Food Update #484....

Marshmallows are out.
Rough night last night.
Didn't sleep at all.
Despite 50mg. of Benadryl.
That is all....

Huffing, Puffing, Pokes, Prods and A Hard Decision....

I got allergy testing today. And I am itchy. Here's how it all went down....

I went to the office and the nurse asked me a BAZILLION questions. Seriously it felt like it would never end. Everything I'm allergic to, how I react and to what extent, how long the reactions last and what I do for the reaction. Along with other conditions, meds., surgeries. Basically she's my new BFF. She charted it all and then I saw the doc.

Dr. F is awesome! He ran through everything in a little more detail than the nurse along with more stuff I don't even remember (I think I was in the office for a total of two hours). He told me he was going to do two tests; a skin test to tell exactly WHAT and HOW allergic I am to certain things and a breathing test to check my Asthma to see if I even qualify for allergy shots--

WAIT!

HOLD UP!

WHAT?

ALLERGY SHOTS!?!?

But I remain calm and do the breathing test first. It involves breathing in super fast then breathing out for 6 seconds as hard a you can and finally taking another big breath in. I did it three times and became very light headed. And I only did it three times because apparently I did learn circular breathing while playing the trombone and I kept messing up the graph on the machine. I took some Ventolin and did it again and he said all was good.

Next was the skin test. The nurse rubbed my forearms down with alcohol then put four rows of 12 little marks with a pen down the sides. She then put little drops of allergens all down next to the pen lines according to her chart. Then she scored them all with a little razor type thing. Don't worry. On a scale of nothing to 4 failed IVs in one day it's MUCH closer to nothing. I waited 15 minutes and some bumps appeared. In all about half of them reacted and about 3/4 of them were pretty big (5-12mm).

I forgot to take a picture at the office but this is what my arms looked like an hour and a Benedryl later when I got home.

These blotches mean I'm highly allergic to cats/dog/rats and other animals, tree (especially Birch) pollen and grasses. And I'm moderately allergic to Ragweed and Mould.

I am a perfect candidate for allergy shots (but keep reading for the dilemma part of this post).

That means I will to on the top of the medication pyramid for TWO different medications for TWO different conditions.

I wouldn't stand next to me in a rain storm....

The only thing about these "Allergy Shots" is that it could make my Crohn's Disease worse. Dr. F said it like this.

Most normal people are here.

Because I have Crohn's I am here.

But I also have allergies so therefore I am here and here simultaneously.

In order to try and get my allergy symptoms back to "normal" allergy shots push you towards
the "normal" line.

But because I have Crohn's and I'm on Remicade all the pushing
on the allergy side will cause some pushing on the Crohn's side
it could make it worse.

So obviously I have some things to mull over. And the worst part is that he said it's only a new link that they are finding between immunotherapy and autoimmune diseases so there's not even any information on it online! You know how I like to research the crap out of things before they enter my body! Maybe I'll go and have a nice long chat with Dr. P.........

Let The Antihistamine Detox Commence....

No literally! Hello my name is Kylee and I'm addicted to antihistamines. I've taken at least 1 Claritin, Aerius, Allegra, Reactin, and most recently Zyrtec every day since I turned 12. That's 10 years. And I can count on my hands the times I've missed taking it. And never two days in a row. Spring, summer, winter or fall I diligently take a pill every morning. Why all the time you ask? Well....

Besides the unfortunate affliction of Crohn's Disease and my daily fights with Little Crohnsie Bit I have COPIUS amounts of allergies. I'm talking to just about everything. Let me list SOME of them shall I....
-environmental (pollen, grass, dust, ect. like a lot of people, no big deal).
-cats (again no big deal).
-all kinds of fabric softener except 1 certain hypoallergenic brand.
-every antibiotic they give my except Azithromycin (no more than 250mg a day) and Flagyl (which you can only get when admitted into the hospital because it costs so much).
-rats(a weird one I thought I'd throw in).
-all fruit (with the exception of watermelon and blueberries at certain times of the year if I take Benadryl 20 minutes before I eat it).
-some raw vegetables.
Some or a combination of these things can make me break out in hives, wheeze, make me lightheaded, make my heart beat fast, make my throat/tongue tingle/swell, make my eyes swell shut or itch to the point I that I break the skin and make myself bleed while some just make me sneeze, cough or eyes itchy. Especially at this time of year. And it happens anywhere, anytime. The antihistamines above just keep some of the milder symptoms at bay but if I encounter something that my body does not like sometimes 50mg of Benadryl is the only thing that gives me any relief and sometimes that doesn't seem to work as well as it used to.

So why the detox you ask? Well after two years of waiting I finally have an allergist appointment I can keep (I had three different appointments while I was on Prednisone, none of which I could keep) on Monday and for the testing you can't have any antihistamines in your system for at least 48 hours beforehand. That means Friday morning (39 hours ago) was my last one and I am in full detox mode. I mean detox. You'd think I'm coming down off of meth or something. I'm getting the sweats/hot and cold flashes, itchy all over, my leg is rubbed raw in no less than three areas, I feel like there are bugs crawling all over me, I'm nauseous and my eyes are so itchy I could claw them out on a whim.

Oh well, only 38 more hours to go. I'm over half way there right?!?!

Caterpillars Everywhere and Way To Hot To Think....

Day 1 of my "Caterpillar Experiment" and I think it's started out well. We collected 4 Tent Caterpillars; 2 large ones, one medium one and one tiny one. We have affectionately named them Papa Bear 1, Papa Bear 2, Mama Bear and Baby Bear (remember I deal with three year olds). We put them in a large plastic container with sand in the bottom and four large sticks for them to "play on, you know like a park?" and some leaves "so they can have snack". Then we did this in another container but this time we put in other caterpillars. I'm not sure exactly what kind they were but I think they turn into Swallow tail butterflies. And we put so many of those little suckers in there we didn't name them. Although I heard the names "Pinkalicious", "Sparkly" and "Mario" being thrown around. I personally kept the names "Hopeful" and "Resilient" in mind while they were tossing the containers around.
In other news, if the kids don't kill the poor little creatures, the heat just might. The temperature as per Le Green Monster on my way home at 5pm....

The Death Of Yet Another Food....

Well, Carrot Salad is officially out. Just thought you all should know so that you can grieve in your own way. I know I am....

Rest In Peace dearest Carrot and Raisin Salad, you were my favourite since I was a small child and now you are but a distant memory.... :'(

Forget It....

Ok so I had this totally wickedly awseome long blog post I thought out in the middle of the night last night when I couldn't sleep and I've been trying to remember it all day but do you think I could? Nope! I blame the 'roids.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day....
At least it's the weekend.... :)

The End Of An Era....

So tonight, Monday May 21st 2012 something else is coming to an end. One of my favourite television shows of all time, House, MD is having it's big finale. I was doing some research and math and realised that this show means more to me than even I know....

This show started on November 16th 2004. I was 14, and in grade 9. I am now done high school and working full time. I have both learned to drive and bought a car.There have been 177 episodes. The last of which ending tonight. I have seen every one at least 5 times, some up to 20 . This show has gotten me through a diagnoses of Crohn's Disease and all of the subsequent couch time that goes along with being so sick. This show taught me what Erythropoietic Protoporphyria, Inamrinone, and Thrombocytopenia are and what they do.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that I'm going to miss you Dr Gregory House. Thanks for all the escape you have provided for me. I wish you would never have to end but I guess you can't always get what you want....

A life sized banner of the good Doc himself.

World IBD Day....

And because making videos is what I do....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCi5M5ufck4

MRIs: A Pain In The Neck....

So today was the infamous MRI. Eugh....

I started out by ending my eating at 8am and I had to be at the hospital for 9:30am. I arrived with mama in tow to keep me company. I was processed through and had to put on a gown and housecoat(boo for hospital garb!). Then we were moved to a bed where the real fun began.

Peglyte. Oh how I loathe thee.

This (next to CT Scan contrast *SHIVER*) is THE. WORST. TASTING. LIQUID. EVER. INVENTED. PERIOD. DONE. ZIP. KAPUT. END. OF. STORY.
It tastes like chalk that has artificial fruit flavouring but it can't decide if it wants to be bubblegum.... If that makes sense. The weirdest part is that it has a chalky texture but looks clear like water. Hmmm..... And did I mention that you have to drink an 8 oz. cup of it every 15 minutes for an hour?!?! That's 32 oz.!!!! Phew....

Needless to say I got down the first cup and half of the second cup before Little Crohnsie Bit(CB) started acting up. She had 3 "little fits" and all I wanted to do was keep up with my drinking. I slowly started to fall behind further. And further. And further. Until finally it was an hour past and they were coming to get me and I had only had two and a half cups down and couldn't get out of the bathroom. When I finally get back to my bed I take a look at the unholy bottle and read "Gastrointestinal Lavage Preparation and Laxative".

WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I didn't sign up for this!!!!

No wonder everything I just ate over the last week made a reappearance! I didn't have this kind of reaction last time I did this! (December 2011).

After getting calmed down a bit the MRI Tech. comes to get me and takes me to a different area to prep for the test when I tell her I don't yet have an IV because I've been stuck in the bathroom. So back to the other bed area I go.

I get an IV, go back to the prep area, go to the washroom again, then make the trek to the MRI machine. It's in a new part of the hospital so they're still getting the layout down right.

When I get into the room it's cold. I'm not sure if it's actually cold or if it's me (remember I'm wearing a hospital gown). She has me lay on the table on my stomach and put my arms straight up above my head. Then her and another Tech. put a bunch of equipment on my back, heavy equipment that helps with the pictures. Then I get some fancy dancy headphones A) Because it's extremely loud when the magnets get going and B) so I can hear the Tech. speak to me and when I need to hold my breath.

Ten minutes later I'm being squeezed into the machine.

And that's pretty much it. I laid there for an hour, intermittently holding my breath when told to through the headphones, sometimes holding air in, sometimes keeping it out. All the while they are pumping dyes and contrast and meds to slow down my bowels into my IV.

When I got out let me tell you! I had such a stiff neck! And still do 8 hours later! Laying in the same position for an hour with your head cocked to the right sucks!

I got my IV out, got changed, got my parking validated (YES!) and headed home.

It wasn't that bad, just wish Lil' CB would stop revolting though....

Water Loading....

Also I forgot to mention I'm water loading tonight. What is water loading you ask? It's kind of like carbo loading for athletes but instead of carbs you use water. As any chronically sick person knows the night before a test/treatment you water load. Basically it involves drowning yourself until you feel like you are going to barf and/or pee your pants uncontrollably. This ensures that even someone with even the most horrible of veins can to have a comfortable experience and only have to have 1 IV poke .
I'm bottle 4 in two and a half hours. I'm not getting stuck three times again tomorrow! MRI, uh....