Greetings,

I am seeking treatment for chronic urticaria, dependency on the drug prednisone and more. I have tried to contact some major hospitals and medical schools, but no one answers or they blow me off.

I have been plagued with this condition for many years. It started when I was about 21 to 22 years of age. I have had this for about 33 years. It was also I realized, about the same time that I received a vaccination for the swine flu I believe.

It started slowly and was then easily treatable. Simple benadryl po was enough. It progressed to where I had to have an injection to clear it up. But as time went on, it was becoming more difficult to treat, as the medicines were less and less effective.

It would come and go and was not constant until a later time. It became more constant in about 2001. From that point on it was getting to where it was a very regular occurrence.

Worse, the only medicine that seemed to work was prednisone. I became more and more dependant on this the more time went on.

My urticaria became more difficult and was not limited to just the red welts on the outside so to speak. They appear primarily on my head, face, hands and waist. The most problem that this has developed into is that when I get these on my head, they are not restricted to primarily the outside but rather have a very drastic affect on the “inside” of my cranium. They press on nerves and other areas of my brain as well as possibly even occluding some blood flow in some areas. This produces horrible migraine like pain that is impossible to tolerate. Dizziness, being unstable, intolerance to light and sound again, much like a migraine.

I also have these as many people do on my hands. To the point where it is very difficult to use them, function as in driving etc. Pressure hives, heat etc of course also are present.

It has been almost impossible to function and live with this condition. The only thing that has enabled me to keep going has been the medicine. But with this of course is a tremendous side effect of that and particularly in the long term use of it which has drastically altered my life as well.

Prednisone at 5 to 10mg qd. This has been the case for the last 9 years at least. Because of this I have developed many other illnesses. I have become diabetic in the last 4 years and is in a constant state of flux as the effects on my pancreas due to the medicine. This makes it very difficult to regulate the illness with insulin as it doesn’t stay the same. So I also have neuropathy and a great deal of nerve pain, weakness, some numbness and sensitivity. Making many ordinary things painful to try to do.

My skin has become very thin and the least bump becomes a two-week or more bruise and any scratch bleeds profusely.

This all together has taken its tole on my cardiac function as well. I have suffered an MI about 3 years ago and have had to have additional stents placed in my heart, (5 at this time). So basically I have cardiac disease where my lower smaller arteries are suffering occlusions that cannot be dealt with any other way than to use strong medication. This medication seems to cause additional problems with my ability to function even close to normally.

So what this all comes down to is that I am dying at the age of 54. I have a wife and 3-year-old daughter who I must also care for and who depend on me. They are in China and I am trying to bring them to America but all the health issues are getting in the way of not only my life but theirs as well.

If I could solve the urticaria issues, stop the prednisone then all these other problems could begin to reverse to a large degree. Barring that I fail to see any solution to my health problems.

I cannot live a “normal” life and do regular things even as all this is preventing me from doing so. I cannot function normally and all this is in fact “killing me”.

Unfortunately to, I have not sufficient work or any insurance to deal with the monetary problem in seeking help which posses an additional level of difficulty.

If there is any help available in treatment, trails or whatever is possible to solve this, then I would be eternally grateful to know of it.

Respectfully,

Theodore Marko

Brother Type 1 Diabetes since the age of 14, sister Type 1 Diabetes from the age of 2, myself multiple sclerosis and recently diagnosed Thyroid disease (TSB 88, antibodies 400) on diagnosis. Mother Osteoarthritis, father pernicious anaemia, 1st cousin type 1 diabetes. We are all in our 40s now. There has to be a gene that has resulted in all siblings be susceptible to autoimmune problems

Is there any research about correcting deficient immune systems? I got a pnuemonia vaccine and it increased my IGG4 to 2.74 from undetectable.