End of Summer update

Hey, 3 weeks between posts. Not bad. I'm sure everyone is wondering - Where did he go? Well for the past 3-4 weeks I've been struggling with Allergies. I've never believed I had allergies, let alone get tested for them. Sure I would sneeze and have a runny nose, but it would last a day or two and be gone, just the common cold. Or so I thought.

I have now had 2 stages of testing for allergies. And the results aren't pretty. (Phase 1 - Indoor Allergies, Phase 2 - Spring Allergies, Phase 3 - Late Summer/Fall Allergies, and finally Phase 4 - Food Allergies). Results from Phase 1 - Indoor: Dust!? Is that even possible? I know I've heard of people being allergic to dust, but dust is everywhere! How can your body decide - you know what this dust isn't working out, I need to produce vast amounts of mucus, swell my nasal passages to where I can barely breathe through one nostril at a time, and finally make me sneeze at least 3 times every 10 minutes. OK, so on with the testing - surely dust can not be causing all these miserable symptoms. Luckily the mold tests was negative, along with dog (although a little reaction did appear, but not enough for concern), but the biggie. Yeah, if you've read this blog you know, CAT... POSITIVE. And not just positive, but 5 times worse than anything else on the indoor allergy test.

I love Cats, especially my cute, cuddly, LONG HAIR domestic, Estrella. Allergic to cat? I had a few cats growing up, and my step father was allergic to them, but no way I was. Cats are great, they are so independent you can leave them for a day or two and they are fine. They clean themselves, use a litter box, and don't eat a lot. OK so once in a while you have to clean up a hairball, or comb out a mat in the fur. No way am I allergic to cat, nor getting rid of mine. They suggest keeping the cat out of the bedroom right away if you can't part with your pet. Its hard to kick someone out of the bedroom, especially when they sit right outside the door and cry non-stop until you let them in. But I guess its worth a try. Or deny it... Yeah there is something else out there that is causing this, not my beautiful cat. That's it.

Phase 2 - Spring Pollens, grasses and trees that bloom in the spring. OK so a few more positives - Birch, Oak and Hickory. And Birch was worse than Cat. Even all the grasses were slightly positive. As you have read, I like to mow the lawn. Allergic to grass and trees? WOW.

So next week, Fall Allergies - Ragweed, corn and other late summer/fall pollen. These must be what are bothering me so bad right now. Can't wait to see how this turns out. Even the nurse is excited, kind of sick, but she likes to see the reaction and even cheers when its big. Weird lady, but I guess you have to have something to get excited about working in a doctors office.

So yeah, I'm still alive, but struggling. OH yeah, I can't take anti-histamines during the testing process. Although when I had taken them, they didn't seem to help much anyway.

Waj