I'm posting this as I have severe Urticaria, linked to Thyroid problems.
Recently when I was trying to lose weight, I tried the HCG diet (very successfully).
My urticaria disappeared during the diet but came back at least doubly active when I finished the diet. I immediately thought food allergy, but it has proven to be incorrect, I would like to know other people's experience and/or thoughts on this.
I've had Urticaria for 44 years, with small breaks in that period, and am desperate to find the cause.
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cyrunic62
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I wondered what the HCG diet is too. A quick google came up with lots of hits, but I think this one from Mayo Clinic in Dec 2011 is of particular interest.
Question: Does the HCG diet work — and is it safe?
Answer:
from Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D.
No on both counts. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised consumers to steer clear of over-the-counter weight-loss products that contain HCG.
HCG is human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone produced during pregnancy. As a prescription medication, HCG is used mainly to treat fertility issues. HCG is not approved for over-the-counter use, nor has it been proved to work for weight loss. Companies that sell over-the-counter HCG weight-loss products are breaking the law.
So why has there been so much talk about the HCG diet? Perhaps it's because the diet recommends severe calorie restriction — typically just 500 to 800 calories a day. People who follow such a very low calorie diet are likely to lose weight, at least in the short term. However, that level of calorie restriction has risks, such as gallstone formation, irregular heartbeat, and an imbalance of the electrolytes that keep the body's muscles and nerves functioning properly.
If weight loss is your goal, there are safer ways to lose weight. Talk with your doctor or other health care provider about how to make healthy changes that lead to permanent weight loss, such as eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise.
Hi C and HF. I was severely hypo for many years (the usual story - undiganosed hypothyroidism and auto immune issues - your bloods and thyroid are 'normal') and got giant 4inch hives/urticaria at pretty regular intervals.
So itchy at times they were verging on the painful - a burning sensation.
In my case they seem pretty definitely to have been caused by hypothyroidism - but to actually be triggered by consequent food sensitivities. Can't say exactly what ingredient X was, but it seems to be an additive or flavour enhancer used in cheap white bread, confectionery and those awful (health negative) pre-prepared dishes sold in a lot of restaurants now supplied by food service companies.
My then doctor pulled the usual 'could be anything triggering it' response - and since my hypothyroidism had by then become a topic that wasn't even open to discussion (you're bloods are normal) it certainly wasn't going to be linked to that. What I do know is that antihistamines didn't stop it, and anti inflammatories left me feeling even more unwell.
Much like everything else it more or less cleared up after the thyroidectomy and getting started on a proper replacement regime which included T3. I still get the odd mild outbreak of hives if i eat truly junk food (so normally I don't), but as my system has recovered from the hypothyroidism and auto immune issues it's slowly reduced to an occasional minor problem.
I can tolerate small indulgences in junk of the sort that used to cause instant and major problems now. (a slice of factory white bread used to guarantee huge hives the next morning)
T4 alone leaves me strongly hypothyroid and feeling very unwell - i don't seem to be able to convert more than a minimal quantity (about 75mcg) of the stuff. I'd still be hypo on T4 and hence still have the food senstivities without T3.
It turned out my immune system had been all over the place too while I was hypo despite reportedly negative anti body tests - the thyroid after removal as well as containing a cancer was decribed in the path report as displaying advanced auto immune thyroid disease. (it was hugely enlarged)
I wouldn't necessarily rule out that an undiscovered food item isn't triggering your problem - it doesn't have to be more than a trace presence. You don't say what exactly your thyroid problems are, but if my history is anything to go by it's fairly likely that it's caused by immune issues with their roots in (possibly gut disturbances caused by) hypothyroidism.
There seems to be scope for a lot of variation in this sort of stuff, so be led by what you find. My situation has only resolved gradually over the eight years since the the thyroidectomy and starting proper replacement - there's not necessarily any magic bullet or instant cure.
T3 Paul's combination vit C and anti histamine regime i think helped a lot too towards the end - I experienced what seemed like a milder version of the chronic stomach acid issues he decribes and i think suggests may have a cause similar to urticaria in the gut...
It's possible too that removal of my thyroid opened the way to improvement by removing a focus of auto immune activity. Stopping thyroid auto immune disease is hard and the chances of resolving it by diet etc seem to be greatly improved by catching it early on...
I also did this diet and my hives were gone. As soon as I stopped the HCG they came back. Wondering if we could take HCG daily or even a few times a week.
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