I realized I never talked about all the things that I am allergic to. This is a list of what I am currently allergic to, with a few notes on each.
Pollens: This is a major one. Trees, grasses, weeds, flowers. I am very allergic to every pollen I have been tested for and every one I have run across in my life. Some of the worst ones are sage, ragweed, juniper, elm, birch, oak, lilacs, lilies, daises, timothy grass, and Kentucky grass. Pretty much any pollen is really bad for me though.
Animal Dander: This is another major one. Especially cats, dogs, horses, and ferrets. If I am anywhere near them or where they used to be, my allergies start getting worse. Other animals I can be around for at least a little bit before things act up too badly.
Dust: I am very allergic to dust. It makes cleaning my room take a very long time. I can usually tell when its dust that is bothering me because it starts by making my eyes all itchy and most other things I am allergic to do not start by affecting my eyes.
Molds: Anything musty, moldy, mildewy, etc. I find unlike pollen counts, mold counts are pretty useless in helping me figure out how bad of a day it might be.
Feathers: On or off a bird, they seem to bother me. Worst seems to be pillows and comforters filled with feathers.
Smoke: Most kinds of smoke irritate my nose and eyes. Mainly it makes my nose and eyes very very itchy and watery/runny. Makes me sneeze some too.
Perfumes and Scents: Not all do, but many do and its hard to keep track of what does and what doesn't. This makes it hard sometimes to be in the mall or in some stores. The main thing these do to me is make me sneeze alot and my nose to be stuffy yet runny. The worst part is, if I am all stuffed up, I can't tell if its a scent that is bothering me.
Detergents: Some laundry detergents, and all fabric softeners, bother my allergies. The biggest problem is that they give me an allergic rash that gets red and puffy and itchy. Some detergents do this to me all the time, and others I can use for a while until they start to bother me. What I do is cycle between a few detergents that take a few weeks to start to bother me.
Paper Products: Yea, this is a weird one. I bet its what gets added into them, or what is used to process them, that bothers me. I get get affected by older books, newspapers, and magazines. They mainly kick up my allergies a bit with sneezing, runny nose, etc. I also can't use any scented or lotion tissues. They can give me a rash on my nose and WOW that can be annoying!
Dairy: More than just a little bothers me. It ends up either making my stomach feel icky, or makes me very wheezy and short of breath.
I think these are all the things I am allergic to. I might have forgotten some, but they would be things I usually don't come across much.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Making a New Friend
I spent the next couple of years feeling pretty sorry for myself. My allergies were making me miserable most of the time. I was on a bunch of different meds that didn't really seem to help too much. I felt isolated because there were many things I wanted to do but couldn't anymore, and because of that I wasn't spending as much time with friends and being social like I would have liked to. Like I mentioned before, people can really be mean and rude and non-understanding about allergies. Maybe I will make a post about all the crazy things people have said/done to me because of my allergies.
Anyway, I tried to have a good attitude, and often I did, but sometimes things would just really get to me and I didn't feel very close to anyone anymore. I was also just more and more embarrassed over time about my allergies. I hated people seeing me sneezing or seeing my face when I looked all allergic, and I didn't like people hearing my voice being all stuffy. I didn't even like going to see the doctors, especially the ENT because he did these treatments for my sinuses that I guess was helpful a bit but I would be really snotty in the process and I hated him (or anyone) seeing that. Looking back, I think a big problem I was having is that I didn't feel like I could confide in anyone about what I was feeling. Most people thought I was over-reacting, or that allergies just can't be that bad.
The one big good thing from having allergies is that I met my best friend Jessie because of them. During my junior year in high school, one day I was in the bathroom alone recovering from a really bad sneezing fit and she came in having a sneezing fit. We kind of looked at each other and we just started talking. We had never met before, and she was a year behind me in school. For me, it just felt like I could talk to her, even though I usually don't talk about my allergies to anyone.
She has what most people would think of as 'bad' allergies to a bunch of different pollens. We just seemed to click really well, and it turned out we had some similar experiences, and we like alot of the same stuff. She is the person I feel most comfortable with. She is also very kind. Once we became friends, we would hang out very often. She also knew that if her allergies were bad, mine must be even worse so she would sometimes come over to keep me company if she figured I was suffering pretty bad. We are still best friends to this day. She is the one person who has been a big help for me.
Anyway, I tried to have a good attitude, and often I did, but sometimes things would just really get to me and I didn't feel very close to anyone anymore. I was also just more and more embarrassed over time about my allergies. I hated people seeing me sneezing or seeing my face when I looked all allergic, and I didn't like people hearing my voice being all stuffy. I didn't even like going to see the doctors, especially the ENT because he did these treatments for my sinuses that I guess was helpful a bit but I would be really snotty in the process and I hated him (or anyone) seeing that. Looking back, I think a big problem I was having is that I didn't feel like I could confide in anyone about what I was feeling. Most people thought I was over-reacting, or that allergies just can't be that bad.
The one big good thing from having allergies is that I met my best friend Jessie because of them. During my junior year in high school, one day I was in the bathroom alone recovering from a really bad sneezing fit and she came in having a sneezing fit. We kind of looked at each other and we just started talking. We had never met before, and she was a year behind me in school. For me, it just felt like I could talk to her, even though I usually don't talk about my allergies to anyone.
She has what most people would think of as 'bad' allergies to a bunch of different pollens. We just seemed to click really well, and it turned out we had some similar experiences, and we like alot of the same stuff. She is the person I feel most comfortable with. She is also very kind. Once we became friends, we would hang out very often. She also knew that if her allergies were bad, mine must be even worse so she would sometimes come over to keep me company if she figured I was suffering pretty bad. We are still best friends to this day. She is the one person who has been a big help for me.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Getting Worse
By the end of the summer when I was 14, my allergies were getting really bad. I'd wake up sneezing many mornings, my eyes were itchy, and I'd need alot of tissues for my nose. There would be a few nights where I couldn't really sleep because my allergies would bother me so much. My allergist game me more meds, suggested I also use over-the-counter meds, and wanted to start me on allergy shots. Some days I would feel really worn out all day long and not having the energy to go out sometimes. I was starting to feel pretty down and I was discovering most of my friends really didn't care to come and visit me/hang out at my place instead of going to the mall or the lake or whatever. I was getting told that I was making a big deal out of nothing, and that it really couldn't be that bad.
In the fall, with school starting, I was very embarrassed for people to see me with red eyes and nose and sneezing so much. I stayed home on days I looked really bad. I kept trying to get away from people or run off to the bathroom when my fits of sneezing would start up. I also started having huge amounts of congestion almost all the time. My nose would be all stuffed up and I couldn't smell very well and I couldn't sniffle or blow my nose very well most of the time. I was feeling sinus pressure when I would bend over or move my head down. My allergist sent me to start seeing an ENT too. I ended up having to quit soccer because being out on the grass for so long was making my allergies too bad for me to play.
This kept up into the winter, which seemed to me to only be mildly better than the fall. In spring things got even worse. My allergist did allergy tests again and I was testing positive to almost everything! I was asking why it was getting worse since I was taking allergy shots and he told me they can take a while to start working so I stayed taking them. During this time, the ENT was really unsure why I kept getting worse so he did all kinds of tests and had the allergist do some too. The things they found were that my blood levels of certain things having to do with allergies were very high (eosinophils, basophils and IgE) but they didn't know why. Also, my ENT told me that my nasal and sinus passages are smaller than they should be, and also that my sneezes aren't very forceful. He said that maybe because of that, I was getting congested easily and once allergens get up there the congestion and the lack of force in my sneezes makes them stay up there longer, making my allergies worse. He said that was just a guess though.
Because I was very congested all the time, my singing voice just wasn't sounding good, so I quit singing. I also wasn't swimming as much because being under water was bothering my sinuses, and I think I was starting to react to chlorine. At the same time, my allergist was pestering me about my cats (my cat allergy was getting much worse by that time). Because I was giving up so much, I really didn't want to give up my cats too, so I told him it wasn't that bad and I was keeping my cats for now. In school I was getting really shy because of my allergies and because I was giving up so much stuff in my life that i liked. I was feeling pretty sad some of the time. Some of my friends were being pretty supportive, but alot of people wouldn't take my allergies into consideration when they went out or planned things. Many times I ended up having to go home early because something was bothering my allergies so much I couldn't really do anything. I was also starting to get comments like "hey aren't really that bad", "You should be able to control that better", "your sneezing is getting annoying", etc. I really didn't know what to do, and I totally didn't want to talk to anyone about my allergies. I was trying to hide them as much as I could.
During the spring and summer, I kept wondering what I could do to make them go away. I even though maybe I just needed to get used to them, so I spent time trying to be around things I was very allergic to, but that obviously didn't work. My nose was also starting to be very runny pretty often. I still don't understand how I could be so congested yet so runny all the time. I was getting really worried over people seeing my nose being drippy or people seeing my sneezes being really messy. I started using my tissues even more to wipe my nose very often and using tissues all the time when I sneezed if people might be around.
Fall that year I ended up admitting that I had to get rid of my cats. I couldn't be anywhere near them without my allergies going crazy for a long time. I was very sad about having to do that. We gave them to a friend and for the next few years, I would still visit them when I could, even though I could barely function around them from my allergic reactions.
By that fall, my allergies were about as bad as they are now. My nose and sinuses seemed to react to everything possible. I was completely congested all the time, I had to carry lots of tissues with me and have some everywhere I went. My nose felt itchy inside all the time and my eyes always felt at least a little weird. I would have lots of these really long sneezing fits many times each day. I felt sinus congestion and pressure most of the time too. I wasn't going out or doing nearly as much as I used to and I was discovering that many people could be really mean to me.
Mornings by this time were the worst. They still are. I stared having to set aside at least 20mins when I woke up. I wake up sneezing and I just have to let it keep going until I get a break to grab tissues to clean up my nose and any runniness that would happen in the night. I'd have to wipe my eyes too. After all that, with a few sneezing fits in the process, then I shower. During the shower I usually sneeze a ton and my nose runs like crazy the whole time. I tend to feel a little better after, so that is one good thing.
In the fall, with school starting, I was very embarrassed for people to see me with red eyes and nose and sneezing so much. I stayed home on days I looked really bad. I kept trying to get away from people or run off to the bathroom when my fits of sneezing would start up. I also started having huge amounts of congestion almost all the time. My nose would be all stuffed up and I couldn't smell very well and I couldn't sniffle or blow my nose very well most of the time. I was feeling sinus pressure when I would bend over or move my head down. My allergist sent me to start seeing an ENT too. I ended up having to quit soccer because being out on the grass for so long was making my allergies too bad for me to play.
This kept up into the winter, which seemed to me to only be mildly better than the fall. In spring things got even worse. My allergist did allergy tests again and I was testing positive to almost everything! I was asking why it was getting worse since I was taking allergy shots and he told me they can take a while to start working so I stayed taking them. During this time, the ENT was really unsure why I kept getting worse so he did all kinds of tests and had the allergist do some too. The things they found were that my blood levels of certain things having to do with allergies were very high (eosinophils, basophils and IgE) but they didn't know why. Also, my ENT told me that my nasal and sinus passages are smaller than they should be, and also that my sneezes aren't very forceful. He said that maybe because of that, I was getting congested easily and once allergens get up there the congestion and the lack of force in my sneezes makes them stay up there longer, making my allergies worse. He said that was just a guess though.
Because I was very congested all the time, my singing voice just wasn't sounding good, so I quit singing. I also wasn't swimming as much because being under water was bothering my sinuses, and I think I was starting to react to chlorine. At the same time, my allergist was pestering me about my cats (my cat allergy was getting much worse by that time). Because I was giving up so much, I really didn't want to give up my cats too, so I told him it wasn't that bad and I was keeping my cats for now. In school I was getting really shy because of my allergies and because I was giving up so much stuff in my life that i liked. I was feeling pretty sad some of the time. Some of my friends were being pretty supportive, but alot of people wouldn't take my allergies into consideration when they went out or planned things. Many times I ended up having to go home early because something was bothering my allergies so much I couldn't really do anything. I was also starting to get comments like "hey aren't really that bad", "You should be able to control that better", "your sneezing is getting annoying", etc. I really didn't know what to do, and I totally didn't want to talk to anyone about my allergies. I was trying to hide them as much as I could.
During the spring and summer, I kept wondering what I could do to make them go away. I even though maybe I just needed to get used to them, so I spent time trying to be around things I was very allergic to, but that obviously didn't work. My nose was also starting to be very runny pretty often. I still don't understand how I could be so congested yet so runny all the time. I was getting really worried over people seeing my nose being drippy or people seeing my sneezes being really messy. I started using my tissues even more to wipe my nose very often and using tissues all the time when I sneezed if people might be around.
Fall that year I ended up admitting that I had to get rid of my cats. I couldn't be anywhere near them without my allergies going crazy for a long time. I was very sad about having to do that. We gave them to a friend and for the next few years, I would still visit them when I could, even though I could barely function around them from my allergic reactions.
By that fall, my allergies were about as bad as they are now. My nose and sinuses seemed to react to everything possible. I was completely congested all the time, I had to carry lots of tissues with me and have some everywhere I went. My nose felt itchy inside all the time and my eyes always felt at least a little weird. I would have lots of these really long sneezing fits many times each day. I felt sinus congestion and pressure most of the time too. I wasn't going out or doing nearly as much as I used to and I was discovering that many people could be really mean to me.
Mornings by this time were the worst. They still are. I stared having to set aside at least 20mins when I woke up. I wake up sneezing and I just have to let it keep going until I get a break to grab tissues to clean up my nose and any runniness that would happen in the night. I'd have to wipe my eyes too. After all that, with a few sneezing fits in the process, then I shower. During the shower I usually sneeze a ton and my nose runs like crazy the whole time. I tend to feel a little better after, so that is one good thing.
Monday, August 16, 2010
How My Allergies Started
My allergies started when I was 13. Before that, I never had any allergies that I knew about, no-one in my immediate family had allergies, and in the rest of my family, only one aunt had hay fever and it was always very mild.
I was a pretty popular and athletic kid growing up. I had lots of friends, everyone wanted to hang out with me and I played soccer, volleyball, and I swam. I also sang in choir and solo. I think I was generally a nice person, although I did tend to be a little self-centered and catty. I don't think any more-so than most girls my age. I am an only child, both my parents are together, and I had a pretty good childhood. My parents were generally good to me. My dad worked as a factory supervisor. My mom worked on and off as an administrative assistant once I got to be about 10 or so. I had 2 cats I totally loved, I called Ruff and Tumble (they were brother and sister).
In the spring when I was 13 I seemed to get alot of colds. I would have sneezing and sniffling for a few days, then it would go away for a few days, then come back, etc. By the beginning of the summer it wasn't going away. My parents brought me to my doctor and he thought it was allergies. He sent me to an allergist and I tested positive for some pollens and slightly positive for cats and dogs. They gave me an antihistamine and some pointers on avoiding pollen and stuff. I really loved my cats and since I only had a mild allergy to them, we figured it would be ok to try keeping them.
Through the summer and fall, the meds seemed to work ok. I was still pretty sniffly and my nose would itch some and I would sneeze some each day, but not too bad. Winter was a bit better. During that time, I pretty much went about life as usual. In the mornings I would sneeze a bit and have to blow my nose. Other than that, it didn't have much of an impact. I did get poked fun at a bit for being so sniffly, but it wasn't a big deal.
Things really started to change after the winter. Where I lived, spring (and tree pollen) often comes early in the year. I didn't follow all the recommendations of my doctor that well. I did take my meds pretty much when I should but I did things like leave windows open since we didn't have AC and sometimes let my cats in my room. Near the end of Feb, one day I woke up feeling pretty miserable. I woke sneezing and I felt some congestion in my nose and sinuses and I was very runny. My eyes and nose itched really badly too. After feeling pretty awful for a few days, I went back to my allergist and he gave me more meds, told me to watch out for pollen, told me about pollen counts and talked about how some years for pollen is worse than others, and information like that.
Through that spring, my allergies would fluctuate back and forth between being worse like that and better like they used to be. I noticed they were starting to affect my life. Sometimes it was harder to focus playing sports, I noticed some places would affect my allergies more than others, sometimes when I was congested my voice wouldn't sound as good when singing, and some of my friends were making fun of my allergies and some were getting kind of annoyed at me for some reason. I was pretty self-conscious about it, so I tried to run off to the bathroom when I could and also tried to downplay my allergies as much as possible.
Next post I will pick up where I left off here.
I was a pretty popular and athletic kid growing up. I had lots of friends, everyone wanted to hang out with me and I played soccer, volleyball, and I swam. I also sang in choir and solo. I think I was generally a nice person, although I did tend to be a little self-centered and catty. I don't think any more-so than most girls my age. I am an only child, both my parents are together, and I had a pretty good childhood. My parents were generally good to me. My dad worked as a factory supervisor. My mom worked on and off as an administrative assistant once I got to be about 10 or so. I had 2 cats I totally loved, I called Ruff and Tumble (they were brother and sister).
In the spring when I was 13 I seemed to get alot of colds. I would have sneezing and sniffling for a few days, then it would go away for a few days, then come back, etc. By the beginning of the summer it wasn't going away. My parents brought me to my doctor and he thought it was allergies. He sent me to an allergist and I tested positive for some pollens and slightly positive for cats and dogs. They gave me an antihistamine and some pointers on avoiding pollen and stuff. I really loved my cats and since I only had a mild allergy to them, we figured it would be ok to try keeping them.
Through the summer and fall, the meds seemed to work ok. I was still pretty sniffly and my nose would itch some and I would sneeze some each day, but not too bad. Winter was a bit better. During that time, I pretty much went about life as usual. In the mornings I would sneeze a bit and have to blow my nose. Other than that, it didn't have much of an impact. I did get poked fun at a bit for being so sniffly, but it wasn't a big deal.
Things really started to change after the winter. Where I lived, spring (and tree pollen) often comes early in the year. I didn't follow all the recommendations of my doctor that well. I did take my meds pretty much when I should but I did things like leave windows open since we didn't have AC and sometimes let my cats in my room. Near the end of Feb, one day I woke up feeling pretty miserable. I woke sneezing and I felt some congestion in my nose and sinuses and I was very runny. My eyes and nose itched really badly too. After feeling pretty awful for a few days, I went back to my allergist and he gave me more meds, told me to watch out for pollen, told me about pollen counts and talked about how some years for pollen is worse than others, and information like that.
Through that spring, my allergies would fluctuate back and forth between being worse like that and better like they used to be. I noticed they were starting to affect my life. Sometimes it was harder to focus playing sports, I noticed some places would affect my allergies more than others, sometimes when I was congested my voice wouldn't sound as good when singing, and some of my friends were making fun of my allergies and some were getting kind of annoyed at me for some reason. I was pretty self-conscious about it, so I tried to run off to the bathroom when I could and also tried to downplay my allergies as much as possible.
Next post I will pick up where I left off here.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Introduction
Hi everyone. This first post it just to let everyone know what I want to do with this blog. I have had very bad allergies for about 9 years now. I know most people think 'bad allergies' aren't that bad, but believe me, mine are. My doctors tell me mine are the worst they have seen, and they are worse than anyone else I have met or heard about.
I have discovered that I have not come to terms with my allergies at all. I am terribly embarrassed by them, they greatly impact my life, and I change how I live because of them. I hate talking about them with anyone in real life, and I end up 'hiding' alot in my life. I am hoping that by making this blog, I will learn to be a bit more open, to be less embarrassed, and to be more comfortable with who I am.
My plan is to start by making posts about my history with allergies. How they started, how they impacted me, etc. I will be throwing in some posts about specific instance of my allergies and perhaps some tangents about allergies. I will also be making posts about how I am feeling, what struggles I may be having with my allergies, and how they are affecting me presently. I will eventually start keeping track of my allergies on a regular basis. Daily would be great, but I think weekly is more realistic.
I want to make this blog social because the social aspect is one major area that my allergies have impacted. Please feel free to comment often, give suggestions, commiserate, share your own stories, etc. I am also happy to talk via e-mail or IM.
Thanks everyone for helping me on this journey.
I have discovered that I have not come to terms with my allergies at all. I am terribly embarrassed by them, they greatly impact my life, and I change how I live because of them. I hate talking about them with anyone in real life, and I end up 'hiding' alot in my life. I am hoping that by making this blog, I will learn to be a bit more open, to be less embarrassed, and to be more comfortable with who I am.
My plan is to start by making posts about my history with allergies. How they started, how they impacted me, etc. I will be throwing in some posts about specific instance of my allergies and perhaps some tangents about allergies. I will also be making posts about how I am feeling, what struggles I may be having with my allergies, and how they are affecting me presently. I will eventually start keeping track of my allergies on a regular basis. Daily would be great, but I think weekly is more realistic.
I want to make this blog social because the social aspect is one major area that my allergies have impacted. Please feel free to comment often, give suggestions, commiserate, share your own stories, etc. I am also happy to talk via e-mail or IM.
Thanks everyone for helping me on this journey.
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