My battle with chronic hives (urticaria)

One morning, at the age of 16, I woke up to find that my eyes and mouth were swollen. One eye was so bad that it was actually swollen closed. This was the beginning of my battle with chronic hives (urticaria). I was prescribed prescription-strength Benadryl and was directed to take as needed. Of course Benadryl makes you drowsy and so I practically slept through the next four years of my life. Despite the doctors’ prediction that my hives would go away on their own, they didn’t. Over the next 15 years I continued to take prescription antihistamines on a daily basis to control my hives. Thankfully, prescription antihistamines had evolved so that I no longer got drowsy and slept through the day. I did, however, become an “antihistamine junkie” that became quite nervous if I found myself to be separated from my antihistamines at any time. I considered it necessary to have them with me because if I missed a dose, my hives would return with a vengeance. After 19 years of taking antihistamines to control my hives and countless allergy tests (that showed that I had no allergies in the traditional sense), I was all set to explore alternative solutions. Testing with Dr. Wilson revealed that I was reacting to a number of environmental substances plus three of my favorite food items (chocolate, coffee & caffeine – the three “C’s). After treatment with Dr. Wilson, I am able to live life normally without antihistamines. Somewhere I have a full prescription of antihistamines but I don’t know where they are right now. In fact, I don’t even care where they are.
- DJ – Minneapolis