleep with the upper body elevated too. :D

    donna-

    the stuff i was describing to Jule i(systemic Oral enzyme) s recommended for inflammation I think you should read about them

    Thanks, I will...it's a good sign that you are able to take them without reactions, that's good. :)

  11. Do any of you have experience with Prevacid? My doc prescribed a daily pill & I took it for a while & then my prescription ran out. When I stopped I had ferocious burning, WAY worse than before I started, & having been down that rebound road with Sudafed, I've decided I'm not comfortable taking something with such wicked rebound. It might actually be okay if you eased off as you describe, but no one warned me about that....

    I took Prevacid years ago, but not for very long...don't think I even finished the first prescription fill. I also don't think I took it every day. I'm not sure exactly where I heard that, but I think it was in one of the books I purchased recently on inflamation or on reflux.

  12. Been refraining from posting the whole town list....but some changes....so here it is.

    :lol: Love the new changes.

    If it makes you feel any better, we hardly have any mosquitos in Austin, we have the largest urban bat colony in North America living under a downtown bridge! That's 1.5 million bats eating 3,000 mosquitoes a night...

    Makes your job easy

    Cool! Since I'm in the running for alternate town bumb, easy is good. :P

    I'm totally spinached and pulling a Rachel all this week...

    :lol::lol:

    That's right kids, last week of the gluten challenge, biopsy is MONDAY!!! :D:o:ph34r:

    You know what that means? Severe gluten overload to do as much damage in as little time as possible while eating things I want that I'll never be able to eat again!

    I had a bagel for breakfast, pop tarts for a snack, and for lunch...4 slices of bread, a breadstick, french onion soup with crutons, and now I'm eating tiramisu! :ph34r:

    My policy this week is to have gluten in hand at every moment!!! Gotta have an accurate biopsy!!! :blink:

    Egads! You're almost done!!!!

    I can definitely see how that happened....I went in there and it's sooooooo cool :rolleyes: I wanted to buy just about every bead in there and the expensive (at least in my book) sterling silver chains. I was sucked in. However, I didn't buy anything bc I need to be sure I don't have a certain bead first. But after that......who knows :P

    Remarkable restraint...perhaps you can teach classes in RESTRAINT. :lol:

  13. I agree mia mia, they do interfere with the digestive process.

    I don't like taking Claritin, but I need to temporarily to help get the histamine load down because the angioedema has taken over my life. I'm working with an aucpuncturist too, histamine in Chinese medicine is related to heat and immunity so she is addressing those things as well as the liver. I'm hoping to get off the antihistamine as soon as I make some progress.

    Also, I was thinking about the DOA enzyme from my scientificness post (diamine oxidase enzyme) that is in the mucosal lining of the intestinal tract. It said DOA activity is decreased in people with chronic hives or angioedema, DOA is the enzyme responsible for degrading dietary histamine.

    This makes me wonder if this enzyme is deficient in everybody with multiple food allergies and sensitivities and that it just manifests itself differently from person to person regarding symptoms.

    I wonder if one can have hives without the spots...aren't hives red spots? I don't get the red spots until AFTER I've scratched the heck out of myself. <_<

  14. I would be very wary of any reflux/heartburn medications- They block essential acids you need for digestion. polus alot of times what they diagnose as reflux can actually becaused by a lack of acid in the stomach. I was on zantac and then nexium the nexium worked to stop my reflux and then I started to develope all these current problems. I stayed on the nexium and I truly believe it has a tremendous amount to do with me being this sick now. I have alot if info on the negative effects of acid reducing drugs and so on. i am going to see if I can find alink to some of the sites.

    Miamia

    I've read some bad things about them too...in fact I bought a couple of books on reflux and they said the same thing...I've also heard a lot of people have problems when they quit taking the meds, which is why I'm trying to get off slowly. I'm taking 1 pill (Zantac75), once per day (instead of 2 times)...and plan to go every other day soon (or maybe half a pill although I don't like splitting them much). At the time the doc said to take them, I was being wakened in the middle of the night with a horrible burning...kind of like being really intensely hungry to the point where it almost makes you ill...that kind of burning--it was constant though--he was pretty certain that the irritation from that is what was causing the cells to look weird in my enlarged ampulla of vater...so we did this test to see if it would change how the cells looked and apparently it did...I sure don't miss the awful burning though.

  15. You are definitely, no doubt about it, on a role. I'm thinking about walking down the street and taking a peek in the bead store that I heard about. :) Although, I'm in Ohio and my jewelry stuff is in Indiana, so I won't be able to make anything out of it for a while :(<_<

    Be careful...that's how I got sucked in, lol...just went to check out a bead store and came out with all kinds of stuff including some of the strechy nylon "wire" that only requires a knot to close...that's how I made nearly 60...only requires beads and the "wire". :lol:

    I'm going to take a beading class in a couple of weeks to learn how to do the fancy clasps....crimp beads and all. Don't think that will slow me down much though... :ph34r:

  16. heehe...our dog was about the same size as the armadillo [obviously!]....he just loved hunting them!

    I make mostly angel pins....and sell them in the theatres here. I began my jewelry making business after having to retire on disability from teaching 12 yrs ago. I began with beaded necklaces and it evolved into a little bit of EVERYTHING. Now, to keep things simple, I only make the pins. I make beaded things when I have time.

    Cool, we can have a little jewelry shop, so that we don't ALWAYS have to go over the hill to the glutenized mall for our shopping fix!

  17. Donna, maybe you could ask your doc about the histamine test??

    I think I'll make an appointment with the HN doctors since they are now familiar with the test, lol. And, since I didn't get any help from the dermatologist maybe they can help figure out what's causing the itching...it definitely seems like a reaction to something. I first have to find all my paperwork from the physical I had in February so they can see all that.

  18. Wow, I definitely don't make that much. I just make a little something every once in a while. :)

    Clearly I have the "Rachel" thing going on, even in hobbies.... :lol:

    Stop me folks, I'm on a roll today. :lol: HR person is gone, I bought more beads, no chocolate in a week and no diet coke in two days! :lol:

    Wow, I definitely don't make that much. I just make a little something every once in a while. :)

    Did I mention I just STARTED two weeks ago. :lol:

    In honor of Morgan, I say we add "delisious" to the vocab list, as in everything here in Rachelville is soooo delisious because of the clean air, auxigro-free soil and produce, hormone free cows, and our pest control glittery purple bats.

    .....the ice cream is so delisious, the chocolate is so delisious, the bumble bars are so delisious, the corn tortillas are so delisious.....

    dare I say even the Ener-G bread is delisious??

    No, that one is probably going too far :lol:

    Hi Patti! :)

    Yes, I like delisious...bumble bars are so delisious! :lol:

  19. I love the old fashioned ice cream makers but they are a lot of hastle. Everyone seems to swear by this Cuisinart model, Vincent, Patti, now Rachel. Sounds like it is very easy and quick to use- would be a good investment for sure.

    Has to be quick to fulfull Rachel's ice cream frenzies, lol. :lol:

  20. Well it was kind of hard to forget about that one since I ended up typing revelation the Rachelville way first. I backspaced and retyped it, but then realized I should have done no such thing :rolleyes:

    Noooooo, never retype, lol...that's how our vocabulary list grows. :lol:

    I'll be 40. :ph34r::o

    A mere babe...um, I mean youngster, youngin, small one...

  21. Ooooooh....you will have to meet Donna then....she's into jewelery too. In fact I think she's made so many bracelets this past week we're gonna need a special room just to store them all! I think she should just give one to all the R-Ville residents. :D Then we will only need half of a room to store them all. :rolleyes:

    :ph34r: See my post above. :lol:

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