summergirl
Member
Hi all,
My name is Sarah, I am a 25 year old female. I have been lurking on this forum for 2 years and it is so sad that I finally was able to join the forum about a week ago, and that same day I discovered that Ray Peat passed away.
I apologize for how long this is probably going to be. I will try to make it as brief as I can. I developed cold urticaria around December of 2020. I was on a hike in the winter and I got itchy bumps all over my legs and hands. I thought it must have been something I ate, but then it happened every single time any part of me got cold, ever since then. My face, hands, arms, legs, stomach, anything that is exposed to cold temperatures for more than a few minutes will turn red and develop hives a few minutes into rewarming. Now I can't swim in cold water, etc. because I could develop anaphylaxis (which I thankfully have never had before).
I took accutane in 2019-2020, and got off of accutane in July. By August I discovered Ray Peat, and started loosely "peating" by the fall. I was increasing carbs, reintroducing dairy after 7 years of avoiding it, decreasing PUFAs. A few months later, in Dec 2020, my reactions to the cold started.
I did not see my PCP for my cold urticaria until the spring of 2021 and I did not see an allergist until spring of 2022. The allergist suspected that I developed cold urticaria because of a mycoplasma pneumonia infection, though I did not remember ever being sick. He tested me for mycoplasma pneumonia IgG and IgM and my titers were high so I was positive for that, even though the time of the testing was almost 2 years after developing the reaction to cold. The allergist said he doesn't know how long I will react to the cold, and he recommended me to take zyrtec 4 times per day and famotidine 2x per day but I have not done that. He also recommended xolair injections which I considered for a while and then decided not to pursue.
Some factors in my life that I believe are relevant:
- I had a physical/emotional trauma from my father my whole childhood
- I have had significant anxiety probably mostly related to that trauma, ever since I was about 5
- I had lyme disease 3 times as a teenager, and ehrlichiosis once, all from tick bites.
- I was bullied a lot in school because I had bad acne since I was 12 and I was socially anxious and awkward, this caused a lot of additional stress
- I got the covid vaccine against my will when my work mandated it to keep my job in healthcare, though I had already had cold urticaria for 6 months by that point
- I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 19, which I know is related to thyroid function, stress, and estrogen, and all those issues can cause urticaria issues
- I have known estrogen dominance from DUTCH testing in 2019, and I did a repeat dutch test in 2021 after 1 year of "peating" and all of my levels improved (stress hormones went down a LOT, testosterone excess went down, progesterone went up)
- I still had estrogen dominance in my 2021 DUTCH test.
- For birth control I do fertility awareness method, and I do ovulate every month since 2020 and I get my period every 32-35 days which is a huge improvement as I used to rarely ovulate and my period would skip every few months.
- I know that stress hormones like cortisol are immune suppressants. They were off the charts in my 2019 DUTCH test. When I finally lowered my stress levels significantly by eating more pro-metabolically, I wonder if that allowed my autoimmune condition (cold urticaria) to show itself.
I can attach screen shots of my DUTCH tests from 2019 and 2021 if that would be helpful.
When I gave in and took accutane for 9 months in 2019-2020, it was because my acne was severe. At the time of starting accutane I was doing low carb, high fat and intermittent fasting. I was eating tons of nuts and seeds and nut butters instead of carbs, taking fish oil, avoiding fruit and almost all carbs, which I don't do any of that now. My hair was falling out, my face was puffy, my acne was horrible, and I was in denial that all the "healthy" fats could cause that, so I kept telling myself my symptoms were just because I didn't take my carbs low enough for PCOS, and I was convinced for about 2 years that low carb, close to keto, and intermittent fasting was best for insulin resistance which was the "root cause" of PCOS, but I now know insulin resistance is just a symptom of a bigger metabolic problem.
I had thyroid testing done in spring of 2022 because I was convinced my cold U and my PCOS must be related to my thyroid. My results came back "normal" i will add those numbers here:
Long story short if anyone has any advice for me, what to try, what to eat, what to test, please let me know. My PCP, allergist, and endocrinologist, have nothing to offer me except telling me to take antihistamines and avoid cold. I do take hydroxyzine daily only at night and it helps with sleep and anxiety as well as the itchiness of the reactions.
Other supplements I take:
Inositol 1 tsp 2x per day
vitamin D3 5,000 IU a few times per week
vitamin K2 a few times per week
vitamin E every day with dinner
beef liver capsules
magnesium glycinate every night
I try to not let my stress and anxiety overwhelm me. I spend a lot of time in nature (though it's harder now in the winter because it's cold).
I spend time with my boyfriend and people that love me. I try to stay hopeful that my body can heal itself and wants to heal itself. I try to tell myself I am resilient and young and I will be ok.
My name is Sarah, I am a 25 year old female. I have been lurking on this forum for 2 years and it is so sad that I finally was able to join the forum about a week ago, and that same day I discovered that Ray Peat passed away.
I apologize for how long this is probably going to be. I will try to make it as brief as I can. I developed cold urticaria around December of 2020. I was on a hike in the winter and I got itchy bumps all over my legs and hands. I thought it must have been something I ate, but then it happened every single time any part of me got cold, ever since then. My face, hands, arms, legs, stomach, anything that is exposed to cold temperatures for more than a few minutes will turn red and develop hives a few minutes into rewarming. Now I can't swim in cold water, etc. because I could develop anaphylaxis (which I thankfully have never had before).
I took accutane in 2019-2020, and got off of accutane in July. By August I discovered Ray Peat, and started loosely "peating" by the fall. I was increasing carbs, reintroducing dairy after 7 years of avoiding it, decreasing PUFAs. A few months later, in Dec 2020, my reactions to the cold started.
I did not see my PCP for my cold urticaria until the spring of 2021 and I did not see an allergist until spring of 2022. The allergist suspected that I developed cold urticaria because of a mycoplasma pneumonia infection, though I did not remember ever being sick. He tested me for mycoplasma pneumonia IgG and IgM and my titers were high so I was positive for that, even though the time of the testing was almost 2 years after developing the reaction to cold. The allergist said he doesn't know how long I will react to the cold, and he recommended me to take zyrtec 4 times per day and famotidine 2x per day but I have not done that. He also recommended xolair injections which I considered for a while and then decided not to pursue.
Some factors in my life that I believe are relevant:
- I had a physical/emotional trauma from my father my whole childhood
- I have had significant anxiety probably mostly related to that trauma, ever since I was about 5
- I had lyme disease 3 times as a teenager, and ehrlichiosis once, all from tick bites.
- I was bullied a lot in school because I had bad acne since I was 12 and I was socially anxious and awkward, this caused a lot of additional stress
- I got the covid vaccine against my will when my work mandated it to keep my job in healthcare, though I had already had cold urticaria for 6 months by that point
- I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 19, which I know is related to thyroid function, stress, and estrogen, and all those issues can cause urticaria issues
- I have known estrogen dominance from DUTCH testing in 2019, and I did a repeat dutch test in 2021 after 1 year of "peating" and all of my levels improved (stress hormones went down a LOT, testosterone excess went down, progesterone went up)
- I still had estrogen dominance in my 2021 DUTCH test.
- For birth control I do fertility awareness method, and I do ovulate every month since 2020 and I get my period every 32-35 days which is a huge improvement as I used to rarely ovulate and my period would skip every few months.
- I know that stress hormones like cortisol are immune suppressants. They were off the charts in my 2019 DUTCH test. When I finally lowered my stress levels significantly by eating more pro-metabolically, I wonder if that allowed my autoimmune condition (cold urticaria) to show itself.
I can attach screen shots of my DUTCH tests from 2019 and 2021 if that would be helpful.
When I gave in and took accutane for 9 months in 2019-2020, it was because my acne was severe. At the time of starting accutane I was doing low carb, high fat and intermittent fasting. I was eating tons of nuts and seeds and nut butters instead of carbs, taking fish oil, avoiding fruit and almost all carbs, which I don't do any of that now. My hair was falling out, my face was puffy, my acne was horrible, and I was in denial that all the "healthy" fats could cause that, so I kept telling myself my symptoms were just because I didn't take my carbs low enough for PCOS, and I was convinced for about 2 years that low carb, close to keto, and intermittent fasting was best for insulin resistance which was the "root cause" of PCOS, but I now know insulin resistance is just a symptom of a bigger metabolic problem.
I had thyroid testing done in spring of 2022 because I was convinced my cold U and my PCOS must be related to my thyroid. My results came back "normal" i will add those numbers here:
| TSH. | 1.06 uIU/ML | 0.400 - 4.100 uIU/ML |
| Free Thyroxin | 1.0 NG/DL | 0.80 - 1.90 NG/DL |
| Free T3 | 3.3 PG/ML | 2.2 - 4.2 PG/ML |
| Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody | 10 IU/ML | <35 IU/ML |
| Thyroglobulin Antibody | <15 IU/mL | 0 - 115 IU/mL |
Long story short if anyone has any advice for me, what to try, what to eat, what to test, please let me know. My PCP, allergist, and endocrinologist, have nothing to offer me except telling me to take antihistamines and avoid cold. I do take hydroxyzine daily only at night and it helps with sleep and anxiety as well as the itchiness of the reactions.
Other supplements I take:
Inositol 1 tsp 2x per day
vitamin D3 5,000 IU a few times per week
vitamin K2 a few times per week
vitamin E every day with dinner
beef liver capsules
magnesium glycinate every night
I try to not let my stress and anxiety overwhelm me. I spend a lot of time in nature (though it's harder now in the winter because it's cold).
I spend time with my boyfriend and people that love me. I try to stay hopeful that my body can heal itself and wants to heal itself. I try to tell myself I am resilient and young and I will be ok.
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), having adrenaline rushes out of nowhere, getting every bug that was within 20 miles of me, my face puffing up more and more often, my vision was randomly blurring some days, and and I was unable to stop gaining weight no matter what I ate. Plus other more personal symptoms I don't care to list.
