Thanks Cate. The lab results from my allergy test were in the mailbox yesterday and I just had a closer look at them. Yesterday I mostly just scanned the numbers and brought it to my GP to add to my file but this morning I actually noticed it contained recommendations and IĀ“m kind of shook.
Last time (or probably the time before) I went there the doctor told me to get used to the fact that IĀ“m sick and have stomach/gut problems and not worry too much about possible allergies, except for the peanuts. Which made me feel not seen at all because I was really struggling at the time.
This time I really just went to check my subjective perception of how I was doing (and because IĀ“ve been told to come in every other year) and I got the advice to adapt my living space (even though weĀ“d already ticked all the dust mite elimination boxes during the intake; I grew up with a severely asthmatic sister and weĀ“re all allergic to dust mite poo so that stuff is second nature to me), strictly monitor symptoms during pollen season and come in to reevaluate right after, strictly avoid ALL nuts, seeds, legumes, AND banana, carry an emergency med kit, and avoid cats completely or take meds beforehand (aka always take meds before work because thereĀ“s at least one person per shift who comes in smelling of cats). So... thereĀ“s that.
Ok, I was going to post this before family exercise but didnĀ“t have time to finish and it turns out thatĀ“s a good thing! I talked it through with my sisters (who have allergies themselves) and some friends (one of them with a med background and one with a biochemistry background) and while they all agree itĀ“s weird that the recommendations changed so much itĀ“s no good to get worked up about it. The emergency meds they recommend this time donĀ“t have to be kept in the fridge and have a much later use-before date than what they used to recommend so thatĀ“s something I can actually do this time. Safety is good! And all in all I had a LOT fewer reactions on both the skin test and the blood test so IĀ“m going to take that as a sign IĀ“ve been doing something right. IĀ“ll call for an appointment to talk about the results on Monday and unless they have a sensible explanation IĀ“m not going to avoid any of the nuts, seeds, or legumes IĀ“ve never had a reaction to. The only legume they tested was peanut (I used to react to both of the allergens they test and now only to the more dangerous one, yay!) and the only seed they tested was sesame (which I didnĀ“t react to anymore in the skin test OR in the blood test, woohoo!). No nuts in the test at all even though I tested positive to hazelnut, almond, and walnuts in earlier years. But I will be better about washing my duvet, pillow, and mattress cover every month and airing the place extra thoroughly. And get that emergency med kit. Now going into town for that calendar and maybe an extra mattress cover: the one I have is cotton (because skin) and takes forever to dry so being able to alternate would be useful.