Post: #1

Any gents experience periodic, and yes, scary swelling of the lips and tongue?

For me it occurs during nighttime and feels like a slightly choking sensation with an inability to swallow. I take prednisone (steroid) and keep the EpiPen (adrenaline) at the ready. It works, but the "attack" happens often enough that it becomes more than a bit depressing to live this way.

Of course the usual allergist visit comes up empty. I truly don't know why these people exist. They never seem to find anything but are quite willing to come up with generic causes.

Anyway, what say you to this?

Post: #2

Have you tried claritin? I've had swelling in my hands a while ago, but now its mainly just hives. I stopped carrying the epipen cause never had swelling after taking 24hr claritin

Post: #3

I would first start with keeping a food diary. Record what you ate the previous 12 hours before the attack. Keep doing this, and you'll probably find something in common in what you're eating and what is causing an allergic reaction.

For me, there are certain chemical preservatives and a few things like MSG and hydrolyzed protein that was setting off an allergic reaction. I went to an allergist, and while my tests came back negative for everything, we did a food diary and finally figured out what were the culprits. Since then, everything is perfect - very few allergic reactions (I do the best I can when eating out, but sometimes things just happen).

Post: #4

go to a doctor asap, don't rely on Broscience on the internet too much because swollen lips and tongue especially can be fatal if your airway becomes blocked...

That said, clean up your diet, no gluten, dairy or meat for a few days. Then get an allergy intolerance test at your local clinic for your allergies.

Post: #5

(04-08-2014 08:38 AM)2014 Wrote:  go to a doctor asap, don't rely on Broscience on the internet too much because swollen lips and tongue especially can be fatal if your airway becomes blocked...

That said, clean up your diet, no gluten, dairy or meat for a few days. Then get an allergy intolerance test at your local clinic for your allergies.

He's already been to a doctor. He said he's taking prednisone and has an EpiPen - you need a prescription for these. He also said that he went to an allergist and came up empty.

I 100% agree on going on an elimination diet. I personally think that everybody should do an elimination diet to find out what they have issues with (or go to an allergist to get a prick/blood test done to find out same-day).

I finally convinced my wife to go to an allergist, and after her skin prick test, she's allergic to pork, soy, wine, beer, peas, and casein (one of the proteins in milk). So after she stopped consuming those items, she feels a ton better. Better sleep, her nasal problems went away (she thought she constantly had sinusitis because of pollen or whatever bug was going around at work), digestive issues have cleared up, etc.

Post: #6

Sounds like Angioedema

It can be hard to find a cause (idiopathic). No fault of the doc. You still need the Epi pen