Puffy Face?!

[Friedbrain]

This may seem like a weird question, but since many of my weird symptoms have overlapped with dysautonomia, I thought I'd ask here. The most common likelihood is a weird allergic reaction, but some lit search suggested that the response is due to vasodilation, which made me think of dysautonomia.

So, anyway, the question is, has anyone ever experienced a puffy face? I had a very extreme situation two mornings ago, but now that I think of it, I think I've had mild cases like it maybe even frequently, which makes me think it's something other than a "rare" allergic reaction. Two mornings ago, I woke up and around my mouth (cheeks and lower face) was puffy enough that it puffed out around my mouth and my lips were swollen; the dh could even tell. It felt weird to smile. It was also puffy around my eyelids; sitting still, I could feel pressure from the swelling over my eyes. I looked it up and this is what it sounded like (and kinda looked like, altho my eyes weren't as swollen, and my lower face moreso): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angioedema It lasted for a few hours and I was going to go to the doc but then it slowly went away.

However, two or three times over the last two months, I've woken up with a fat lower lip. More commonly, over the last 15 ys, I've woken up periodically with my eyes difficult to move. It always wears off when I get up, so it's hard for a doc to actually diagnose anything. I DID go to the doc about the eye thing many years ago, and was told I have dry eyes and so that's what it probably was. However, I've been thinking it's not dry eyes; I was thinking maybe it was a nerve thing due to the way it felt. But the other day, with my entire face puffy, my eyes felt sluggish like they often do. So I'm wondering if it's all related.

My major health problems are nocturnal, so I'm thinking this puffy-face episode must somehow be related. I have low bp, and particularly so at night.

I DID have peanuts that evening, and have been wondering if I'm developing a late-life peanut allergy (and have been experiencing serious body itching/hives lately); it just seems weird that I would.

Thanks for thoughts!

[songcanary]

Oh honeybun, itching, hives and puffy face? Food allergy IMHO. I have been there and still doing it. I have a million of them. It is hubby, actually, who has had the intermittent angioedema and we still can't isolate the specific food(s). It's tricky. But with your symptoms I would seriously consider it. Best of luck, it can be a real ride.

[Sarah4444]

When I was doing really bad last summer, I would often get facial swelling at night - particularly around my eyes. I often feel like there is pressure behind my eyes. My best guess is that it's the "chronic low-grade anaphylaxis" that Julie describes, that seems to go along with MCAD. It has gotten better now that I take the MCAD meds.

[sue1234]

I have read before of something that can cause morning facial swelling--superior vena cava syndrome. I had found it because I wake up with blurry vision that resolves in an hour or so after getting up. It is not related to blood sugar, as I first thought it might be. I still don't know why my eyes are blurry, though.

[MomtoGiuliana]

in 2010 I had one episode of this that lasted a few days. Not sure of the cause in my case. I called my doctor who asked me just to monitor it.

[Elfie]

Do you take florinef? Not to scare you off of it, but that sounds almost exactly like what I was experiencing before my doc and I realized I was allergic to florinef. I don't have any food allergies, but am allergic to things like preservatives, msg, artificial/altered stuff and get the same mouth/face swelling and itchies/hives from those. Apparently for me, florinef fits into that.