• Replies 11 replies
  • Subscribers 6 subscribers
  • Views 419 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

urticaria, autism, anxiety, alexithymia

Hergé

Hi,

Sorry for the word salad title. Does anyone else suffer from urticaria (hives, rashes) that have no known cause?

Apparently people with the 3 As tend to suffer with skin issues that have no apparent physical cause.

I'm seeing a dermatologist that can't figure out why I'm having so many issues. I've had allergy tests and have taken various antihistamines that have had zero effect. It's not autoimmune, although I have vitiligo which can be exacerbated by stress.

I've told them that I think it's stress related but they don't seem interested.

Apparently there was a paper written a few years ago that shows that there is a connection but didn't come up with a treatment.

  • in reply to Martin

    I know the feeling, just keep plodding on. I just can't and won't give in.

  • in reply to Hergé

    The only thing I have ever taken for any non-physical ailment was Sertraline for mild depression and it triggered daily migraines, so I stopped taking it. I just cope with the anxiety, try not to get into anxiety-inducing situations, if possible. I come from a family of stoics.

  • in reply to Martin

    Hi, I hope you don't mind me asking but what do you take for GAD. SSRI and SNRI do nothing for me, I asked about prebablin but I was told that I have the wrong sort of depression for that (what ever that means).

  • Anything that irritates my skin, including strong sunlight, results in localised urticaria. If the irritation is widespread so is the urticaria.  I am autistic and have GAD. 

  • I had a rash recently assumed it was a new soap but I've used it since for no reason I have autism(not diagnosed yet but it fits so many things that I've never made sense of and I did my research and realised autism really is a wide spectrum and it opened my eyes so much) and anxiety(diagnosed as environmental disorder which isnt a medical thing as such it's just a cause for anxiety disorders)

  • in reply to Take5

    Thanks, I think the doctors are reluctant to prescribe immunosuppressants as it's a balance between risk and reward.

    I'm seeing the dermatologist again in October so I'll broach the subject with them. Thanks 

  • Hi Herge

    yes to all 3 for me. I hardly suffer with the Urticaria now but very occasionally it does make a slight appearance. It was 100% stress in my case and was told so by the dermatologist after the standard allergy tests were inconclusive. I suffered for about 6 years and was given a strong medication called Cyclosporine. I had to have regular blood tests to make sure it wasn’t causing harm anywhere else in the body. In hindsight and realising that this may or may not have been linked to autism and anxiety I’m going to repeat the words of many others on here…. BE KIND TO YOURSELF. Try to reduce stresses and relax as much as possible. In a roundabout way Urticaria kind of kept me safe as it made me stay indoors as much as possible and kept me away from the things that triggered it, it was definitely a social reaction for me and realising I’m the way I am feel like it was my body’s way of keeping me from being out and around others. 
    I would really recommend trying the natural route first but if it is affecting your wellbeing it might be worth mentioning Cyclosporine to your health professional. There may even be better and safer options out there now. 
    please do let me know how you get on as this really affected me some years ago but please be reassured that you won’t be stuck with it forever and you will find a way around it. 

    If I can help any further you can pm me or just post on here.

    Best of luck Herge!

  • in reply to Pixiefox

    Eczema, psoriasis, vitiligo, alopecia etc all fall under the same umbrella. My mum has psoriasis, I have vitiligo and my son who is also autistic has eczema.

    Thanks 

  • Yes to autism, anxiety & alexithymia. 

    Urticaria? No, but I do now get eczema on my scalp.