I actually very rarely post nowadays about ‘my life’. I think I should… but in general most of my posts are about my opinion or things I interact with… Media for example.
Some may know that I have been on maintenance allergy medicine for about 10 years. The process begun over a decade ago. I was regularly doing English Folk dancing. (Yes.. SCA… thus the username)
After one dance session I’d perceived that my arches had fallen. The soles of my feet were very swollen. It turns out that it was the start of a a bunch of un-fun allergies. I was about 26-28.
My body began to randomly swell. My feet, my hands, my lips and in some cases my eyes. I remember going to an origami class on a day that my eyelids had swollen. People though I was actually Japanese. (It was actually really cool and I wish I could do it manually)
Testing was difficult because these episodes wouldn’t last long enough to get to an allergist. There seemed to be no clear cause.
Then there was the day I turned the corner. I call it “The Phantom” day. I woke up in the morning and was blind. My eyes were swollen shut. I called my (then) gf and calmly asked her to come over and explained the situation. I also put on a mask because I couldn’t tell how horribly disfigured I was.
By the time she got to the apt I could see minimally out of one eye. She prodded me to remove the mask so she could see. After much cajoling I displayed my Chaney-esque visage (which in horror terms in the 90s meant Lon not Dick). She told me that I didn’t look nearly as horrible as I thought. (She was an excellent liar. She later told me that it was really bad)
I go in for scratch tests. They come up negative. But they put me on the meds. And that’s where I stay for about 10 years.
Today I went in and got a broader sweep. Basically you are pricked with allergins. 10 years ago it was about 15-20. Today it was 40-60. A broader base to get a better idea of what’s causing this.
I started typing this when they pricked me. There were so many they actually had to do them on my back not my arm. (shudder)
The result. Nothing came up positive except the control. The control is ‘histimine’ the stuff that sets off an allergic reaction. When you have an allergy your body produces histimine which your system then combats. Unfortunately, the other 39-59 had no reaction. Not nuts, pollen, berries, mellons, animals… nothing.
So now I wait for the allergist to touch base on what’s next. The hope is that maybe I can stop taking the allergy meds if they really aren’t doing much in the long run.
(pause)
(An hour later and back at the office)
So, the good news is that I’m off the maintenance meds. Zyrtec and Ranitidine… buh-bye. (Unless I have an outbreak)
I am now on Nasonex for a trial run because they detected some allergin in my nose. That may be from the bug going around or it may just be the family breathing issues. We’ll see how it does.
So.. not completely off the meds. But much better. I think I’m gonna have honeydew for lunch 😀
