Back in 2006 is when I had my first out break of hives. During the holiday season it started and it was rather mild cases of hives. On again and off again. Nothing I couldn’t handle and Benadryl would subside the itching. I had no idea what was causing these hives and chalked it up to the cold weather. I have never, in my life, been allergic to anything eaten or drank. This stopped in 2007, 2008, and started up again in the later part of 2009. December to be exact. So, it’s been approximately 4 months now that I’ve been dealing with these hive out breaks.It didn’t matter what time of day nor did it matter what part of my body EXCEPT my face my hives would break out. They arrived every day but the itch was controllable with the Benadryl. About a month ago, mid February, 2010 is when I noticed them going to my cheeks and eye lids. One day my right cheek swelled up and more Benadryl was taken. As soon as my cheek swelled, my left eye did too. It took 2 days for my eye and cheek to get back to normal. Then started with the palms of my hands. They’d puff up so much that they would turn a dark red and they almost felt numb. If I touched or scratched them it would burn but feel sort of good at the same time while I itched. Then it escalated to my fingers. Different ones each day. More came behind my knees, the inner part of my forearms, bra line, in short, hot spot areas of the body. The only relief was Benadryl. Who can live on Benadryl, daily, when you own a business? So, I’ve been writing down my daily diet and going over what I thought it could be. I’d come on the internet to do research and ran across these posts but before I did, today, Thursday, March 18, 2010 just while sitting at my office I felt a slight tug in my left eye again. The other day it was my right eye and then right cheek….So today again my left eye became puffy and I knew to take 2 Benadryl. I drove home and by the time I got home, anyone could clearly see my eye was severely puffy. I sat and talked with my husband and we realized I’ve been drinking so much coffee and today alone I drank over 7 very large mugs of the very tasty stuff. Plus, had taken 4 water pills. Yes, I know, way too much caffeine.

We pieced it all together and I really do believe I have a caffeine allergy or sensitivity. For years prior to all this, I was able to take Excedrin or a generic form of any aspirin/acetaminophen with never having a problem. It is only until a couple years ago when I started to drink a lot of coffee say around late of 2008 and really heavily drinking it starting in 2009. I’m thinking all the coupling of aspirin and coffee equals excessive amounts of caffeine and that is what is affecting me. An over abundance, for me that is.

I’ve found some serious relief in reading all of your posts and thank you for posting your ordeals. It’s not something any one ever wants to share but all your posts reached me and it helped piecing this all together. I hope others reading this they too can find some relief and knock off the coffee to see if that is what is causing their hives.

I have decided to completely rid myself of any coffee, and see how that works. If it’s a simple elimination of a drink to rid my body of these daily hives, then I’ll do that! I’m too vain for this to be affecting my face.

I’ll keep everyone posted if this is what the problem really is. No caffeine!

With coffee, I get heart palpitations. Once it was so bad I actually was sent to the emergency room. The tests all showed I have a very strong, healthy heart. The doctor had no answer for it, but since I usually feel a skip and abnormal rhythm when I drink coffee (just never that severe until that day) I’m sure it was the caffeine.

Also with coffee I develop acne all over my face – generally on my forehead. Without it, my skin stays clear. Within a day of coffee, however, I have a massive breakout.

Tea, unfortunately, gives me extreme ear aches and itchy ears. I mean extreme ear aches – mostly in the left ear, oddly enough. I went to a doctor about it, but they only gave me antibiotics which, by the way, does not instill within me much confidence in going to a doctor and having them at least ATTEMPT to diagnose me properly.

I have yet to drop from having chocolate in my diet. I know it’s perpetuating the minor, less severe versions of the symptoms I’ve listed above (minus heart palpitations – I don’t get those unless I have coffee, thank gosh). I’m just going to have to buckle down and kick chocolate to the curb. Alas.

Symtoms were -

1)Very bad nasal blockage like a sinus infection.
2)later progressing to loose stool growly noisy bowel.
and rashes on the skin.
3)This then got a bit worse with very itchy anus and butt crack area itch with sweating.
4)also seem to perspire a lot more than normal and have a hot feverish feeling all over. pain in RHS under rib (irritared bowel)
5)Generally this gives a not well feeing which tend to give concentration and stamina issues.
6)vision also is out of focus up close and improves when the caffine is dropped. The loose stool also goes away.

Gave up tea and coffee – problem gone except when I give in and have a coffee or tea. Coke / Pepsi or cola drinks also have same effect but not as bad as coffee.

Hope this helps someone out there diagnose caffene intollerance.

Regards

Brett

‘Allergy’ has a fairly precise definition and is a very-well understood medical phenomenon dealing with immune reaction. To lump all these symptoms under the heading of ‘allergy’ and blithely claim that it is just “up to you” what you want to call it is mere promulgation of ignorance.