Oh goodness

So I had my very first allergy shot today.

I've always had pretty severe allergies. But last year was the first time in all of my 22 years I had seen an allergist. For a year, she decided allergy shots were probably not the best idea for me, because I have such severe reactions.

Earlier in the month, she decided it may be beneficial for me to start allergy shots. She was thinking if we started my dilution in a 1:1,000,000 ratio, it wouldn't bother me as bad. So I agreed. It sounded like with those numbers, surely I would be okay.

The past few weeks, no minute I spend outside goes unpunished. Even if I only spend ten minutes outside, when I get inside I will have hives and congestion. When I told the nurses this last week, she said I needed to start my shots soon because they would help with this. So yesterday, I went to the park with my husband, sisters, niece, and nephew. It may have been a pretty day to take pictures, but it wasn't a pretty day for me and my oh so active allergies. So this morning, I woke up with a super bad sinus headache. I remembered what the nurse had said about the shots, so I decided today would be a good day for my first shot.

Ha.

Before she even picks up the needle, I ask the nurse if I will have a reaction (because of how sensitive my allergies seem these days). She reassures me it is almost all water in this injection, and since I have been taking plenty of allergy medicine, I will be fine. Plus, after every shot, every patient must stay for twenty minutes before leaving. So as I walk back to my chair, I remind myself, " Mind over matter. Mind over matter. Mind over matter."

After fifteen minutes of hacking, congestion building up, tight chest and the now present numbness, I decide to tell the nurse things don't seem normal. After an Alavert, Singulair, Epi, and a breathing treatment, I'm laying on the patient table trying not scratch my hands off. My allergist soon comes down the hallway to look behind the curtain covering her most loyal patient, me. :)

She simply says, "I should have known."

Of course she should have. Why in the world would my body choose now to react to something like the average person's body? I must be crazy to think what helps other people with their allergies would help with my own.

NOTE TO SELF: Next time you expect your body to respond to treatment based on the response of an average human, simply look in the mirror. If a mirror is unavailable, remember the thickness of your medical chart.

I yam what I yam

About this time last year, I had a severe allergic reaction to soy. It happend on a Sunday night. On Monday, I went to my allergist still having difficulties breathing. After they had given me epi and several breathing treatments, they decided it would be best if I went to the emergency room. So I was transmitted from the clinic to the hospital in the ambulance. After an afternoon in the emergency room, they sent me home. They felt all my levels were 'normal' enough for me to be sickly in my own bed. By Wednesday, I had been to the ER three times and had to be admitted to the hospital for the rest of the week.

During the week, I developed a pretty good relationship with my allergist. While I was in the hospital, she would come see me two or three times a day. This impressed me because she is the only doctor at a very busy allergy and asthma clinic. When she saw me wearing LSU attire, I found out she was from Louisiana. So we were also able to bond about the Tigers.

So over the past year I have been seeing this allergist, she has developed an interest in me and my health (or lack there of). She is intrigued by the number of autoimmune diseases and the severity of my allergies at my age. She seems to have a desire to figure out why I am plagued with Crohn's disease, Interstitial Cystitis, and bad allergies. I just decided I was a sick kid cause God made me that way. I didn't think there were any deep medical mysteries behind all my diseases. But apparently, I was wrong.

The last time I went to see her, she told me she wanted to do several different blood tests. A week after they sent everything off, they called me to tell me they had all the results. The nurse said, "We have your results. We don't want you to worry, but we would like for you to make an appointment to discuss everything with the doctor." So I made an appointment. The next day, the doctor called me herself. She was calling to see if anyone had called to talk to me about the results. I repeated to her what the nurse had told me. She told me I had some levels (of some cells I can't remember) which we low but they were commonly low in adults. One was tetanus and the other had something to do with yeast. She asked me if I had problems with yeast, and of course, I had to say yes. She told me the low levels of this whatever explained why. She then told me she found other things which were abnormal but they were 'funky' so she would rather talk to me in person.

So yesterday was my appointment. She was hoping to find out if all of my problems were somehow linked together. Especially since Crohn's is an inflammatory bowel disease and Interstital Cystitis is when the lining of the bladder is inflammed. When she came in, she gave me a copy of the report/summary she had typed to send to all my other doctors. With all the things she had tested, she was hoping to find levels suggesting I have common variable immunodeficiency. She wasn't so lucky. All of my levels were the exact opposite. This wasn't good news (or bad). She informed me, "It just means things with you aren't normal, but there is no name for it."

Well isn't this just the story of me and my entire existence for 23 years. I am not normal. There is nothing we can blame or label. I just am the way I am. I don't think I needed a doctor to tell me that. Oh well, at least now she knows what my family and I have known for 23 years.

Aren't you jealous you aren't me?