Last night I broke out again and it continues today. I did a search for "rash" on the forum and (after sifting out "trash", "crash" and so on) I found most had rashes in reaction to the meds.
So, is this a chronic problem with most and you just live with it? Is it mostly reaction at the injection site? Is it predictable, i.e. within 24 hours of injection or dose? If it is drugs, what RA drugs?
I've been tested and biopseyed (sp), changed my diet, on meds and off and it seems to be the meds or (maybe) just RA. I can't take benedryl 24-7, so I take zyrtec during the day and benedryl with an atarax p.m. I feel like a big ol' lump-o-mush in the a.m. (that is once I get to sleep at night).
Why do you take benadryl with the atarax in the evening? You should be able to get by with one or the other - both are powerful antihistamines. You're just increasing the risk of adverse reactions and interactions by taking both. Have you seen an allergist? He/she might be able to help you. Often, a higher dose of antihistamine can be safely used to treat allergic rashes. I have a friend who ended up taking 4x the "normal" dose of zyrtec (under the care and supervision of an allergist) to finally get a grip on her chronic uticaria and rash problems. You also might try Allegra. Like NSAIDs, people react differently to different antihistamines.
Combining different antihistamines can paradoxically offer less relief, because they all target the same receptors. It's like musical chairs. Once the seats are all taken, the rest of the antihistamines have no where to "sit" and you end up flushing them out before they find a seat. Not a problem if the long-acting antihistamine finds a seat first... but if the short-acting antihistamine (like benadryl) grabs the seat, the zyrtec (long-acting) might be long-gone by the time the benadryl gets off the chair.
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com