Thursday, June 24, 2010

Allergies

I had allergy testing done this week. I tested positive for trees (Birch being the highest), moderate on dust mites, and low on cat pelt. This does not go well with my wood stove and basement full of wood, including lots of birch. There are also birch trees around my property, but about the only place I can go to escape birch is the desert.

I also have Romy, who we’ve allowed to come in and out of the bedroom at night as he pleases. Everything I read says that keeping the cat out of the bedroom is important. So is sleep. Having Romy scratch at the door all night because he can’t come in means I won’t sleep, and then allergies won’t matter so much. I also don’t consider the cat to be that much of a problem since it was one of the lowest-rated positive item. I swore I wouldn’t be a cat owner who was bullied into obeying the cat’s every whim, but the only time Romy actually likes me is when I’m unconscious/just waking up. He gets to stay, mainly because I don’t think he’s the problem.

My doctor has recommended allergy covers on the bed and pillows, keeping the cat out of the bedroom, and some running to determine if I have any signs of asthma. I can probably accomplish one of those. Running is not something I want to take up full-time as I don’t care to create damage to my joints. It may be worth some trial runs just to see how quickly I run out of breath and if I have a “twitchy” airway feeling.

My doctor also thinks that based on my results, I have understated my symptoms. I don’t really think they’re that bad. They were worse when I also had the sinus infection over the winter. Comparatively speaking, I’m much better now. Still, my medicinal therapy is to use Aerius (a.k.a. Clarinex in the US) and Nasonex once a day. I hate using Nasonex, as I find it always drips back down my nose and makes me more sneezy than before taking it. I also don’t want to rely on it as a long-term solution. I’m fine with Aerius, though I don’t like putting any medication in my body if I can avoid it.

This is my path for the next 7 weeks, and then I go back for another doctor visit to see how the therapies worked.

3 comments:

Cyn said...

Any further updates on this? I've been wondering how the summer was going for you and/or if you might have managed an earlier appointment.

liz said...

I think I'm feeling better, but I hate Nasonex. I'm going to see if I can switch to Omnaris instead. Nasonex just drips in my nose, makes me sneeze and/or blow my nose, so I don't know how it's doing any good.

I actually ended up running after a friend at the Irving Nature Park yesterday and it took less than a minute for me to feel like my chest was tight and that I was short of breath. I'm not overly concerned with that, I don't want to take up running as exercise. It doesn't prove I have asthma anyway.

I got the allergy covers, but they're a pain in the ass. Pillowcases are now too small, and the mattress cover is too big, but I didn't want to spend a fortune.

We just put a rank of fresh wood in the house, including lots of birch, and I'm not any worse.

My doctor is away this week, so that's why I have to wait until next week for a follow-up in which he'll probably just tell me to keep taking Aerius and Nasonex/Omnaris.

Cyn said...

Nasonex is awful stuff. I do find pretty much any nasal spray results in needing to blow my nose shortly thereafter and for the next 10 min. I hate them. Lesser of evils sometimes though, right?

I agree that being out of breath with activity doesn't prove asthma. Has your dr considered sending you for a pulmonary function test? Or just using asthma as a catch-all so they don't have to actually dig to find the real solution?

I hope your dr can smarten up and look for a better or more comfy solution for you.