I have literally suffered 'seasonal' allergies since I was 6 years old, when I started my own fine tradition of always being 'sick with a bad cold' for picture day at school. Eventually, my mother figured out that I wasn't actually experiencing a bad cold that lasted for weeks. No- instead, just when I had managed to get over most of my lengthy list of food allergies (eggs, dairy, wheat, oranges, tomatoes, and even rice- yes, if I had been born in a 3rd world country they would have just thrown me back!) I managed to start in with the seasonal allergies. And those allergies grew in intensity and length of season until I was hardly ever really normal and healthy at all. In time and with tests, I was informed that my two main allergy categories were trees and mold.
Let me just let that sink in for a minute. I was born and lived in the Northwest for 40 years and I am severely allergic to trees and mold.
Yeah, you can stop laughing anytime now...
Sudaphed and antihistamines have been my savior for years and years. And yet as anyone with major allergies will tell you, any medication for the condition always has its trade-off choices- things like feeling completely sleepy in the daytime or being able to breathe at night or fun stuff like getting real relief for a few hours or choosing to be just a little bit better than if you had taken nothing at all. I've even tried some natural spices and things and those left me with heartburn and sinus drainage that I choked on all night long.
Sooooo.....
When I began to realize that on every trip to SoCal I would get this amazing and drug free reprieve from the allergies, you can bet that I was looking forward to finding out if it would last.
I have been here for a month. I have taken NO Sudaphed. I repeat- none. I think the company may be about to experience a big drop in their stocks! I have a friend who tells me that if I want to be completely allergy free I will have to keep moving every few years so I won't be able to develop new allergies to the place I'm living in. I've told him that I would move every year if it meant feeling this good! And honestly, its a really good thing that 'the devil went down to Georgia' and isn't on his way to SoCal, because I tell you if I were asked to sign on the dotted line to be able to continue living allergy free, I just might do it!
 |
| Red Devil by bandrat, found at: freedigitalphotos.net |
As someone who also suffers from a host of allergies, I can relate to this post. I am allergic to shellfish, beef, potatoes, and oranges severely enough that I get an instant reaction. I suspect that my body is intolerant to more than that and it accounts for the nagging aches and pains that never really go away. They probably contribute to my migraines, too. Bah. I was skin tested in GA and found that I was mildly allergic to the tune of a 2 or 3 to just about everything. Cats were a 4. Dust was a 7. There were only about 6-7 things that they tested for that were 0s. I am still taking allergy shots for those things, but I think that living in FL (and escaping the GA allergens) has also contributed to my getting better... I just didn't think about it until I read this post!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy you do not have to deal with allergies. Hopefully that will be the case year round. I had lots of allergies in Ohio, and unfortunately, it's more of the same in Georgia. Maybe I'll move to California. ;0)
ReplyDelete