I wanted to make a quick post as a check-in. Allergies have been very bad. Tree pollens are very high, and really affecting me. I don't have any questions to answer, so please ask me some if you can.
A few embarrassing/gross things from this last week or so: While walking down a crowded hallway, I had a sneezing fit come on very quickly while my hands were full carrying things and it was very snotty and people were grossed out and some were laughing. I was dozing off in class (allergies keeping me from getting much sleep), and apparently my nose was dripping but I didn't realize cause I was half asleep and there was again laughter at me and people being grossed out. I was working on a project with someone and my allergies were getting so bad I went into the bathroom and she came in after 20mins to check on me and I couldn't stop sneezing and she got worried I guess and other people came and wanted to call the ambulance and so this group of people were watching me sneeze and sneeze non-stop for so long.
The last embarrassing thing was my doctors appointment. He had 2 others in to look at me too. Lots of observing my allergies and asking questions. They wanted to look in my nose again and that is always problematic, so that was a long snotty embarrassing mess.
Sorry I am not going into too much detail. It feels embarrassing to just write it out. I'd probably be ok chatting about it one on one if you want to know more.
Showing posts with label exams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exams. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Sorry it has been so long, and a Q+A
It has been a really long time, and I am sorry it took so long. I was kinda busy with school, I was sick a few times, time got away from me, and I kept putting off posting.
Over the winter I have had a few colds, 2 turned into sinus infections, and one was a sinus infection, strep throat, and pneumonia. That then got my asthma a bit bothersome for a while. I'm all recovered now though.
The weather has been fluctuating a lot between cold and warm and I bet that has something to do with it. My allergies have also been more bothersome than usual for winters. Someone said the temp fluctuations might be making mold more of an issue. It hasn't been severe, but just more allergic than usual.
I have a number of questions, so I will get right to them:
Q: When you are talking to someone and you have to start sneezing, do you say anything to them? Like, "I have to sneeze.." or do you just start sneezing without saying anything? And do you just walk to the bathroom or do you tell them you are leaving?
A: I don't say anything when I am going to sneeze. I'll often just walk off, especially if its people I know. Otherwise I'll say something like "I'll be back in a bit" or "I have to go to the bathroom"
Q: Do you have time to get out a tissue or do you just sneeze into your elbow and get a tissue later?
A: Luckily I usually have time to get out tissues before I start sneezing. Its not much time, but I have practice getting tissues quickly. If its bad enough that I don't have time, I am often staying at home/away from people anyway. My sneezes can be pretty snotty, so I put a lot of effort into making sure no one sees that. Its very embarrassing the few times I am not able to get a tissue out in time.
Q: You've mentioned doctor's visits before- do you still go regularly to an allergist? What kind of things specifically do they do to examine you, and you've mentioned they use you as a patients for students to learn from- can you give more detail?
A: Yes I still do. Now its mainly just checking in, seeing how things are going, trying out different meds, etc. I am a pretty unique case I guess, so they sometimes bring in students or other docs to look at me, ask questions, do exams, etc. Its kind of boring and embarrassing at the same time. Its the same questions and the same stuff over and over again - they talk about my case, they ask me a lot of questions, and they observe and examine me. Its embarrassing because I have all these people interested in my allergies and watching them in me, and I can't run off and hide. Exam-wise, its a lot of looking up my nose (which gets problematic) and in my ear and in my throat, etc.
Q: Have you ever spoken to family or friends about how they feel about your allergies and how it affects them? How do they feel?
A: Not really. I don't like talking about my allergies in real life. I'm not really sure how they feel. I guess kind of concerned, but it seems they are used to how I am.
Q: What's your worst nightmare relating to your allergies?
A: Two I guess - that they will keep getting worse and worse and I won't be able to do anything ever. And having really long allergy attacks that won't ever stop in public and be unable to talk/tell people what is going on or get away from lots of people staring at me while it happens.
Q: Is there anything you're concerned or worried about relating to them in the future?
A: Mainly them getting worse, and just more of what is already been happening - being embarrassed by them, them interfering in things, making me miss stuff, etc.
Q: Have you ever tried that herbal, powdery stuff called Chhinkni to help clear your stuffy nose? It's supposed to help clear your sinuses but usually makes you sneeze a little first. Supposed to smell like eucalyptus or Vicks.
A: I have heard of he stuff, but I have no interest. It apparently makes you sneeze a lot, and I already sneeze a lot. Sneezing doesn't help clear my nose. My nose isn't all stuffed up from snot, although I do get very snotty, its stuffed up because the nasal passages are smaller than they should be, and they get swollen shut easily.
A: Oh, this is a repeat of one above, just check out that answer :) I will add that my family and my good friends don't seem bothered by my allergies. Many people have been bothered by them, but not anyone who is a close friend.
Q: Would love to chat when you're homebound and bored! You mentioned yahoo and fb chats- what are your names for each?
A: Absolutely! I always would like that. On skype and yahoo I am sneezykate (in skype you might need to use sneezykate@hotmail.com). I am not on FB too much though.
I am sorry if some answers are short. I like to fully answer the questions, but sometimes I can't think of much to say. Let me know if you have any follow-ups.
As usual, please keep the feedback and questions and ideas coming! And as I mentioned in the last answer, feel free to contact me!
Over the winter I have had a few colds, 2 turned into sinus infections, and one was a sinus infection, strep throat, and pneumonia. That then got my asthma a bit bothersome for a while. I'm all recovered now though.
The weather has been fluctuating a lot between cold and warm and I bet that has something to do with it. My allergies have also been more bothersome than usual for winters. Someone said the temp fluctuations might be making mold more of an issue. It hasn't been severe, but just more allergic than usual.
I have a number of questions, so I will get right to them:
Q: When you are talking to someone and you have to start sneezing, do you say anything to them? Like, "I have to sneeze.." or do you just start sneezing without saying anything? And do you just walk to the bathroom or do you tell them you are leaving?
A: I don't say anything when I am going to sneeze. I'll often just walk off, especially if its people I know. Otherwise I'll say something like "I'll be back in a bit" or "I have to go to the bathroom"
Q: Do you have time to get out a tissue or do you just sneeze into your elbow and get a tissue later?
A: Luckily I usually have time to get out tissues before I start sneezing. Its not much time, but I have practice getting tissues quickly. If its bad enough that I don't have time, I am often staying at home/away from people anyway. My sneezes can be pretty snotty, so I put a lot of effort into making sure no one sees that. Its very embarrassing the few times I am not able to get a tissue out in time.
Q: You've mentioned doctor's visits before- do you still go regularly to an allergist? What kind of things specifically do they do to examine you, and you've mentioned they use you as a patients for students to learn from- can you give more detail?
A: Yes I still do. Now its mainly just checking in, seeing how things are going, trying out different meds, etc. I am a pretty unique case I guess, so they sometimes bring in students or other docs to look at me, ask questions, do exams, etc. Its kind of boring and embarrassing at the same time. Its the same questions and the same stuff over and over again - they talk about my case, they ask me a lot of questions, and they observe and examine me. Its embarrassing because I have all these people interested in my allergies and watching them in me, and I can't run off and hide. Exam-wise, its a lot of looking up my nose (which gets problematic) and in my ear and in my throat, etc.
Q: Have you ever spoken to family or friends about how they feel about your allergies and how it affects them? How do they feel?
A: Not really. I don't like talking about my allergies in real life. I'm not really sure how they feel. I guess kind of concerned, but it seems they are used to how I am.
Q: What's your worst nightmare relating to your allergies?
A: Two I guess - that they will keep getting worse and worse and I won't be able to do anything ever. And having really long allergy attacks that won't ever stop in public and be unable to talk/tell people what is going on or get away from lots of people staring at me while it happens.
Q: Is there anything you're concerned or worried about relating to them in the future?
A: Mainly them getting worse, and just more of what is already been happening - being embarrassed by them, them interfering in things, making me miss stuff, etc.
Q: Have you ever tried that herbal, powdery stuff called Chhinkni to help clear your stuffy nose? It's supposed to help clear your sinuses but usually makes you sneeze a little first. Supposed to smell like eucalyptus or Vicks.
A: I have heard of he stuff, but I have no interest. It apparently makes you sneeze a lot, and I already sneeze a lot. Sneezing doesn't help clear my nose. My nose isn't all stuffed up from snot, although I do get very snotty, its stuffed up because the nasal passages are smaller than they should be, and they get swollen shut easily.
A: Oh, this is a repeat of one above, just check out that answer :) I will add that my family and my good friends don't seem bothered by my allergies. Many people have been bothered by them, but not anyone who is a close friend.
Q: Would love to chat when you're homebound and bored! You mentioned yahoo and fb chats- what are your names for each?
A: Absolutely! I always would like that. On skype and yahoo I am sneezykate (in skype you might need to use sneezykate@hotmail.com). I am not on FB too much though.
I am sorry if some answers are short. I like to fully answer the questions, but sometimes I can't think of much to say. Let me know if you have any follow-ups.
As usual, please keep the feedback and questions and ideas coming! And as I mentioned in the last answer, feel free to contact me!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Never buy cheap Q-tips!
I am sorry I haven't posted in a while, so I will even have 2 posts today! This one is the explanation of why I haven't posted in a while
Since I am usually unable to blow my nose, I try to clean out the front of my nostrils a bit so I am not constantly dripping all over the place. If I stick a tissue up there it makes me sneeze like crazy so I use a q-tip just in the front area of my nostrils to gently get as much as I can. Now this last time we got q-tips we were trying to be cheap so we bought dollar-store q-tips instead of the real ones. When I used one, the cotton tip slipped off and I couldn't get it out of my nostril. Allison also tried but it got more stuck, and of course it was irritating my nose like crazy and got kinda messy. We ended up having to go to the hospital to get it taken out, and when they were taking it out they told me some small blood vessels were broken and they wanted to fix them (and that explained all the nosebleeds I had been getting recently).
The problem was they wanted to do some tests, and then that ended up creating days of problems. With all the problems doing the tests and the weird results that show up for me, they all wanted everyone to come and see me, doctors, residents, med students, etc. I always hate that, and there was always new people coming in, asking me all the same stuff as the others, looking in my nose, seeing me all allergic, etc. Most of them weren't very nice either. They also didn't believe me when I told them things and then after all kinds of tests and stuff, they tell me what I told them before like it was their discovery! And of course people wanted to do surgeries, and one doctor swore up and down I had a huge infection. After a few days, he finally realized I didn't have one.
From all that, at least they fixed the blood vessels. I haven't had any more nosebleeds at least. I also found out I have more things I am allergic to than I thought: wood pulp, saw dust, some things used in making some fabrics and rugs, and all kinds of food. The food thing is weird. I have known for a long time I am allergic to dairy because it gives me asthma attacks. They also told me I am allergic to most fruits, nuts, wheat, some veggies and I think a few kinds of beans. That is weird to me because I have never noticed any allergic reactions to any foods other than dairy. One research doctor that saw me asked me to be in 2 studies, one testing out a drug, but I declined that because I usually don't have good reactions, and I don't want to be the first to test one. The other has to do with testing nasal secretions that I might do, since it pays a bit of $.
Ok, well that is my crazy adventure from last week...ugh! My nose is still sore (and maybe swollen a bit) from all the exams! I am going to make a regular post soon today to make up for the missing time and because I might be busy trying to catch up on things this week.
Since I am usually unable to blow my nose, I try to clean out the front of my nostrils a bit so I am not constantly dripping all over the place. If I stick a tissue up there it makes me sneeze like crazy so I use a q-tip just in the front area of my nostrils to gently get as much as I can. Now this last time we got q-tips we were trying to be cheap so we bought dollar-store q-tips instead of the real ones. When I used one, the cotton tip slipped off and I couldn't get it out of my nostril. Allison also tried but it got more stuck, and of course it was irritating my nose like crazy and got kinda messy. We ended up having to go to the hospital to get it taken out, and when they were taking it out they told me some small blood vessels were broken and they wanted to fix them (and that explained all the nosebleeds I had been getting recently).
The problem was they wanted to do some tests, and then that ended up creating days of problems. With all the problems doing the tests and the weird results that show up for me, they all wanted everyone to come and see me, doctors, residents, med students, etc. I always hate that, and there was always new people coming in, asking me all the same stuff as the others, looking in my nose, seeing me all allergic, etc. Most of them weren't very nice either. They also didn't believe me when I told them things and then after all kinds of tests and stuff, they tell me what I told them before like it was their discovery! And of course people wanted to do surgeries, and one doctor swore up and down I had a huge infection. After a few days, he finally realized I didn't have one.
From all that, at least they fixed the blood vessels. I haven't had any more nosebleeds at least. I also found out I have more things I am allergic to than I thought: wood pulp, saw dust, some things used in making some fabrics and rugs, and all kinds of food. The food thing is weird. I have known for a long time I am allergic to dairy because it gives me asthma attacks. They also told me I am allergic to most fruits, nuts, wheat, some veggies and I think a few kinds of beans. That is weird to me because I have never noticed any allergic reactions to any foods other than dairy. One research doctor that saw me asked me to be in 2 studies, one testing out a drug, but I declined that because I usually don't have good reactions, and I don't want to be the first to test one. The other has to do with testing nasal secretions that I might do, since it pays a bit of $.
Ok, well that is my crazy adventure from last week...ugh! My nose is still sore (and maybe swollen a bit) from all the exams! I am going to make a regular post soon today to make up for the missing time and because I might be busy trying to catch up on things this week.
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