Remember when I posted this at the beginning of last month? Well, I went and got tested for allergies. Part of the deal with allergy testing is that you can’t take any antihistamines prior to testing. That was torture. FIVE DAYS OF TORTURE.
Well, one kind of torture, anyway. To start out the allergy testing, I had to blow a 1.8. OK, not really, but I did have to take really deep breaths and then blow them out into a thing that is probably not unlike a breathalyser only it measured my lung capacity and not my blood alcohol levels. (I think.) Then I did a breathing treatment. And then got to redo the breathalyser test thingie. And then I had to take off my top and lay down on the table.
The problem with this scenario is that albuterol makes me HYPER and JUMPY. And more inclined to sprint laps around the building rather than hold still.
So of course THEY MADE ME LAY DOWN AND NOT MOVE FOR 20 MINUTES.
That right there is cruel and unusual punishment. Also? Pricking my back with THIRTY-NINE different allergens didn’t really make it better either. Especially since it made my back itch and I couldn’t scratch it. Because, you know, if I move, they’ll have to start over. Turns out, however, that the only thing that made me itch was the histamine that’s the control. Everything I was tested for was a big fat negative.
YAY! Sweet, right?
Not exactly.
Because they wanted to make sure the scratch test on my back was not a false negative, they did a second test. One that involves TWENTY-ONE intradermal injections of allergens in my arm. See?
Sucktastic
And then I had to sit and wait another twenty minutes to find out that, guess what? STILL NOT ALLERGIC.
At this point, the doctor comes back to tell me that I’m a freak. Because that’s how I roll. Anyway, turns out that I definitely do not suffer from allergies. However, what I DO have is non-allergic rhinitis. He gave me a handout about non-allergic rhinitis and, OMG, this pretty much fits me to a T.
How much of a T? Let’s see:
Excessive watery mucus (causing post-nasal drip) 
Nasal congestion or stuffiness with pressure around the head, face and eyes
Headaches ( sinus and/or migraine)
Occasionally, extreme cold hands and feet
OH HAI. I have 4 out of 4 symptoms. Awesome.
Anyway, the best part of all this? If the treatment plan he prescribed works, in the long run I will no longer have to take any medication. At. All.
That right there? That is a full angelic choir singing the hallelujah chorus. No. More. Meds. (down the road) And it only cost me 3 hours and $156 out of pocket to find that out.*
I should have done this years ago.
*Murphy’s law in full effect: My insurance coverage has no cap on allergy treatments after my yearly deductible is met; ergo, I have no need of this service.
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Only you would be a genetic freak and not have allergies. Non-allergic rhinitis sounds like fancy medical speak for “FAKING IT”
Hope the meds help!
Ooh. Your story reminds me… I used to have a really bad time sleeping. I would feel irritable and restless and I’d usually manage to drop off just a few short hours before it was time to get up. I’d get up feeling hungover and drugged and sick. I had trouble catching my breath. I had trouble walking up hills, cos I’d get out of breath.
I did the peak flow meter thing for a week, recorded the results, and it was inconclusive.
Another GP at the doctors’ surgery specialised in Allergies. I had a skin prick test with just six different potential allergens. Grass pollen. Dust. Duck down. Tree pollen. Mould. Grasshoppers. (Okay I can’t quite remember all of them.)
Turned out I was allergic to my bedding, which was filled with duck down (yep, and the pillows too).
I got rid of them and felt miles better.
But that doesn’t help you because you don’t have an allergy.
You could try cutting out milk products to see if you have an INTOLERANCE. Most of us aren’t meant to digest milk products. If you want to try it, keep a diary for a couple of weeks or however long you can manage (longer?) and see if it helps. Be aware that milk can lurk in all sorts of processed and ready-made meals so check the labelling.
I have found rice milk enjoyable with cereal, but there is no great substitute for teas and coffees. Though redbush tea with a little apple juice is pleasant and some herbal teas with a little honey is nice.
But I have a feeling you like your coffee??
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Okay, what did he tell you to do to treat it, because that sounds exactly like what I deal with all the freakin’ time. I’m so tired of it that I want to cry.
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