I know I had been frustrated with the whole elimination diet thing. I wanted to give up more than a few times.
Well, I just have to say I'm glad I didn't.
I made it through today without sneezing more than a couple of times. I made it through today only blowing my nose once or twice (not including my netti pot time, as my nasal passages feel so dry now that they are not running like a faucet).
In fact, after I started thinking about it, I've made it through the last few days without sneezing or a runny/stuffy nose. After the effects of the miso soup faded (which took about 3 days), I've been pretty allergy symptom free for an entire weekend.
I know that sounds like a weird thing to be excited about, but considering the last 10 years of my life have been filled with nasal misery (at times going through 2-3 boxes of tissues a week and sneezing so uncontrollably that I would have to pull my car off the road), 3 days of minimal sneezing (maybe 3-5 times in a day) and a scant handful of nose blows (maybe 2-3) is a miracle.
I am going to wait a couple of weeks to see how long this lasts (or if it was just a fluke) before I attempt to start adding foods back into my diet. There are somethings I find I don't really miss as much as I thought I would (nightshades) and others I can't wait to add back (eggs and nuts).
It will be a SLOW process trying to add things back in. I plan to try a food and wait 72 hours to evaluate how I feel. If all seems to be good, I will try that food item in small quantities for a week to see if that changes any sort of reaction. If no reaction is present, I will wait an additional week to add the next food.
Let's use an egg as our example.
I try a single yolk (the least allergenic part of the egg) on 2/25. I will observe how my body reacts until 2/27. If all seems good, I will then eat a yolk a day until 3/6. If that seems to be working for me, I will wait until 3/13 to add a new food while continuing to keep to 1 yolk a day.
It really seems like more work than I really want to do, but I have to say that not sneezing and not having a constantly runny/stuffy nose feels AWESOME!
I still have the feeling of some sinus pressure though and I would love to have my sinuses adjusted sometime in the near future. I've taken some time away from the adjustment process to know if my diet is really helping my allergies or if the adjustments were a part of the reduction as well.
Showing posts with label headaches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label headaches. Show all posts
20 February 2013
13 February 2013
You don't soy
I think I may have pinpointed one of my allergens tonight. I went to dinner tonight and tried a bowl of Miso Soup.
By the time the meal was over my nose was running, my sinuses swelling and I had started sneezing.
The only other thing I had was a sashimi plate and if I'm allergic to raw fish, I'm screwed.
At first I thought it was the obnoxious VS fragrance of a patron at the table next to us. Earlier in the day, the drunk girls on the train started spraying that garbage and the nose running and sneezing started but went away within an hour of getting away from the stink.
It's been more than 5 hours now and my symptoms have NOT gone away at all. My poor nose is raw from tissues (and yes, mom, I have the ones with "potion").
I had to take a box of tissues upstairs with me when I was working on my homework. I haven't had to take a box of tissues up to the common area since prior to the start of my AIP diet. For me, more than a month of not having to have tissues available in every room of the house (or in my car, in my purse, in my messenger bag, etc.) is a miracle.
With the obvious triggers, like that VS garbage (how does anyone think that stuff smells good and why do people feel it necessary to carry fragrances and reapply throughout the day? If you shower on a regular basis, you should be good to go.), I have found that smelling something else can ease the reaction. So far the "other smell" that is working for me is peppermint essential oil. It seems to "reset" my sense of smell so I can no longer smell/taste the offending odor, but it doesn't linger and cause me to smell peppermint for a period afterward.
The peppermint oil does NOT alleviate the symptoms I am currently experiencing. I am miserable. I sound like crap. I feel like crap. My nose is running so badly that it's actually dripping. The right side of my sinuses are totally swollen (I can still move some air through the left side of my nose).
The good thing is though, I can live without soy. That is one of the many things that I have eliminated that I can care less about consuming again. It DOES eliminate any number of "convenience foods" that I may have consumed before because almost anything that has an ingredient list has soy or some soy derivative in it. But, if that's the case, so be it. I've grown accustomed to making almost all of my own meals. It's not that hard to do (although if you ask the people in my CA Art in Cultural Context Class, people have no choice but to eat convenience foods because, like, cooking is haaaaaaaaaaaaard.)
What I can't wait to reintroduce are nuts and eggs. I tried an egg yolk a couple of days ago (apparently the whites have proteins that can be more allergenic than the yolk as a defense mechanism). My sinuses felt slightly swollen, but I can't tell if that was coincidence or a reaction to the egg. After my sinuses calm back down from this incident, I will try another yolk to see what happens.
This whole process has been annoying and time consuming but not needing to carry tissues with me everywhere I go or having intense sneezing fits has been pretty awesome. I can say I still feel as though NST adjustments may help with any alignment issues of my sinus cavities but until I get the food sorted out, I'm not going to get my sinuses adjusted.
By the time the meal was over my nose was running, my sinuses swelling and I had started sneezing.
The only other thing I had was a sashimi plate and if I'm allergic to raw fish, I'm screwed.
At first I thought it was the obnoxious VS fragrance of a patron at the table next to us. Earlier in the day, the drunk girls on the train started spraying that garbage and the nose running and sneezing started but went away within an hour of getting away from the stink.
It's been more than 5 hours now and my symptoms have NOT gone away at all. My poor nose is raw from tissues (and yes, mom, I have the ones with "potion").
I had to take a box of tissues upstairs with me when I was working on my homework. I haven't had to take a box of tissues up to the common area since prior to the start of my AIP diet. For me, more than a month of not having to have tissues available in every room of the house (or in my car, in my purse, in my messenger bag, etc.) is a miracle.
With the obvious triggers, like that VS garbage (how does anyone think that stuff smells good and why do people feel it necessary to carry fragrances and reapply throughout the day? If you shower on a regular basis, you should be good to go.), I have found that smelling something else can ease the reaction. So far the "other smell" that is working for me is peppermint essential oil. It seems to "reset" my sense of smell so I can no longer smell/taste the offending odor, but it doesn't linger and cause me to smell peppermint for a period afterward.
The peppermint oil does NOT alleviate the symptoms I am currently experiencing. I am miserable. I sound like crap. I feel like crap. My nose is running so badly that it's actually dripping. The right side of my sinuses are totally swollen (I can still move some air through the left side of my nose).
The good thing is though, I can live without soy. That is one of the many things that I have eliminated that I can care less about consuming again. It DOES eliminate any number of "convenience foods" that I may have consumed before because almost anything that has an ingredient list has soy or some soy derivative in it. But, if that's the case, so be it. I've grown accustomed to making almost all of my own meals. It's not that hard to do (although if you ask the people in my CA Art in Cultural Context Class, people have no choice but to eat convenience foods because, like, cooking is haaaaaaaaaaaaard.)
What I can't wait to reintroduce are nuts and eggs. I tried an egg yolk a couple of days ago (apparently the whites have proteins that can be more allergenic than the yolk as a defense mechanism). My sinuses felt slightly swollen, but I can't tell if that was coincidence or a reaction to the egg. After my sinuses calm back down from this incident, I will try another yolk to see what happens.
This whole process has been annoying and time consuming but not needing to carry tissues with me everywhere I go or having intense sneezing fits has been pretty awesome. I can say I still feel as though NST adjustments may help with any alignment issues of my sinus cavities but until I get the food sorted out, I'm not going to get my sinuses adjusted.
22 January 2013
Weekend Cheat
I've made it through about 2 weeks of the AIP diet. I've had a couple of set backs, but I won't let those deter me.
I made it through 12 days without any cheats. Until I went shopping for my wedding dress. I went back home to look for a dress with my mom (and found the perfect one at the first store!). After looking for my dress, my mom and I were starving. Old Town Grill was the first option (they used to have Emu burgers, which were awesome!), but I was feeling a bit burned out on bunless burgers.
I love sushi a lot, so my mom and I went to Amerikan Ichi. I was going to go for sashimi to stick to the plan, but I couldn't really pass up all you can eat sushi! Oh sweet saba! So I ate rice. Quite a bit of rice. It was super delicious. I stuck to only nigiri, not that that makes a huge difference when I'm not supposed to be eating rice.
I was pretty phlegmy the next morning and sneezing more than I have in the last 2 weeks. I was also achy, but I think that was more due to my spill down the stairs the day before. I was super sore.
We drove to the coast on Sunday to remember my brother. I made a tasty breakfast of kale and GF sausage before we hit the road. I stuck to it and had a couple of sausages as a snack, but was still starving. We stopped in the tiny town of Bodega, where they have crab mac n' cheese. Justin tried it (and it smelled delicious!). There weren't a lot of options and I was hungrier than a small piece of smoked salmon would have taken care of. The store had an amazing number of gluten free items (so surprising), even their chowders were gluten free. They had several options. I would have loved to have had a traditional chowder, but sort of figured that dairy and nightshades would have been worse than just the nightshades in the manhattan style. It was super tasty!
But I've been sort of congested and runny nosed for the last 2 days.
I'm not giving up yet, though. Several of the real food bloggers out there claim to have reversed food allergies by following an elimination diet. Hoping it can happen!
On the up side of this diet, I'm down 8 pounds in 2 weeks. I'm down 24 pounds since moving last August. Even though I was making tasty treats throughout the fall, the weight was staying off. I'm not having any treats at the moment though and my starch consumption is way down (no potatoes, which means no fries!). I do walk more, so I think I'll bust out my pedometer and track it. I know one or two days a week, I walk to the train and then walk from the train to work (about 2 miles).
Weight loss wasn't really the goal of doing AIP, but I'm almost down to my goal weight.
I made it through 12 days without any cheats. Until I went shopping for my wedding dress. I went back home to look for a dress with my mom (and found the perfect one at the first store!). After looking for my dress, my mom and I were starving. Old Town Grill was the first option (they used to have Emu burgers, which were awesome!), but I was feeling a bit burned out on bunless burgers.
I love sushi a lot, so my mom and I went to Amerikan Ichi. I was going to go for sashimi to stick to the plan, but I couldn't really pass up all you can eat sushi! Oh sweet saba! So I ate rice. Quite a bit of rice. It was super delicious. I stuck to only nigiri, not that that makes a huge difference when I'm not supposed to be eating rice.
I was pretty phlegmy the next morning and sneezing more than I have in the last 2 weeks. I was also achy, but I think that was more due to my spill down the stairs the day before. I was super sore.
We drove to the coast on Sunday to remember my brother. I made a tasty breakfast of kale and GF sausage before we hit the road. I stuck to it and had a couple of sausages as a snack, but was still starving. We stopped in the tiny town of Bodega, where they have crab mac n' cheese. Justin tried it (and it smelled delicious!). There weren't a lot of options and I was hungrier than a small piece of smoked salmon would have taken care of. The store had an amazing number of gluten free items (so surprising), even their chowders were gluten free. They had several options. I would have loved to have had a traditional chowder, but sort of figured that dairy and nightshades would have been worse than just the nightshades in the manhattan style. It was super tasty!
But I've been sort of congested and runny nosed for the last 2 days.
I'm not giving up yet, though. Several of the real food bloggers out there claim to have reversed food allergies by following an elimination diet. Hoping it can happen!
On the up side of this diet, I'm down 8 pounds in 2 weeks. I'm down 24 pounds since moving last August. Even though I was making tasty treats throughout the fall, the weight was staying off. I'm not having any treats at the moment though and my starch consumption is way down (no potatoes, which means no fries!). I do walk more, so I think I'll bust out my pedometer and track it. I know one or two days a week, I walk to the train and then walk from the train to work (about 2 miles).
Weight loss wasn't really the goal of doing AIP, but I'm almost down to my goal weight.
04 December 2012
The need for cheese
I have to admit I succumbed to the power of the cheese.
Last night, feeling especially meh and whiney I gave in to the need for cheese.
We ordered a gluten free pizza from Goat Hill Pizza.
I wish I could say the pizza was all I had hoped for and totally worth it, but sadly it wasn't.
Don't get me wrong, the cheese divine. It was the best part of the pizza. I don't know if you've had a gluten free pizza (though I make a pretty mean almond flour crust pizza), but the cheese is the best part of a gluten free pizza. No gluten and no dairy = no more pizza. EVER.
The aftermath of said pizza was a bit of extra nose running, a sinus headache this evening and considerably slower neti pot flow this evening. Even at the height of my cold over the last 2 weeks (which got me using my neti pot daily), I did not have this much flow reduction.
Which leads me to conclude the no dairy experiment may be permanent. That thought made the trip down the cheese aisle at Costco this evening terribly sad. So many cheeses I may never get to know.
I'm not sure what touched my pizza (or if it's my monthly visitor) that caused my intense pain and burning in my left arm today. It was so bad I WISHED I had ordered a sourdough crust and lived with the pain of eating gluten.
An observation I had made casually over the last few months was that the pain and burning in my left arm seems to increase in the days before my monthly visitor. I'm going to start keeping notes on pain levels to see if there is any actual connection to the two, but I've noticed that even when I don't eat anything I am not supposed to, I still have an increase in pain symptoms around that time of the month.
Speaking of pain, last week I did not drink enough water after taking my turmeric supplement. I've been taking turmeric as an anti-inflammatory for most of the year 2012 and it seems to help some and doesn't have the same side effects as Naprosen (which I have been on and off of for almost 15 years now).
Big mistake. I was heading out the door to take the Pi for a walk and belched. Unfortunately, the turmeric came back up. Not just into my mouth, but in my sinuses and out my nose. Holy crap. So bad. I ran back in the house and nearly barfed. After the gagging subsided, I was lucky to have enough time to rinse a large amount of the turmeric out of my sinuses.
Tip of the day: Make sure you take your supplements with at least a full glass of water, if not two.
I'm off to bed to mourn the further loss of cheese.
Last night, feeling especially meh and whiney I gave in to the need for cheese.
We ordered a gluten free pizza from Goat Hill Pizza.
I wish I could say the pizza was all I had hoped for and totally worth it, but sadly it wasn't.
Don't get me wrong, the cheese divine. It was the best part of the pizza. I don't know if you've had a gluten free pizza (though I make a pretty mean almond flour crust pizza), but the cheese is the best part of a gluten free pizza. No gluten and no dairy = no more pizza. EVER.
The aftermath of said pizza was a bit of extra nose running, a sinus headache this evening and considerably slower neti pot flow this evening. Even at the height of my cold over the last 2 weeks (which got me using my neti pot daily), I did not have this much flow reduction.
Which leads me to conclude the no dairy experiment may be permanent. That thought made the trip down the cheese aisle at Costco this evening terribly sad. So many cheeses I may never get to know.
I'm not sure what touched my pizza (or if it's my monthly visitor) that caused my intense pain and burning in my left arm today. It was so bad I WISHED I had ordered a sourdough crust and lived with the pain of eating gluten.
An observation I had made casually over the last few months was that the pain and burning in my left arm seems to increase in the days before my monthly visitor. I'm going to start keeping notes on pain levels to see if there is any actual connection to the two, but I've noticed that even when I don't eat anything I am not supposed to, I still have an increase in pain symptoms around that time of the month.
Speaking of pain, last week I did not drink enough water after taking my turmeric supplement. I've been taking turmeric as an anti-inflammatory for most of the year 2012 and it seems to help some and doesn't have the same side effects as Naprosen (which I have been on and off of for almost 15 years now).
Big mistake. I was heading out the door to take the Pi for a walk and belched. Unfortunately, the turmeric came back up. Not just into my mouth, but in my sinuses and out my nose. Holy crap. So bad. I ran back in the house and nearly barfed. After the gagging subsided, I was lucky to have enough time to rinse a large amount of the turmeric out of my sinuses.
Tip of the day: Make sure you take your supplements with at least a full glass of water, if not two.
I'm off to bed to mourn the further loss of cheese.
09 July 2012
Adventures in Allergy Treatments - Days 13 - 21
I am pretty sure people were getting a little bored with all of my snot talk, so I gave it a rest for a bit. :)
Well, today was treatment 4 (and day 21) of the sinus adjustments. I will say the adjustment itself has become so much easier. We were done in about 15 minutes today and it would have been even faster if it weren't for me having to sit up and blow my nose.
The adjustment only took a couple of pumps per sinus cavity (it seemed about 3 pumps per cavity, but really it is hard to count while you've got something expanding in your sinuses). It is far less painful than it was the first time.
I still have some sneezing and runny nose issues (mostly at work - mostly), BUT I can say it is amazing NOT going through a box of tissues or more in a week. I'm not alone with the sneezing and runny nose in the office though. Almost everyone has had some sort of allergy issues and/or headaches since moving into the office.
I have not had a single sinus headache in 21 days. 21 days! I had experienced some degree of sinus pressure and pain almost daily for quite some time. No sinus pain in 21 days!
I have also only had 1 migraine in the last 21 days. While I've been able to reduce the amount of migraines I have had tremendously through diet, I would still have them from time to time. Fat, magnesium and potassium have made a world of difference in my life.
I can't say the same things work for the everyone, but the sinus adjustments seem to be working wonders for me.
Well, today was treatment 4 (and day 21) of the sinus adjustments. I will say the adjustment itself has become so much easier. We were done in about 15 minutes today and it would have been even faster if it weren't for me having to sit up and blow my nose.
The adjustment only took a couple of pumps per sinus cavity (it seemed about 3 pumps per cavity, but really it is hard to count while you've got something expanding in your sinuses). It is far less painful than it was the first time.
I still have some sneezing and runny nose issues (mostly at work - mostly), BUT I can say it is amazing NOT going through a box of tissues or more in a week. I'm not alone with the sneezing and runny nose in the office though. Almost everyone has had some sort of allergy issues and/or headaches since moving into the office.
I have not had a single sinus headache in 21 days. 21 days! I had experienced some degree of sinus pressure and pain almost daily for quite some time. No sinus pain in 21 days!
I have also only had 1 migraine in the last 21 days. While I've been able to reduce the amount of migraines I have had tremendously through diet, I would still have them from time to time. Fat, magnesium and potassium have made a world of difference in my life.
I can't say the same things work for the everyone, but the sinus adjustments seem to be working wonders for me.
30 June 2012
Adventures in Allergy Treatments - Day 12
NASAL ALLERGIES
Okay, today has been the worst day since before I started the treatments. I have been sneezing on and off and had to blow my nose quite a few times today. I am not alternating between running like a faucet and being so congested I can't breathe though. Also, no sinus pressure and no sinus pain even though I've been sneezing and my nose has been running.
I have another treatment scheduled for Monday, so hopefully I get back on track. I still maintain that even with the sneezing and nose running today, my symptoms are entirely better than they were. I swore I was allergic to myself because it didn't matter where I was or what I was doing, I had extreme allergy symptoms. I thought when I went to North Carolina last year, that I would get away from whatever I was allergic to. Not so much, which lead me to think I was allergic to my self.
GLUTEN SENSITIVITY
As far as the whole bee thing goes, I think part of the issue with my arm is hypersensitivity to inflammation. After getting stung by that darn bee yesterday, my entire arm hurts and I've had some of the burning and tingling in my pinky and up the back side of my arm to my scapula.
While I've been tested for Celiac before and the test was negative, it seems as though I have a sensitivity issue more than an actual allergy. I have had joint pain as long as I could remember, been lethargic, always cold and had some intense digestive issues over the years.
The pain in my left arm had been so intense that I could not use my arm. Multiple specialists couldn't figure out anything that could have been wrong, and I had tried so many homeopathic remedies it was ridiculous. I had even tried cobra venom. COBRA VENOM!!!!!!!!
After being told "just don't use it" about by arm (not that easy when you are a lefty, but I did it. I managed 3 semesters of art school teaching myself to be right handed), I didn't really know what else to try and had resigned myself to becoming a righty and learning to do everything over again. Until a friend told me how awesome she felt after going gluten free.
I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I don't think there is really any one "right" way to live, you have to listen to your body to find the right balance for you. I had maintained a low fat, high fiber diet for most of my life. I added fat back into my diet in September 2010 after reading "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. Just that addition made a world of difference in how I felt. But I was still eating a lot of grain based foods (though I was at least eating my grains properly soaked/sprouted/fermented).
In January 2012, I made the leap to gluten free. For a bread addict like myself, it was not super easy, but it was easier this time around than the time I had a trainer put me on a low carb diet (I thought I was going to kill someone for a muffin) because I was also eating low fat as well as low carb.
I can say that after 6 months of gluten free, I have become really good at listening to my body. I usually tell within 3 hours if something has gluten in it or has been cross contaminated. I also kept a pretty boring diet for the first few months so I was really able to pinpoint any issues. For the most part, I'm eating a modified paleo diet (I like my raw dairy) because there aren't a ton of really good gluten free alternatives to bread and baked goods.
Again, I don't think there is any one right way to live, but if what you are doing obviously isn't working (you shouldn't feel like crap all the time - that is NOT normal), it may benefit you to try an alternative to what you are doing.
Okay, today has been the worst day since before I started the treatments. I have been sneezing on and off and had to blow my nose quite a few times today. I am not alternating between running like a faucet and being so congested I can't breathe though. Also, no sinus pressure and no sinus pain even though I've been sneezing and my nose has been running.
I have another treatment scheduled for Monday, so hopefully I get back on track. I still maintain that even with the sneezing and nose running today, my symptoms are entirely better than they were. I swore I was allergic to myself because it didn't matter where I was or what I was doing, I had extreme allergy symptoms. I thought when I went to North Carolina last year, that I would get away from whatever I was allergic to. Not so much, which lead me to think I was allergic to my self.
GLUTEN SENSITIVITY
As far as the whole bee thing goes, I think part of the issue with my arm is hypersensitivity to inflammation. After getting stung by that darn bee yesterday, my entire arm hurts and I've had some of the burning and tingling in my pinky and up the back side of my arm to my scapula.
While I've been tested for Celiac before and the test was negative, it seems as though I have a sensitivity issue more than an actual allergy. I have had joint pain as long as I could remember, been lethargic, always cold and had some intense digestive issues over the years.
The pain in my left arm had been so intense that I could not use my arm. Multiple specialists couldn't figure out anything that could have been wrong, and I had tried so many homeopathic remedies it was ridiculous. I had even tried cobra venom. COBRA VENOM!!!!!!!!
After being told "just don't use it" about by arm (not that easy when you are a lefty, but I did it. I managed 3 semesters of art school teaching myself to be right handed), I didn't really know what else to try and had resigned myself to becoming a righty and learning to do everything over again. Until a friend told me how awesome she felt after going gluten free.
I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I don't think there is really any one "right" way to live, you have to listen to your body to find the right balance for you. I had maintained a low fat, high fiber diet for most of my life. I added fat back into my diet in September 2010 after reading "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. Just that addition made a world of difference in how I felt. But I was still eating a lot of grain based foods (though I was at least eating my grains properly soaked/sprouted/fermented).
In January 2012, I made the leap to gluten free. For a bread addict like myself, it was not super easy, but it was easier this time around than the time I had a trainer put me on a low carb diet (I thought I was going to kill someone for a muffin) because I was also eating low fat as well as low carb.
I can say that after 6 months of gluten free, I have become really good at listening to my body. I usually tell within 3 hours if something has gluten in it or has been cross contaminated. I also kept a pretty boring diet for the first few months so I was really able to pinpoint any issues. For the most part, I'm eating a modified paleo diet (I like my raw dairy) because there aren't a ton of really good gluten free alternatives to bread and baked goods.
Again, I don't think there is any one right way to live, but if what you are doing obviously isn't working (you shouldn't feel like crap all the time - that is NOT normal), it may benefit you to try an alternative to what you are doing.
29 June 2012
Adventures in Allergy Treatments - Day 11
Okay, it's day 11. I woke up slightly congested on the right side, but I was able to get the congestion moving within a few minutes and it is still a thousand times better than it was 12 days ago.
No headache today, which was awesome. Unfortunately, I can't tell if the slight increase in congestion is related to the move into the new office or not. It was only a week at the old office and I felt great and then we moved to the dungeon Monday and have had a slight increase in symptoms.
A few sneezes here and there, definitely better than before.
Even with the slight increase this week, it is still a massive improvement over a box of Kleenex a week and uncontrollable sneezing.
I have another treatment scheduled for Monday. Perhaps an adjustment and time to get used to the dungeon and I'll be back on track.
An allergy note, I am NOT allergic to bees. I had never been stung by a bee until today and my mom is deathly allergic. I was sitting on the library lawn enjoying my book and lunch. When it was time to go back to work, I went to get up and smashed a bee. In his anger, he stung the crap out of my finger. I cursed him and then apologized to him for smashing him.
No headache today, which was awesome. Unfortunately, I can't tell if the slight increase in congestion is related to the move into the new office or not. It was only a week at the old office and I felt great and then we moved to the dungeon Monday and have had a slight increase in symptoms.
A few sneezes here and there, definitely better than before.
Even with the slight increase this week, it is still a massive improvement over a box of Kleenex a week and uncontrollable sneezing.
I have another treatment scheduled for Monday. Perhaps an adjustment and time to get used to the dungeon and I'll be back on track.
An allergy note, I am NOT allergic to bees. I had never been stung by a bee until today and my mom is deathly allergic. I was sitting on the library lawn enjoying my book and lunch. When it was time to go back to work, I went to get up and smashed a bee. In his anger, he stung the crap out of my finger. I cursed him and then apologized to him for smashing him.
28 June 2012
Adventures in Allergy Treatments - 10
Okay, it's been 10 days. 10 glorious days of breathing. Through my nose. Unlike creepy mouth breathers.
I can say with certainty the headache yesterday was work related. I couldn't pinpoint a smell yesterday because it was faint but it was enough to get to me. I was able to identify it today (someone's lotion). That coupled with a lack of adequate water equaled a killer headache for the last two days in the afternoon.
I stopped by the store and picked up a couple of gallons of water to last the next few days until we get water delivered at the office on Monday. (The only sinks are in the bathrooms or in the print shop - the print shop water smells like sewage)
Proper hydration definitely makes a difference. I made sure to take potassium at lunch and between that and the water, the smell didn't get to me QUITE as much. I still don't know how to broach the subject of overwhelming fragrances in the office, especially in the basement without a lot of ventilation.
I still had a bit of congestion when I woke up this morning, but it resolves itself within minutes instead of one or more hours. A few nose blows, and I'm good to go these days. If I sneeze, it's 3 sneezes and I'm done. Usually I will sneeze uncontrollably.
I still haven't used a neti pot, taken any benedryl or used any sort of sinus/nasal remedy in 10 days.
I still think that the air feels rather "cold" coming through my nose. I love not being a mouth breather any more though!
I can say with certainty the headache yesterday was work related. I couldn't pinpoint a smell yesterday because it was faint but it was enough to get to me. I was able to identify it today (someone's lotion). That coupled with a lack of adequate water equaled a killer headache for the last two days in the afternoon.
I stopped by the store and picked up a couple of gallons of water to last the next few days until we get water delivered at the office on Monday. (The only sinks are in the bathrooms or in the print shop - the print shop water smells like sewage)
Proper hydration definitely makes a difference. I made sure to take potassium at lunch and between that and the water, the smell didn't get to me QUITE as much. I still don't know how to broach the subject of overwhelming fragrances in the office, especially in the basement without a lot of ventilation.
I still had a bit of congestion when I woke up this morning, but it resolves itself within minutes instead of one or more hours. A few nose blows, and I'm good to go these days. If I sneeze, it's 3 sneezes and I'm done. Usually I will sneeze uncontrollably.
I still haven't used a neti pot, taken any benedryl or used any sort of sinus/nasal remedy in 10 days.
I still think that the air feels rather "cold" coming through my nose. I love not being a mouth breather any more though!
27 June 2012
Adventures in Allergy Treatments - Day 9
Okay, it's been 9 days of being able to breathe.
Unfortunately, I am not sure if it is the air in the new building or if someone is using scented lotion or something in the afternoon, but yesterday and today, after full days in the new office, I have had a wicked headache by 2 p.m.. I haven't missed taking my potassium at lunch, so I don't think that is the issue. I've avoided everything else that may or may not influence the results of the adjustments, but I didn't really figure in the air in the dungeon.
There is a slight smell that I can't place in the afternoon. I am not the only one who has had this problem (the person who sits next to me is having similar issues with afternoon headaches and not being able to place the smell either). I'm actually glad I'm tracking all of this so I can try to determine what triggers my allergy symptoms.
Even though I have been getting headaches the last two days, I can still breathe through my nose. I was a bit on the stuffy side waking up this morning, but still much better than it was.
After leaving the office, my headache started to subside in about an hour. Coincidence? Maybe.
Unfortunately, I am not sure if it is the air in the new building or if someone is using scented lotion or something in the afternoon, but yesterday and today, after full days in the new office, I have had a wicked headache by 2 p.m.. I haven't missed taking my potassium at lunch, so I don't think that is the issue. I've avoided everything else that may or may not influence the results of the adjustments, but I didn't really figure in the air in the dungeon.
There is a slight smell that I can't place in the afternoon. I am not the only one who has had this problem (the person who sits next to me is having similar issues with afternoon headaches and not being able to place the smell either). I'm actually glad I'm tracking all of this so I can try to determine what triggers my allergy symptoms.
Even though I have been getting headaches the last two days, I can still breathe through my nose. I was a bit on the stuffy side waking up this morning, but still much better than it was.
After leaving the office, my headache started to subside in about an hour. Coincidence? Maybe.
26 June 2012
Adventures In Allergy Treatments - Day 8
I think adventures in allergy treatments sounds a little better than "Endonasal Balloon Therapy" (really, I just got tired of typing it). It at least sounds a bit more fun.
I woke up this morning slightly congested on the right side from sleeping on my side. While it was more congestion than I have had for the last week, it was still less than my best day previously. I sat up and things got moving.
I felt a bit foggy today, but I think that was more desiring to be outside since I got moved to the basement and there are NO WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!! Well, there is one in a conference room, but I don't think I want to go in there. There is a sign on the window warning people to be careful of the snake when opening and closing the window.
I had a few sneezes here and there throughout the day. The thing that sucks is the first week I was in a different office building all together, so now I'm not sure if any mid day sneezing is related to overall allergy symptoms or if it is related to the new building's air. They told us they had the HVAC system cleaned and evaluated before moving people in, but you never know how well anything gets cleaned.
It's really hard to do a "controlled" study to see what works and what doesn't. BUT, I have made it through an entire week with no benedryl, no allergy medications of any sort, minimal nose blowing and no neti pot. For me, that is a pretty big deal.
I'm trying to convince my mom, who can't go a day without a Zyrtec D (can't even get out of bed in the morning without it) to try it.
I woke up this morning slightly congested on the right side from sleeping on my side. While it was more congestion than I have had for the last week, it was still less than my best day previously. I sat up and things got moving.
I felt a bit foggy today, but I think that was more desiring to be outside since I got moved to the basement and there are NO WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!! Well, there is one in a conference room, but I don't think I want to go in there. There is a sign on the window warning people to be careful of the snake when opening and closing the window.
I had a few sneezes here and there throughout the day. The thing that sucks is the first week I was in a different office building all together, so now I'm not sure if any mid day sneezing is related to overall allergy symptoms or if it is related to the new building's air. They told us they had the HVAC system cleaned and evaluated before moving people in, but you never know how well anything gets cleaned.
It's really hard to do a "controlled" study to see what works and what doesn't. BUT, I have made it through an entire week with no benedryl, no allergy medications of any sort, minimal nose blowing and no neti pot. For me, that is a pretty big deal.
I'm trying to convince my mom, who can't go a day without a Zyrtec D (can't even get out of bed in the morning without it) to try it.
25 June 2012
Endonasal Balloon Therapy - Day 7
Okay, it's been a full week since starting the nasal adjustments. Today was the second treatment, which went much faster and more smoothly than last week. My chiro was happy to hear that I am documenting the results I'm having, both good and bad.
I did find out that while some call it Endonasal Balloon Therapy, it is also called the Nasal Specific Technique (my chiro's preferred reference).
I will say that the jaunt through Bloomingdales messed me up seriously. I was sneezing and nose running pretty much all day from it. I woke up mostly able to breathe through my nose (it was slightly more congested and I feel it was related to the reaction to the cosmetics/fragrances).
I got a call from my chiro's office just before lunch, asking if I could come in at lunch or if I could leave work early to come in. I ran down at lunch (we moved to the new office today, so I'm really close to the chiro's office).
I had her do the nasal adjustment before my normal adjustment, and it was super fast this time! She's also getting the feel of using the nitrile (which is less stretchy than latex), so she was able to feel when she hit the right level of inflation.
This time there was FAR less nasal discharge from the actual adjustment and I even teared up less. I was back to my office in 1/2 an hour including drive time.
I had a bit of a headache this afternoon, but I think that was partly due to the fact I didn't get any potassium at lunch (I thought I needed CVT glasses because I was getting a wicked headache every afternoon. I also was seriously craving salt in the afternoons as well. Turns out eating a banana or taking a potassium supplement has helped immensely). My desk wasn't fully unpacked and once I got it unpacked, I didn't really think about the potassium.
Overall, I still maintain that letting someone stick "balloons" up my nose is worth it. I am only blowing my nose a few times a day, only sneezing a few times a day and fewer headaches.
I know I try weird for weird's sake most of the time. I've tried anything and everything for my allergies (which I never had until AFTER moving back to Northern CA after living in San Diego): bee pollen, local honey, SinuOrega spray, various herbs, Elemental Silver spray, coconut oil up my nose, all with zero to minimal results. It has been a week and I have greatly reduced symptoms.
Life is so much more pleasant when you can breathe. Exercise is almost enjoyable again now that I can breathe through my nose. I didn't realize how limited my breathing was until after the first adjustment.
I did find out that while some call it Endonasal Balloon Therapy, it is also called the Nasal Specific Technique (my chiro's preferred reference).
I will say that the jaunt through Bloomingdales messed me up seriously. I was sneezing and nose running pretty much all day from it. I woke up mostly able to breathe through my nose (it was slightly more congested and I feel it was related to the reaction to the cosmetics/fragrances).
I got a call from my chiro's office just before lunch, asking if I could come in at lunch or if I could leave work early to come in. I ran down at lunch (we moved to the new office today, so I'm really close to the chiro's office).
I had her do the nasal adjustment before my normal adjustment, and it was super fast this time! She's also getting the feel of using the nitrile (which is less stretchy than latex), so she was able to feel when she hit the right level of inflation.
This time there was FAR less nasal discharge from the actual adjustment and I even teared up less. I was back to my office in 1/2 an hour including drive time.
I had a bit of a headache this afternoon, but I think that was partly due to the fact I didn't get any potassium at lunch (I thought I needed CVT glasses because I was getting a wicked headache every afternoon. I also was seriously craving salt in the afternoons as well. Turns out eating a banana or taking a potassium supplement has helped immensely). My desk wasn't fully unpacked and once I got it unpacked, I didn't really think about the potassium.
Overall, I still maintain that letting someone stick "balloons" up my nose is worth it. I am only blowing my nose a few times a day, only sneezing a few times a day and fewer headaches.
I know I try weird for weird's sake most of the time. I've tried anything and everything for my allergies (which I never had until AFTER moving back to Northern CA after living in San Diego): bee pollen, local honey, SinuOrega spray, various herbs, Elemental Silver spray, coconut oil up my nose, all with zero to minimal results. It has been a week and I have greatly reduced symptoms.
Life is so much more pleasant when you can breathe. Exercise is almost enjoyable again now that I can breathe through my nose. I didn't realize how limited my breathing was until after the first adjustment.
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