This Girl is On Fire

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 14^th. 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. 

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