Cate's Diary

Our trip to the footy was a success I must say. I masked up in the toilets & sucked on Bisolven for dry cough lozenges, which help & enjoyed the night. My reactions were not over the top & this morning I feel much as I would normally feel with hayfever. That I can cope with.
We are spending the day at home & I think it will be a lazy day.
Tomorrow I have 2 appointments in town (120km return trip)- 1 with an Orthopaedic surgeon & the other with an Allergist.
It's a beautiful, sunny day today.
 
We had quite a lazy day yesterday as we were both quite tired. I'm heading off soon, feeling reasonably optimistic that my day will be good. I'm not expecting a lot from either doctor, so anything positive will be good. I hope I can be de-sensitised to some things at least, which would lighten the load. I recovered well from Sat night's trip to the football. The mask makes a lot of difference.
G & I are just watching some green rosellas who have landed in the tree ferns just outside our living-room window. We have 2 birdbaths near the ferns. We have 2 American Dogwood trees planted not far from our house & they love the red balls on them. We're seeing more parrots than usual this year.
Anyhow- time to get moving!
 
Hi, Em. It went OK. I'm going back for skin prick testing next Monday & will take it from there. I had an appointment beforehand with an Orthopaedic surgeon about my feet & have lots to consider. I'll talk more about it later as I'm about to try to play 18 holes of golf & have to leave soon. Thanks for asking xo
 
Well, I managed to play 18 holes of golf & got around fairly well, so I am happy about that. I'm home again now, feeling fairly stiff & sore, but am really glad that I played. G drove me out there & picked me up. I played earlier with someone who was going to a funeral this afternoon, so I avoided socialising afterwards with the women. I'm happy to be home.
 
Pulled up fairly well yesterday after golf. I think I can confidently say I think my feet are the way they are because of golf as my right foot has not hurt at all for the last 6 weeks, but has done since I played on Wed. It must be the action of swinging the club I reckon (the twisting).
After 4 days without any anti-histamines, I am fairly heavy headed & itchy, but am not as bad as I thought I would be. Only 3 more days to go until the skin prick testing! I don't sleep at all well without them. It will be interesting to see what the tests show.
 
I hope the testing goes well and it helps you get to the exact cause of some of your health issues.
 
They can't help me with my multiple chemical insensitivities, as avoidance is the only solution, but if I can find out my other sensitivities that are treatable I can start a de-sensitisation program & that will hopefully lighten the load on my immune system. I suggested that to this GP & she agreed. Fingers crossed!
I got some new Vogmasks today & a couple of head straps so they will fit tighter & I won't have gremlin ears! One is a bright multi-coloured paisley, the other plain black.
 
Good you could enjoy some golf, sorry about the health problems. My husband has lots of allergies to foods which he manages by avoiding some altogether and only having the rest every four days in limited amounts. It's hard to avoid all allergens but if you manage the ones you can it lowers the load of histamines and the ill effects from them. Hope your tests will give the information you need for an effective management plan.
 
I am going to have to force myself to get on the scales this week. I think it's wake-up time!
 
I can't use mine lol, hubby put a bowl of water for the cat on them then spilt the water everywhere, my scales are dead.
 
I'm only going to get on mine as I know that I need that figure in front of me. I think I know almost exactly what I weigh & it's not good.
I just haven't felt like focussing on my weight, but I must.
 
Hi Cate, hope the weight is not as high as you are imagining. Probably been hard to think about that when you haven't been feeling well. But it could give you a satisfying feeling of control to manage your diet and exercise and get back to your goal weight. Although anorexics do take that idea of control too far! Anyway, you've done it before and you can do it again.
 
aloe said:
Hi Cate, hope the weight is not as high as you are imagining. Probably been hard to think about that when you haven't been feeling well. But it could give you a satisfying feeling of control to manage your diet and exercise and get back to your goal weight. Although anorexics do take that idea of control too far! Anyway, you've done it before and you can do it again.
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Hi, Aloe & thank you. It would feel good to feel back in control again & with an aim. It does get harder & harder to re-focus as you get older. I don't have an unhealthy diet at all(eg my breakfast was sourdough oat bread with avocado & tuna) but I do know I have gained some weight. The moon & the stars weren't in alignment this morning (ie I didn't go to the toilet) so I didn't weigh.
LaMaria said:
Good to see you're doing so well, Cate! :grouphug:
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Hi LaMa. I really missed you, but am glad you had a lovely time xoxo

I'm off for the skin prick testing today. My skin, especially my face & scalp is SOOOOO itchy, without anti-histamines!
 
Best of luck with the test. I find that washing with only coldish water helps with the itchiness - and very little soap to further avoid removing the natural oils that are meant to sooth your poor skin.
 
The tests went much better than I thought they would. I am not as allergic to the airborne allergens as I once was & she thought that what I have been doing is working well for me. So I won't be having a very expensive & intensive de-sensitising to airborne allergens, because I don't need it. I knew there was nothing she could do for the fragrance allergies, but it's good to know that my others are not as bad as they once were.
After my initial reaction to her last week, which was negative & I'm not sure why I got on really well with her today. It's not because she gave me good news, I just connected well with her today. The best advice I got from her today is to keep on doing what I'm doing. My combination of anti-histamines is not as strange as I thought & she seemed to think that I should continue taking the same ones but to not be afraid to take a higher dose when I feel I will need them. I came away with the thought that I may be able to travel again after all. It's worth hoping for.
Re: itching skin. I never use soap on my face LaMa, but maybe I'm developing an allergy to my unfragranced shampoo & conditioner as my head has been SO itchy. Do you use anything on your hair?
Speaking of hair- I put my big girl panties on & went to the hairdressers in town who only do cuts & don't do appointments & got a great haircut. YAY! I did tell you that I did my own about a month ago, didn't I? With a razor. It was not easy & has been growing out very weird. G & I went out to lunch as well. We had GF fish & chips & salad because I know that I will be "dieting" again very soon.
I have had a very positive day!
 
I never use conditioner because it just kills my skin. Cheap shampoo or just regular old soap tends to be fine. The more expensive the shampoo the more likely it is to leave some kind of residue on your hair and skin (meant to make you look good, of course). Same reason I tend to use surface disinfectant on my hands instead of hand disinfectant if I forgot to wear gloves.
If I want my hair to be extra-glossy I rinse it with cold water mixed with a shot of the cheapest vinegar to balance out the high ph of soap. I really don´t need it now that I keep my hair short but it worked well even when I had long hair.
Good to hear you connected with your allergy doctor and felt heard this time. And great that you managed to get a proper haircut without too many side-effects! That´s not an easy one to navigate :grouphug:
 
Thanks, LaMa. I have been thinking that it may be my expensive shampoo & conditioner (A'kin & Alchemy unscented), which I have been using for years & years. A lot of my sister's allergy group use vinegar as a conditioner & I use it for lots of things, so I'll give that a go. I'll use G's shampoo instead next time & see what happens. :grouphug:
I got on the scales this morning. There was just no avoiding it. I was more than I thought I would be. I now have 11 kg to lose. Oh, well. It gives me some focus :D I did have a "last supper" yesterday in town as I knew I would be "dieting" again very soon. I had battered fish & chips, with salad & a cappuccino.
My Fitbit has gone back on & I have a soup to take with me & some fruit. I can do this.........
 
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