| | It is incredibly frustrating to be so allergic to corn pollen. I can't get away from it, even in the middle of the city. I walk outside and immediately my eyes start burning. If I'm outside, including driving in my car for 15 to 20 minutes, I become shaky and extremely dizzy, as well as my throat being somewhat tighter. Today it's the worst it has been yet... I woke up shaky, and even with taking allergy meds I'm still a little shaky. I get dizzy off and on throughout the day, even when I stay inside. I'm going to see a nurse practitioner tomorrow and get an albuterol inhaler in case I have a severe emergency, but unfortunately the soonest I could get in to see an allergist is next Friday, August 1. And even more bad news with that... I have to be off of my current med, Zyrtec as of this Friday, and then off of all allergy meds as of the following Tuesday so that I can go through testing. I have to call and see about the inhaler, but I think I can still use that if needed.
What does all this mean for my life right now? It means I try to stay in the center of the city as much as possible... I can't go to some of the stores I normally go to, or even go see my sister and my nephews, who live on the edge of town. I limit my driving time to 10 or 15 minutes, with long periods of being inside at a time. I try not to go anywhere or do anything extra--I go to class, work, and home. I can't ride my bike, which is an activity I really enjoy... I can't go swimming outside. I enjoy being outside, but right now I'm afraid to... I don't like staying inside all the time, but I can't be outside. I normally drive with my windows down, but I can't do that... so I spend more on gas so I can have the a/c on in my car. It's really scary to be so shaky all the time... and know that there's really nothing more I can do about it as of now. I hate this feeling--that I can't really be myself right now. I honestly don't know that there's much that an allergist can do for me since it's such a severe allergy. They could give me allergy shots, which wouldn't help in the short term... it's more of building up long-term resistance, and possibly steriods, but even those are risky and not to be taken on a long-term basis, especially since I have a family history of severe reactions to steroid treatments.
All this just makes me feel like crying all the time... I don't, but I hate being so emotional all the time because usually I'm not. It's so hard to feel so helpless in such a serious situation. Depending on how much the allergist can help me with this, I don't know if I'm willing to be around the Midwest at this time next year. I really don't want to have to go through this again. So if they can't do much for me, or even if I have to feel like I do right now, I will be moving away from the Midwest probably at the beginning of July next year. I refuse to have to go through this again.
|
| | Posted 7/23/2008 1:03 PM - 10 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
