Question of the Day, Wednesday March 30th

artiemom · Mar 31, 2016

I had cluster headaches for years. My bp was under control with medication, but I still got them. Somehow they disappeared. I always said they were set headaches, but my doctor insisted they were migraines. I did not want to admit to having them. Once we changed my bp pills and I got older, they went away.

Now I have one occasionally. I have to catch it at the right time, take some 2 extra strength tylenol along with one advil; lie down for a quick nap, and it goes away...

foxxycat · Mar 31, 2016

allergies to everything especially horse and cat.

Mold and mildew so when it rains i almost always have a headache or sniffles..or something like this..rainy days i feel horrible. windy days i can breathe.

allergic to many grass and trees. lilacs give me migrains as well as that plant that starts with an H that has a sweet cloying smell-they grow around this time of year along with easter lilies..I had to stick them on my porch outside. Coudlnt take the headache anymore.

No food allergies that I know of other than milk makes me ill but i can eat eggs and cheese and butter no problem.

I used to get allergy shots as a teenager and they really help. I wonder if I should reconsider starting up because dust really bothers me..oh and horse hair makes my throat and eyes swell up. Benedryll to the rescue. I could never work as a large animal vet due to allergies to horse. Dont know if I am allergic to cows goats etc..hmm something to test..

usually the month of may and june my head hurts every morning when i wake up but i feel better after a hot shower.

raysmyheart · Mar 31, 2016

Winchester said:
I am allergic to every over-the-counter pain medicine known to man. Advil, Aleve, Execdrin for Migraines, Bufferin, Tylenol, Halls Lozenges, aspirin, baby aspirin, etc. Also to Accupril, Lisinipril (for high blood pressure). You name it, I'm allergic to it. My face swells up....sometimes my lip will swell, sometimes I will swell up around my eye area, sometimes it's around my chin. One night, my throat started to swell; that scared me. The allergy came on very quickly a few years ago. I have Epi-pens and cannot travel without them. I also have a note from my doctor that if I need to go to the ER for the allergy, they are to do certain kinds of bloodwork; I carry that note in my wallet all the time.

I tried different kinds of Advil, different kinds of Tylenol and am allergic to all of them. Sometimes it doesn't show up right away; I would take a couple Advil tablets around 9:00 in the morning, for example, and around 3:00 in the afternoon, my lip would start to itch like crazy and then it would start to swell. A couple Benedryl and about 3-4 hours later, the swelling would start to go back down.

I also get terrible migraines (complete with auras) and cluster headaches and can't take anything at all for the pain. Nothing. I pretty much live with the pain and when it gets too bad, then I go to bed with cold compresses on my head. One day it felt like my head was going to explode; I wrapped the belt to my bathrobe around my head tightly, anything to try to stop the pain. Went to a migraine specialist, but she said that because it's not so bad that I can't function, she couldn't help me....she's more interested in people who can't function normally because of the migraines. Also went to two allergy specialists for some kind of help; they just said, "Well, don't take anything that you think you're allergic to!" Um, yeah, thanks for that. The problem is that it's prohibitively expensive to test for something like this and my insurance won't even talk to me about paying for it.

One night we had gone for groceries and I was buying fresh produce. Evidently, there was something on something that I had handled because, on the way home, the bottom of my lip started to itch and til we got home, it was all swollen. It looked like somebody punched my mouth. I took some Benedryl and about three hours later the swelling started to go back down and I was fine again.

It's frustrating to have to deal with this. It's a shame, too, because Execdrin for Migraines used to give me some relief from the migraines, but I can't take it anymore.

Migraine headaches are the worst!! I can feel the pain just thinking of it (not to mention the nausea)! I am sorry you go through this. I used to get them and often would drive home from work and have to pull over because of vomiting! Funny, they have gone away in the last 15 years! I don't know if it is my hormones as I get older, I am now past menopause and it is rare I get a headache. I used to crave putting something minty on my head, like eucalyptus when I had a bad headache. I hope you can find some relief going forward!

I am allergic to two types of anticonvulsants (I was hospitalized for one for over a week), and also the iodine dye they administer for a catscan.

artiemom · Mar 31, 2016

My allergies are running rampant today!

It is a beautifully, sunny, warm day here; however the wind is terrible. Gust of wind around 50 mph. It is a warm wind but it is driving me crazy! I so want to keep the windows open.

I went shopping today. My eyes were tearing. By the time I got to my last stop, Target, both eyes were tearing and the nose was running...I could not see at the check out counter!

I had to keep my car windows shut, and put the AC on!!! In March! In Boston!! incredible!

Eyes still tearing..

The problem with allergies is also that they make me very tired. I guess you could say allergic reaction!

I take a zyrtec at night and a claritan during the day, but I know I do need more. I used to take a prescription nasal spray. I should probably re-start that. I hate taking them.

Before that one, I was using steroid nasal sprays. I am staying away from all steroids. I hate them...

Gotta go ask my doctor for a new script for the spray...sigh..

Nothing really works. I went to an allergist about 4 years ago. He said that I was allergic to only Cats!!! The rest were 'sensitivities'!!!

"Sensitivities" my butt!

I really think some allergists are all hog wash..He told me to get rid of my cat, but nothing for my 'sensitivities" He should see me now!

He was one of the well know ones also..

foxxycat · Mar 31, 2016

if you are allergic to cats by being exposed daily like we are is helping our bodies build up immunities-at least that's how one of them explained it to me.

Have you considered shots? I did them in high school and so very glad I did. Its not an overnight thing but takes about 2 years total and I tell you what a big difference.

The only thing I ever found that works is Sudafed but they did away with the original type-that was the only thing that stops itchy throat/eyes/nose and yes allergies make you tired because your immune system is on overdrve...I used to miss so much school from allergies...I hate mornings. because of allergies...

hoping you get some relief soon!!

Willowy · Mar 31, 2016

You can still get original Sudafed. You just have to go to the counter and fill out a form. So they can keep track of you to make sure you aren't cooking meth

.

artiemom · Mar 31, 2016

Thanks, I did try some allergy shots, when I was much younger.

In the early 1960's my mom would take me to her doctor for allergies. We both got shots, but only pre-season. It was a different science then. When I was in my twenties, I tried them again, with a newer allergist. My reaction was really bad, no matter how low the dose. The injection site got red, swelled up so much and was so itchy. it really hurt. The shots were supposed to be 3 times a week. By the time the arm got back to normal, it was time for another.

Needless to say, I could not stay with that situation, so I quit after a few months. It was too much for me..

Thanks for the support, especially about the tiredness.

betsygee · Mar 31, 2016

Willowy said:
You can still get original Sudafed. You just have to go to the counter and fill out a form. So they can keep track of you to make sure you aren't cooking meth .

I used to take Sudafed until they started locking it up--I was so offended that they made people feel like criminals for wanting to buy it. :soap: :lol3: I switched to Claritin which works pretty well for me, but I also use eye drops, and a Neti pot, and I got an air purifier this year--the pollen's been awful.

dennis47 · Mar 31, 2016

Let's see. Mushrooms, spinach, liver, and butterscotch.

Norachan · Mar 31, 2016

I'm allergic to penicillin and I had a really bad reaction to the polio vaccine when I was a kid. I don't remember anything about it, but apparently I went limp and had to be rushed into hospital after I had it.

I had a bad reaction to a typhoid injection I had before going travelling one time. Actually, I'm not sure what a normal reaction to the typhoid vaccine is, but I had awful flu like symptoms for a day and a huge purple swelling where the needle went in.

That's all, as far as I know.

donutte · Mar 31, 2016

@Winchester that DOES sound awful

I'm allergic to sulfa for sure, break out in hives like mad. Seasonal allergies, all seasons but fall is usually the worst. I suspect I'm allergic to grass since I can feel the inside of my nose just swell whenever I even drive by an area where they are cutting grass. Mold. Paper dust. I love book stores but they definitely don't love me - within 10 minutes I'm all stuffed up and even get chest tightness.

Then there was the Ben & Jerry's taste test thing I did. It was a three-day paid taste test to taste a bunch of ice cream. Sounds great, right? The morning after the very first one, I woke up because my thighs were itching. Hives all over them. Didn't really think about it (I seemed to break out in hives a lot those days). Then after the second day, that evening, it started getting a lot worse. Next morning I woke up and my throat was feeling a bit tight. I was not gonna go through this and not get paid, so I suffered through the third day, got paid, and went straight to the ER. It's amazing how fast you get in when you look like you have something contagious! Anyway, steroids and Benadryl IVs, along with epinephrine - talk about a trip! It came back another couple days later and had to go back for another IV trip. Apparently delayed-onset anaphylaxis is actually a thing!

I am itching like MAD just recalling that story!

Anyway, I avoid Ben & Jerry's ice cream now like the plague. Since I don't know which one(s) did the deed, I just avoid them all. There are plenty other ice cream brands to choose from.

DreamerRose · Mar 31, 2016

Willowy said:
You can still get original Sudafed. You just have to go to the counter and fill out a form. So they can keep track of you to make sure you aren't cooking meth

.

That's because the Sudafed must have psuedoephedrine sulfate in it. That's what people make meth with, and you are limited by law as to how much you can buy each month. It's a generous amount, but not enough to make meth with. Many cold medicines have it in them because it's the best decongestant on the market., but it's kept behind the pharmacy counter and you have to ask for it. It's what the "D" in Claritin D is. I had a coworker in a communal office that insisted on keeping the thermostat at 67 degrees winter and summer and would have liked it to be 65, but the rest of us wouldn't allow it. I had to take psuedoephedrine every day while I worked there. I would go to the pharmacy and ask for anything that had it in it. It didn't matter what it was as long as it had the psuedoephedrine.

stewball · Apr 1, 2016

I have an occasional allergic reaction to something but I don't know what. The last one was a few months ago. My right eye and right nostril were streaming and I was using up kleenex like nobody business. Once I realised it was an allergic reaction to something and it wasn't a cold, I phoned my doctor, told him what was wrong and could he give me a script for antihistamine. Instant relief, almost. It happens rarely, 2 to 3 times a year and I don't knowwhat causes it. The last time was last winter.

dennis47 · Apr 1, 2016

Stewball said:
I have an occasional allergic reaction to something but I don't know what. The last one was a few months ago. My right eye and right nostril were streaming and I was using up kleenex like nobody business. Once I realised it was an allergic reaction to something and it wasn't a cold, I phoned my doctor, told him what was wrong and could he give me a script for antihistamine. Instant relief, almost. It happens rarely, 2 to 3 times a year and I don't knowwhat causes it. The last time was last winter.

Perhaps there is something in your house that causes it? Mold could do that, stale air, that sort of thing. You may want to consider having a pure air system installed in your home. There is one in mine, and it purifies the air up to 95%. I have no idea how much one might be, as it was already in the home when I moved in. But I do know it's a HEPA-filter system, hospital-grade quality as far as the air goes.

stewball · Apr 1, 2016

Dennis47 said:
Perhaps there is something in your house that causes it? Mold could do that, stale air, that sort of thing. You may want to consider having a pure air system installed in your home. There is one in mine, and it purifies the air up to 95%. I have no idea how much one might be, as it was already in the home when I moved in. But I do know it's a HEPA-filter system, hospital-grade quality as far as the air goes.

Thank you. I actually think it's from trees that are blossoming and it's not everyone year actually. This was the worst one though. I wouldn't be able to afford one of those much as I'd like one. Where I live it'd probably be double the price in America.

dennis47 · Apr 1, 2016

Stewball said:
Thank you. I actually think it's from trees that are blossoming and it's not everyone year actually. This was the worst one though. I wouldn't be able to afford one of those much as I'd like one. Where I live it'd probably be double the price in America.

Is Tel Aviv a humid place generally? Do you have snowstorms, heavy rains? You are the first person that I've ever communicated with that is from Israel, and I don't mean to pry, but ain't it fascinating how the web just seems to bring the world that much closer together!

Question of the Day, Wednesday March 30th

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart

foxxycat

TCS Member

raysmyheart

TCS Member

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart

foxxycat

TCS Member

Willowy

TCS Member

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart

betsygee

Just what part of meow don't you understand.

dennis47

TCS Member

Norachan

Moderator

donutte

Professional cat sitter extraordinaire!

DreamerRose

TCS Member

stewball

TCS Member

dennis47

TCS Member

stewball

TCS Member

dennis47

TCS Member

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