Allergies

[msg_v2]

It's that lovely time of year again where I walk around doped up to avoid reacting negatively to plant sperm!

Let's talk about our allergies! Food/plant/animal/mineral/robot!

What kind of allergies do you have? Are you lucky enough to not have any? How bad do they get? Do you find they affect your life? Would you trade your allergies for other kinds of allergies?

It's the damned grass pollen that does it for me.. around late may/June. Also, sometimes I get affected in early autumn/late summer (ragweed? ).

[Senseye]

Tree pollen for me. A six week period late April - early June. The itchy eyes drive me nuts. But outside of being an irritant (albeit sometimes an extreme irritant), it doesn't really impact my life. I suppose it costs me $40-$60 each spring which I drop on allergy meds which are only marginally effective.

I guess hay fever is the most benign of allergies, it's not like you can die from it. So I don't know about trading (for say a food allergy). But I used to have no (known) allergies. I'd happily go back to that state.

[Polemarch]

My allergies have gotten progressively worse each year. When I was younger, I can't remember having any. Now, I spend about 40% of the year with congestion and an itchy throat/ears at minimum. Occasionally it escalates into asthma/bronchitis.

I've been to see the allergist, and she performed a standard skin test to see what I'm allergic to. Apparently nothing. So I'm imagining things. After some research, however, I discovered that some forms of allergic rhinitis aren't detectable by a skin test, as the allergies are only triggered in sinus tissue.

Other than nasal/sinus/respiratory issues, I have no other major allergies. Lactose intolerance - but does that even count?

[stuck]

What kind of allergies do you have? Are you lucky enough to not have any? How bad do they get? Do you find the affect your life? Would you trade your allergies for other kinds of allergies?

Horrible fucking tree pollen allergies. The first time I experienced them full force during puberty, my eyes swelled shut.

The average bad day, it was sneezing several times a minute all day until my spine hurt. I would have to take benadryl and sleep with a wet towel over my face- for several weeks at a time. I've taken everything for them and nothing works very well.

UNTIL

I started lifting weights. In the two years since I've had two-three mild allergy attacks.

I'm pretty sure it's related to an overall shitty immune system that I've now strengthened.

[Thevenin]

My allergies have gotten progressively worse each year. When I was younger, I can't remember having any. Now, I spend about 40% of the year with congestion and an itchy throat/ears at minimum. Occasionally it escalates into asthma/bronchitis...

You're rusting, as are we all.

[gator]

Jeez, am I going to have to be the token sicko that lists a million things? I'm not accustomed to thinking of myself as being allergic to everything but it seems like every couple years I add a new thing to the list. I asked the doctor what gives and she said that because I'm allergic to penicillin I could be allergic to pretty much anything and everything eventually. Wonderful.


Penicillin
Symptoms: kidney failure; open, weeping sores on my face, armpits and groin

I never get sick anymore so this isn't very disruptive in my daily life. I make sure I research every drug I'm prescribed before taking it. There's always the possibility that I might end up unconscious in hospital and die from my meds though.


Carraway seeds
Symptoms: hives

Usually only found in German rye bread. I don't really like the flavour of carraway anyway so it's pretty easy to avoid.


Insect bites
Symptoms: abnormal amounts of painful swelling

Under 4 bites and I seem to be fine, but if I have too many at a time sometimes my joints will swell up and get very difficult to bend. No big deal. I keep a lot of antihistamines on hand.


Raw spinach
Symptoms: 6-8 hours of painful bloating, lethargy and explosive diarrhea

This one started a few years ago and was a big surprise. It took me a long time to realize what it was. It was hard to give up spinach salads, but when the alternative is being miserable you do what you have to do. Raw spinach is pretty easy to avoid and pick out of things.


Quinoa
Symptoms: 6-8 hours of painful bloating, lethargy and explosive diarrhea

I developed an allergy to quinoa about a year and a half ago. It sucks. It's a really popular grain these days. The gluten free craze has made this a popular alternative to wheat in a lot of baked products so it's often hiding in things and not always disclosed. Potlucks are the worst.


As an aside... why is it that every time I say I have a food allergy people feel they have to interrogate me as to my symptoms? Why do they feel it's their business why I don't want to eat that thing?

[Thevenin]

Jeez, am I going to have to be the token sicko that lists a million things? I'm not accustomed to thinking of myself as being allergic to everything but it seems like every couple years I add a new thing to the list. I asked the doctor what gives and she said that because I'm allergic to penicillin I could be allergic to pretty much anything and everything eventually. Wonderful...

You're going to have to write all this stuff down every time you visit a doc and have to fill out the forms. Take it from a fellow allergy sufferer.

[Hephaestus]

I used to have gnarly allergies this time of year. Spending many hours outside biking has made them all but vanish. Every now and then, I sneeze if I near fresh cut grass, but I no longer swell up and feel miserable unless I take tons of Loratidine.

Well, I have one non-trivial allergy I know of remaining: cats. They make me itch, my eyes water and produce copious amounts of mucous and swell, and eventually I notice I'm having difficulty breathing.

I also have a mild allergy to Oxycontin, but hydrocodone is no problem.

[stuck]

I would wager your allergy to OxyContin is a low scale addiction brought on by the time-release nature of the drug.

[Hephaestus]

I would wager it was a negative placebo reaction from being told it might happen just before they tried it as a step down from the morphine drip.

But given the primary reaction was formication, your guess is at least as good as mine.