100 Little shots on your back... 100 Little shots

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 21:07:17 GMT

Oh... my... gosh! 15 years and no medical advancements to make allergy testing any better? I can not believe it. The first person to prick my back (2 controls) said "these in the lower back are the worst because it's more tender"... NOT! I told the next one to come in that I did not do well when I had had this test done as a teenager. To which she replied that those were probably shots and all they did now was scratches (what ever!) and that she had just done the whole series on a two year old earlier in the morning and he just sat there. What???... are you trying to shame me into not freaking out on you? She gave me the entire 100 on my back . I still had to have her stop half way so that I could catch my breath. And it's such an odd thing because it's not terrible pain... I've been through a c-section and a regular birth. Of course, I got an epidural for those. Hmmmm... maybe I should have asked for an epidural... hahaha Then the first guy came in and gave me 6 more shots on my arm... the ones for pollen on my back were not sensitive enough! The low-down... I'm most allergic to dust and dust mites, then mold... a little to cats and dogs (although, my exposure to them is limited, so I'm sure it's not as pronounced as it would be if they were indoor animals) and pollens... no trees, no food, no tobacco. Then another nurse gives me an allergy shot (which I can give myself one of each week... YEAH, no dr's office visit!). And I am sent home with a peak flow meter, needles and allergy serum, 5 perscriptions, samples of guaifenasin to clear the stuff up out of my chest, steroid inhaler to get me back on track along with an antbiotic. Can you say the pharmacy of Tammy?... And I didn't stick around in the office like I should have... spent the 45 minute drive home gasping for air... STUPID! and a little scarey... but done and over with. My inhaler that I had picked up (that would have taken care of the issue) only had one puff left in it. Did confirm that benadryl is more potent than claritin or any of the other OTC antihistamins. And he told me what the family dr told me... allergy induced asthma. I read somewhere online that you might be able to stop shot therapy after 5 years. So, let's do the math, taking into acocunt that my last allergy shot was sometime in 1991 (symptoms started back with a vengence about 4 years ago in 2003). Since it took 8 years for my symptoms to start back up... I could take the shots through 2011 when I'm 4ahem years old, and go back for testing again when I'm 5ahem years old... Can a 50 some year old body stand up to that kind of stress? Maybe by then those advancements will have caught up with me and there will be some sort of litmus-type lick test. That would be good. Cause if I'm 30 something breathing like a 60 some year old when I'm in bad-but-not-worse shape now, I shudder to think how little oxygen I'll be taking in then. Oh wait! Maybe we will be able to breath water by then!

Let me catch my breath...

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 04:38:46 GMT

No, I mean it! I pretty much grew up with allergies (thanks Dad). I've done the shots, I've had the ear infections and sore throats... I've developed an allergy to aspirin in my adult life. Basically I'm allergic to everything but food and oxygen. So I count myself lucky to some degree, only maybe I could loose weight easier if I was allergic to, say, refined wheat or refined sugar. But I don't even need to be allergic... my nose stays pretty much flared up so I couldn't smell or taste anything most of the time if you paid me (so you'd think I would be a little smaller... alas, I am not).

So I have been coughing up my lungs, one piece at a time, for the past month or so. I hate it! It is kind of scarey. And what happens when you panic? It gets harder to breath. Jimminy... So I made an appointment to see a specialist... I just hope and sincerely pray that he does not deem it necessary to do those 1001 little pinprick tests on my back. Been there, done that, had the panic attack to prove it.

It's a Wonderful Life: Health and wellness

100 Little shots on your back... 100 Little shots

Let me catch my breath...