Alien or Allergic to Earth

 

            I'm reaching into cyber space to hear from fellow earth dwellers.  I'm begging for information, in the form of your experience, about an issue that's bothered my health since I can remember, and until now I could handle. 

            Blowing my nose and squinting through swollen eyes, I've grinned and bared it.  I functioned as a working mother of four while running through life whipping tissues from my pocket or handbag.  I've sneezed my way through most of the year, most of my life.  But allergies have sunk deeper roots into my body over the last few years.  Today, I long for those drippy days.

            Still in my forties, I thought I was aging on the inside earlier than most people.  I need a nap to get through the day.  As I move, my body is weighted by an unseen force.  Medical tests came up negative.  Continued fatigue and extreme thirst almost convinced me I was a hypochondriac.

            Recently my gums and jaw hurt so bad I rocked in pain.  I couldn't chew without hurting.  Drinking hot or cold beverages made me scream in agony.  A lump formed under the flesh of my lower lip.  The dentist gave me a clean bill of health and suggested seeing an ENT specialist. 

            These new symptoms caused my imagination to conjure up a health issue yet unknown to medicine.  I could understand if my throat swelled shut or I had trouble breathing, but these weren't the case.  Oral and nasal medications have no effect or make me feel worse.  I considered depression at one point.  The ENT specialist mentioned that cronically feeling lousy could sink a person into depression.  He suggested allergy testing.  But I needed relief righ away.

            For years I owned a neti pot, but couldn't believe something so simple could help me.  It grossed me out just reading the instructions.  I hate when ocean water goes up my nose.  The sensation bothered me so much as a kid that I had avoided salt water near my face.

            Two week ago, in painful desperation, I used the strange little pot that reminds me of Aladin's magical lamp.  The pressure in my mouth and face subsided.  The neti pot had mystical powers too.  The temporary relief was euphoric.  For good measure, I chased this sinus experience with an over-the-counter pain reliever. 

            I posted my neti pot results on Facebook.  The response comforted me to know I'm not an alien having trouble surviving Earth's atmosphere, or a hypochondriac.  Renee Ericson, author of "Forgetting Yesterday" "After Tuesday" and her latest book coming out this summer, "Deciding Tomorrow," is a fellow sufferer and confirmed my situation as similar to hers.  Pete Curran who works at New York Life Insurance also uses saline solution to alleviate symptoms.  So I'm in good company and not crazy or on the wrong planet.

            After allergy testing, the results floored me.  Shall I list what I'm allergic to?  Just skim the following to save time:

MOLDS:

Alternaria

Aspergillus Fumigatus

Helm Solani

Aureobasidum

Fusarium

Mucor Racemosus

Rhizopus Nigricans

Botrytis Cinerea

Phoma Betae

 

INSECTS:

American Cockroach

 

EPIDERMALS:

Dog Dander

Cat Hair

Goose Feathers

 

DUST MITES:

D. Farinae

D. Pteronyssinus

 

GRASS:

Timothy

 

WEEDS:

Ragweed

English Plantain

Lambs Quarter

Cockelbur

Mugwort

 

TREES:

Ash Mix

Oak Mix

Maple Mix

Sycamore

Willow (black)

Elm

Mulberry (red)

Pine Mix

 

            And I have yet to be tested for food allergies.

            Allergic to everything under the sun and in the house, my only hope is allergy shots that take three years to build immunities in my body. I never realized environmental allergies could be so difficult to control.  

            A nurse friend I used to work with told me she never had allergies before she moved to New Jersey.  This and her lovely New England accent made me want to move to that area. 

            This is where you come in.  I'm hoping for information about environmental allergies and how those suffering with them cope.  I feel my quality of life could be better.  My fear is that three years of allergy shots may prove unsuccessful.  I've heard this is possible from other sufferers. 

            I want to feel my age before I reach that age where it's more natural to often feel sluggish.  Heaven help me if I need dentures.

 

 

             Since writing this post, I've found out that the lump in my gum was an infection in my tooth.  I'm disappointed that my dentist didn't see this.  I'm still getting allergy shots and seem to be doing well.  So glad I went to the ENT.

 

           

Celebrating Between Bookends and Beyond

 

 

 

            A quote taped to my writing space tutors me to: "Figure out how you are going to make writing a permanent part of your life."  This, of course, means for writers to write consistently.  But being part of a writing community (or several) adds another layer to writing life.  And makes me squeal with glee. 

            The actuality of local writers getting published, and hob-knobbing with and befriending them, is surreal.  I wished for the above collection of works by people I know.  Now that it's materialized, I'm elated entering publication with them.

            Goose pimples pop everytime a writer friend or acquaintance mentions their work is being published or considered for publication.  I cheer, and can't wait to add their new work to my growing collection.  I'm liable to do a jig and have been known to air pump after hearing a fellow writer got the attention of an agent.

            Then, the goose bumps crowded so close together that I nearly went into shock.  The Burlington County Times sent a photographer to my home and did a photo shoot of me and other writers (Marie Gilbert, Joanne Costantino, Amy Hollinger and Jennifer M. Eaton) for the March 1, 2014 AAUW's Medford Branch champagne brunch, where we spoke about writing to benefit their scholarship program.      

           Writing became a part of my life on a new level now, with my home as background in the newspaper pictures.  In one shot a ceramic knick-knack my daughter made accented our old coffee table along with the heart-shaped candy dish my sister-in-law had made for my wedding shower, and a party favor from my youngest daughter's wedding shower.

            Sometimes the only thing I have in common with local writers I've met, besides honoring the written word, is that our efforts often receive scant reward.  John Farquhar had forty-five of us laughing at the South Jersey Writers' Group's February meeting when he explained how excited he was to take on screenwriting again and make less money than he does now as a novelist and short story writer.  Why is it so much fun celebrating the underdog?

            It's thrilling entertaining writers in my no frills home.  Boy, do I feel highbrow.  The Inklings come to mind.  C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien eat your hearts out because woman writers are also welcome in literary circles now. 

            E-books be damned for us luddites, who submit online in the cloak of night.  I can't display between my bookends the anthology, "Strange New World" that includes Glenn Walker's short story which I remember coming through my critique session. 

            Looking forward to reading L.D. Davis' steamy romance "Accidentally On Purpose" that I just ordered.  I'm also hoping Krista Magrowski will sign her short story in my copy of "We Walk Invisible" when it arrives.  Sadly, the February issue of Cricket Magazine, with Victoria Marie Lee's short story I critiqued before publication, still eludes me.  

            Sorry to Juliette Haynes ("Tastes Too Good to be Healthy Cookbook") and Janice Wilson (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Shaping the New You").  Each of your books are on loan to family.  And Marie Gilbert, get your trilogy out soon because I can't display in front of my living room lamp all the online interviews, articles, stories, blogposts and reviews you've done.

           The tingling energy of kindred spirits is intoxicatingly fun.  It's something you can't buy, like the written word, but can still bring into your home!     

           If I've forgotten anyone, please blast me in a comment below.