The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...

Allergy Update,

I spent 3 hours--more time than I spent on my Thursday brick workout--in the Allergist's office this afternoon. Before I had arrived, I had filled out 15 pages of data and questionnaires about my past and current symptoms, and the environments that I lived and worked in. "Do you have a dog?" --No, but I would like to have one again. "What kinds of window coverings are in your house?" --Metal and plastic blinds, cloth blinds, and drapes hang in the windows. "Do you consume alcohol?" --Duh, Yeah! Rarely when I am training but sure as hell when the race is over.

The Good News was that the doctor was impressed with my lung capacity on the breathing tests before I was given any Proventil. Hmm, something about that swimming, biking, and running might have helped. After the Proventil my scores went up 11% and 25%! The doctor said that I do have asthma (I knew that) but that I really should be using the Proventil before I exercise to aid the breathing. The doctor took me off of the meds that the GP prescribed and put me on a different/stronger antihistamine (more sleepiness), an asthma specific medication, and Nasonex to help with the nasal congestion. He was puzzled about the wheat and corn allergy because it is very common for children to develop those allergies, but it is very uncommon for adults to develop them.

The Bad News is that I have to wait until April 7th for my first round of allergy testing where they prick your skin 80 times all over your back to find out what triggers the allergies. I will have the second round of testing on April 10th. Five days before that I will need to stay off the antihistamines and take steroids. Not liking that. They will also be running a screening for Celiac disease. That one is kind of scary. I don't like having to wait almost a month for these tests.

Now THE UGLY NEWS...my husband does not want me taking the medications. He thinks that they are addictive and that they will have bad side affects. He did not go with me to the appointment because he had to be at an FBI interview for a work related project. So, he did not get to hear from the doctor why I should be on these medications and I have a feeling he thinks that I am exaggerating my symptoms and my need to seek treatment or relief of all the itching and scratching. I am trying to be the "good wife" and ask him what his concerns are and why he feels that way and then he gets exasperated and says,"Do what you want. Don't listen to me. That has never stopped you before." Ouch! Stake to the heart on that one.

Yeah, we have our hurdles we have to get over just like any married couple who have known each other for 20 years and I have been working hard to do better at not being inaccessible to the family due to the job or training. But that comment smarted. Sure I am a little angry, but more than anything I am just really bummed. It is bad enough that I have had to give up cookies and most candy. When the kid asked if we could go get a scoop at Ben & Jerry's, he said,"No, Mom can't have ice cream any more." I shot back that ice cream did not have wheat or corn in it unless it had added cookie dough, brownie, or cake batter in it and that I did not like the fact that he was trying to take that away from me as well.

O.K. I'm feeling terrible now because I am painting him out to be the "Bad Guy". This is just a lot of information to try to deal with in the span of 3 days and I am trying to make sense of it all. It is no doubt going to be a huge change in the way I live and change is not easy. I just need to feel like I have someone in my corner to support me, and right now I am in the ring alone with two pretty big and ugly Lucha Libres named Wheat and Corn coming at me.

More details as I get them or at least a post that is more fun to read,

Liz