Dermographism - anyone else?

[angelajl]

I've had severe dermatographism for 15 years now, and I have to take an antihistamine every day to control it. I have long wondered if it's caused by/exacerbated by food, especially corn. However, my antihistamine (and all others I've found) contains corn, so I've never been able to eliminate corn completely to test that theory! (If I go more than 2 or 3 days without the antihistamine, I experience full-body pressure-induced hives and feel like I'm on fire, and this leads to near panic attacks.)

 

Does anyone out there suffer from this and, if so, has a W30 helped? I'd love so much to be able to quit taking a corn-containing pill every day.

[AmyS]

I don't know the answer to your question, unfortunately.  But I do understand your dilemma: I take a thyroid medication every day that contains both sugar and corn starch - both of these ingredients are known to worsen the autoimmune condition that necessitates that I take the medication.  At the same time, I know that I do better, symptom-wise, on the medication, so I carry on.  This is still true after several months of Whole30/Whole30-style eating.  Fortunately, when I'm eating Whole30, the only source of the sugar and corn starch in my diet is that medication, so the effect is much less than it used to be when those ingredients made up a whole lot of my diet.  Anyway, I'm kinda rambling here but just wanted you to know you're not the only one tossing around these questions.  I just don't have a clear answer - it's probably very individual.

 

I will say, though, that my understanding is that some/many medications can be created for us by a compounding pharmacist, in which case the medication can be made without the offending ingredients.  I haven't followed up on that yet for my medication, but it might be something to look into if you are interested in total elimination of the ingredient(s) you don't want to ingest.

[angelajl]

Thanks for your input! It is frustrating that medications can contain such iffy ingredients.

[angelajl]

Oh, and I meant to say: I'm considering trying to go without my antihistamine at the end of my W30. I'll have had 30 days without any other sources of corn or its derivatives, so perhaps, with such a tiny amount of it in my system, I'll be able to determine if corn really is affecting this condition.

[MrsStick]

If nothing else, could you try a non-corn antihistamine? 

[angelajl]

I could, but I haven't found one yet.

[snowflower]

I, too, suffer from dermographism and have for 23 years. I never considered that diet could be the culprit until I read It Starts With Food. I'm hoping Whole30 will alleviate my symptoms and my need for a daily antihistamine I'm on day 1. Let's keep in touch.

I also take medication for high blood pressure, acne and depression.....I'm hoping those get better, as well.

[TrayS]

Sigh. Yes I was diagnosed with dermatographism also. Personally, I'm convinced it's a BS diagnosis along the lines of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)... meaning that it's indicative of an underlying condition, as opposed to a medical condition in its own right. Btw, I was diagnosed with IBS too, and believe the doctor who diagnosed me was going by its alternate acronym, which is "I'm Basically Stumped." Seriously. He was clueless. I also have been diagnosed with Sjogren's.

 

That said, symptoms of all of the above have improved tremendously since I began my W30 journey almost a year ago. I've done two W30s, the last was six months ago and now I eat mostly paleo with exceptions here and there and red wine in moderation (what can I say, it's high on my F-it scale). I also take thyroid medication so get my daily dose of corn as well.

 

Good luck to you. I know how the trial-and-error of figuring out which foods make it worse versus which don't can be very frustrating. I still haven't arrived at anything definitive, sometimes it seems like the same food really screws me up one time then doesn't the next time. But the overall pattern of general improvement is good enough for me.

[Bet]

F-it scale, Love IT!!!

 

I also take synthroid and it has corn in it. I've been grain free for months, and I don't think the small amount of corn or other ingredients in medications are an issue. Hey, at least now they have a name for IBS. Back when I first had issues, when I was 17, nobody knew what it was and I was told I was crazy.

 

Have you thought about doing the AI Protocol a the Low Histimane protocol? That may help you more than just the plain W30.

[snowflower]

I have considered the AI protocol, but would like to complete the Whole 30 first and see how my body responds to that first. The AI protocol might be too restrictive for my first attempt. I've never tried anything like this before.

[Kirsteen]

I have considered the AI protocol, but would like to complete the Whole 30 first and see how my body responds to that first. The AI protocol might be too restrictive for my first attempt. I've never tried anything like this before.

 

I think that's very wise. I've done the AIP but I was already well used to W30 when I started it. If I'd started it first, I think i may well have panicked at the restrictions and given up.