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Itching From the Inside Out - Please help!

Dr. Stoll,
I want to applogize for the length of this post first of all. I want to give as much information as possible, in hopes to get your opinion and help on the problems that are plaguing me.

Family Info
I will start with my Dad's side of the family with as much as I know. My Grandfather and Grandmonther died in their 50's and 70's respectively, of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. On my Mom's side, Grandmother died of blood clot in late 40's early 50's and Grandfather did of Cancer in 70's. I have often heard of my mother discussing someone on her side havng shingles.
My mother herself has been diagnosed as having Lupus. As far back as I remember she has had may problems with her skin, allergic reactions, and hives. She can't where gold or silver because of the alloys in the metals. She has begun menopause and has recently fought terrible Acne as of late. Large, red, hard, almost bruised areas filled with puss all over her face. Certain foods also cause her problems.

Personal History
Constipation\Diarrhea
Ths first significant issue I remember having as a child was constipation. My battles with going to the bathroom became family functions. Gatherings around me, lying on a garbage bag, filled with suppositories, being promised Hershy Bars if I could go. Looking back on it, I always felt the constipation was caused simply by me not wanting to missing anything. I was too busy playing to go to the bathroom! Now as adult, I find my self with the same issue, but now I am too busy working. I constantly going from a state of constipation to diarrhea and back again.

Bladder\Kidney Infections
During the ages of 5-10, I also fought frequent bladder infections as well. Again, I was too busy to go the bathroom.

Parasites
Somewhere between the ages of 5-10 I had worms. I seem to remember it going around my school and multiple kids having them. At age 19, I took a trip with frieds to Cancun Mexico. On the way back, everyone was throwing up and feeling bad. The first night back, I was awakened by a pain in my stomach the was excruciating. I again ended up having some kind of parasite, and having to get treatment.

Skin Problems
Even though my mother and sister have always seemed to be allergic to everything,I did not have any problems until about 16. During my Juinor Year of high school, I developed\caught impetigo. Dr. said it was from sitting on the dirty basketball floor and shaving allowing dirt to get into my pores. I spread this to several girls in my school. I had it all over my legs. I was treated with Tetracycline.
At age 18, I moved to go to school to another city, and that's when my problems really started with my skin. All of a sudden, I couldn't where jewlery. My watch would break me out in a ring of blisters around my arm. Necklaces would do the same. My white and gold jewlery also started doing this. I had never had any problems with my ears being infected before this time. At present, I can only wear jewlery that is platnum or surgical steel.
At age 19, I started getting what I though was again impetigo, this time it was on my face. I went to the dermatologist and was diagnosed with what I believe to be some sort of dermititis or psoriasis. I get tiny itchy bumps, with puss, that spread terribly all around my mouth area. I live in Louisiana and it seems to occur every summer when it gets hot and humid. Again, I was put on Tetracycline two more times during the next years.
At age 21, I woke up the day after Halloween with a terrible rash all over my lower body. I went to the emergency room and all they could come up with was a possible allergic reaction to the latex that were in my costume's tights. I was put on medicine that I don't remember of what kind. Less that 12 hrs after taking the first dose, my hands and feet swole to the point where I could not put shoes on. Emergency room told me to stop taking the medicine and see the Dr. at my college's infirmary. This lead to more medicine. While sitting in an afternoon class, I experienced what I assume to be a panic attack. My heart started fluttering, and I started freaking out. I ran out of the class and went straight to the Dr. It was idenitified by an EKG that I had an irregular heart beat at the time. Again, medicine was changed. Then I started having what I can only assume to be some sort of indigestion. It felt like I could not swallow. Next thing I know, that crazy Dr. was telling me I had a burnt esophagus. I quit going to the Dr. and stopped all the medicine and eventually was fine. The only medicine I can find from this whole fiasco is something called Metronidazole.
In October of 2002, I again had a terrible break out of puss bumps on my face. I was covered with them and they were starting to make me feel self conscious. I went to the Dr. and was again put on some type of Tetrcyline, this time it was called Minocyline\Dnyacin. I was to take two pills a day for 30 days. About 2 weeks into the medicine, I started feeling like I was crazy. I was emotionally unstable. I felt really depressed. I continued on with the medicine even though I felt bad. The next thing I know, I was sitting at work, and all of a sudden my hands and feet starting itching like they were on fire. This was the most severe itch I had felt up to this time in my life. My heart started racing, and I had a panic attack. I called the Dr. and they said to stop taking the medicine (they did not believe the medicine was the cause!) and start taking Benadryl. I woke up the next day and for the first time ever had hives all over my body. This went on for the next day or so. Finally I seemed to be ok. From this point on, I assumed I was allergic to Sulphur Medications. After a couple of weeks and no more medicine, I again began getting hives. Sometimes I would have them 3-4 days in a row, sometimes they would go away for a couple of weeks. Now it is almost two years later and I am still fighting them.

Psychological Problems
As a child and young teen I had a very intense relationship with my mother. There were periods of verbal abuse and got to physical confrontation twice. A couple of times, I was to the point where I turned to the medicine cabinet to put me out of my misery. I know now very deep down in my heart that my parents love me very much and the problems I had with my Mom were just typical teenage issues. At the time, I felt very unloved. I was an only child until age 6. My mother had three miscarriages between me an my sister. After my sister was born, I kind of fell to side, and was no longer the center of attention. I became very independent and was very satisfied and proud that I could do everything for myself. At times, I took a motherly role in my sister's up bringing. My sister was the affectionate child, I was not which added to my "unloved" feelings.
During the dating years, I found myself always in a relationship. It seemed that I was not like other girls, and I tended to isolate myself from everyone but my boyfried. At age 16, I began dating a guy I would date on and off for the next three years. The relationship seemed to be going great for the first year. My senior year, my boyfriend moved to college an hour away. It started to get to the point where we weren't getting along so good. A year went by, and I moved to the same college. I was so excited to be able to see him again often and start the rest of my life. The first thing that spoiled my plan is that I found out that he had flunked out of school and was on probation. He told me he was making B's and C's! So I arrived at college, and he went back home. Now to make things worse, at this same time, I find out that my boyfried has been cheating on me for the last two years. I was devistated. I screamed, I cried, I often had thoughts of suicide. I had no friends, and had become soley dependent on him to provide the love I so much wanted. For the next year we broke up, got back together, broke up. It was a terrible cycle, but he had me under his spell. I would take anything I could get from him, just as long as I didn't have to be alone. One night after heavy drinking, we got into a fight. We were supposed to be going out on a double date with my roomate and her boyfried. During the fight, he told me I was not going with them, and I watched all three leave me by myself intoxicated and very upset. That night, which I really don't remember, I swallowed all the Benadryl that I had in the cabinet. Did I want to die? At the time, I think I did. I wanted him to feel the pain I felt. Luckily, I had placed a call to the only girl friend I had at the time. She say's I left a message thanking her for being my friend. She came to my appartment, broke in, and found me passed out on the floor. She called 911, and was told to make me throw up. I remember nothing after taking the Benadryl. The next morning I woke up, and could not figure out exactly what had occurred. I found my boyfried sleeping on the sofa. As soon as he woke up, he just looked at me and walked out. This was the end of our relationship. My friends had seen enough and made me go to seek help. I saw a Social Worker for approximately the next three months. He diagnosed me as being Bipolar, but I would not let him medicate me. During this time, I again had something terrible happen. Again after a night of drinking, I was driving home and was arrested for DWI. This again sent me off the edge. Again suicide seemed the only option to avoid the embarrasment of telling my parents. This time though, I did not have time to act on my plan. By the time I got out of jail, my parents were already at my apartment waiting on me. Someone had called them in the middle of the night and told them what happened. For the next couple of years, I was just miserable. I did have a relationship with a nice guy, but I treated him really bad, I guess trying to make someone feel bad for all the times I did. This relationship also ended after a year and a half. Again, I was devistated and felt that I was not capable of being loved. Then I met the man I am married to now. We were both in school for Electrical Engineering. He was 5 years older than me, and was finishing up his degree. My husband was the best thing that could of happened to me during this time. I had finally met my equal. Someone who was smart, had the same interests, and felt the same about what relationships were supposed to be about. For the first year we dated, I pretty much tortured him. Drinking which was very much part of our lifestyle, often sent me into fits of depression. We fought ofter. A physical arguement occurred for the first and only time. I cried often. I felt depressed all the time. No matter what I did, we never broke up. Times of gatherings with frieds were fun for everyone but me. I would start by hanging out with the guys, simply because I never got a long with girls. Then would want to give my boyfriend time to be with his friends and would try to have conversations with the girls at the functions. I would end up sitting by myself, isolated by own will, from everyone else. The depression and social isolation went on for a while. Finally we graduated, got married, and got jobs. My job was the best thing that happened to me. I had to make new relationships on my own, I had to figure out what my role in the organization was going to be, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to begin to be less codependent and more independent. I husband moved off for a year with his job. I had to be alone by myself for the first time ever. I grew more in this year of my life that for the last 20 somewhat years. I began feeling good again. Two years into my job, I had become very good at my job. Recognition of my good performand came from the highest people in the organization. My customer loved me. I was looked up too. I took on more and more responsibilty with out even being asked.

Gynological Problems
In the last year, I have had 4-5 yeast infections and 2-3 bladder infections.

Other Info
I have been known to pass out. In high school, I passed out twice in the shower, knocking the knob off with my head once and falling out the door the other. The last time I passed out was approximately 5 years ago. It was the worst occurrence, where I would come to, and fall out again and again. I still everyonce in a while feel like it is going to occur, but have gotten really good at recognizing it as it comes on, and can usually stop it before it happens. My mom always said that she though I had what she had saw some nurses have. After standing in one place for to long, like during surgery, they would pass out.

Present Problems
Now my job is going great, my marriage is wonderful, but I am not happy. My hives have now been occurring for almost a year and a half. This January I went to my gynocologist for my annual check up (in order to renew my Birth Control Prescription that I have been on now for 11 years). I told her about my problems with hives. I told her about the medicine that started everything, as asked her if my birth control pills could be causing the hives. My problem seemed cicular, and seemed to have something to do with my cycle. She asked me how my stress levels were. I have always been stressed, as far back as I can remember, but now my job had become my obsession and a point of very much unhappiness. I told her about the nausea I felt daily on the way to work, the way I was always so wired up like I drank 8 cups of coffee, how physically drained I was on the weekends, how I just felt bad. She asked me to speak with a Social Worker she new. I caught the social worker up to date with all my past issues and current. She said she felt my problem was lack of serotonin. She said I have too much adrenaline, that is why I am always running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. She also felt my job was obsessive compulsive. As long as I was at work, I was comfortable, but when I was off for the weekend I was out of my element, therefore the reason for my exaustion and depression. I told her that I was also having problems with intimacy. I have no sex drive period! I feel so bad about it too. Who wants a spouse who does not want to be intimate. She recommend putting me on Zoloft. She said it she had very possitive results with the drug. That she thought that the root of my hives were stress related. As well as my depression, my intamacy problems, my social isolation problems, and fatigue.
I have been on Zoloft now for almost 5 months. I really did see a change. I felt better, did not have anxiety about work as much, but was sleeping even more that usual. For the most part, I felt good. Then I started having problems having orgasms. It was like I had no feeling down there. It became very frustraiting as well as depressing. Approximately 1.5 months ago, she introduced Wellbutrin into the mix. It has helped somewhat. Two weeks ago, she switch me the extended release type. For the last two weeks, I have been hell on wheels. I have been very short with people, angry, sad, felt guilty, and just overall unhappy. On top of this, this week I had the worse hives ever. I had them 5 days in a row, in my head, on my neck, arms and trunk of my body. They were so bad that they were painful, like big bruises. My eye swole partially closed. Friday night, I couldn't sleep so I got on the internet. Before last week, I could not remember the last time I had hives (at least a month ago). I started thinking about everything that changed. Only thing I did different was get something called a Mystic Tan and start a different type of Welbutrin. I started feeling like the hives had to do with the preservatives in the tanning solution. I have also had problems with wine and its sulphites. Some how in my investigation, I found you. I really feel like my problems are yeast related. I tried to find your book Saturday, but was only able to fine one from William G. Crook. It seems like the whole book is about me. I ordered you book tonight, an am axiously awaiting its arrival.

I would like to know your thoughts on my yeast theory and any suggestions you can give. Thanks for your time.
Kim

Re: Itching From the Inside Out - Please help!

Re: Itching From the Inside Out - Please help!

Re: Itching From the Inside Out - Please help! (Archive in wellness.)