I’ve always had allergies.
When I was a little kid they called them colds. As an adult, only time I
didn’t have them was during my wonderful 19 months living at a California
beach. I moved; they came back. The
doctor was baffled. They seemed too bad to be allergies.
Then I moved to TX. And for the first time, the whole nasal
thing got infected. Antibiotics. They
cut the infection, not the endless sneeze/cough, runny nose.
The second year, it was worse. So much coughing and sneezing I
couldn’t drive. The doctor said he'd
send two scrips - each day I'd take fewer pills, and in a week I'd be done. I got two tiny boxes.
When I unwrapped the fashionable “pacs” the first was a Prednisone
compound. No. Uh-uh. Back in the box. But I was miserable, so I
took them. The antibiotic was amazing. The steroids were not. The
coughing kept on until the tissue showed a few traces of blood with the cough.
After several phone calls, I got the promised cough syrup. Not
enough help. The doctor’s office called and asked if the meds worked. I told
them I was at the same place I would have been without the meds.
Mom used to say after disappointing
medicine
"Either this stuff is no good,
or I would have died without it." Hmm.
About a week after the steroids were all gone, the Surprises
began.
Suddenly I got red areas sort of like athletes foot ON my palms.
(I have blepharitis- Try taking care of your eye infection with that on your
palms! Put on clotrimazole.)
Same week, I had too many errand in the hot, hot car and no place
to park in the shade. When I got home, the sweaty area at the edges of my
hair, and on my neck itched wildly. I got patches of streaky itchy hives and even
a couple of bumps. The next day, I still had big itchy red areas when I woke up.
I remembered a dermatologist’s words when I was very young:
..."I think you’re allergic to your
own sweat."
I combed the web. New
words:
Cholinergic Urticaria
Updated:
Apr 04, 2017 Author: Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH;
“Cholinergic urticaria is one of
the physical urticarias brought
on by a physical stimulus. Although this stimulus might be considered to be
heat, the actual precipitating cause is sweating.”
I changed my routine, stayed in during most of the day .But
I had to make a decision:
I’m due for the next Prolia injection. Prolia admits even on
the web site, that it CAN affect the immune system. Feeling nervous, I
cancelled the Priola for now.
Steroids should slow the immune system when it over-reacts to
something simple. But HOW long
until the immune system is BACK TO NORMAL?,
Go back to the doctor? I
don't want to be in any med waiting rooms with sick folk. I wear a med mask to
the grocery store. Scared? I
didn't go to Starbucks for a month! And when I did get there, suddenly a
big group came in. I was too freaked out to stay
Home –lifestyle? I can't
get the indoor humidity below the upper 50s, which is not good for respiratory
problems. And I itch.
