This entire hives from allergies is very difficult to track. My daughter has been experiencing these incidents for over 7 years now and nobody can figure them out. She has been diagnosed as everything from a viral rash to Pityriasis Rosea. The full compliment of allegry tests all came up negative. Triggers for her include pot smoke and fighting an infection (which is why getting one after the COVID shot made sense). Most times her body is fighting something (UTI, getting her wisdom teeth out, etc.) she ends up with a rash. The allergist was the least helpful, she said well I canāt figure it out now while you are not experiencing any symptoms (of course she isnāt currently showing symptoms, you wouldnāt give her an appointment for over 4 months). Since the incidents are usually infrequent and not severe (although she had one that lasted a few weeks and 1 that caused hives all over her entire body over the course of 36 hours), it is difficult to figure out. I have become that crazy lady who is calling a restuarant asking for all the ingredients in the dish she had for lunch in case one of them might be the problem (BTW the restaurants are very cooperative)! I am also the mother who is finding new products everytime she might have gotten a reaction to something she used for years - soap, deordorant, shampoo, etc.
This sounds like mast cell activation syndrome. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
That sounds mentally and emotionally exhausting for you!
Wow, that actuallty sounds like a diagnosis that makes sense for her. Especially since the triggers have been illness, insect bites, and fragrances (the smell of pot) and were worse at stressfull times and during hot weather. Her symptoms when suffering match also - rash, brain fog, tiredness, etc. Although none have been severe anaphylaxis, which is mentioned in all the stuff I found online. Also, benadryl works to relieve the issue. I have bookmarked all the information about this and next time she has an episode I will have the doctor test for this while she is suffering. Thanks @MACmiracle
Follow up ENT appointment today for D. It has been a very hard ten days. Benedryl and steroids havenāt helped, and Iām just hoping her immune system calms down soon. A doctor friend said it might take a couple of weeks for the immune system to settle down after the vaccination, and I made the mistake of telling D maybe ten more days which seemed overwhelming to her.
She has been going back and forth for the last week from campus for doctors appointments and just needing to be home, and she couldnāt fully participate in her training because of her difficulty breathing and the anxiety it was causing so she decided to resign her position to eliminate as much stress as possible. Honestly, I think this decision is for the best in terms of her quality of life because she tends to take on too much. But because of it she will lose her free room and board and stipend. She has used so little of the college fund over the last two years, so she has enough to pay for housing without having to take loans, but it was a disappointment for her because she had hoped to contribute her leftover money to her two younger sistersā education.
I am hoping the ENT has something encouraging to say to her. Iām going to try to go in with her this time.
I get a rash on my chest when I get a virus, and I did get one after one of my Covid shots (canāt remember which one). Itās just my immune response, so I donāt worry about it. I consider myself fortunate that I donāt have a more worrisome response, like hives or swelling of the throat. Itās weird how the body responds to things.
This matches my daugther - she gets a chest rash (sometimes back) with every virus or infection (UTI etc.) - she also got one after one of her shots (the first one).
Not to make light of what D is going through right now, but Iām trying to keep it in perspective. Breathing is uncomfortable but she is breathing. This will pass.
I wouldnāt have expected her to be the one of all my kids to have this kind of reaction. On the other hand, I just remembered how when we came back to the US from abroad D had to get a large number of vaccines to get up to the US schedule. She was still under two. We were recommended to go to the county health clinic and they did them all at once without giving me any warning. I would never do that again. She couldnāt walk the next day. Everything was fine after that, though, and never had a problem with vaccines since. The only change is that her allergies have become progressively worse over the past year.
Consider getting her a pulse oximeter. Maybe seeing repetitive readings of 94%-100% will lessen her anxiety.
Nothing new to report. I suggested the pulse oximeter to D. I think the thought of it made her more nervous, but it seems like it might be a worthwhile investment in any case.
ENT didnāt have anything more to add from the last time except to reassure D that it will get better with time. All her bloodwork is good. No signs of infection. She gave her physical exercises to do to try to release tension from her throat in case she is having spasms.
She recommended three days of Benedryl before and after her next shot. From everything Iāve learned, I will not encourage D to get a second shot until this situation completely resolved. Her doctor is supposed to call Monday so we can discuss whether itās safe to get it at all.
My D is doing better. Itās such a relief. She was contacted from the department she resigned from and offered a less stressful position with the same benefits. Iām not sure what she will do. She still has to get all the details and there are reasons why it might now be good for her, but itās still so nice of them. At least, she is improving physically; all the other stuff will work itself out.
I have been away for awhile. My daughter scheduled her second shot for next week. We are a little worried but hoping for the best.
She improved the most after adding Pepcid to her regular antihistamine. It turns out with the Pepcid added, sheās hitting both types of histamine. Funny enough, thatās one approach to mast cell activation syndrome and I heard itās what some people are trying for long haul covid.
Things are still not ideal and she recently went to an gi doctor who wants to do an endoscopy. He wants to rule out eosinophilic esophagitis, which I though was interesting since someone here mentioned that as a possibility. She asked him if and why the vaccine could trigger that and he said thereās still things to learn.
There are other causes of eosinophilic esophagitis as well. Used to see this condition a lot during the years I worked at the endoscopy center.
Thank you. The info you linked was helpful. The only people I knew with EE were children. It could potentially make sense that allergies were triggered when her immune system was activated by the vaccine as the allergist and ENT supposed and the EEāif that is even thereāwas a downstream development.
Itās been a long time but I wanted to follow up with @Nrdsb4 @deb922 @kiddie @HImom @Creekland and anyone else I am missing who was so kind and supportive when my D had the reaction to her initial vaccine last August and I was under so much stress. Itās been a long road with ups and downs since I last posted. She finally had the endoscopy she was trying to avoid after ending up in the ER with chest pain a couple of months ago. She got the results and has been officially diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis. The doctor is prescribing a medication that will hopefully keep her more stable. She continues to have allergic reactions fairly regularly but she is figuring things out more and more. Oddly, but also consistent with EE is that wheat seems to be a trigger for her despite it not reacting on allergy tests.
She is graduating summa cum laude this week, bittersweet with whatās been going on, but life can be that way.
Thank you for all of your kindness.
@MACmiracle thanks so much for following up. Glad to hear that your daughter finally has a diagnosis.
My bil called today, my mil has some sort of infection and they canāt quite figure it out. My bil, a physician and very good clinician, said that medicine can be such a mystery and that it can be really hard to figure out what is the problem. That you try and try.
So even though it took a while, I hope your daughter is 
on the mend.
Kudos for her for graduating with honors in spite of everything going on! And may the medicine work for her as she and the doctors continue to figure things out.
Wishing the best for your daughter. Itās always best to at least know exactly what youāre up against. At least that way, you can hone in on the exact way to approach it.
And you must be very proud - summa cum laude!!!
i got both covid Vaccine and the booster 
!
I am deliberating about a second bivalent booster and wonder if others are getting it. This would be shot #6 for me. My concern is whether I should wait for the fall version. I have been reading about immune exhaustion and imprinting. My doc says āwe just donāt know.ā