| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| stefan |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 16:57:27
Hi everyone. I've been struggling with an outbreak of hives around my eyes and neck for about a month now. I look like Will Smith in Hitch! I've been to a conventional doctor and he put me on Prednesone which worked as long as I'm taking it, but then the hives come back. I tried doing journaling and talking and shouting at my brain and the hives are still there. They don't hurt, just itch. I am convinced it is psychosomatic, in fact the only reason i went to the doctor is because I needed to take the edge off of it so to speak. It is difficult going to work and people look at you like what in the world is happening to you?
I know Dr. Sarno wrote in the Mindbody Prescription about an outbreak of hives he had as a young man when faced with going to war as a pilot. I know and am fully convinced this is TMS. Even my doctor said, what are you doing different that could be causing this allergic reaction? Any different foods you're eating, any chemicals around the house, work? I am not doing or eating anything different now than I have ever had. Even if I did, it is only my brain's efforts to use this as a trigger. The only thing I can think of is that I may be in a blind rage over something I can't put my finger on. I am currently trying to sell my business and my house and move to another area. I have tried ignoring the hives but my skin is so swollen around my eyes that it is breaking. And my friends and family keep feeling sorry for me. My wife is threatening me that she'll call and make another appointment at the doctor's. He said for me to come back and do allergy testing where they poke you with needles until an allergen show us. Which again tells me TMS all over again.
I have successfully conquered a number of TMS symptoms before. But this must be symptom substitution because right before this outbreak I had a nasty sinus infection and I was dealing with nasal allergies for a few months before that. Well my sinuses have been wonderful, I can truly breathe wonderfully all since my hives outbreak. Substitution indeed.
If any of you have any ideas or similar experiences you've been through please reply to this message. I am totally frustrated not so much because the hives are scaring me or painful. It is just that I look like awful and people are constantly in my face reminding me what a mess I'm in.
Please put your thinking caps on and help me out. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Stefan (aka Will Smith)
Ars Longa Vita Brevis |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Littlebird |
Posted - 01/18/2008 : 14:45:40
quote:
Originally posted by stefan
So my brain is just trying new tricks. I think this forum is made up of a very intelligent, clever group of people, should we expect any less of our inner person. It is indeed a very clever, sometimes desperate, individual.
That's a great point, Stefan. It reminds me of an article I read a few months ago that talked about how the unconscious mind can have goals that are separate from those of our conscious mind. Clever and desparate--no wonder TMS can be a challenge to defeat sometimes. |
| stefan |
Posted - 01/17/2008 : 21:28:56
Thank you Susie, that was very very enlightening. I will try to do just that, scoff at the hives. It is one of those things that you know deep inside of you, just what you should do, but you can't put your finger on it until someone like you speaks up and it all makes sense all of a sudden, clear as a bell.
I truly believe the TMS theory and have no doubts about it, but I've never had hives. So my brain is just trying new tricks. I think this forum is made up of a very intelligent, clever group of people, should we expect any less of our inner person. It is indeed a very clever, sometimes desperate, individual.
Thank you Susie, you've made my day.
Ars Longa Vita Brevis |
| Susie |
Posted - 01/17/2008 : 19:54:15
Hi Stefan, I haven't posted in a long time but I know how miserable hives can be, so I thought I would say hey. I have had about every tms symptom you can imagine, but hives were one of the most miserable. The worst outbreak I had lasted about 6 weeks. About every 2 weeks they looked like they would subside and then with a flush and a flash, they would take off again. I blamed them on everything. Drugs, food, tight clothing,(I had them encircling my midsection). After realizing they were just tms, I was able to control them. In an extremely stessful situation I would undress at night and there they were. I laughed at them like I did at all the other junk and, I swear, they would be gone in the morning. You are in a real bad cycle but you are gonna have to ride it out. I know they are on your face and hard to ignore but if you can look at them and say, "oh well", they really will go away. The less horrified you become, the quicker they will leave. Old tms will try something else, but you know that. The best thing you can do is skoff at them. Skoffing is good. |
| stefan |
Posted - 01/17/2008 : 12:03:55
I took meds for this episode of hives and if my nasal allergies are bad, to stop my nose from running i'll take claratin. But I feel like I am letting tms win if i take meds.
Ars Longa Vita Brevis |
| Wavy Soul |
Posted - 01/17/2008 : 09:18:34
In response to the underlying question, which isn't a medical one, it jumped out at me that you said that the main problem you have with the hives is not the pain, but how they make you look.
I think you should journal on this. For example, you might try writing "I want you to see that I feel ___________" and then write "I don't want you to see that I feel __________".
Hives just look and even sound angry. You could almost say, "he broke out in angry hives."
The other hot lead is the Will Smith one. Yes, that was a hysterical scene in Hitch, but perhaps there is more than this in it for you. You could try journaling about it. For example in that movie, he could never quite get it right for the woman. (Was it really the seafood that was making him expand like that?).
Hope this is helpful
xx
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
| truenorth |
Posted - 01/17/2008 : 08:13:49
I've had hives for a long time as part of TMS, mostly a giant hive on my lips. The cause of hives is idiopathic in the vast majority of cases. Mine came as a symptom substitution for the back and foot pain.
I now have it under control with 150 mg of Zantac 2x day. It works as a H2 blocker. I also take prescription Zyrtec (available OTC in a few weeks). This combo has worked beautifully for me. I would not take Prednesone under any circumstances unless the hives involve the entire body. It is a BIG gun and should be reserved for only the most extreme cases of hives.
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| stefan |
Posted - 01/17/2008 : 07:10:59
Thanks Littlebird and Penny for your concern. I am good at handling pain so the hives are definitely a good diversion created by my brain, because even if I were to forget about them usually someone will remind me in short order and then it's THE topic of conversation. I will try journaling about my move. I've been digging for something deeper because this seems to be so obvious. I am a very analytical type of person so I tend to overanalyze.
Thanks again. |
| Penny |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 19:23:54
quote:
Originally posted by stefan
I am currently trying to sell my business and my house and move to another area. I have tried ignoring the hives but my skin is so swollen around my eyes that it is breaking. And my friends and family keep feeling sorry for me. My wife is threatening me that she'll call and make another appointment at the doctor's.
Hi Stefan,
I'm sorry to hear about this new symptom for you. I used to get hives really badly on my arms that were very troublesome (and distracting), and were indeed TMS driven. I don't have anything to offer you, except a reflection and concurrence that this is probably yet another TMS sx for you. Re-reading your post affirms this to me, especially b/c you have so many MAJOR changes pending. Plus a wife who is means well but perhaps is adding to distraction with her "threats" to make an appt for you.
Your skin needs time to heal, just like it sometimes take pain time to play it's course even after coming to terms with TMS. I have found fresh aloe vera works wonders on my skin problems. (If you don't have a plant, you can buy pure aloe vera gel [not the juice, but the gel] in a bottle from Whole Foods or a health-food store. I not a doctor, but perhaps this might cool and assist your skin to heal.
Hang in there and know this too shall pass! If you do see an allergist, the worst that can happen is that they affirm you haven't developed a new allergy, so perhaps this wouldn't be a bad thing.
>|< Penny
"Feeling will get you closer to the truth of who you are than thinking."
~ Eckhart Tolle
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| Littlebird |
Posted - 01/16/2008 : 17:44:22
Hi there,
Sorry that I don't have much info to share, but I've seen my husband develop hives in response to psychological triggers, even though he doesn't really accept it as that. Like you, there's nothing different to explain the hives, they just occur. Because he gets them often, his doctor put him on Zyrtec, which keeps them at bay much of the time, but sometimes they still break through. A common trigger for him seems to be feeling that he's doing yard work that another family member should be doing or helping with. When my son and/or I help, he gets no hives, but he can do yard work alone and break out with huge welts that won't respond to the Zyrtec combined with Benadryl and steroid cream. Usually I make an effort to soothe his emotions and then the hives will go away.
You've probably identified your trigger when you say that you're trying to sell your business and house and move. Have you tried journaling about how that creates fears and maybe anger?
Hope things improve soon--keep us posted. |
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