Itchy, itchy, scratchy, scratchy, now I've got one down my back-y
We went back to the allergist today, and we were in the right place at the right time, finally. The joint appointment for myself and Baby E took 2 1/2 hours.
Baby E was overdue for a nap, but was absolutely charming between tantrums. The girls got to watch part of a video toward the end, which they loved--and they didn't even complain when we had to leave in the middle of it.
############
Having us all there made for a lot of people in a very tiny room for so long. I was a little self-conscious that the kids scattered books and toys around, got a bit noisy occasionally, interrupted a few times, etc. They didn't behave quite as well as I'd hoped. Baby E made things more difficult because she was insistent that she wanted to eat crayons, and kept throwing tantrums because I wouldn't let her.
But really, AJ and M&M were fabulous. For the most part they were extremely quiet, reading and coloring by themselves, while I talked with the allergist and the nurse and we waited for test results.
At first I kept apologizing for Baby E's fussing, AJ and M&M's scattered crayons, the noise, etc. But random staff kept popping their heads into the room and telling me how well-behaved my kids were and how cute they all were, how content they seemed, etc. At the end, when I was tying Baby E into the rebozo, a nurse told me that it was obvious I loved my kids and was a wonderful mom. Sometimes I don't realize how well-behaved my kids really are being at the moment until someone else comments about them.
Baby E and I both had more allergy testing done. Baby E was tested for legumes and chocolate, and I was tested for airborne allergens. She tested positive for red kidney beans, but not for the other legumes, which was encouraging. Red kidney beans shouldn't be too hard to avoid. Since she did test positive to more than one legume, though, the allergist recommended caution in introducing her to other legumes.
The allergist is a very animated young man who talks with his hands, in big expressive gestures. As he was explaining the various results and options to me, I suddenly realized that Baby E had stopped squirming in my arms and was staring at him. Then she started waving her arm. It took me a minute to realize that she was copying his gestures--perfectly. It made holding a serious conversation very difficult. Thankfully, he thought it was funny too. We both had a hard time continuing the conversation without constantly bursting into laughter as Baby E copied his every expression.
My own allergy testing was very revealing. Although Baby E tested positive for several things, I hadn't really understood why they kept saying she didn't react very much until I saw my own results. Baby E's largest welt (to corn) was 5 over 14--a welt of 5 mm with a red area of 14 mm. My largest was 20 over 35. My histamine control--the one sure to provoke a strong allergic response--was 7 over 30. Two of my allergy tests reacted more than the histamine control.
Out of 38 allergens in the panel, I tested positive to about half. I'm not quite sure looking at my results how many exactly, because I had several that measured 4/20 and they marked some positive and some not. There are 17 different allergens on the paper with an X next to them for positive.
The people at the allergist's office kept saying. "You're allergic. You're very allergic." In fact, they warned me that I may need to take an antihistamine tonight just from the testing. Hours later I still have itchy, burning welts on my back--even after the allergist put a topical antihistamine on them.
I tested positive to various tree and grass pollens, weeds, dust and dust mites, and cat. The cat (my second most reactive result) was a complete surprise. In all my years of cat ownership, volunteering at the humane society and working as a veterinary assistant I never really suspected a cat allergy. All that exposure definitely could be what sensitized me, though.
Thankfully I did not test positive for hamster--and, yes, they tested for hamster. So Puff can stay. :)
The hugest reactions were, predictably, to dust mites. Since they mainly live in beds and pillows, such a severe allergy to dust mites could reveal a lot about why I have trouble sleeping and wake up feeling unrested, stuffy and achy.
I'm going to start with getting dust mite covers on the bedding and working on decluttering and more regular vaccuuming, especially in the bedroom. The allergist gave me prescriptions for an inhaler, an antihistamine (something like Allegra) and some kind of once-a-day nasal spray. He also suggested that I consider doing allergy shots, which would be expensive and a huge time commitment. I need to research and consider the various options. If it would really make me feel a lot better, it could certainly be worth it.
I'm supposed to go in again in a few weeks to test for food allergies. It will be interesting to see what shows up with that.
Baby E was overdue for a nap, but was absolutely charming between tantrums. The girls got to watch part of a video toward the end, which they loved--and they didn't even complain when we had to leave in the middle of it.
############
Having us all there made for a lot of people in a very tiny room for so long. I was a little self-conscious that the kids scattered books and toys around, got a bit noisy occasionally, interrupted a few times, etc. They didn't behave quite as well as I'd hoped. Baby E made things more difficult because she was insistent that she wanted to eat crayons, and kept throwing tantrums because I wouldn't let her.
But really, AJ and M&M were fabulous. For the most part they were extremely quiet, reading and coloring by themselves, while I talked with the allergist and the nurse and we waited for test results.
At first I kept apologizing for Baby E's fussing, AJ and M&M's scattered crayons, the noise, etc. But random staff kept popping their heads into the room and telling me how well-behaved my kids were and how cute they all were, how content they seemed, etc. At the end, when I was tying Baby E into the rebozo, a nurse told me that it was obvious I loved my kids and was a wonderful mom. Sometimes I don't realize how well-behaved my kids really are being at the moment until someone else comments about them.
Baby E and I both had more allergy testing done. Baby E was tested for legumes and chocolate, and I was tested for airborne allergens. She tested positive for red kidney beans, but not for the other legumes, which was encouraging. Red kidney beans shouldn't be too hard to avoid. Since she did test positive to more than one legume, though, the allergist recommended caution in introducing her to other legumes.
The allergist is a very animated young man who talks with his hands, in big expressive gestures. As he was explaining the various results and options to me, I suddenly realized that Baby E had stopped squirming in my arms and was staring at him. Then she started waving her arm. It took me a minute to realize that she was copying his gestures--perfectly. It made holding a serious conversation very difficult. Thankfully, he thought it was funny too. We both had a hard time continuing the conversation without constantly bursting into laughter as Baby E copied his every expression.
My own allergy testing was very revealing. Although Baby E tested positive for several things, I hadn't really understood why they kept saying she didn't react very much until I saw my own results. Baby E's largest welt (to corn) was 5 over 14--a welt of 5 mm with a red area of 14 mm. My largest was 20 over 35. My histamine control--the one sure to provoke a strong allergic response--was 7 over 30. Two of my allergy tests reacted more than the histamine control.
Out of 38 allergens in the panel, I tested positive to about half. I'm not quite sure looking at my results how many exactly, because I had several that measured 4/20 and they marked some positive and some not. There are 17 different allergens on the paper with an X next to them for positive.
The people at the allergist's office kept saying. "You're allergic. You're very allergic." In fact, they warned me that I may need to take an antihistamine tonight just from the testing. Hours later I still have itchy, burning welts on my back--even after the allergist put a topical antihistamine on them.
I tested positive to various tree and grass pollens, weeds, dust and dust mites, and cat. The cat (my second most reactive result) was a complete surprise. In all my years of cat ownership, volunteering at the humane society and working as a veterinary assistant I never really suspected a cat allergy. All that exposure definitely could be what sensitized me, though.
Thankfully I did not test positive for hamster--and, yes, they tested for hamster. So Puff can stay. :)
The hugest reactions were, predictably, to dust mites. Since they mainly live in beds and pillows, such a severe allergy to dust mites could reveal a lot about why I have trouble sleeping and wake up feeling unrested, stuffy and achy.
I'm going to start with getting dust mite covers on the bedding and working on decluttering and more regular vaccuuming, especially in the bedroom. The allergist gave me prescriptions for an inhaler, an antihistamine (something like Allegra) and some kind of once-a-day nasal spray. He also suggested that I consider doing allergy shots, which would be expensive and a huge time commitment. I need to research and consider the various options. If it would really make me feel a lot better, it could certainly be worth it.
I'm supposed to go in again in a few weeks to test for food allergies. It will be interesting to see what shows up with that.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 5:14 PM[Permanent link]
5 Comments:
I've already sung the praises of my allergy shots to you, but email me if there's any information (or opinion) I can offer that might be helpful.
I've seen plenty of kids in my allergist's waiting room, and believe me when I say that it sounds like your kids behaved like angels!
Did they say if your histamines could be getting in your breast milk?
I'm so sorry you tested positive for so many things. I hope that you'll end up feeling better!
PS, thanks so much for the helpful information about allergy shots.
Liz, I totally forgot to ask about the histamines in the milk . . . I'll have to make myself a note to ask next time. I called today to ask if my back should still be in itchy welts from the allergy testing by now, but never got a call back.
Wow, that's very interesting - it's exciting to see you getting some answers. I had a friend with asthma suggest the bed covers - not just the waterproof covers, but the vinyl ones that zip shut around the entire bed. We found them at Bed, Bath & Beyond for about $14 and they work well. They rip easily though. Colleen
Colleen, thanks. I'm going to get the more heavy-duty ones that don't rip so easily, hopefully--and we'll put them on the mattress, pillows and box spring.
Right now we have the vinyl ones on the mattress and pillows. They were about that price, but ours are pretty flimsy and not actually designed for dust mite control.
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