Really bizzare - hives

[ShodokanJenn]

Covered in hives from my knees to my chin. Taking a super hot bath as it's the only thing that soothes the itches. It would be amazing if tomorrow the doc has answers for me. To be honest, I am scared I'll get bumped over to dermatology and have to wait weeks or even months for an appointment.

 

[Fadeaway]

Can you go to the E.R.?

 

[ShodokanJenn]

I could go to the ER, but I'm pretty sure they'd give me some benadryl and tell me to follow up with my primary physician. I have an 8 AM appointment tomorrow morning, so I'd prefer to just wait it out until then. I'm taking benadryl regularly. There's no swelling, blisters, or soreness in my mouth or throat.

 

[Fadeaway]

Let us know how the appointment went.

 

[ShodokanJenn]

So I saw my family doc. He decided it was not medication induced, based on the timing of dosage changes and so forth. He asked a ton of questions about possible allergies, and got nowhere. So he called the allergist in the much larger city about 30 minutes away, and convinced her to see me right away. She took some blood and looked at all my hives. She said it is acute mast cell hyper-activation. I'm on three new medications to try to get it under control. If I don't see any improvement in the next week, I have to go back and see her.

 

[ShodokanJenn]

So to sum up, my mast cells have gone nuts, causing urtucaria (hives) and angiodema (swelling of the hands, feet, and face). I'm taking a bunch of medications to try to get it under control.