The only like thing I have ever heard is about a guy who went to bootcamp. He broke out in hives all over his body because of how nervous he was. I think he had them for a couple of weeks.
But, I have never heard of it happening every time you get anxious. That must be awful. What is your doctor going to do to control it?

He has me on lexapro 10mg/daily for now. I am going back in two weeks to see if has reduced the hives. If this is really the cause I could kick myself for not getting treatment sooner for my problem. I have lived with whatever this is (gad/depression) my whole life.

hi and welcome beccacst-

i never had hives as part of my struggles with anxiety but have heard other references to them. I'm glad you are finally getting some treatment but would encourage you to look into getting involved in cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt) as well. I was on meds for many years before I found cbt and it cured me and got me off meds in a remarkably short period of time. Best of all once you learn the tools in cbt you have them forever so you are able to give yourself relief almost instantly whenever you are feeling stressed, anxious or down. It's all about using the tools to learn to think more clearly and accurately about things and once you do your anxiety, panic and depression will miraculously begin to lift before your eyes. My favorite starter book on cbt is "been there, done that? Do this! By sam obitz like anything in life the more you put in the more you get out of cbt. In addition many universities offer cbt groups for little or no charge :p

take care!



Q

About two years ago I went through a spell of having hives and anxiety, this was a everyday occurance....And well I went to all the doctors and they said nothing just gave me medicine after medicine, I myself linked it out to anxiety and stress. My mother had been going through some bad things and was in the hospital. They have passed and I havnt got them anymore it went on for about 8 months...Then dissappeared wierd..Huh?

Hi beccasct, I sometimes get hives when i'm really anxious or really stressed out. If it is anxiety you may want to look into cbt. I'm going into the 11th week of my cbt group and weaning off drugs and feeling great. The two books we are using in my group are really good and I would recommend them both highly: been there, done that? Do this! By sam obitz and mastery of your anxiety and panic-third edition by michelle craske and david barlow if you suffer panic disorder as well like me.

Maybe it's just me & I may be missing something but has anyone checked you out for actual allergies?? I have had itches etc due to nerves but only spasmodically. In any case I think it would be worthwhile getting tested to see if you do have any allergies before everyone assumes it's something else.

Well here I am, at one a.M. And do I ever know about hives! My back and calves, and on the underside of my arm are extremely itchy right now. I finally got on my computer to try to figure out what these itchy red spots are. Now I know they are hives. Thanks for the info. I looked at other sites too and learned a fair bit in half an hour. Now it's time to comiserate. I do believe that stress has something to do with this. Probably not the only thing because I have asthma too. Hives can be related to asthma. This bout of hives initially came on 10 days ago when I was on a winter camping polk-ski-dog trip that was supposed to be 3-4 days and ended up being 7. I was freaking out at day 4 when we were still out there with no trail in site and running out of food. The food was no big deal but I was soooo frustrated and beat. It was very physically difficult, cold, wet, and stressful. Everyone else seemed to be taking things in stride and I felt like a loser so I tried to keep everything to myself while I felt like screaming. Anyway, the hives started around my ankles, I noticed when I took my boots off by the fire. But i've been home for over a week and they just keep moving around my body. Might have something to do with the old boyfriend. Hmmm. Damn I hope they go away soon! Ikes this is itchy. They will go away, right? None of this four year stuff I hope! Do I ever feel for you, (the person who has had this for 4 years.) this is enough to get me down to the health food store to buy a detox package or something. I'm definately ordering those cognitive behavoir books tommorrow! Good luck to you all with finding the cure for each of your cases.

Since you were also on your trip you could have had an allergic reaction to something. If you take a bath with baking soda it can sometimes relieve the itching for a while.

Welcome to the boards I wish I owned a cabin

sounds like cbt may be a big help to you in general, if not for the hives, as it will teach you tools that will help you learn to take things in stride if you practice using the tools :d

good luck and keep us posted!

Q

Hi i'm new to this list. I've recently given up all of my coping mechanisms and went for a physical yesterday. I have been suffering frm shortness of breath. They took a chest xray and think I may have emphysema. As much as i'd love to embrace their diagnoses..I'm 36 and quit a year ago and feel like my shortness of breath is too severe right now for the earlies, earliest, earliest stages of emphysema. I have been overly stressed for the last 7 months. I have shallow breathing and something attacking my face which just occured to me today to possibly be hives? One derm said rosacea, another said something else. Can anyone relate to any of this? At work I feel like a wire that has had the protective coating stripped off and feel like electricity is running thru me. I'm just wondering how much of this is stress ? Thank you so much for listening!

heart symptoms and shortness of breath were always my two biggest problems with my anxiety. I too was diagnosed with asthma etc but the meds for that did little to help me and as soon as my anxiety went away so did my breathing problems etc. We all handle stress differently, but this sounds like stress induced symptoms to me. Look into getting involved in cbt if you are willing to put some work into learning the tools they may help you a great deal

q

Hello everyone I have read the latest posts and feel for all of you. I live on the east coast and was directly effected by hurricane isabella last year. At the time the storm hit I had just had my 4th back surgery and was at home alone with staples still in my back. My legs started itching first and then my entire body!!! Well I wound up visiting the er for treatment twice in one day. My whole face,eyes, mouth looked like small ballons. The doctor said it was stress. I was already taking lexapro and klonopin and had to start taking benadryl for a month. Last sunday I started getting burnlike blisters on my hands and fingers which could be a diabetic complication. At the present time I dont feel as if i'm unusually stressed, but sometimes you just dont know. Hope eveyone feels better.Carolynfaye

I’ve had chronic hives for a little over a year now. They started last may - about a month after I was laid-off from my job and a couple of weeks after I finished up my mba. This was indeed a very stressful time in my life. Although I was proud to have finally completed my graduate study, I felt like a real loser because my mba wasn’t landing me a job. Initially, I had an outbreak almost every day – huge blotches on every inch of my body including my palms and the bottoms of my feet. I experienced swelling and pain in my joints, swelling of my face and even swelling of my throat. I consulted five different doctors (one dermatologist, one allergist and three internists) who all casually prescribed me steroids and antihistamines. Neither doctor seemed to be of much help. Although I experienced some relief from the medication they prescribed, the side effects hindered me from being productive. At one time I was on five different medications which caused me to have migraines and left me lethargic and nauseous. After taking the medication for about three months I decided to stop – partially because it’s difficult to purchase five medications without insurance. Of course my main reason was because I was so “doped” up that I couldn’t concentrate on improving other aspects of my life. During the autumn and winter months my outbreaks lessened. I would still have a few hives scattered about my body every day, but the swelling, pain and severe outbreaks only occurred once a week and sometimes even once every two- three weeks. But recently, i’ve started having severe symptoms again. I stumbled upon this message board in a desperate search for the “reason why”. I’m sitting at my computer itching and trying to cope with the pain and swelling in my knees and wrists right now. It’s not hard for me to believe that my hives are onset by stress. Although i’m not unemployed as I was last summer – i’m very much underemployed. I’ve been working two “low-paying” jobs just to make ends meet. Sometimes i’ll go weeks without having a day off. Plus i’m dealing with the frustration of not working in my career. But at the same time, i’m puzzled with why my symptoms appear to worsen in the spring and summer. I know a lot of people here in atlanta, georgia have allergies due to the high pollen count – but i’ve been living in georgia for over 20 years and have never suffered from allergies. For all of you that are suffering from hives, I can certainly empathize. Cognitive behavioral therapy seems to be worth a try. I also read that chronic hives may be a symptom of an undiagnosed disease such as thyroid disorder, hepatitis, viral infection or even cancer. I think my next step is having my doctor test me for these (i’m keeping my fingers crossed). Good luck to everyone and hang in there!

Hi srellis, I just wanted to mention that sometimes people live in a high allergy or pollen area and never have problems, then they move away and when they move back they suddenly do experience allergic reactions. I hope you find something that works for you! My cbt group is over now I have been doing great (knock on wood).