1 Day Down

Yesterday I started it, the stupid hive diet thing again.  I haven't done this in years but I'm desperate.  Years ago one of the doctors I went to had me do this and it worked for awhile.  My hives left but then after I had been doing it for awhile I added foods back to fast, they were back and I was left still not knowing anything more than when I started.  Well I have thought about going to the doctor again since they have been gradually getting worse since March. 

For those of you who don't know I had chronic hives for 6 1/2 years.  No doctor could figure out what was causing them (after Xray's, and all the allergy tests they could think of) and I went through all sorts of different medicines and basically lived off Benadryl for years.  They had told me this is chronic uticaria and it should go away anywhere from now to 7 years from now.  Well I was one of the lucky ones, 6.5 years (1/2 shorter than the max, ugh!) and they left.  Then shortly after  I got pregnant.  Now many people say well maybe it's the hormones that kept them away while you were pregnant but they were gone before I even got pregnant.  Then in March after I had Noah they  have gradually started coming back. 

Well now I'm up to 3 Benadryl every time I take it, have them on a daily basis and last week almost every day dealt with some sort of facial swelling (which I don't handle very well).  So needless to say I'm frustrated, very frustrated!!  If I go back to the doctor I don't even know where to start.  Last time I went to the dermatologist in town, who sent me to a specialist in Charleston, who sent me to an allergist in Champaign, who I then gave up on and went to another one in Decatur.  And after over a year of doctor visits and testing, still nothing.  The doctor in Decatur was the one who had me do this diet and keep track of everything I ate.  To sum it up you don't eat for 3 days, then each day you add a food.  When you add foods it has to be something that is just that food.  Like a banana, apple, or carrots something that has nothing else in it and not processed.  We pretty much know it's not something obvious it has to be something little that is in a ton of things.  So yesterday I started, I kind of cheated though I did eat a banana.  My thinking was I know it's not something that obvious so I will start with that.  So for the next 2 days I'm eating bananas.  Fun Fun!  And the whole process is hard anyway because things can stay in your system for days.  So imagine my frustration when I woke up this morning to hives.  Lots of hives on my ankles, as a matter of fact it hurts to walk because my ankle has swelled so much.  So I didn't eat anything but a banana yesterday and I still have the stupid things.  However, I'm going to try my hardest with this, this time and hopefully can maybe figure something out.   Even though it could take quite a long time.  So just wanted a warning to be out there.  I will most likely be very tired and grumpy this week!  And keep me in prayers, I need to try and keep a good attitude and the strength and will to be able to do this! 

I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me!