Allergy amateurs!
6My neighbor just announced the results of her first-ever allergy test: dust, mold, pollens, horses, German cockroaches etc. She’s very impressed and plans to do yard work while wearing a mask ‘during pollen season’. (This is Florida; pollen season is 12 months long.) I asked whether she was having her carpet taken out, encasing bed/pillows, getting HEPA air filters, getting shots… No, she likes her carpet because if she falls it will cushion her, never heard of HEPA, wouldn’t like shots… Bwwaahaahaa! Her followup appointment will provide her ‘some’ things to change, she says, and she’ll do everything they say. Evil smirk here.
Do you have allergies, and are you expert or amateur level?
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sufferer or doing stuff to fix it?? expert sufferer, amateur at doing anything about this shit…
@mikibell Solutions welcome. Avoiding stuff, like almonds and horses, is relatively easy. I was allergic to my mother-in-law, too, but Sonny boy kept inviting her to stay.
@OldCatLady crap… I really do think we are related… I am allergic to my mil too … must be hereditary!!!
@OldCatLady @mikibell I dearly loved my mil (and she loved me, too). She died way too soon. Upon her deathbed, she took my hand and told me to take good care of her son. Another of my many failings…
@OldCatLady ok, I am going to whine… I am hungry… looking for a healthy snack, I normally have a bit of almond butter on graham crackers – I can’t be allergic to almonds…
@Barney you are very lucky to have had a good relationship with her. If I were smart, I could have a good relationship with mine… but alas, I REALLY like my father in law… and that gets me into LOTS of trouble. She doesn’t like him either!!!
Have them. Relatively mild. Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra usually takes care of it.
They suck.
I exist on Claritin and Azmanephrin, and there is a book of things I do not eat if I want to not spend $400/mo US , $90Can(and the rest of the world) for inhalers .
@cranky1950 I think you’re in the semi-pro league. Fexofenadine works for me, plus montelukast, which Publix just put on their ‘free’ list. And inhalers PRN, and NasalCrom. And shots. Why is it you immediately crave whatever you just found out you’re allergic to?
@OldCatLady do the shots reallllyyy hurt???
@mikibell No. They use a REALLY tiny needle. Mine don’t even bleed. The first few times you probably will have an itchy welt for a few hours. Use cortisone cream.
@OldCatLady haven’t heard from the allergist office yet… but I expect that dr appt is going to be arranged soon. My skinny healthy pia dr told me not to eat almonds in the meanwhile… and peaches… smh… that was after he relocated my dislocated joint… smug bastard!
@mikibell tiny needles. Mine actually burn a little now when they inject the stuff, usually goes away in a couple of minutes. Sometimes when they try to increase the dose, I’ll get a bump that’s super itchy for a few hours.
They are basically injecting tiny amounts of the stuff you’re allergic to, so sometimes there is going to be a reaction.
@OldCatLady montelukast works great in conjunction with the other stuff I take… But it made my dreams even weirder. I always had nightmares, but this made very mundane things into crazy nightmares. I would wake up with terrible feelings of dread.
After my last prescription was up, I didn’t refill it. My nose isn’t quite as clear as before… But I couldn’t deal with those extra nightmares.
@RiotDemon oh, that does not sound like fun!!! Thank you, I wasn’t aware of how this worked yet…
huh, wonder if that is why I have crazy dreams – montelukast is singulair, right?
@RiotDemon But it’s free! Hmm. Maybe I’ll look into alternatives. Yes, @mikibell, Singulair is montelukast.
@OldCatLady ahhh life saving stuff…in my case…or at least sanity saving, it keeps me from pneumonia every year. I wonder why smug ass dr hasn’t sent me to allergist before, considering my asthma is worse seasonally…
@OldCatLady @mikibell from what I tried to find out, it doesn’t say the dreams thing is that common. Maybe I’m more susceptible since most of my dreams are nightmares to begin with.
@RiotDemon Since you mentioned it, I did some more research. It’s not an uncommon side effect, and I don’t like some of the others mentioned. I’m going to taper off and switch to fluticasone, which takes awhile to become effective. Thanks for the heads up.
I had the tests done. I’m pretty much allergic to the state of Florida. Dust mites, mold, cockroaches, black willow trees, Bermuda grass, and then I’m lightly allergic to cats and dogs, of which I have both.
I’m getting the shots. I take pills. I use flonase.
I don’t own my house so I’m not putting in hard flooring. I didn’t buy the expensive mattress covers and whatever because my symptoms are pretty controlled with my meds. I didn’t buy the filtration either.
So, I guess I’m terrible at it.
@RiotDemon I’d say you’re pro, because shots. I’m waiting for my neighbor to get her ‘action list’; she’s 68 and has suffered all her life with allergies, but apparently never went to a professional. Catchup will be a bitch. My room air cleaners are definitely making a difference. The pillow covers are debatable, but I have them so I use them.
@RiotDemon Did you buy today’s Meh deal? You could cross the air filter off the list then.
@dashcloud I did not. Too much money for me.
@OldCatLady my worst symptom was when I’d be putting away boxes at work that came covered in dust, my arms would break out in rashes. I’d absent mindedly start lightly itching them, and then my arms would look like a cat completely attacked me until I could wash my arms.
The constant hard stuff in my nose didn’t feel that great either.
@mikibell I bought the most wonderful white chocolate, coconut, ALMOND cookies today at the grocery store.
They were also giving out helium filled mylar ballons to all of the “good” little kids. The clerk gave me one! I’ve been torturing Lady with it this evening.
@Barney Why ruin a good cookie with coconut?
@Barney ha…I don’t like white chocolate
(PEOPLE, DO YOU SEE BARNEY BEING EVIL???)
@OldCatLady I
coconut.
@mikibell I’m not evil, I’m good and I’ve got the balloon to prove it!
@Barney bet Lady would agree with me today!
@Barney said
YUM
@f00l Ah, there’s hope for you yet.
Never had the tests, but we have some seventy/eighty foot pine trees and every year at this time my allergies are bad.
We have that fine yellow coating over everything.
So far, I only have the scratchy throat.
@lisaviolet ClaratinD
Have lived in the Ohio River Valley for almost 48 years with no allergies while those all around me got headaches, runny noses, sneezed constantly, sinus problems. Until now. Nothing I’ve had so far would send me to a doctor but I don’t like the possibility that things are going to get worse.
I used to have very bad allergies – hay fever/ragweed, pollen, anything floating around in the air, but I outgrew them. So, I guess the solution is that you guys just need to grow up.
/giphy peter pan
@Barney they come back after 50
I once went for a food allergy patch test. When I went back to the allergist’s office to review the results, the technician told me I was allergic to cats. When I asked if that meant I should stay away from Chinese food she looked horrified. I then clarified my response by saying that I thought I was there for food allergy testing, so I didn’t know why else she would mention cats. She looked less horrified and proceeded to tell me that in addition to testing for food items, they run some “standard” tests for things like dust, pollen, cats, etc. So, the good news is I can still have Chinese food.
@heartny I do like the way your mind works. It’s twisted.
After 25+ years (early 30s) finally got the skin prick tests. Highly positive for early wind pollen (cedars/junipers, ashes, maples), moderate for grasses, cats, horses. Have had asthma like symptoms from indoor rodeo/horse shows, so that wasn’t a surprise. Before starting on allergy shots, I’d start my day with a Zyrtec, then would add on Benadryl throughout the day when things got worse. Now, at full shot dosage, I still have symptoms, but it’s more of a moderately irritating occurrence than full-blown misery.
@thejackalope I think that’s called ‘controlled’. Bleah.
Been doing shots for years. Do them myself (get the refills from the Dr twice a year) once a week. Easy peasy and I don’t claw my eyes out anymore.
Horrible hay fever. Had a nasal reduction years ago and it did wonders. Just had to take a sick day last week because I had some really bad attack. It was almost like a cold.
Were putting in a yard at our new home (doing everything ourselves), so this was really bad timing.
The trees are trying to kill me right now, so groggy…
I’d say Expert level. I used to have anaphylactic reactions to eggs and egg products from the age of 2(ish) to a teenager. Puberty was a wonderful time… strange and wonderful things happened… one of which was I outgrew my egg allergy. I used to have a fanny pack that I had to carry around constantly with the following contents: Primatene mist Inhaler, Benadryl (I was on 2-4 times the adult dose, a bottle would last 2 reactions at most, no need for dosing cups when you drink 1/2 a bottle.) albuterol inhaler, Epi Pen. I never had to use the Epi pen, I was lucky. However I was told that I should have used it twice. We used to know the Ambulance staff by 1st name, and they knew us by 1st name.
Now I have nasal allergies, and they annoy me but they don’t kill me, so I’m happy!
oh for meds now I have to rotate between Zyrtec and Claritin. Each works for about 2 weeks then stops… so I switch off, rinse and repeat… Only when I have nasal allergy issues, otherwise my body gets used to them and they no longer are affective… (I go to Costco and get the generic bottles they are cheap for a year’s worth of pills at a time.)
2nd edit… I also get the Generic Pseudoephedrine, I like the 12 hour pills, I generally take 1 of them and 1 of the red ones at a time, PER Dr. orders, however I have to space out buying them due to laws regulating the sale of Pseudoephedrine.