 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I've had Urticaria for almost a year and my Dermatologist now wants to put me on Ciclosporin(subject to blood tests etc). Have you, or anyone you know taken Ciclosporin for Urticaria? If so did it help and were there any side affects etc? Thanks.
I've had Urticaria for 15+ years and use antihistamines daily to relieve it, found a nice cheap source for Cetrizine (Loratadine doesn't work so well for me). I always buy in bulk especially this time of year when all the part-timers (hayfever sufferers) clear the shelves 😉
Works reasonably well for me but I have been prescribed occasional short courses of steroids (Prednisolone) on request for when I'm going to be in situations where I know it gets aggravated (holidays abroad, out in the sun for extended periods). The steroid works really well but they don't recommend it past 3 weeks.
To be honest I've never heard of Ciclosporin 'til now, it's certainly never been suggested to me.
Interested to hear any opinions...
Thanks Haze, I'm asking as the number of potential side effects etc are a little off putting so I want as much information as possible before I agree to take anything.
Use a lot in dogs for allergic problems, be glad you are getting it on prescription as it is bloody expensive.
Few of them seem to suffer with the side effects but might be worthwhile chatting your concerns over with your dermatologist/gp as they will give you a better idea of frequency and severity of side effects.
Hope it helps
I don't want to sound like a total a-hole as i'm sure you know all this but maybe you should be asking your dermatologist these questions? They get paid a lot to sit about doing not a lot.
Urticaria can be really dreadful which is why I presume they are offering it but deciding to take something like ciclosporin is a bit of an undertaking, especially for something that is unlikely to be life threatening. B
Write down your questions, do some reliable interweb research (try patient.co.uk) and go back and talk it through with someone who prescribes it a lot. You wont find enough people using it on this site to give you a balanced view (dogs do not count!). Ciclo does has some serious side effects, i seem to think most are reversible but i'm not that familiar with it!
Good luck! 🙂
Thanks evh22, I will be talking to my dermatologist when I go back in a few weeks and have already started noting questions to ask, one of which will be what happens at the end of the 3month dose of Ciclosporin -if I'm just going to be back where I am now then I don't think it's worth the risk!!
I don't know how common it is to prescribe Ciclosporin so thought I'd ask on here in the off chance that someone may have already looked at the pros and cons and can offer me their experience or at least help me to think of any other questions to ask the experts before I do something which I could regret! I've also been looking at other sites (but some of the big words are screwing with my simple little brain!!).
Those are good questions, ones which I definitely think you need to ask and if i was your doc i'd be pleased you asked them. I'd want to know about the common and less common but nasty side effects and which go away if you stop the drug. I think you'd need blood monitoring of the levels, and your blood counts etc. What will happen to your when you stop the drug is also important, it may be that taking it for a bit quietens things down and if you come off it you will be better than now. It may be that you get a rebound effect, its definitely worth asking that. Also whether they'd keep you on it longterm or just give you a quick blast.
I agree, something the net isn't too helpful, especially with a drug like this which is used for all sorts of things. Sometimes the choice is: take the drug and stay alive or don't take it and be really sick, much easier to make a decision in that case!
The great thing about what your taxes pay for (not for long if the Tories have their evil way) is that you don't need to sign on the dotted line and be stuck with your decision. There is alway the chance to put off the decision, come back to things at other points in your life when you or your condition changes. You can start something and stop it later if its not for you. We don't mind one bit.
PM me if you have any other Qs. I'm not a dermatologist but have some general knowledge on these things.