I have to be honest and say that I have not been feeling that well. I was excited at the start of the week because after many, many years of suffering, I decided I would go to an allergist to see what the deal is. I was excited to find out what I am allergic to and what I can do about it to give me some relief. I was finding out more times than not, I was miserable the weekends I spent inside my own house, which is never good. No one should feel like they are allergic to their home.
I must have the best allergist on the planet because he met me in his office (not an exam room) for about 40 minutes before even checking me out. No one does that any more. After talking with me he told me he noticed my breathing didn't look right and wanted to take a listen. Well, after many checks with his stethoscope he told me he thinks I may have asthma and my breathing seems labored and he can hear a wheeze. So, we move on to some breathing tests, one where you breathe into what looks like a toilet paper holder and one you breathe into a machine where you breathe out and then in and it measures your force or something like that. Turns out I have "severe asthma" apparently I have had it for so long and never knew because I never got the tightness in my chest, never wheezed too much unless it was a rare occasion where all of my allergies took over at once, so I thought that was part of it. Not the case.
Dr. gives me a nebulizer treatment and then runs all the other tests again and my breathing gets somewhat better. So he leaves me with a hard core asthma regimen for the next three weeks and then moves on to the allergy test portion of the appointment.
The nurse scratches my back with all kinds of things to see what sets me off, she leaves me there for 15 minutes to see what has an effect and what does not. The nurse comes back in to take notes and the Dr. is reading the results, a combo of numbers that is a secret code to them as to what the allergies are. By the way, this is NOT FUN, it is like having mosquito bites on your back because whatever you are allergic to starts to get red and itch and you can't scratch - think chicken pox. I cannot believe what they test for, the one that blew my mind was cockroaches, I guess some people are allergic to them, not me though.
I am allergic to....guess what?
It is very sad because it is one of my favorite things....are you ready?
Are you sure?
OK - I am allergic to......
Yes, that is right, I have an "acute cat allergy" and was told "immediate removal of cat from the living facility" is in order to restore my breathing and quell some of my other allergies.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN FOLKS.
We talked about some other options because BayLee is my baby. Seriously, if I didn't have him, I would probably have lost my mind a long time ago.
There are a million of other things I need to do around the house because I am allergic to other things as well but the cat is the major one and probably exacerbates the other allergies. We are making some changes in our bedroom (wish I could remove that old carpet in there that has been there since we moved in and God only knows how long before we moved in). Removing it would make it a cleaner breathing room for me but honestly there is only so much we can do as renters. I have more tests they need to do and am getting some lab work done this weekend to see what else may be present, but we have to get the asthma under control first before any other "scratch tests" that may send me into an asthma attack. I am on medication that so far has helped, I guess, I mean, I didn't know I had asthma in the first place. Funny thing too, I have had cats my entire life and no doctor ever noticed. My allergist told me that I had what he is calling an "in-audible wheeze" - you would have to be looking for it to detect it so he was not surprised no one else caught it.
Crazy - with all of that said, the medication has put me in a bit of a mood, headache, stomach issues, and no appetite, but they said it could take a week to get used to. We will see.
All of this happened on Tuesday and I have been a little down (not emotionally) ever since, just super tired, worn out and trying to get used to my new lung capacity - ha ha!
PS - thought this photo was funny, BayLee is like "who? me?" so cute!
6 comments:
that stinks. Do they have you on steroids for your asthma? We can have roid rage together!
I love you!
Robin
ha ha! Yes, they do! I am on the juice!
Let's RAGE!!!!
Do you watch "How I Met Your Mother"? If so, did you see the episode with...."TANTRUM!!!"?
I feel like I am on that stuff.
XO - Katie
ah, i love the phrase 'acute cat allergies' - i never was tested, but i definitely am allergic to cats (asthma and all). that said, we always had one growing up - you can do it! just takes lots of constant vacuuming and dusting and keeping the cat (sadly) from your bedroom. we used allergy covers for the pillows and bed and duvet as well... good luck! keeping the windows open as much as possible helped also... miss you guys already!!! (we are all three suffering from sinus infections so we are feeling sympathy) good luck :)
Well, I'm happy that you got some answers but those are crappy answers! I hope you feel better very soon. Maybe you can train Baylee to vacuum and dust? HA!
Love you,
A
What a boat to be in...! I'm so sorry! But at least they are figuring it out and you'll be feeling better soon. The steroids are terrible (but effective) and hopefully you won't be on them very long. I've had asthma and allergies for years.
Everything Sarah said is true about cats. Just try to keep BayLee off your bed and bedding. Maybe the landlords would consider putting in Pergo floors or at the very least replace the carpet if they hear you have asthma? Some landlords are really nice about that sort of thing, especially when you're a good tenant and it's time for some maintenance anyways. Wouldn't hurt to ask?
Good luck! xo
Thanks ladies!
Sara, ugh, sinus infections, I got one from the plane ride coming back from Malta, no fun at all. I mentioned it to my allergist and I guess you can't catch them from other people, but the pressure, recycled air and dryness from the plane can make them come on plus the change in weather, different stuff in the air, etc. They are awful though, I hope you guys are on the mend.
Raquel - I am going to talk to the landlord soon about the flooring and see what we can do. Tim and I have even priced some flooring if we have to pay for it. So we will see.
We have a mattress cover already and allergy pillow covers, a hepa filter, etc. since this has been a problem for a while we have tried everything to fix it. The meds I take a night work really well though, I am home today and no allergies at all (knock on wood).
Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it.
XO - Katie
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