Hive symptoms and conditions

Our twelve year old daughter had a severe UTI and was prescribed sulfa. After nine days she developed a hive like rash, temperature of 101, very lethargic, mildly confused and no appetite. We took her to her pediatrician who immediately took her off sulfa and directed us to give her plenty of fluids, rest, and benadryl. We are still going through this with our daughter and will post any new side effects if we experience any.

My name is Katie, I am 31 years old. I have been suffering with what doctors call Chronic Idiopathic urticaria for 16 years now. I was prescribed Zyrtec 14 years ago and remained hive free until I had my first son. After a complicated pregnancy and emergency delivery the hives returned full force. The doctor prescribed Singulair in addition to the Zyrtec.

The hives went away; however, I have so many other problems now. I have been seeing a specialist thinking I have lupus or some other disorder, but all my tests are normal. It wasn't until I had my singulair refilled yesterday that I realized instead of symptoms, what I am experiencing may be side effects.

-- I have gained 60 lbs.
-- I have horrible headaches almost daily
-- I am so tired that when I am not working it is impossible to even make myself leave the house
-- I have taken myself to the hospital 3 times thinking I was having a heart attack and told I suffer from acid reflux
-- I have so much pain in my legs/feet/back that I can hardly walk
-- My hands and feet like to go numb for no apparent reason
-- I am always anxious & moody.
-- Can't sleep
-- Clearly I am not myself. Lately, I have felt the quality of life I am leading is horrible.

Wouldn't it be something that I have spent all this time & money trying to figure out what else is wrong with me when it is the medicine I thought was keeping me well really making me sick. Why do the finest doctors not realize when your symptoms are actually side effects?

I am pretty out raged at this point. I would take myself off this medication today if only I knew how to control the edema.

I was prescribed Doxycycline for malaria prevention in Tanzania.. After two days I had severe chest pain when breathing (especially deeply) and swallowing water- the full glass with the tablet was hell & then food. I lost my appetite completely, felt nauseous when I forced myself to eat meals and thought I was about to have a heart attack. I've been off the drug for 4 days and have stomach pain, nausea, no appetite, very dry sore skin and insomnia (which is more likely due to jetlag)! My parents both developed a hive-like sore rash all over their bodies after the first day of taking the doxycycline. It is shocking that these 'severe side effects' are so common, especially when finding an ER in central Serengeti is difficult..

I started on the Wellbutrin almost 3 weeks ago. Other than a little problem with insomnia, I really liked the medication. It seemed to be helping me control my binge eating which definitely a plus and also the depression. One morning, I woke up with hives all over my body. A few hours later, they had become very severe. I had hives there were 8 inches long and hive patches about 8X12. They were in my scalp, neck, arms, upper legs, back, stomach. Went to family doctor who gave me shot and started on prednisone and was also taking benadryl. That night the itching was so severe, had to go to ER for IV steroids. This calmed things down tremendously. Haven't gone totally away yet, but much better and more bearable. It's a shame because I was feeling very hopeful on the medication. I was taking the generic form at 150 mg 2x day.

I was prescribed Lisinopril by my doctor. I am a diabetic so my doctor told me this medicine would protect my kidneys(although my kidneys are fine). I was prescribed this medication at the end of February beginning March of 2009.About two weeks into taking the medication I got the first reaction I started getting these rashes that would come and go,then my lips would tingle and get numb then they would instantly swell at that point. When this first happened I thought maybe it was food I had eaten. I bought Benadryl and after a few hours it went away. (second attack) A few days later the symptoms worsened the rashes got worse and the swelling in my face got even more worse. Still thinking it was the food I ate I took more benadryl. This time the swelling lasted overnight the next morning I was fine.(third attack) About four days after that I was sitting at home talking with family and my face got very itchy around the lips my chest started to feel tight then instantly my lips got gigantic. My family members got scared and advised me to stop the benadryl and call my doctor fast. That night when I got home I called my doctor they were closed but the emergency nurse told me to come and see my doctor the next day. When I saw my doctor he immediately told me it was the Lisinopril that was causing the attacks and that I should discontinue using it and that my next attack may be fatal but I should be fine, keep taking the benadryl he told me. I got home and immediately trashed the Lisinopril. Just when I thought it was all over a week later (fourth attack) I get home after work watching television all of a sudden I get this terrible itch all over my body like bugs were on me, I hopped in the shower got done still this terrible itch all over. My lips tingled like crazy all of a sudden my body was full of bumps/hives everywhere my eyes were swollen shut, throat felt like it was closing up, couldn't hardly breathe, my lips were bigger than ever before. I was rushed to the emergency room, before I left I had taken 4 benadryl 25 mil tablets when I got to the emergency room I was seen almost immediately they pulled me in a side room gave me 2 shots of benadryl a shot of another medicine don't remember the name,a shot of pepcid,plus two pills I can't think of at the moment. I was in the ER for five hours waiting for the swelling in my body to go down,well the hives went away but my lips were swollen for at least 72 hours. I was diagnosed in the ER with Angioedema. I saw my doctor within 24 hours of my ER visit he prescribed me an epi pen he also made me get a life alert bracelet and told me to always keep benadryl with me. He told me the medicine should be out of my system it shouldn't happen again but just in case it does I should keep the epi pen handy,the bracelet,and benadryl always beside me.Well since that visit I have been taking benadryl every single day because I keep hive/rashes, now the edema is spreading it's not just the lips I get this painful swelling in different spots on my body. As I am writing this @ 2a.m I have to take off work today June 3rd 2009 because my lips are so swollen they feel like they are about to burst. I can't afford to miss all of these days of work and I definitely can't afford an emergency room visit which are $150.00 each visit so I have to wait and see my doctor @ 9:15 a.m. I refuse to go to work in this condition these breakouts are affecting my life for the worse. This is just a brief synopsis it is really much worse than this though. I am 31 years old and when I have these attacks people look @ me frightened like i'm contagious or something.I went from being only allergic to morphine which gave me hives once, and that was minor to having allergic reactions almost everyday along with a lot of other symptoms to this drug. I really hope something can be done about this. PLEASE TAKE THIS HORRIBLE DRUG OFF THE MARKET!!!!

I just found out about the hives issue when going off Zyrtec. The incredibly annoying thing about this is that the reason I went on the Zyrtec is because of hives so now that I'm trying to see if my hives are gone by going off the drug I can't tell because that's the withdrawal symptom! I used to have to take up to TWO pills a day to deal with my hives and now I can go about three days since I started using traditional Chinese herbs (through a practitioner) to work on my hive issues. Part of me thinks that the herbs are working but it's impossible to know because of the withdrawal issues. I would not have taken this drug for hives if I had known that was what would keep me from being able to stop taking it. I'm really aggravated!

Hi, My name is K., I'm a 38 year old woman and about 8 months ago my doctor put me on 150 mg. per day of wellbutrin for my depression.Shortly after starting it I began to get a hive like rash all over my head, it the spread down my body rapidly.I've been seeing doctors about this since Jan, 2009 and none of them has been able to figure out whats been causing this rash. Today I decided to type in rashes associated with wellbutrin on my keyboard and whalah!! There it is and here we are!! I'm posting this for other people to hopefully see if they have these symptoms, so that they don't have to do as I did and waste hundreds of dollars on doctors.

I was put on bactrim for uti. I was fine until the 3rd day were i began experiencing flu-like symptoms. The 4th day i got worse and that night i developed a fever of 103 i couldn't look up or side to side because of the pain. I woke up that night drenched in my sweat and when i woke up that morning i now have hive from head to toe that seem to be getting worse even with benadryl. I'm feeling extremely depressed and don't know what to do. I would never wish this on my worst enemy.

I started the generic form of wellbutrin 2 weeks ago. Today I have a few hives. To those of you who have had a hive reaction, were you taking wellbutrin or the generic version?

Was prescribed Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim 3 days ago for a bacterial skin infection. At the same time, I also had an apparent allergic reaction going on (unknown source, had never had one before) where my arms were both covered with hives/welts. So my skin was peeling and hive covered BEFORE even starting the meds, which is making the evaluating of the drug side effects a bit trickier. So far, the skin seems to be improving but the hives/rash has not improved, despite taking prescribed allergy meds during the same time. So this could be the current source of the rash, but I can't tell.
On the plus side, have not had any stomach upset (I took all doses w/ food) or other GI symptoms other than increased frequency in BMs. I only seemed to get a headache after not drinking water for a couple of hours. If online sources are to be believed, the "sulfa" portion of this is the culprit behind the worst side effects, AND food may interfere with absorption/effectiveness. Based on that, I'm planning on taking my remaining doses w/ food since the skin infection is already clearing up after 2 days and I've got 10 days to go. Hoping to avoid the reactions folks described here where they starting rashes late in the treatment cycle.

Well, after day 6 of horrible hive breakouts, the doctor is taking me off Wellbutrin XL and putting me on Celexa. I'm nervous to try something new. I loved how Wellbutrin makes me feel, minus the excruciating hive break outs. Wish me luck!

I'm 27 years old and finally admitted to myself that I am depressed. My doctor put me on Wellbutrin XL. 150mg for the first week then 300mg ever since. My first week on 300mg I was extremely anxious, shaky, tightness in chest, couldn't sleep for days, etc. I started to split up my does. I took one pill in the morning and one about 5pm. This helped a lot. By week three I felt wonderful and decided to go back to taking both pills at the same time. Again, I felt great. By the Friday of my 3rd week, I began having hives like crazy. I have been living on Benadryl and Ibuprofen for the pain. Today is day 3 of hives and I am once again plastered. I also have extreme pain in my feet, to the point where I can barely walk. My hands (knuckles) and my knees are also tight and sore, but no where's as bad as my feet. I believe that my body may be very sensitive to this drug now. I have experienced just about every other side effect, but I pushed through it and they went away. Wellbutrin has been amazing for my mood and I am very sad at the thought that I may have to go off of it. Are the hives something that I can just push through or is the inevitable about to happen and I will be forced to stop using this drug?

I am so grateful to all of you for sharing your stories. I have had Mirena in for 9 months and before that I had the copper IUD (which incidentally fell out without me knowing it and I got pregnant and then miscarried--at which point my OB/GYN suggested Mirena instead of tubal ligation).

Over the past 9 months I have had itchy hive like bumps that randomly pop up on my arms, face, neck and chest. I have had frequent headaches. I have had decreased desire and enjoyment of sex. I have gained 10lbs, despite careful calorie counting, vigorous exercise, and concerted effort to lose weight. I am tired all the time. I am irritable, moody and depressed. If I don't exercise and get some endorphins flowing I can pretty much plan on feeling discouraged, depressed and not getting anything done the whole day. I have acne on my face worse than when I was a teenager.

I tried IUD's in the first place because I don't tolerate other forms of BC well (I've tried pills, nuvaring, mini-pill), and my doc assured me that the Mirena wouldn't cause these side effects, but last night I happened upon a WebMD reviews of Mirena and there were so many other women describing exactly the same problems as me--what a relief! I was all ready to head off to the psychiatrist, dermatologist, and marriage counselor!

I am going to get this removed ASAP so that I can be a normal person and ENJOY life again. I wish I would have looked up side effects before I had it inserted.

Have had two back to back ER visits because of severe hives on Buproprion (generic wellbutrin). Had been taking it for a little over two weeks. Was told that the wellbutrin couldn't be the cause (is the only drug I was taking) and it must be due to my CHRISTMAS TREE...uh-huh. But I'm a good sport, kept taking the drug even on the day I was in the ER. Hives go down by the first evening but after a shot of benadryl and steroids which knocks me out for the rest of the day. Next day I take oral benadryl, clariton, prescribed steroids, and use hydrocortizone cream (all recommended in ER), new hives but little...end of day, can barely walk because feet and thighs are one big hive. Ears, mouth, shoulders, arms, in between fingers....hives. BACK to the ER (lovely Christmas eve) and am told by a new Doc that it was stupid to keep taking the buproprion. This time more shots don't help. The hives keep coming for several more hours. It's the next day and they have gone down some but were so bad that I have been left with dark bruises in various locations. Yuck.

I had had some initial side effects that were pretty mild and all went away after the first nine days (insomnia, headache, dry mouth) but I will not be waiting to see if my airway stops constricting after a few more days of treatment. So...ouch.

Has anyone experienced hives with Mirena? I had it put in about 7 weeks ago and now I seem to have broken out in hives on my arm. I have not experienced any other significant side effects so far.

I have been on Zyrtec for three years (Every day) haven't noticed mood swings in myself? My mother also takes them every other day and is not particularly moody. Although she has trouble sleeping which she attributes to the menopause But if i don't take one within 24hrs I get very itchy and hive up..now that I'm breastfeeding I've just noticed my daughter is very irritable..and am beginning to think it's related to the zyrtec. I'm changing to claratyne in the morning to see if there's a change..very,very interesting and scary reading all the side-effects!!

I was on Lisiniprol for 91 days as an ACE inhibitor for diabetes and kidney protection. All was find except for a constant feeling of burning blood all the time. It was tolerable though.

But on day 91 I developed hives. 14 days after that I was broken out from scalp to sole of my feet -- feeling miserable and no relief in site.

Dr. told me that I was allergic to something and to take benadryl. 3 doctors later I was told that I had hives and had to learn to live with it. He increased my benadryl.

I took myself off all my meds except insulin -- not knowing what was going on. I researched and discovered the this drug should NOT have been given to me because I also have SJOGRENS (an autoimmune disease akin to Lupus).

The hives got worse, my benadryl was increased by the drs. Finally I passed out due to benadryl toxicisity (overdosed) and they put me on prednisone.

To this day -- 6 months later -- I still have hive outbreaks that are miserable. I have missed a day from work every 7-10 days. The prednisone helps, but as a diabetic it sends y blood sugars through the roof. My rheumo has put me on doxepin (an antidepressant) because it has an antihystamine property that seems to be helping.

It is also useful for the rheumotoid arthritis that comes from Sjogrens and such. I am sleepy a lot -- but that could be from the doxepin.

I will never take Lisiniprol or any other ACE inhibitor. I am suffering and the worse part of it: the doctors and medical profession don't care and simply tell me to learn to live with it.

I have been io Lisinopril for several months, and the only side effect I can say is a VERY ANNOYING rash on the inside of my upper thighs. It comes and goes and gets worse with warmth, like a heat rash. I also have now developed a rash on my butt that is looks to me like shingles. Very itchy, to the point of bleeding from scratching. I treated with diaper rash ointment and triple antibiotic ointment to not much improvement. Reently tried a jock itch ointment which seems to be working. Also took myself off Lisinopril 2 days ago, and things are getting better, but very slowly........

I had been taking omeprazole for three weeks when I developed a hive like very itchy rash. As I am on other medications which have never given me a rash it must have been the omeprazole which caused it. I saw my GP and he prescribed piriton and hydrocortisone 1%. I have stopped taking the omeprazole and the rash seems to be very slowly resolving after two weeks.

I have just been switched to Synthroid (by my Endocrinologist) after being on Armour for 4 years. I have to tell all you out there that think "Armour" is the save all drug..and believe me I am not an advocate of Synthroid either because I have not been on it long enough to know what possible side effects I might have..however when I first started on Armour I felt like I did before I had been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism ..then about 1 yr ago I started to gain rate rapidly like 40lbs in 6 months feeling sluggish, off and on skin problems, puffy hands, face, feet,hives, pimples in the back of my head almost hive like,some hair loss that is noticeable to me as I have had very thick curly hair all my life now it is getting noticeably thin and It is making me very nervous...My Endo put me on .75 mcg Synthroid and .5mcg Cytomel which she calls a "controlled Armour"..Armour does not stay consistent with your T4's and T3 levels and that is what cause my thyroid to become suppressed and these are the symptoms I was experiencing...she also put me on Spironolactone which is a mild diuretic to lose the puffiness in my face,hands,and feet and so far so good...Like I stated earlier, I am not an advocate of Synthroid or Armour our any drug for that matter, I just want to find what is right for me and stick with it..and if Synthroid doesn't work for me, then I will try something else...Just remember one very important thing.."You" are the only one who knows how you feel and Dr's are not God they can't fix everyone that is why its very important to read about your disease and find out what things might work for you..I suggest getting this book I bought that was recommended to me by my Endocrinologist called "Screaming to be Heard" Hormone connections women suspect and doctors still ignore written by Elizabeth Lee Vliet, MD...its a fabulous book and I am sure all you women can relate to this book...its all about us....Most important thing is to stay healthy eat a well balance diet and exercise..also find out about the foods that only worsen thyroid problems...

After injected inter-muscularly into upper back, traps and neck area, I immediately felt a numb sensation on face lips inside mouth back of throat and dizziness to the point where I was certain I was going to faint. Days, into 2nd week there was still pain at injection sites, tiredness, fatigue, nausea and a constant sore throat. At end of 2nd week after injections, I woke up with a 'mysterious' hive-like rash on my back, abdomen and arms, while asleep one night, that I had never experienced before. My doctor had me take Zyrtec and and cortisone cream on the itchy rash. The day it cleared, I experienced bleeding from my ear, pounding in ear and head. Another thing never experienced before. Others have said he tolerate it well or have lesser side effects than me. I will NEVER allow that to be injected into me again.

This website has been a blessing for me - a person who seemed to feel crazy for all the symptoms I was having. I had mirena put in place in March 2008 after the birth of my second child in December. I was so excited that I didn't have to worry about birth control - I could focus on taking care of my family and work, etc. I couldn't have been more wrong about it. All was fine at first until April of 08 (two months later). I started to notice a red, bumpy rash on the trunk of my body. It progressively got worse with each passing day. It began to look like hives on my legs (behind my knees) and then on the inside of my arms. It has gone all over my back and finally to my face last night. I looked at the mirena website and it said to call your doctor if you had a rash with hives. So I did and they assured me that mirena WAS NOT systemic and couldn't be the problem. They maintained that it was probably an outside source. Instead they offered an anti-depressant. I needed something to help with what I was going through, so I started on Lexapro. That has been the only positive thing that has kept me from falling apart. What's the use in calling them if they don't listen to you? I have finally decided to have the mirena taken out in two days. I am so ready to get back to feeling normal. I was wondering if there was anyone else out there with similar side effects with the rash. If someone would have told me that this was a possibility, I would never have signed up for this!!!!!!
I will post again once I have it out and give an update!!

Took Yaz for one week and on the 7th day, started to develop a hot hive skin reaction. I've never been allergic to anything and was unsure what was happening. As I didn't think it was Yaz, I took an additional dose that Sunday evening. I woke up the next morning with hives covering 50% of my body (first day on the new job, no less). I went to the physician and got prednisone to help with the inflammation, but by the next day, the concentration of Yaz in my system kept rising and I ended up in the ER with two IV treatments of an antihistamine complex and an increased dose of steroids. It took me over a week on the prednisone to finally overcome the symptoms and not have flare-ups at night.

I've tried looking online and haven't found any other reports for Yaz allergies. Since I've been on the same pill for 9 years, I was curious as to what the cause may have been. Has anyone else heard of Drospirenone alleriges? It's the progestin that's in Yaz... the only BC that has this formulation.

I am soooooooo glad to have found this site. I, like many, many of you, also thought there was no way in the world all my symptoms were being caused by the Mirena IUD, because all of my doctors have told me time and time again that the level of hormones being released by this thing is SOOOOOOOO tiny that it couldn't possibly be causing all that's happening. I had the Mirena inserted in February 2007... by August of 2007 I started experiencing hives all over my body that began as a burning/tingling in my hands and feet, and within a matter of a few weeks had spread to my entire body. I now have had this on-going rash (hives) that never has fully gone away for the past 9 months. My doctors all could not tell me at all what was causing it. I have been taking antihistamines like crazy to keep it "in check" but some days even those do no good. My grandma and mother kept telling me to get this IUD out, but I told them it couldn't possibly be from it due to what the doctors had told me and because I'd had it in since February and didn't get hives until August. However, I truly believe this MUST be the cause, as it's the only new thing in my life during that time period... I've always used the same soaps, ate the same foods, and NEVER have I had any outdoor allergies. It MUST be the Mirena. In addition to the hives, I CANNOT LOSE WEIGHT, have stayed at 174 pounds since having this inserted. I have tried exercise, dieting, etc. and notice NO changes. Due to the ongoing hives my body is going through a constant fight against this allergy, and as a result, my neck has a giant cluster of enlarged lymph nodes that will NOT go down in size. Probably because my body never gets rid of this foreign body so it's continually tried fighting it and just can't so they stay swollen. I had my lymph nodes biopsied and I do NOT have cancer... I am going tomorrow morning to have it removed immediately and I will be absolutely STUNNED if it turns out to not be the cause. I am THAT certain the Mirena has caused all of this. I would NOT recommend this IUD to ANYONE. It is absolutely the worst thing I've EVER experienced in my life. I plan to get in contact with the attorney mentioned in an older post below about the class-action lawsuit. I have spent 9 months of living in pure misery with burning, itching, red and swollen hives all over my body, living in total anxiety not wanting to leave my house and have others see me and think I have a disease. Not to mention all the time and medical costs that I have incurred from seeing doctor after doctor that can't diagnose me.

I recently had a breast reduction performed and developed a minor, natural infection due to the type of surgery, yet needed an antibiotic to help clear it up. My surgeon prescribed bactrim, and I was fine for the majority of the taking. About 2 doses away from finishing the meds, I noticed a rash on my stomach when I got out of the shower. The next day, I was covered completely head to toe in a giant rash that felt like severe sunburn, with 102 fever to accompany it. I have never felt so bad in my entire life, and on top of everything else, I'm graduating from college in 2 weeks and had 2 finals to take within those 2 days. It felt like someone let me soak in boiling water for an hour--severe sunburn minus the sticking--and I was FREEZING. Well anyway, I'm just getting over the itching now, it's been a few days. And now that I think back, I did have a headache for 3 days straight prior to the hive outbreak (but I just thought it was my allergies). My PCP told me I was allergic to sulfa drugs--NO MORE OF THEM!! But no resentment to my surgeon (he's amazing), because we had no idea that I was allergic to it in the first place