Cate's Diary

cate said:
Women often have good male friends & men often have good female friends. I don't see it as being the opposite, rather it's the fact that we can get along with members of the opposite sex, sometimes more than we do our own. :)
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Yea...i was thinking opposite as far as the genders..sorry, that thought was pre-coffee ;)
 
I understood what you meant Rebel. I think a lot of us are comfortable with the opposite sex. Some of it stems back to the competition from when we were young I think. Also, it may help just hearing a different perspective on things. Who knows? I'm more inclined to listen to women now & want to get to know them than I used to be.
I had better get moving. It's raining & we really need it. We were taking the kids to a Tomato & Garlic Festival, which may have been interesting, but I don't think it would be much fun in the rain!
 
cate said:
I understood what you meant Rebel. I think a lot of us are comfortable with the opposite sex. Some of it stems back to the competition from when we were young I think. Also, it may help just hearing a different perspective on things. Who knows? I'm more inclined to listen to women now & want to get to know them than I used to be.
I had better get moving. It's raining & we really need it. We were taking the kids to a Tomato & Garlic Festival, which may have been interesting, but I don't think it would be much fun in the rain!
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Sounds fun but wet garlic...ummm maybe not
 
The rain stopped & we(G) decided we would go anyway. He was driving for a change as I didn't feel up to it. There were so many people there, which was such a surprise, considering the wet day. It was on a farm & stuff was packed into sheds. It was too crowded, too disorganised & seriously underwhelming. There was an incredible array of different types of tomatoes, which were available for tasting & for voting on, but you just couldn't get near anything & people were walking in different directions & you could barely move, let alone get in to have a proper look. There were some crazy Morris dancers & that was maybe the highlight. C, who's 10, who loves tomatoes, was especially grumpy & unbearable & we left within 30 minutes of getting there. We then took them out to lunch & C was even grumpier. I got very grumpy with him & told him to at least pretend he was having a good time & not to be so rude. Sitting opposite him in the cafe I could see that he was really tired & then I found out he was awake most of the night before itching. We got through lunch & then on the way home I asked if he would like to call in to the local park. He sparked up & we spent about 45 minutes there. He knew that we went there just for him.

We then came back to our place as I had asked D for dinner after he finished work. I told him all about what happened on Friday & he was shocked at how strongly I had physically reacted. He got very angry & upset with the medical centre & I was able to say kindly that he forgets too & comes into our house with Lynx deodorant on. I told him that I just can't be exposed to the things that make me sick & I will provide him with shampoo & conditioner that the kids can use when they are going to be spending time with me or coming into our house. I said I didn't want to react badly to them, or him, when they get close to me but that I needed him to know that I am getting sicker & reacting more & more to fragrance. I also said that I thought C might be developing allergies. I also managed to say that he reacts negatively when I have tried to let him know. The conversation went well & I'm sure that he will be much more considerate.

I still feel quite ill today. I am now reacting to more things than normal. All smells seem incredibly intense. I have been breaking out in bumps & am so itchy & my Asthma is really bad. I am hoping that I will feel better in a couple of days. The last place I feel like going is back to our medical centre.

It's time I got myself back on the scales. Sometimes I just have a break, but when I feel my clothes getting tight I hop back on. I need to weigh on a regular basis, rather than waiting until it becomes an uphill battle. Tomorrow I will weigh :(
 
When the allergy stuff's bad there's always water weight. And the first days after a bad reaction you WILL react to anything and everything. It sucks. Glad your son listened to you but I'm sorry C's having similar problems. I really hope the worm egg thing comes through.
 
I am reacting to EVERYTHING LaMa & it really, really sucks. This is my worst ever reaction. Smells are attacking me from every direction, even in my own home, which I have always felt was my haven. I could just scream!
Worm egg thing?
 
Go outside and scream for a while. It helps. One advantage to living out in the country. There´s a school of thought that says one important reason for the rise in autoimmune disorders is that we no longer get worms, leaving our autoimmune systems free for mischief like kids during the summer holidays. So they´re working on getting us sterile worm eggs to consume once a week or so to keep our bodies occupied without actually getting worms. Haven´t checked how they´re doing lately but it sounds... plausible? Or maybe I´m just grabbing for straws. We´ll wait and see what the research says. Where there´s life, there´s hope.
 
Have had another major allergic reaction to fragrance today & will not be going anywhere for a while. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. It was meant to be my sponsor day tomorrow at golf. I can't risk another reaction.
 
I don't want to sound alarmist but please be careful. I don't want you going into anaphylactic shock one of these days.
 
Thanks, LaMa & Cory. The sensitisation to fragrance has been getting worse for over 20 years But I have become adept at avoiding it whenever I can. My particularly strong reaction last Friday was due to being in an enclosed space with the toxin for 45 minutes. This has now made me even more reactive & I will have to be very careful & forceful from now on. Not wanting to make a fuss all the time & not wanting to look like a freak with a mask on in our small country town, has actually made me feel really sick.
LaMa I don't think I was far off Anaphlaxia last Friday. I am scared. I'll be staying home for a few days at least. The air is very fresh up here. It's actually quite cold.
This article explains it a bit. I have been hoping to delay getting to this stage & I really hope it dies down a bit.
https://www.multiplechemicalsensitivity.org/multiple-chemical-sensitivity-2.php
 
Yeah, to be honest what you described on Friday sounded a lot like what I felt. The fact they let you go out alone and didn't check on you is a real black mark against them. Fresh air, fresh food, plenty of sleep... I do hope you feel better soon.
 
It is a black mark on the nurse in particular, who did not even bother telling my doctor what had happened, including the fact that I staggered outside. No-one came to check up on me because no-one even knew I was out there, except for her. I have made a new appointment for Friday, the 6th & will go armed with as much info as I can for the medical centre. I will write a letter & I will also ring first to say that I will need to wait outside. I will also be wearing a mask. Even if I am sufficiently recovered by then I will wear it to not only protect myself but also to make a point. There is nothing my doctor can do to fix my allergies, but I need to be able to go to the medical centre & not have it cause me to get sicker. My sister has sent me a mask to use & to test to see if I can tolerate a certain brand. The ones that her allergy group sells I can't breathe in. She is a great support to me as she is so much further down this slippery slope & is a counsellor for the Australia wide allergy group.

Spending yesterday at home has certainly helped a lot & I am no longer so fuzzy & itchy. My words are still getting jumbled, but I can see it's getting better. Another day at home today should help even more & tomorrow I will stay away from anyone smelly. Depending on how I feel I will still go take the rubbish from home & the club to the tip with G tomorrow. My sister, H, says my allergic response may die down if I can get lots of fresh air into my lungs & I know that it normally does. This scared me so much as it was the worst reaction I have had so far, by a long way.
 
It´s normal and healthy to be a bit scared after something like this. Keeps you alert. Glad you´re starting to feel better though.
 
Thanks, LaMa xo
I don't feel as bad today but am still itching like crazy. I think it will depend on avoiding further fragrance attacks. Hopefully the mask my sister sent me will be in our letterbox this morning. I so do not want to look like the crazy mask lady, but I want to live much more than I care about people thinking I'm crazy. I won't go anywhere anymore, without being suitably armed. I am also going to prepare a hospital bag & get armed with info for hospitals & doctors. This reaction may die down, but even if it does, I know there will be more. Some people think their "right" to wear a
fragrance is more important than other people's right to breathe fresh air & be well. I won't even start with room "deodorisers"!

Exercise & diet-
I have been eating healthily, but not moving much as I just wasn't capable. G & I went for a walk in the cold air yesterday & I struggled to get back to the house. My lungs are seriously compromised. We're going to do the rubbish today, but I'll take it very slowly & he'll do most of the work.
 
Maybe there are some anti-allergy pills available that you could use? Maybe not on daily basis, but at least when you go to town, doctors etc. where you can be exposed to perfume and have a possibility to run into 'fragrance people' so that you do not get that much of an allergy reaction.

I hope you feel better , i even cannot imagine what you go through and how awful it must be to react to the perfume at such level... :grouphug:
 
People are so unaware of what their actions mean for others... And often when it´s pointed out to them they feel attacked, get defensive and double down on whatever it was they were doing.

Histamine?
 
Cheeselover said:
Maybe there are some anti-allergy pills available that you could use? Maybe not on daily basis, but at least when you go to town, doctors etc. where you can be exposed to perfume and have a possibility to run into 'fragrance people' so that you do not get that much of an allergy reaction.

I hope you feel better , i even cannot imagine what you go through and how awful it must be to react to the perfume at such level... :grouphug:
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Hey, Cheeselover. How are you? I take anti-histamines, morning & night, all year round & am currently using a nasal spray &, of course, my Asthma preventer at least twice a day. The only "treatment" for fragrance allergy is avoidance, which is just impossible. I now have a cortisone pill to take "in an emergency", but the possible side-effects are very scary. This is all very new to me. I have suffered from hayfever & fragrance allergies for a long time & it has been getting gradually worse. Being immersed in the fumes, in a confined space in the nurses' room at our medical centre seems to have sent me off to another place altogether.
LaMaria said:
People are so unaware of what their actions mean for others... And often when it´s pointed out to them they feel attacked, get defensive and double down on whatever it was they were doing.

Histamine?
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I know, LaMa. It's insane. I can't begin to explain just how frustrated & angry that this makes me LaMa. My sister who has suffered for a long time says that I will adjust gradually to my changes in sensitivity & will learn more coping skills & hopefully, I will react less with more time & fresh air.
Right now, my world seems to be crashing around me & I can't imagine how I will live my life if how I am reacting right now is my new reality. It's bloody scary.

I think G will have a lot of trouble adjusting, especially if I start wearing a mask every time I leave the house, which I feel I need to now. We went to the tip today & had to do a few things on the way home & he just didn't get it, even when I was staggering from the effects of perfume on people in the street. No-one can know what you are going through, except yourself.

We are meant to be going to a niece's house-warming tomorrow, which I can't possibly go to, especially meeting new people. On Sunday we have tickets to some live music in Hobart with our son & I just don't think I'm a chance. I can't believe how much has changed, almost overnight.
 
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