I was diagnosed in mar 2009, put on humira jul 2009 and that's when I started getting the rash. It would start out as just an annoying itch that wouldn't go away and would end up a day later with redness, swelling and extreme itching that would spread almost all over my body. It felt like I was being stung by bees all over. The last bout was in Feb 2010 and I ended up in the emergency room. The prescribed antihistamines and a mild tranquilizer because I hadn't slept in 3 days. Noone bothered to actually find out what was going on, so I called my rheumy and told her I was stopping the Humira. I was switched to Simponi and haven't had a bout of itching since. Thank Goodness!

A few years back I woke up one day with full blown hives for no reason....I had not eaten anything new, no new meds, nothing. My mom was just diagnosed with breast cancer at the time and the doctor told me my hives were stress induced because I was so upset about my mom's diagnosis. I didn't buy it....I myself had been through cancer 2 years prior and never broke out in hives when I was delivered the news. I just couldn't figure it out....I had never had them before and these were very large welts, one on top of the other and each breakout got worse and worse. I had to go on steroids and antihistamines for a week.

Fast forward......I just was diagnosed with RA in August of this year but believe I have had RA for the last few years. I have had the joint pain, stiffness and swelling as well as many other RA symptoms for the past few years but no one ever tested me for RA. The tests were always for Lupus and always came back negative.

Looking back now I believe my hives were a part of this whole RA mess. Think about it....hives is a reaction to something our body doesn't like and with RA the immune system is on overdrive. I believe the 2 are related. Thankfully I have not had hives again and for the longest time was paranoid about eating anything new or unfamiliar or taking new medications. I just didn't do well with the whole hives outbreak...I was a nervous wreck.

I do have itching at times but no rash....it's almost like dry skin itching.

Missy

Hi, I'm new here, and boy am I glad I found you all. I've had RA for about 10 years now, and about 2 years ago, I started developing chronic hives. I never thought to connect the two until now. I can mostly control it with benadryl, but it is just an awful thing to deal with on a daily basis along with RA. It's nice to have someplace where people understand what you're going through.

My son just developed hives in September and they have become progressively worse in December to where they are coming out every day. They started as small mosquito bites and now look the size of quarters. We can get them to go away after about 15 minutes after oral doses of Benadryl or warm washcloths applied directly to the hives. They are very itchy and are bothersome to him.
Strangely, one of his cousins suffers from auto immune deficiencies and has been diagnosed with RA. Her mother (my sister) just advised that the onset of her condition was hives.

Ive had hypothyroidism for about 11 years now. Took Levothyroxine for a long time not really feeling much relief but my numbers were "within range". Then about 3 years ago, a Endocronologist told me I should increase the dose to see if I felt better so I started taking a higher dose. My results were still in range when I had them checked, but after about 1-2 months I developed severe hives. I thought it was from a fish I ate the night before. So I went to the dr and they gave me Prednisone, it stopped the hives until I finished the meds then they were right back again. They gave me another dose, same thing. They tried to give a third before I said enough, obviously it wasnt working. I took Benadryl- nothing. I took another antihistamine and it helped with the symptoms but it didn't cure me. I went to an allergy dr and he said wasn't the fish, was already out of my system and it would be difficult and expensive to pinpoint what I was allergic to. I was like this for over 1 year. I read a lot online to find a connection between something. I came across people having thyroid and hive problems. So I thought maybe it's my Levothyroxine, even though I didn't develop the hives immediately after starting it. I stopped taking it and it was like a miracle. The hives went away and havent come back over 2 years now. I didn't take Levothyroxine for about 1 month. Then I changed to Armour thyroid. Now I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I suspected it was related, now after reading this I am even more convinced. As a side note, the Levothyroxine was made in India. Now I am going to try the ALCAT test and follow Barbara Allen's advice and hope and pray it works. Has anyone had any experience with this?