Purpose of this blog

Hello Everyone,
I have such a response to my post on my other blog. I have heard from so many women who have had similar experiences-to a greater or lesser extent. With every women I come in contact with I am amazed at how many of us are out there.
Starting this blog was suggested to me and after thinking about it, I think it is needed. A single place where we can all share our stories. Share our problems. Let each other know what is working for us, and then one day help the medical community find the answer to why and hopefully help.
As I receive stories, updates, and info that I find or are given I will post them here. If you have anything to share you can email me at judeebeeforme@yahoo.com
Please become a follow if you have had, are having, or know someone who has had this problem.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Baby #4 is a year

I haven't posted much and I am sorry. Baby number for came a year ago. I only had a few of times where I actually had hives after he was born. I itched *A LOT* but there was no breakouts, occasionally just a couple localized hives. We've nursed this time around too. My milk supplies have been good. This baby has been a really good nurser too. It is a baby boy.
Theories on why I have had hives less with each baby:
1- I have been limiting environmental factors that I know cause me allergy problems. Taking these proactive steps I think contributes to my diminished reactions.
2- I also believe that having my children closer together has helped my body and immune system "remember" and react less each time. After my twins were born I had some hives, but it was more on the level of the reactions I was having near the end of nursing my first child. By the time I stopped nursing I was having a few breakouts but never full blown. Then with this baby it has been hardly anything to be concerned about. I haven't even been taking the medications.
3- Along the lines of having the children close together so my body is remembering, my body my be building tolerance to the offending enzymes. This principal is build upon the theory that allows getting allergy shots and treatments work. By exposing your body to the offending enzymes, you are teaching your body what is okay for it to allow and you build up a tolerance. Until the point that you can eat that food, or hang round that plant or animal.

As I have wrote so many times, There is so much we are still learning about immune systems. Not only are we still learning we have also learned that although the major ways our bodies respond is similar we each respond to different things and for different reasons. Since each person is so different narrowing down causes especially when the party is a pregnant or nursing female makes research even more difficult. What we do know is that pregnancy and having a baby changes your body chemistry and can change what your body reacts to. Through sharing my experiences with women, many have shared their stories with me. Some of hives, but some of "all of the sudden" being allergic to new things in their lives (ie their pet, their favorite lotion or shampoo, finding a laundry detergent unusable anymore, finding foods they are now allergic to but use to be able to eat just find)- all shortly after having a baby. Most of these women had doctors that told them it was all in their heads or that they probably would have developed that allergy regardless of  having a baby. There is research to back US up. Immunological changes can and do happen after being pregnant. You are not crazy.

I have a couple final things to say in advice.
1- don't allow others to think your crazy, pregnancy and changing immune systems is a thing.
2- But keep an open mind. I didn't think that environmental factors were playing a part in my hives, But upon finding treatments we learned that my environmental factors were causing my outbreaks to be worse.
3- Don't make your mind up that your hives or allergies are caused by X. Again this is keeping an open mind. Do not go blaming that you used drugs (epidural or others) during delivery as the reason, on the flip side don't blame that you had a natural birth either. Don't blame nursing, or not nursing. Don't blame having gestational diabetes. Don't blame that your baby was a boy or that it was a girl. I have heard all these things *blamed*.  It is true that any of these things could have been a factor but the chances are they are nothing more than a factor in a sea of many factors. As humans we want to find reasons for causes and we want to blame things, but in the end blaming those things aren't helping you or anyone else. If you are really concerned then try to do it differently the next time you have a baby, chances are though if you're going to react to something it will happen either way. If you fixate on one thing causing your allergies- doctors will categorize you as crazy and stop listening to you.
4- Find ways to live life and don't dwell on it. I am a huge believer in that things are always worse when we are dwelling on it. I believe that this last baby it has also be less is I have 4 kids who need a ton of my time. I don't have time to dwell and worry about why I have hives. I notice them and move on because I need to live life and take care of my children.

Good luck to all of you suffering. I look forward to the day of science fiction science where a drop of blood can tell a doctor everything we could ever want to know about our bodies. Until then God bless each of you- I hope you find relief. 

8 comments:

  1. I just responded one of your older blogs my hives started a couple of day ago and it's getting pretty unbearable quickly. Here's my sorry:
    I am breastfeeding my 4 month old and he has eczema head to toe (just like his sister did). After completing a dairy free gluten free diet, I learned dairy triggers gas issues but neither gluten or dairy restriction seems to impact eczema. His doc recommended grain free dairy free egg free diet. Nearly 4-5 days in to it, starting with my arms, I get itchy hives everywhere my son's hair has touched my skin. After reading other posts on your blog, I wonder if the drastic diet change contributed to flare up. New diet does seem calcium deficient. Nothing else changed with my regular intake or environment. His skin seems to be getting better while my skin is under attack. Lol. I am all ears for suggestions before I start prescription meds. Thanks again.

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  2. Just tried a tall glass of almond milk and inflamed hives seem to triple on my arms

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  3. I don't know how to write a new post but I wanted to tell my story and see what you ladies think of it. I have been pregnant three times. First was a successful birth of a healthy baby girl. At four weeks postpartum I developed a pimple like rash all over my body. I showed it to my OB. He said it was probably hormones being flushed out of my body. My next pregnancy was a blighted ovum where the baby never developed past implantation. No incident of hives. My next pregnancy was another successful birth of a healthy baby girl. This time at four weeks postpartum I had a severe allergic reaction resulting in hives all over my body and my face looking like I'd been in a boxing match with a prize fighter. I went to my general practitioner he sent me to an allergist ASAP my GP prescribed an EpiPen and said call your OB too. I called my OB and they said they had never heard of such a thing as postpartum hives. So I went to the allergist the next day. She said she sees it a lot. She said I didn't need the EpiPen and prescribed me prednisone and some antihistamine. When I had my six week visit with my OB I asked them about it again. All Mlmy OB said was if I get pregnant again they will have me ready with a dose of prednisone at 4 weeks. My worry is that if my first experience with postpartum hives resulted in a slightly annoying itchy rash and then my second experience three years later with postpartum hives resulted in a severe reaction will the next time be anaphylaxis? My allergist didn't seem to think so. I can find almost no information about postpartum hives so I'm interested in any comments or opinions you ladies might have. Thanks in advance!

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  4. I don't know how to write a new post but I wanted to tell my story and see what you ladies think of it. I have been pregnant three times. First was a successful birth of a healthy baby girl. At four weeks postpartum I developed a pimple like rash all over my body. I showed it to my OB. He said it was probably hormones being flushed out of my body. My next pregnancy was a blighted ovum where the baby never developed past implantation. No incident of hives. My next pregnancy was another successful birth of a healthy baby girl. This time at four weeks postpartum I had a severe allergic reaction resulting in hives all over my body and my face looking like I'd been in a boxing match with a prize fighter. I went to my general practitioner he sent me to an allergist ASAP my GP prescribed an EpiPen and said call your OB too. I called my OB and they said they had never heard of such a thing as postpartum hives. So I went to the allergist the next day. She said she sees it a lot. She said I didn't need the EpiPen and prescribed me prednisone and some antihistamine. When I had my six week visit with my OB I asked them about it again. All Mlmy OB said was if I get pregnant again they will have me ready with a dose of prednisone at 4 weeks. My worry is that if my first experience with postpartum hives resulted in a slightly annoying itchy rash and then my second experience three years later with postpartum hives resulted in a severe reaction will the next time be anaphylaxis? My allergist didn't seem to think so. I can find almost no information about postpartum hives so I'm interested in any comments or opinions you ladies might have. Thanks in advance!

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    1. Marisa thank-you for sharing your story. I'm glad to hear that the allergist didn't find it so odd. Sorry you can't make a new post. If you want I can share it as post with everyone as your story. This is my personal blog not a forum so that makes it hard.
      Hive tend not to escalate into anaphylaxis reactions. As they worsen you tend to have larger hives that are harder to get ride of. If a reaction becomes prolongation without treatment, a reaction it can become anaphylaxis but you do have time to start treating it, it is very rare that a case becomes life-threatening. But that doesn't negate the discomfort we are experiencing.
      In general if you prepare for your delivery and postpartum proactively, expecting to start the allergic reaction, you're body's reaction will be lessened. At my year after my last baby appointment with my OB we were talking about my hives and she credits that we started me on the Zyrtec at week 13 and continued it after delivery. I had a few "rash" like isolated breakouts but nothing bad. One thing that we have learned about allergic reactions is that we can pre-treat our bodies, we can expose ourselves to the allergen over time to lessen reactions, or we can take anihistamine in anticipation. I think the later is really all you will need, that and doctors who are aware that this is a thing for you so everyone is ready. Good luck. When you have another baby I am very interested in how it works out for you.

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  5. Thank you for this article...as a new mother I truly appreciate it.

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  6. Just found your blog. I see there hasn't been much activity recently, but in case anyone else out there is still reading:
    Before giving birth I had never had hives. I had a traumatic pregnancy (twins, lost one at 9 weeks, hyperemesis gravidarum 5 weeks until birth) followed by a planned c section. I started getting abdominal gives a few months after birth. My dermatologist sad that was rare as abdominal hives are associated with pregnancy but usually happen during pregnancy or right after birth. I am still breast feeding 2 years later and I still have abdominal hives. The severity has lessened over time and I have never had them ocur anywhere but on my abdomen. I am going to wean my son soon and I am very interested if the hives will disappear along with my milk. What an interesting group we all are. Doctors don't know what to do with us but we'd make a fascinating study. Good luck to all of you currently suffering.

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