Attack of the Pregnancy Hives....

It started Monday night.

I was getting ready for bed and noticed 3 tiny, itchy hives on my back. We had come from the pool and I hadn't taken my swimsuit off and I assumed that the chlorine was getting to me. I took a shower. The itching subsided. I went to bed.

Until 3am.

The itching woke me up, sat me straight up in bed. It was everywhere. My neck. My back. My belly. My arms. From neck to knees I was covered in itch. I jumped in a cool shower to try and stop the itch but it didn't work. The itch was getting worse and worse. There were huge raised welts and wheals of hives all over my body. I was crying, I was screaming, I was shaking. It was horrible. I broke down and called the midwife who told me to take some Benadryl and call in the morning to be seen. My husband rubbed itch cream all over my body to try and help soothe the itch. The pain. It felt like fire. He gave me a blessing of comfort, of healing.

I took the only Benadryl we had in the house, liquid Children's Benadryl and only enough for one small adult dose. I Itched for another 30-45 minutes and then promptly fell asleep. In the morning it appeared that whatever crazy freak hive invasion had taken over my body had subsided. I called and made an appointment for later in the morning still slightly itching but hive free.

On the drive over to the office it started again. Slowly at first a couple little hives cropped up on my arms and hands by the time I got there it was all over my arms and it just continued to get worse by the minute. I was in the office pacing back and forth trying not to scratch myself to death. I was nauseous from the itch almost vomiting twice. I was seen promptly, had some blood drawn, told it was possibly a food allergy (I didn't eat anything out of the ordinary), or PUPPS (a pregnancy rash that last till delivery) or possibly issues with my liver function. She gave me a prescription for a steroid and 50mg of Benadryl every 6 hours.

I went straight to Walmart and bought my prescription and Calamine lotion, and aveeno cream, and hydrocortisone.

Nothing worked. The itch was so intense I was begging for death. I took several excruciating ice cold showers that only gave me relief for a couple minutes. The only thing I could do was dope myself up on Benadryl and pray for sleep.

In the middle of the night I was again awoken by hives and an itch that felt like 1,000 fire ants eating my flesh. I filled the tub with the coldest water available from my tap and cried and screamed. It was absolute, pure torture. The only relief was when I got out because I couldn't handle the pain anymore.

I pleaded and begged the Lord to let me sleep until it was time for another dose of Benadryl to put me out of my agony and off to sleep again.

In the morning when I woke my arms looked like this:

My legs looked like this:

My belly and back looked much the same.

After my morning dose of Benadryl and steroid it was starting to clear up slightly. Later I had a follow-up appointment at the midwife's office. Luckily, I was able to drive there without too much itching. Blood tests came back normal, hives still cropping up everywhere....she suggested that I try aloe with lidocaine to help the itch and keep taking the medicines as prescribed. We honestly have no clue what in the world is causing this hellacious rash. I ran to Walmart, bought aloe, went home, took off all of my clothes slathered it all over me and went to sleep.

I laid in bed itching, crying, sleeping, slathering aloe on my arms and legs and belly for the next 3 days. I completely stopped functioning as a mother, wife, and human being. It was pure hell. Thank goodness for my daughters who took care of the baby every morning and my dad who came over and helped out every day with everything, and my husband who spent all evening after work and all day Friday and Saturday tending to the needs of 6 children and a sick, itchy, (b)itchy wife.

By late Saturday/Sunday the hives had mostly subsided but I was left with a horrific itch on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. Every now and then small patches of hives would crop up on my legs and arms but they were bearable. I'm not sure if I just got so used to it or if it really was winding down. I finished my steroid and took half the doses of Benadryl. Thank goodness because I felt more alert and alive then I had in days.

Monday same thing. Itchy feet that I soaked in ice water till I could no longer feel them. Little patches of hives that would crop up on my arms and then go away within 30 minutes. I only needed one dose of Benadryl to get through the day. I even took a shower, got dressed and took Ashlynne to a friends house and picked her up.

It's Tuesday night, a full week and a day since this whole ordeal began. This rash has become my Voldemort, my "he-who-shall-not-be-named" for fear that it shall rear it's ugly little head again. I'm hesitant to say I'm 100% better but it's been a really good day and I hope it stays like this.