Allergic to.....Life

I would not be a good wife if I didn't start off the post to say how proud I am of my hubby right now. He's doing so well in all of his classes, and even got the highest score on his biology test. And by highest score, I don't mean just in his class. I mean that Vance got the highest test score out of all of the classes his professor teaches; 96%, with a 20/20 on his essay!

Good job baby cakes :) You make an Anni proud. I sure know I never did that well when I was in college biology.....

As for me, I haven't been studying for any tests, but I have taken a couple tests since the last time I logged on here. As a follow-up from my conjunctivitis entry a few weeks ago, here is the latest scoop. You'll be happy to know that I am slowly paving the road to a much happier future.

I made an appointment with an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat doctor). On September 26th, I explained to him in thorough detail, and to the best of my ability, just what has been going on with my throat and nose. I made sure to also throw in the fact that I have had horrible hay fever due to animals, plants, grass, etc. for as long as I can remember.

He didn't examine much; mostly just listened and wrote down a bunch of notes. I was expecting/hoping the doctor would examine my throat a little bit more (even the eye doctor examined my throat), and I was nervous he just thought I was a nut job, or a big gross-o. He prescribed me some antibiotics to help clear my head, and set me up for a follow-up appointment for the following week to get tested for allergies.

After nearly 36 hours of constantly going to the pharmacy to get either:
 a)neglected,
 b)told that my medicine was still not in, so therefore
 c)go to a neighboring pharmacy that does have the medicine
I finally got my hands on the nasty horse pills. I was not too hopeful of the antibiotics, as I was sure it wouldn't solve the problem, but tried them anyway.

Sure enough, I was right. The only thing the 9 days of antibiotics did were give me a constant horrible taste in my mouth, and even more fun than that, a yeast infection. What a grand journey it was.

The first night I took the pills, I had no idea the flavor would be so bad, or that it would linger so constantly. I dreamt that I was smoking 3 cigarettes at the exact same time; two cigs in my mouth and holding one more in my hand, just huffing and puffing away. (Please note that I do NOT smoke). I woke up at 3:00 a.m. to a dry mouth that tasted somewhat of ash, mixed with something else I can't quite put my finger on. From there on out, I kept a pack of mentos on my nightstand and/or chewed gum in my sleep.

Monday, October 3 was allergy testing day! (and Day 4 of antibiotics). I was nervous as could be. I wanted so badly for them to help me, and was afraid that for some reason my body would not give them the answers that they needed. I was afraid the results would not be correct, and that they would think I was just faking or over dramatizing the whole thing, even though I knew I wasn't, and that I needed some answers.

Before we began the tests, I read the synopsis they wrote about me on their clipboard:
"Annika presents today for allergy testing. She complains of hay fever, excess mucous, chest congestion, nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose, and itchy skin and eyes."

 If I didn't know me, I would think I were a big ol' baby based on that bio, but honest to goodness folks, its all the darned truth!

I was given 16-17 pricks in each arm, to see just what triggers my allergies. Several pricks were given for each category: various trees, weeds, molds, dust, animals and grass. I asked them to also test me for cow's milk.

Sure enough, within minutes, my arms were inflamed and on fire. It was all I could do to endure those 20 minutes and not claw both of my arms right off. The itch was insane! Each individual prick swelled at a different speed and size, but sure enough, my reaction to most of the allergens was quite significant.  I even had the nurse impressed! I heard her run out to the other room to tell some co-workers how bad my reactions were, and she kept exclaiming to me, "You poor thing!"

I would notice one hive or another on my arm becoming extremely itchy and intolerable. I'd ask my nurse which one that was, and it was fun to hear the different answers.

"See this bump and how the itch is swelling and spreading up through your upper arm? That one's cat. Oh, and that itchy hive there, that's Pig Weed. And this hive you want to claw off, that one is Rye grass. Oh and look over here! That one is a Cottonwood tree." On and on we went. It was actually kind of fun and rather fascinating. It at least helped keep my mind off the itch.

I am sad to report that I did indeed test postitive for cow's milk. Talk about "udder" disappointment.

She then measured the size of my hives, and the size indicated how allergic I was to each specific thing. Most hives were pretty big and itchy, indicating that my allergies were pretty high.

My arms after testing. I didn't think to take pictures until after
she had added anti-itch creme, so sadly the swelling had already
gone down by the time I snapped this, but you get an idea.

Of the 33 things we tested for,  I had an above-average to serious allergic reaction to 27 of them.
And we discovered the reason that I have such seasonal allergies, is because, well,  I am allergic to every gosh dang season. No shocker there, I already knew all of this, but I was glad they pin pointed it for me. Mother nature produces new allergens each and every season that my body loves to freak out over. Isn't she so thoughtful? :)

Which explains my horrible breathing at night, and awfully annoying throat.  The nurse gave me the chart of all of my allergies, and a list of options for a treatment called immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is a treatment built to induce, enhance, or suppress an immune response, in my case, to environmental allergies (doesn't work for food allergies). Immunotherapy can be done one of 2 ways: Weekly shots done at the doctors office for 3-5 years, or through serum that I place under my tongue weekly for 3-5 years. 


Both forms (shot or drops) would contain the allergens that make my life so miserable in them. What happens is the first dose starts out very small. Little by little, week by week, the dose of allergies in each shot or drop increases, until I have built up a tolerance to the specific allergies and no longer go haywire when I'm around certain of my "toxins". 


Sounds like magic! I cannot imagine living in a world where I can play with cats, lay in the grass, and sit underneath a tree without swelling, itching, and sneezing like crazy. Or where I can hike and camp and actually breath! If anyone knows me very well, I am constantly carrying "snot rags" or Kleenexs around with me. My nose is constantly red and flakey, and my eyes and skin always itch. It is very embarrassing, and I'd love to depart with this old lifestyle. 

I spoke with the doctor a few days after my allergy testing, and after looking at my chart, he told me that it would be in my best interest to do the immunotherapy. He says that not very many people need to go to such measures to eliminate allergies, but my allergies are extreme enough that I will notice a dramatic positive change in my life if I decide to do so. Oh and he told me I could discontinue my last day of antibiotics since they were not related to my problem! Hooray for no more yucky taste in my mouth!

So guess what? After much talking with my husband, we have decided to go with the immunotherapy in drops form! I start Monday. Because I will be applying the medicine myself, the drops are much cheaper than the shots, even though they are not covered by insurance. I like the idea of not being constantly poked (I HATE shots and needles), or having to go into the office weekly.

As for the dairy, that will mean a whole new change in my lifestyle. I realize I need to give up so much, but I think/hope it will be worth it. My next door neighbor is allergic to dairy as well, and has been on a special diet for years. She says its hard, but she has been so great at helping me know what to look for when shopping for food, and what substitutes to use for cooking and baking. She even knows of some good cheeses and ice-creams (that taste good!) that do not contain dairy! I have also found a few vegan cooking websites that don't look so bad either, and am excited to try up some new recipes.

Basically, I am aiming to create a "vegan" diet for myself. I use the term vegan lightly because I will still eat meat, but need to eliminate the dairy. Coming from a girl who has never read a food label or worried about what she's eaten in her life, this is going to be a HUGE change, and a hard one for me. Especially since I am obsessed with cheese and love me a tall glass of chocolate milk. But, I am excited to become more healthy, and here's to hoping that saying goodbye to my beloved dairy helps my breathing and swallowing problems.

Cheers! And thanks for reading