...here I come...
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
A Short Rant on a Topic That has Consumed My Life
Some people may know by this point that I have a nasty looking rash on my legs. After a variety of medical opinions, tests, meds, and biopsies, it was determined to be..... dermatitis.
No duh.
At first I thought it was hives. Or possibly related to grasses, since it started at the end of last August. At that point, my entire body was just plain itchy, and scratching would cause large welts to appear.
But one morning I woke up to blood splattered sheets, that apparently came from my elbow. Again, I thought it was something benign. I spend a lot of time resting on my elbows, reading, knitting, playing video games, I thought it was just irritated. But it never went away.
Then, another spot appeared above my ankle, about the size of a nickel. I thought it was a scratch, or a bug bite. It looked pretty bad. I tried neosporin, hydrocortisone cream, benadryl, just about anything I had lying around the house. Every time the spots started to clear up, they would start to itch like crazy, and then I scratched them open again.
Actually, I've had this problem long enough, I can't even really remember the early details.
A nurse I work with said the ankle and elbow looked like eczema, but the rest was something different. The allergist I work for, and the dermatologist all said the same thing. But all the areas started out looking the same, kind of like acne, but on my legs. Nope, 2 spots are eczema, the rest is something different, they all said.
The most common answer I was given was bug bites. Surely my dog has fleas, or we have bed bugs or dust mites in our house/bed. Ew. No, the dog does not have fleas, at least according to the vet. And if it was in the bed, wouldn't K have it too? Not that I wish this upon anyone.
So, I stopped taking antihistamines long enough to be skin tested. Lo and behold! I'm allergic to grasses and trees. Not really that surprising. What was surprising was that I was not allergic to dust mites, dog, cat, molds, or cockroach. I have lived some very sketchy places.
As a perk of working for an allergist, I can get allergy immunotherapy, i.e. allergy shots. It's been 8 months. I was hoping that by now I would have some relief. Maybe I do? Who knows? All I know it that it's hot and humid, and every day I wear shorts or a skirt (which is almost every day) I get a shocked look and an "Oh my god! What happened to your legs?" Granted, I did fall in March and have a beautiful brown scar across my left shin, but it too is becoming red and bumpy from the rash.
Okay, so lets see, I've tried antibiotics, antihistamines, $300 topical steroids (okay, just the samples), not shaving, every kind of thick body lotion, antibacterial soap, allergy shots... Everything short of moving to the arctic. Well, that, and giving up roller derby, which requires sweating for hours in spandex and neoprene. But I have stopped wearing the tights and knee socks.
One of the doctors I work with thought I should stop eating grains, for at least 2 weeks, because I have such a high grass sensitivity. I wasn't able to ask her which one in particular, but after a few Google searches another nurse found quite an extensive list of cereals a person with grass allergies may be sensitive to. Here is a sample;
Wheat
Oats
Rye
Barley
Rice
Corn
Two weeks. If this doesn't work I suppose next I can try cutting dairy, or eggs, or nuts, or soy out of my diet. If nothing else, I'll probably lose some weight.
No duh.
At first I thought it was hives. Or possibly related to grasses, since it started at the end of last August. At that point, my entire body was just plain itchy, and scratching would cause large welts to appear.
But one morning I woke up to blood splattered sheets, that apparently came from my elbow. Again, I thought it was something benign. I spend a lot of time resting on my elbows, reading, knitting, playing video games, I thought it was just irritated. But it never went away.
Then, another spot appeared above my ankle, about the size of a nickel. I thought it was a scratch, or a bug bite. It looked pretty bad. I tried neosporin, hydrocortisone cream, benadryl, just about anything I had lying around the house. Every time the spots started to clear up, they would start to itch like crazy, and then I scratched them open again.
Actually, I've had this problem long enough, I can't even really remember the early details.
A nurse I work with said the ankle and elbow looked like eczema, but the rest was something different. The allergist I work for, and the dermatologist all said the same thing. But all the areas started out looking the same, kind of like acne, but on my legs. Nope, 2 spots are eczema, the rest is something different, they all said.
The most common answer I was given was bug bites. Surely my dog has fleas, or we have bed bugs or dust mites in our house/bed. Ew. No, the dog does not have fleas, at least according to the vet. And if it was in the bed, wouldn't K have it too? Not that I wish this upon anyone.
So, I stopped taking antihistamines long enough to be skin tested. Lo and behold! I'm allergic to grasses and trees. Not really that surprising. What was surprising was that I was not allergic to dust mites, dog, cat, molds, or cockroach. I have lived some very sketchy places.
As a perk of working for an allergist, I can get allergy immunotherapy, i.e. allergy shots. It's been 8 months. I was hoping that by now I would have some relief. Maybe I do? Who knows? All I know it that it's hot and humid, and every day I wear shorts or a skirt (which is almost every day) I get a shocked look and an "Oh my god! What happened to your legs?" Granted, I did fall in March and have a beautiful brown scar across my left shin, but it too is becoming red and bumpy from the rash.
Okay, so lets see, I've tried antibiotics, antihistamines, $300 topical steroids (okay, just the samples), not shaving, every kind of thick body lotion, antibacterial soap, allergy shots... Everything short of moving to the arctic. Well, that, and giving up roller derby, which requires sweating for hours in spandex and neoprene. But I have stopped wearing the tights and knee socks.
One of the doctors I work with thought I should stop eating grains, for at least 2 weeks, because I have such a high grass sensitivity. I wasn't able to ask her which one in particular, but after a few Google searches another nurse found quite an extensive list of cereals a person with grass allergies may be sensitive to. Here is a sample;
Wheat
Oats
Rye
Barley
Rice
Corn
Two weeks. If this doesn't work I suppose next I can try cutting dairy, or eggs, or nuts, or soy out of my diet. If nothing else, I'll probably lose some weight.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Lots of Things Happened...
I joined the roller derby. (See previous post). After months of practice and pain, and money, lots of money, I finally passed assessments and am a proud member of the Vineyard Vixens!
We traveled. First, we drove to northern Illinois for Thanksgiving. Stayed until Sunday to avoid the DC holiday traffic. (2011 was a nightmare!). I technically get Mondays off, so it wasn't too bad. Then on December 21st we flew to Denver, drove to Colorado Springs, then up the pass the Woodland Park. I'm not much of a traveler. Usually the first thing I do when I get to my in-laws is puke. Not this time. Quite proud of that actually, particularly considering the next point...
I got sick. Still am, actually. Started Wednesday before we flew to Colorado, and has been waxing and waning ever since. The last week of January I actually had to call out of work because I had a fever and so much stuff draining out of my head I couldn't talk for the coughing. Calling out sick causes problems due to my next point...
Lots of coworkers quit. 2 days before Thanksgiving one nurse went on maternity leave. She wasn't supposed to leave for another week. Apparently the doctor thought that the rash she had for the last 4 months finally needed to be treated with steroids, so they wanted to induce labor early. Huh? Another nurse had quit not long before that because she was sick of the commute. The week before I called in sick the nurse practitioner quit. She has health problems that cause her to get sick easily, and working at an office full of sick patients (and me) was not going so well. She does have a 3 year old walking, talking, germ factory (cute though) so I wish her the best of luck.
We bought a house. I've been waiting to write this post, because I didn't want to jinx anything. Just around the corner from our rental we found a 1915 Sears kit home in the historic district. Definitely a fixer-upper. Got a good price 'cause the renters were sweet, but a nightmare. Will be spending the next month cleaning, and fixing, and painting, and pulling, and ..... (you name it). The renters want our current house. I can't even begin to go in to details, I am simply looking forward to the time I no longer have to be in contact with any of these people again (renters, landlords, realtors, lawyers, etc.)
We traveled. First, we drove to northern Illinois for Thanksgiving. Stayed until Sunday to avoid the DC holiday traffic. (2011 was a nightmare!). I technically get Mondays off, so it wasn't too bad. Then on December 21st we flew to Denver, drove to Colorado Springs, then up the pass the Woodland Park. I'm not much of a traveler. Usually the first thing I do when I get to my in-laws is puke. Not this time. Quite proud of that actually, particularly considering the next point...
I got sick. Still am, actually. Started Wednesday before we flew to Colorado, and has been waxing and waning ever since. The last week of January I actually had to call out of work because I had a fever and so much stuff draining out of my head I couldn't talk for the coughing. Calling out sick causes problems due to my next point...
Lots of coworkers quit. 2 days before Thanksgiving one nurse went on maternity leave. She wasn't supposed to leave for another week. Apparently the doctor thought that the rash she had for the last 4 months finally needed to be treated with steroids, so they wanted to induce labor early. Huh? Another nurse had quit not long before that because she was sick of the commute. The week before I called in sick the nurse practitioner quit. She has health problems that cause her to get sick easily, and working at an office full of sick patients (and me) was not going so well. She does have a 3 year old walking, talking, germ factory (cute though) so I wish her the best of luck.
We bought a house. I've been waiting to write this post, because I didn't want to jinx anything. Just around the corner from our rental we found a 1915 Sears kit home in the historic district. Definitely a fixer-upper. Got a good price 'cause the renters were sweet, but a nightmare. Will be spending the next month cleaning, and fixing, and painting, and pulling, and ..... (you name it). The renters want our current house. I can't even begin to go in to details, I am simply looking forward to the time I no longer have to be in contact with any of these people again (renters, landlords, realtors, lawyers, etc.)
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