Thursday, February 6, 2014

Early Feb. Q+A

I am happy that I got a few questions pretty quickly.  It gives me something to write about!

Q:You said that you use lots of tissues a day. How many tissues do you use each day for your allergy?
A: I never took exact count, but sometimes I can easily go through a box in a day.  When my allergies are bad I have to be using a tissue pretty much constantly, and at those times my sneezing fits can be very messy.

Q:If you need to stay outside for some reason on a high pollen count day, how will you cope with it?
A: It gets bad for me on high pollen days if I am stuck outside.  I become unable to function pretty quickly.  I end up just sitting and sneezing like crazy, etc.  It even becomes pretty hard to communicate.  I have had a few times where someone was trying to be of help, and I ended up being stuck outside longer because I couldn't tell them I needed to go inside.

Q:You have once said that your allergy interferes your daily life. How do you manage your time in studying, especially ragweed, which worsen your allergy problems?
A: I try to get as much work and studying, etc done at the times my allergies aren't too bad.  Thats why i tend to do better in school at the end of the fall semester and the beginning of spring semester, when there isn't much pollen around.  During ragweed season, which overlaps with the beginning of the fall semester, I am often useless for studying and I have to miss class often, etc.  I have luckily been able to make stuff up, and stretch things out, etc.  If it wasn't for my allergies, I'd be getting through my program much quicker.

Q:Do you find you have difficulty falling asleep because of your sneezing? Is it hard to lie down with the congestion and how do you deal with that? Are you able to get rest?
A: Often times, yes.  Trying to get sleep with congestion, sneezing, and runny nose can be impossible.  I tend to sleep with my head propped up a bit, so that helps, but not always the most comfortable.  When my allergies are bad, I often don't get much sleep.  I'll tend to doze off for short times all though the day and night.

Q:Do you take daily medication for your allergies and does it seem to help at all? 
A: Yes, I take a number of things, but they don't help too much.  My doc will sometimes switch things up to see if some combination helps more.  It certainly doesn't get rid of my allergies, but at least during some of the year it does take the edge off enough to help me be functional.


Keep those questions/ideas coming please!  And thanks for reading my blog.  As always, feel free to say hi.