Hey there friends…It sure has been a while!
You think I’d come here to write about my recent
accomplishments. Like fact that I’m still racing. Or that I’m ‘almost’ back
under 300lbs. Perhaps you’d think I’d write about my attempting to mentor this
year’s class of triathletes, or that I’ve completed both a 10K and ‘almost’ a half marathon since I last
wrote.
Nah…I’m here for a bit of therapeutic venting. Let’s talk
about Hives; shall we?
That’s right. HIVES.
You’ve all had them. Those red, splotchy, evil, itchy, nasty beasts from hell.
Be it from a bug bite, or perhaps a heat rash. Some even get them from stress.
Not me. When I get them, I’ve got to go above and beyond any of the usual
suspects. I get to have them ALL OVER
my body! With no apparent cause! Could you imagine!?!?!?!
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves…
Around this time last year I was training hard for my first
triathlon. It was feeling good, but I got a strange, itchy, slightly painful
reaction the day after swimming in one of the ‘warmer’ pools. We chalked it up
to chemicals. A Doctor’s visit, some steroids, some oatmeal baths, and a few
tubes of hydrocortisone later, all was right with the world. I started
showering before and after swimming, and never thought another thing about it.
Until last month…
I signed up to be a mentor for the triathlon program this
year. The first ‘real’ swim session was on April 14th. I was so
excited for these new women, and hopeful to instill some of my knowledge and
experience in them. It was a great day! I felt amazing. I showered immediately
after getting out of the pool. The usual…and again, didn’t think anything of
it.
Until the Next Day…
I started getting those itchy splotches on my belly again.
Even a little on my thighs. I did exactly what I did for them last year, except
this time; it didn’t seem to be working. I gave it a few days to see if maybe
it would calm down. Ha Ha. Nope. It started to burn and feel worse. By the end
of that week, I knew it was time to see the doctor. I made an appointment with
the PA at my Primary Care office. She looked at it and thought it was either an
allergic reaction, or perhaps poison ivy (which I am highly allergic to.) She
gave me a steroid shot, a prescription for cream to rub on it, told me to take
an antihistamine, and said to give it a few days.
Well…a few days went by and I was feeling even worse. I sent
her an email asking what else I could do. She replied saying she didn’t want to
give me more steroids, but requested that I have some blood work, and referred
me immediately to a Dermatologist. The Dermatologist then saw me a day or so
later, took one look at my ‘rash’ and was positive this was hives from some
type of allergic reaction. She prescribed another antihistamine (this now makes
two) and a different type of gel to rub on the rash. She also seemed surprised
that the steroid shot didn’t help relieve any of my symptoms.
A few more days went by, and I just wasn’t getting better. I
emailed the PA at my Primary Care office again, and begged for a referral to an
allergist. She happily obliged. She’s cool like that. The allergist was
thankfully able to fit me in the next morning. I was thrilled to think that
this might actually get resolved. Ha Ha…positivity. Isn’t that just special…
The Allergist was a super nice, awesome man who talked to me
like a human being and said we were gonna figure this out. Obviously the
antihistamines, creams, gels, and steroids were not working for me at this
point, so he decided to do a skin test. More then a few scratches and several needles
later, he had some working idea of what was going on. Turns out, I’m not really
allergic to much besides grass and dust. Things were sounding hopeful at this
point, until he told me those wouldn’t be enough to cause a reaction like this.
He wrote a bunch of things out for me, and then mentioned that this may be auto
immune related. I gave him a quizzical look at this point, and he assured me
that because I have a low functioning thyroid, that I should definitely mention
this to my endocrinologist. So, while he couldn’t actually tell me what WAS
causing this, he knew what WASN’T, and that made me feel a
little better. He also upped my dose of antihistamines. Hallelujah to that!
Here’s what just one of my legs looks like…
Well, as luck would have it, I was also seeing my
Endocrinologist that afternoon. We chatted a bit, I mentioned the hives to her,
and I told her what the Allergist said. Well…she all but told me that he and I
were both crazy for thinking my thyroid could be the issue. She assured me that
my thyroid hormone levels were fine, told me the Allergist should not have
worried me like that, and said that I really should go back to see my
Dermatologist at this point. Well, imagine my devastation. The Allergist seemed
to be the ONLY one who actually had some clue as to what was happening. I left her
office feeling defeated, and still itching like hell.
What the Allergist said about this potentially being
auto-immune related was still in my head that evening, so I did a little
investigating. I found several case studies involving females with normal
thyroid ranges, but whose antibodies were WAY
off, and who also had severe hives. I then sent my Endocrinologist an email
with these links and begged her to please test my antibodies in the off chance
that this was the cause. Really, I’d rather be safe and let her believe I’m
crazy, then to end up sorry and missing a diagnosis. She obliged, if anything
to humor me and get me off her back.
This brings us to yesterday. 22 gosh dang days from when
this started. I got a phone call from the endocrinologist with my final test
results. She was shocked. It appears that this indeed may be auto-immune
related. My thyroid antibodies are through the freaking roof, and I’m also what’s
considered ANA positive. That’s apparently the ‘stepping stone’ test to
indicate an auto immune issue. So, between that and the thyroid readings, she
is referring me to a Rheumatologist. It was also suggested that I change my
diet completely, and consider going gluten free. Boy, is that an adventure in
itself. We’ll save that for another day…
I’m happy, and sad all at the same time.
I want this over with, or at the very least managed. It’s
taking a toll on me. My usual sparkle and positivity are quite dim at the
moment. I can barely do any of the things I’ve come to love. Running hurts,
because even with body glide; the sweat and rub of clothing is almost too much
to bear…and although we’re positive the pool did not do this to me; it kinda
seems like a trigger.
So there you have it, 4 doctors, steroids, several
antihistamines, some gel, some cream, and a helluva lot of itching later, and we
just barely
have a diagnosis.
If you’ve made it this far into my saga, I thank you for
tagging along. I’m pretty much running on empty at this point, and there isn’t
a gas station in site. Forgive the pessimism, but I fear that the light at the
end of the tunnel is just another freight train waiting to plow me over.
Keep me in your
thoughts would you.
23 Days with this
mess and counting…Ugh. Just Ugh.
Join my many other fitness adventures at www.facebook.com/TheContraryAthlete
