I'm new to this site and this group, so I thought I might as well introduce myself! I'm a 14-year-old girl who lives in Sweden, and I've had urticaria for about 2,5 years now. I first discovered it on spring break 2010, when I bathed it the Atlantic Ocean on Fuerteventura. When I got out of the cold water, my whole body was red, my skin burning and itching. It was not until fall that it reappeared, when it got cold again, and in December same year I got the diagnosis urticaria. There a long journey with tons of medicines started. First I tried all kinds of anti-histamines, in large doses and combined with each other. Nothing helped, so we moved on to injections by the name Xolair, which originally is used to treat asthma, but my doctor had had other urticaria-patients who'd been helped by it, so we tried. After five months there was no change, so we took a pause over summer and at the start of school we begun again, this time with chemotherapy in the form of pills, the substance being cyclosporine. After a month with hideous side effects but no treatment whatsoever, we stopped and tried Xolair again. 20 injections later, still nothing happened, and it was the ending of 2011. My doctor closed my case; there was nothing more she could do, no more medicines to try. Since then I've just been waiting and researching, hoping to find out what the hell is wrong with me.
I have cold urticaria, which makes me unable to go outside for about 10 months of the year. I also have cholinergic urticaria, which means I can't exercise. I also get wheals when I get nervous or angry, and when I eat spicy food. Then I have pressure urticaria, so for example I can't sit on hard surfaces for a long period of time, or stand up for a long period of time either (this is a true pain in the ass - literally - in school). I also have dermographism, so when I scratch my skin I get wheals to.
I've also noticed that my medicines for my regular allergy (grass and birch) aren't working either, so even when it's warm outside I prefer to stay inside to not get hay fever, an itchy throat and swollen eyes. Last time I did go outside I rubbed my eyes so much that I've now got an eye infection.
For me to be able to go outside it has to be at least 20 degrees Celsius, and no wind. For me to be able to take a bath the water has to be at least 30 degrees. This has become a very big change for me, a girl who's used to spend her winters in the Swedish mountains on a pair of skis, and her summers in Finland bathing in the lakes.
My urticaria has become a problem in school too. I cannot get a grade in P.E. since I can't participate, and I to ride by taxi to and from school since I can't stand outside and wait for the bus. Then of course there are tons of outside activities that I can't participate in, and in the winter I have to have lunch in the high school building since I can't go outside and go to the canteen.
So, all in all, I'm pretty miserable. I don't really have a life anymore, as all I can do is to sit inside and do nothing.
