Feb 1st Quick Update and Q+A

Hi guys.  I do seem to be getting a bit more questions to answer, thanks!  Now I wish I could come up with my own ideas of what to write too!

This time of year, my allergies aren't as bad as the rest of the year so I try to get as much work done as possible.  Depending on the weather, I'll have from somewhere near the end of this month to somewhere in the middle of march before they start getting worse again.  My allergies still bother me, but they are somewhat easier to deal with in the winter, especially Jan and Feb.

Now for our Q+A:

Q: You said that sleeping is a problem for you when your allergies are bad. If you could get rid of one allergy symptom during bedtime, which one would you prefer to get rid of?
A: That's a hard choice between sneezing and congestion.  When my allergies are bad, sneezing so often makes it hard to have enough time to get to sleep.  Overall I'd have to say congestions though.  Even when my allergies aren't that bad, the congestion is still there, making it a bit uncomfortable to sleep.

Q: I learned from your posts that five of your senses are more or less impacted by your allergies: seeing (watery eyes), hearing (stuffed ears), smelling (congested nose), tasting (going along with smelling) and the sense of balance (dizziness from clogged ears or sinus congestion). Which sense would you consider being impacted the most (well, I'd guess it's the smelling), and which one comes second, third, fourth, fifth?
A: Smelling of course is first, as its not often that I am able to smell anything at all.  Taste would be second because it is so dependent upon smell to work properly.  Seeing would be third.  Its a big jump down though, as its only really impacted when my allergies are acting up enough to make my eyes so watery that it makes my vision a bit blurry.  Of course sometimes I wake up with my eyelids crusted up together and I can't see, but that's because I can't open my eyelids.  I try not to rub my eyes much, but if I rub them a lot, they might swell up too much and make it hard to see.  Dizziness would be the next one, as my sinus congestion has to be pretty bad for me to feel it as dizziness(unless I move my head really fast), and my ears only get clogged and make me dizzy when things are really bad.  last would be hearing, as my allergies have to be really bad for my ears to feel clogged.  Its not like I am deaf, but it is like I have cotton stuffed in my ears.

Q: How do you deal with your sneezing when you have your hair cut at the hairdresser, esp when your allergies are bad? Does the hairdresser have to interrupt his work every time you sneeze?
A:  I can't really go to a hairdresser, as some of the chemicals and compounds, and hair products there I am allergic to. I'll try to get friends to cut my hair, or find a place that doesn't use many chemicals, etc.   If I am having a sneezing fit, yea there needs to be a break in the work til I am done.

Q: Do you like to dance, in the disco or at parties? If yes, how much do your allergies affect your joy of dancing?
A: I am an ok dancer, but it has never been something that excites me too much.  Allergies don't seem to impact my dancing at parties any more than they impact everything else.

Q: I've read that it's possible to improve allergies, esp hay fever, by avoiding certain kinds of food, e.g. those with protein. Did you try things like this, and if yes, was it successful?
A: I have tried all kinds of things, and foods seem to have no impact at all on my allergies.  Alcohol sometimes seems to make my allergies worse though.

Q: A woman suffering from hay fever told me that autohemotherapy helped her. Did you try this?
A: I never heard of it.  What is it?  Does it go by another name?

Q: In 2010 you posted comprehensive lists of what you're allergic to and what symptoms you get. Are these lists still „valid“, or has something changed since then?
A: Without going back to look, I am pretty sure they are the same.  If anything I might have discovered one or 2 more things, as I seem to be allergic to almost everything.

Q: You said that if you could get rid of one allergy symptome, it would be the sneezing because it affects your social life and your acitivies most. If you leave aside these aspects and just consider the symptoms as such, the physical pain they bring when you're alone and not doing something specific, which one would you choose then?
A: It would make it a closer choice between sneezing and congestion.  With those limitations, I can't really choose between the 2.

Q: A question about the questions: It seems to me that you really like to answer all these questions. Can you explain what it is that makes you enjoy this so much?
A: "enjoy" is too strong a word.  Having questions to answer actually gives me something to write about.  I want to keep doing this blog, but I have huge blocks on what to write about.  Questions gives me things to write about.

Q: What do you do or say when you are meeting people for the first time or over the phone and your allergies act up?
A: Over the phone I just say 'hold on a min' and I mute the phone and get through the allergy fit.  In person, if I can, I'll say 'ill be back in a min' or 'I need to use the bathroom' or something.  If I am stuck there, I won't say anything, hoping the person also wont say anything.

Q: What do you do for work and have your allergies affected you there, or how people respond to you?
A: I do TAing and assist with research (I am a grad student).  Luckily when my allergies get bad, the TAing can be modified so I don't have to do much actual teaching, I'll do prep and all the paperwork and such.  For the research, sometimes I have to just not do the work for a while.  Most people haven't responded that badly, although it sometimes takes some accommodations, make-up stuff, and a few times I just have to do what I can.  There was another research assistant that didn't like me (he was too competitive and jealous of what I was doing I think), and kept making fun of my allergies and tried to use the impact of my allergies as an excuse to get me kicked out. 

Q: Do you seem to get them(colds) frequently? I know that for some allergy sufferers, they find they seem to be more susceptible to colds too.
A:  I only get a couple a year.  Not more often than anyone else I think. 

Q: I know you've talked the past a bit about school and how sometimes you have to miss class because of your allergies. But when you do stay in the classroom and have to suffer through an attack, how do the professors and other students react? Are they generally understanding? Do they just ignore it or make comments? I know you've also said you try to escape to the restroom when it gets bad, but that can't be every time you have a bit of sneezing fit??
A: I feel like this needs more of an answer than I can write down real quick here, but in general, the reactions can be all over the place.  Usually the professor will ignore it, and a few students might laugh or say something silly. 

Thanks for all the questions.  let me know if anything wasn't clear or if you need more info.  As always, feel free to post more questions, or contact me directly.

And enjoy the superbowl!

Too long without posting

I feel so bad that its been over a month since my last post.  Sorry everyone!  I have been so busy trying to get work done, and being wiped out from my allergies that every time I go to blog I think 'ugh, I can't do this now, maybe tomorrow'.  Today I am making it happen though!

I can't think of too much I can bring up right now, because of the above, so right to a few Q+A that have been sitting around:

Q:Do you find that when you are very congested because of your allergies, like when one has a cold you lose your sense of taste? I know it must be really difficult to eat and drink when you are having sneezing fits and are really congested, but even when you can, can you taste food or is it a bit like a cold when it's just sustenance? 
A: I have nasal congestion most of the time, so I often don't really have a sense of smell, and that of course impacts my ability to taste.  I usually don't taste too much when I eat food when I am congested like that.  And yes, with lots of sneezing and congestion, it is hard to eat and drink.  I will tend to mainly sip water often when I am like that.

Q:How are things going for you? The pollen counts are at severe here where I am and I've DEFINITELY noticed. I can only imagine you're not doing too great <3 Hope you are getting SOME relief anyway! 
A:  (ok, maybe not really a question that needs answering here, but I need something to write about!).  Yea, its been pretty bad for me so far, and not much relief.  The most annoying part is that the more I am exposed to pollen (or anything else I am allergic to), the more sensitive my nose gets and the more I react to things.

Q:You mentioned at worst you sneezed a "few thousand" times a day??? I mean, assuming 16 hours of being awake, 2000 sneezes means an average of over 2 sneezes a minute, all day long??? How are these spaced out? I mean, how many sneezes in a "long fit", and how long does that take?
A: Yes, its pretty crazy isn't it?  I almost always sneeze in long fits, almost never less than around 10, and not usually more than around 30, although there have been a few times where I just couldn't stop sneezing for a long time, gets really exhausting and kinda freaky.  I never really broke down the timing of it all, but lets say an average of a 20 sneeze fit, and it takes maybe a minute or less usually?  My sneezes often come very quickly after each other, although occasionally there are gaps and time for the sneezes to come.

I hope I answered all the questions well.  Please keep them coming because I am having a hard time thinking about what to write.  I am going to keep making the effort to post about weekly.  Feel free to comment or contact me directly!

What my allergy attacks are like

I have been asked a number of times over the years what happens as a bad allergy attack comes on.  I never really was able to give a good answer in the moment like that because I am not being too self-reflecting when an allergy attack comes on, and I never thought much about it except in the moment someone asks me that question and I have nothing ready to say.  I figured here I can think about it and write it all out.

Often times I am experiencing allergies to one extent or another anyway but what I'm writing about is when I end up being around something that gives me bad allergy attacks, and my allergies haven't already bothering me that much. 

First I start to get this tingle/tickle deep in my nose, then I start to get a tickle in the back of my throat and my nose starts getting stuffy.  the tingling in my nose starts to spread and the stuffiness gets worse.  My nose and my eyes start to feel not itchy exactly but like they are going to be itchy.  The tingling/tickling and the stuffiness in my nose keeps getting worse and eventually I have my first sneezing fit.  Once I have my first sneezing fit, its like the floodgates open.  My nose starts to get runny, my sinuses start to get stuffy, my nose starts to get itchy, my eyes start to water and I have more sneezing fits.  If it keeps going, it all gets more and more and my eyes will also get itchy and red and my ears might start to clog up.

Ok, I think that's a pretty good explanation of what happens.  Let me know if that makes sense.

Weird Tangent:  I have recently read the The Hunger Games books, and although they were really cool, I just want to mention one thing that struck me as slightly weird.  In the 2nd book, at one point Katniss mentioned how she was crying and her nose was running and someone ripped some moss hanging off a tree to give her to blow her nose.  I read that and thought 'ewww!'  Can moss actually be used like that???

As usual, any questions for me to answer or if you want to chat, just message me.

Clogged ears and Q+A

My ears get clogged when my allergies are really bad.  It feels kind of like they are stuffed with cotton and it feels like it muffles sound.  It also can make me feel a bit off balance sometimes.  Since ragweed season started, my ears have felt clogged up all the time.  I recently saw my ENT and when I told him about it he said that considering how constantly congested my nose and sinuses he was surprised my ears haven't also been constantly congested up until now.

So it seems I can add ear congestion to my list of things that are always congested.

I have also been given a more questions to answer, and that's my favorite part of these posts:

Q: I can't imagine sneezing as much as you say you do! Do you tend to basically have to sneeze full-out, or is it more rapid, weaker sneezing for prolonged periods? Either way, I imagine it's exhausting.
A: I get both.  I usually have to sneeze full-out though.  When I get really bad I have much more of those rapid weaker ones that go on and on without me being able to take a breath.  I really hate the rapid ones because of that.  It really is exhausting sneezing so much.  I leaves me worn out and tired much of the time when my allergies are bad.
 
Q: And what kind of precautions do you try to take at home? Do you have air filters, etc??
A:  The basic of course is tissues everywhere, lol.  HEPA filters of course, especially in my bedroom.  I don't keep any plants in my house, not just in case of plant allergies, but also to avoid mold that can grow in soil.  I try to usually keep my mattress and pillows in plastic cases, with sheets and pillowcases over them, but it can be a bit uncomfortable to sleep on.  I think there might be more comfy forms of dustmite coves, but I haven't looked for them yet.  I use blinds, but not curtains.  I don't have much stuff hanging on the walls or nick-knacks because of dust.  I should have wood floors instead of carpets, but I don't have the $ to do anything about that right now.  I should also be cleaning very often, but it bothers my allergies so I tend to put it off too long and of course it makes the cleaning worse.  We remove our shoes at the door so we don't track in more stuff.  We make sure the bathroom dosen't get moldy or mildewy or musty..keep it ventilated and no standing water.  I think that's it.  There might be more but its so routine that I probably don't think about it.

Q:If you were visiting a friend and they said "tell me what I can do to make things better for you while you're visiting", what action or actions would help the most make things more bearable with your allergies?
A: 'let me go home' is the first thing I can think of, lol.  Seriously though, I can't think of anything someone can do that would be super-helpful in the moment.  If I had to come up with something, I'd say to move any flowers, etc out of the room(s) we are in, try not to use anything scented at all, and don't vacuum/dust when I am there (that's best done a bit b4 I show up so that dust and such will settle down).  I would also ask for them to not bless me all the time and to act like nothing is wrong.  The less attention I get about it, the better.  Unless it was a really good friend however, I think I'd feel too embarrassed to really say anything.

Thanks for letting me answer questions, it makes posting easier.  Keep them coming!

Ragweed is trying to kill me :(

OMG the last few weeks have been the worst ever!  Ragweed just seemed to explode here!  I was already doing pretty badly and with my nose having become all over-sensitive to everything, its making it the worst its ever been.

I have been useless for even doing the most basic stuff and I have been having to call in sick so many days and I can barely get any work done from home.  I haven't been able to do anything enjoyable, and I am not sleeping well at all.  I am a total mess

Allison isn't doing that great either with ragweed.

Ugh, it took me forever just to write this up.  Sorry the post is so short.  As always, ask me anything you want and I'll try to reply in a new post.  I'd be happy for chat company too, if I am able to reply.

Allergies in winter

I posted before about the fact that without the pollen, winter is usually a bit easier on my allergies.  I still have to watch out for lots of things, but most of them are a bit easier to avoid than pollen (although dust and molds can be kinda hard still).

What is nice is that I am not sneezing as much and also I can usually smell things and I can actually sniffle sometimes.  Makes it easier to deal when my nose gets snotty.  My sinuses also don't bother me as much.

I still get times were my allergies act up and often times its hard for me to tell why.  There is just nothing obvious sometimes.  The weird part is feeling my congestion get worse when that happens.  through most of the year I am just always very congested.  In the winter though when my allergies act up I can feel the congestion in my nose and sinuses get worse.  its just kind of strange, and annoying.

Sorry about not posting as much as I used to.  I feel like I am running out of things to talk about.  Probably more like I just don't feel like writing much.  I do wish more people read this.  Maybe even share their experiences with allergies too.  That would help me write more and maybe help to give me ideas about what to write.