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Salka

Doctor me up, Thumbs

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I'm basically trying to gather info from anywhere. Doc me right up guys.

For about ten years I've gotten occasional hives. They never came in patches, only one itchy raised hive, usually on my face or upper arms, that would last 20 minutes and then disappear.

Starting about 6 months ago I had occasional episodes of feeling slightly breathless. Only subtly breathless, so much that I thought it was my imagination. This got gradually worse to the point where it would happen at least once a day for no discernible reason, and I began to think maybe it wasn't my imagination, but still ignored it because it didn't seem particularly serious. At this point the hives started to become a daily occurrence but this didn't really register at the time as it was such a gradual increase to this point.

Then a few weeks ago my lip spontaneously swelled for no reason. It was very sudden and very tingly, but not itchy. I took an antihistamine and that went down after about 20 minutes. I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink in the hours leading up to it, and was perplexed, but decided as is common for me, to ignore it and move on. ¬¬

Then the breathing problem became more frequent, and harder to ignore. I'll now have seemingly random episodes of feeling very breathless and like my heart is beating super-hard. I took my pulse and temperature while this is happening and it's in the normal range, but my heart feels like it's beating fast. The breathlessness is like - I am not breathing in an abnormal way, or holding my breath or taking shallow breaths, but I find myself taking big deep lungfuls of air and still not being satisfied, still feeling a bit like I'm out of breath. I've only noticed this happening when I am sedentary.

Then my fucking arm went numb one morning. Totally out of the blue, I had just gotten up, got on my bike and was cycling to work. First my fingers got pins and needles, then it traveled up my arm and my arm was then mostly numb and sensitive feeling for about 6 hours.

Then my lip swelled up again a different time. And sometimes I get a bright red all-over body rash, and sometimes I now get patches of hives too. Oh, and the breathing thing is now accompanied by a very subtle tightness in my chest when it happens. Which is maybe three or four times a day.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT ANY OF THIS COULD BE? Any leads or thoughts welcome. I've been to a couple of different doctors and am booking another appointment for next week too. One suggested stress/anxiety, one fobbed me off with 'it's probably nothing', and another suggested a slight allergy to something and put me on a waiting list to go to an allergy clinic. Some other info:

- I'm vegetarian but about six months ago had my iron levels checked and they were fine

- I've tried excluding dairy from my diet which wasn't hard as I don't eat a lot of the stuff anyway. This had no effect

- I'm currently trying to exclude gluten, on day two I have had no rashes or hives even though I didn't take an antihistamine, but I did have the breathing problems, so not sure how much of this is coincidence

- I am working 7 days a week at the moment but not sure that I would describe myself as 'stressed'...

- It happens in my home, my work, my other place of work, outdoors, indoors, other peoples houses... almost everywhere...

Oh and just in case you thought you had it figured out, the symptoms occur every single day with one exception: I recently went to Berlin and not a single symptom occurred there. I drank beer, ate bread, cheese, was arguably not totally unstressed as I was pushing my broken-ankled boyfriend around in a wheelchair in 30 degree heat all day, and was wearing the same clothes I would wear at home, the same shampoo etc. So yeah. Maybe it was sheer coincidence but that seems unlikely.

Anyway, it would be great if any of you had any ideas so that when I go to the doctor next week I have stuff to talk about. It's getting quite worrying.

Yours breathelessly,

Salks

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Yeah, in fairness I'd only had the lip swelling, hives, and breathlessness then. She did refer me to an allergy clinic but also actively tried to discourage me by repeatedly saying 'it's probably nothing' and 'they probably won't find out what it is that's causing it.'

She also told me that it might be best to wait a few weeks and monitor the situation, as though that isn't exactly what I'd done before I went to the doctor about it ¬¬

Bonus facts: I'm otherwise healthy and active and the only allergy I have (that I know of) is penicillin. I think this extends to some types of other moulds too. Once I ate a blue cheese that made my mouth tingle, and one time I got the bright-red body rash after accidentally eating parmesan which turned out to have slight spots of blue mould on it. I'm not allergic to all mould, because as a self-test I purposely moulded up some food and rubbed/licked it, and nothing happened.

Which is why I was particularly annoyed that the doctor recommended continuing to monitor it ¬¬ clearly I had gone to the doctor as a last resort...

Right now breathing is super easy, which is nice.

Every time I think of something that could be a potential cause, such as gluten intolerance, I then think of something that makes it almost impossible... for instance, in Berlin I mostly ate bread and drank beer, and yet had no ill effects. Frustrating.

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The breathless thing and the rest of the heart-attacky symptoms like the numb limbs could be panic attack related. Have you had any reasons to be flipping out lately?

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Yeah you know, that seems to be the most plausible thing. I'm working seven days a week and have been since the beginning of May, and on top of that have two commissioned art projects, and then trying to fit in as much band stuff as possible... I can see that there is maybe some stress, but I don't feel particularly anxious or stressed out. I work weekends in a different job from my main one, which breaks things up a bit and stops them getting monotonous. Besides, I quite enjoy both jobs.

One time one of the attacks happened a few minutes after I read some crap news. Other than that they've all occurred when I've been chilled out and relaxing at home, or concentrating at work. I would just expect panic attacks, from my experience, to be a reaction to some sort of immediate stress...

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No medical degree, but here's what I got.

Those are all (maybe besides the entire arm going numb) common allergic reactions. The fact that you were symptom-free once you left the country points to it being environmental -- in your house probably and not necessarily food or drink.

Personally, there's one brand of washing detergent that just makes me break out in hives horribly. Can you think of any patterns between the onset of the symptoms and use of certain soaps, perfumes etc?

EDIT: Oh yeah, stress can cause all of these things too and is really hard to rule out until an actual allergy test is done. (But even then, they can be really iffy)

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I have no medical experience so this is an amateur opinion, but this sounds like symptoms of an allergic reaction. If you didn't know, it's possible to be allergic to just about anything; there are several common allergies like peanuts, dairy, etc, but you could also be allergic to anything at all that you come into contact with or ingest.

My advice is to document every time you get hives/breathing problems. As far as I know allergic reactions don't have delayed triggers, so it'll be something you touched or ate within a few hours or minutes.

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Laxan, nope, I've tried different combinations of soaps/shampoos/detergents. And used all the same ones in Berlin anyway. THE BERLIN THING IS REALLY IRRITATING.

Also though I was on holiday in Berlin, so it is conceivable that despite all the other stress (boyfriend in a wheelchair) I was less stressed than if I was working 7 days a week. I've spent a lot of time trying to think of connections and things, but nothing seems to quite add up.

So far it could be:

Allergies (but no luck yet figured out what they might be)

Stress (but doesn't quite add up given the times when it's happened)

Asthma maybe? Exacerbated by a slight allergy?

A slight allergy exacerbated by stress?

But nobody has thrown in any proper scary diseases yet, so that's good :)

Setentia, it sometimes feels like I'm allergic to everything when I can't isolate a single cause. But I read that apparently reactions to food can come hours after ingestion, and some people with celiac disease claim that they can feel the effects of gluten ingestion days after it happens... so I don't know what to think any more.

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I have asthma and that doesn't sound like it, asthma triggers much less frequently and with harsher effects.

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Regarding breathlessness:

I had this thing a while back when my relationship was in a bad place where felt like I wasn't getting enough breath. Now that relationship is over and I'm getting it again, though milder. I suspected it was stress the first time and still do. It's like I can't trigger my autonomic breathing because I'm just generally too concerned about things. Simultaneously it feels like I've forgotten how to breathe properly (I find myself taking deep breaths but only into my chest).

Make sure you're not only breathing into your chest. Exhale very strongly and then try to breathe naturally. Those help me. That and the fact that I had it before and it went away. Something to try, perhaps.

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Stress is a really weird thing and can act up during what you'd consider a period of decompression, or during a time when you'd be thinking "eh I've been in worse situations, this ain't no thang". It is treacherous and unpredictable! Seconding the panic attack guess based on a couple of friends' experiences.

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as a self-test I purposely moulded up some food and rubbed/licked it

I don't have a real clue about your medical mystery (except that arm numbness can be caused by pinching in the brachial plexus, as well as stres-xiety, so check your neck/shoulder girdle/pec minor area for tightness and postural issues) but wanted to highlight this stunning example of British Ingenuity.

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The funny thing is that this thread has had was more helpful responses (even though there are no answers) than any WebMD thread.

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Bonus facts: I'm otherwise healthy and active and the only allergy I have (that I know of) is penicillin.

Do not underestimate the power of your body. Allergies can go away and new allergies can pop up.

I have asthma and that doesn't sound like it, asthma triggers much less frequently and with harsher effects.

Doesn't have to. The effects can be quite frequent and not harsh at all, you would barely notice it except that if you pay careful attention to it you might notice you're breathing more heavily.

Especially astma that is triggered by an allergy can have a very reduced outcome, it's annoying nonetheless.

Anyway, to me it sounds like you developed a new allergy, which will be a pain to figure out.

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It took me almost six months to figure out why my fingers suddenly looked like shit all the time. Turns out they had changed the recipe for the shampoo I had been using for 5 years or so. The appearance of the shampoo itself (not just the bottle) had changed, but the symptoms weren't immediate and so I wasn't able to link the two things together. I was further misled by the fact that my scalp was fine, until very recently anyway, but now I believe that was because my fingers were more sensitive/dry due to winter and/or sauna. Anyway, I changed the brand and now they are finally getting better. The point being that if what you are experiencing is an allergic reaction, you may have to think really hard what subtle change in your lifestyle might have triggered it, even though, in hindsight, it may be obvious that it was your decision to start eating kiwifruit as a snack at work, or the paint you have been using for your art projects or something.

"Funny" story: The doctor who I consulted on the subject was really eager to prescribe to me Penicillin based antibiotics even though I specifically mentioned that this was the only drug I was known to be allergic for. She kept inquiring whether it was just a skin reaction (which would have been fine, in her opinion) or if I had trouble breathing as well. I was very young when the allergy was discovered and didn't remember anything about the incident myself. She actually told me to call my mother and ask what were the symptoms. She told me that she didn't know if I had trouble breathing (I probably couldn't even have communicated it properly) but that the skin reaction was immediate and violent. This was all the doctor needed to hear and she started writing the recipe. It was only when I asked her if I really should risk respiratory problems, having asthma and all, just because the drug I was most definitely allergic to worked slightly better with skin problems than other antibiotics that she turned slightly pale and prescribed my another antibiotics.

Anyway, I hope you figure out what is causing those symptoms soon.

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A few years ago I had a very small panic attack, completely out of the blue while I was relaxing on a sofa. It included my tongue and arms 'tingling' and a very small loss of speech (scary as all fuck). The point being that panic attacks can really, really come out of the blue, even if you don't feel stressed at all, or weren't hyperventilating when it happened. It hasn't happened to me ever since, but every person is different.

This may not be helpful, but I hope you figure it out.

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Awesome replies, thanks everyone! It's made me feel a lot better knowing that it could just be anxiety too. I noticed a couple of beetles and big ants in my house this morning and wondered if they'd come for me, but now I feel more confident that it their presence is just something to do with the heatwave...

Subbes I'm Irish, it's Irish ingenuity ;)

I thought of one other detail... the symptoms did somewhat get worse (swelling, numbness) around the time I got my two summer jobs... both of which are office based so I'm drinking a helluva lot more coffee than I would have previously. Whether it's a slight intolerance to caffeine or maybe the caffeine is exacerbating stress... HMMM. All these things are plausible and it's much nicer to think about these scenarios than it is to remember that the beetles might be waiting for me.

Thank you everyone!

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Well, your symptoms match quite nicely with these. Maybe you could try to drink less coffee for a while.

Disclaimer: Not the most convincing source around there - I just picked the first google result for "caffeine allergy". Plus, there are probably hundreds of other conditions with very similar list of symptoms. Still, might be worth a shot.

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Subbes I'm Irish, it's Irish ingenuity ;)

Oops! Sorry. I thought you were from Brighton, for some reason!

Also, yeah, caffeine can make your body do crazy stuff if you ramp it up suddenly - even if you're not allergic. I'd gently suggest you try decaf or switch to tea if you just need the "hot brown liquid."

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I am in Brighton now, but I am Irish :)

Man, decaf tea and coffee is super-manky. Eugh.

I'll report back soon.

GOOD WORK, TEAM HOUSE!

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But where's Andy, our resident actual doctor?

God I'm happy I don't (apparently) even get addicted to coffee. Because I love it. No symptoms when I'm without it, but when I get to drink it it's heaven.

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I trust Andy about as far as I can throw him in my dreams in which I'm a big strong giant and everyone respects me for once.

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I'm amazed no one has suggested the obvious.

Move to Berlin.

But yeah, modulating your intake of something like caffeine is probably a good first step even if you turn out not to be allergic to it. Caffeine makes your body act weirdly in a bunch of ways. I also pitch in my +1 on the idea that stress, anxiety and panic attacks can be oddly subtle and don't necessarily correlate with your conscious mindset at the time. I went through a period recently in which I had what I am now fairly sure were minor anxiety attacks several times, but I didn't realise that's what they were or what had caused them until months later.

This may not really be possible for you, but if you could avoid working seven days a week, I doubt that would be bad for you from a health perspective. Everyone benefits from downtime.

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I only have time to read most of your first post and skim read the replies. My first thought was that stress does not cause lips to swell, unless it was subjectively swollen. If others commented on it, or you took a picture of it and it looks swollen to someone else then stress is not the answer. Allergy is certainly on the differential, new pets, washing powder, washing up liquid, carpet?

Your symptoms are too complicated for internet diagnosis, you absolutely need to see your GP (as you have done). My advice would be to keep a dated food diary and document whether you have symptoms with certain food types, also this would help with working out the temporal relationship with time of year. I would also record your weight on a monthly basis for the next few months. This may take a long time to come to a diagnosis and in fact, we may never make one in this case, be prepared for that.

As a long shot, in retrospect, have you suffered with intermittent swelling of the face, arms, trunk, legs, feet since childhood? Or anyone in your family had similar experiences as you? maybe hospitalised with anaphylactic type reactions?

Armchair (A bonafide doctor of medicine your honour)

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OMG REAL DOCTOR.

I have booked to see a doctor this week and I've been twice already. The symptoms have gotten worse quite quickly so every time I go I seem to have new thing to add. There hasn't been anything new for a while now. Well, a week,

I've cut out gluten and caffeine to see how that goes but it's too early to see what kind of a reaction it's having.

Are you sure stress doesn't cause lip swelling? Because one doctor told me that it does... which I wasn't sure I believed but they seemed very certain... every doctor has given me conflicting advice :-(

There is no history of allergies in my family, or of stress reactions. There is a history of thyroid issues and apparently heart problems, although all of the heart problems seemed to occur to older male relatives who smoked and drank heavily throughout their reasonably sedentary lives, so I'm not so worried about that...

I'd never experienced random swelling or numbness before the recent episodes. The swelling of my lip happened very very suddenly and was gone within 20 minutes of taking an antihistamine. It swelled on the right hand side of my face both times, the first time on the bottom and the second time on the top.

Another doctor said these symptoms sounded like hayfever, but I'm not sniffly or sneezy or blocked up, and I don't know anybody with hayfever who suffers from the symptoms I have.

Guess I'll have to wait to see what happens at the allergy clinic. Booooo.

Thanks for taking the time to give advice, dude :)

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