Could it be…..
working?????
All the drugs, the shots, the constant attempts to rid myself of allergens around me. Could it be possible, that after all these years of fighting it but never getting any better, it’s actually getting better??? Sure seems that way! I’m still not convinced, but it’s feeling like my allergies are actually better! :-)
The 1st two weeks of pollen season were rough, but they were exactly what I have come to expect from the season. But the pollen levels were low then. This last week the pollen counts have skyrockted. Everyone is talking about how bad the pollen is. The pollen has coated vehicles and you can see it in the air. But….I feel good!!!!!! I’m taking tons of meds, lots of showers, and going to bed before 8pm (with a book, but still in bed before 8, before it’s even dark) but it’s helping! :-) I’m happy and able to enjoy life! :-)
Three times this week I was outside in direct contact with serious amounts of pollen. I spent Easter Sunday at a friend’s house - all the windows were open and we went outside. I wasn’t feeling great, but LOTS better than in the past - at the I just assumed that it was only the beginning and would get worse. Then, Wed was our field trip and I spent nearly 2 hours on a school bus with all the windows open. The pollen count was over 4000 - that’s as high as it gets. I was definitly feeling it, but it wasn’t bad. On a scale of 1-10 is was 3 or a 4, down from an 11 or 12 in past years. Even my friend a school who has known me these last few years noticed that things seemed much better. Just amazing.
I skipped game night on Fri, but it was something I did happily. I really just wanted to have a quiet night and get to bed early. In the past the allergies have left me unable to really do much of anything and I’d always thought that being held hostage inside by pollen would be ok if only I could get stuff done and enjoy it - and Friday night I was! :-) I definitely didn’t feel like being social, but I was very happy to read and watch TV - a marked improvement over past years.
Saturday was the most amazing day of all. I spent a few hours outside with the skyhigh pollen count. I took all kinds of drugs before and after. Again, I wasn’t feeling all that great right after, but it wasn’t bad - up to about a 5/6 on the scale. When I came home I took a shower and had some downtime. Then I met some friends for dinner and bowling. I felt totally normal. Like, Feb no-pollen-anywhere normal!!!!!! Our middle of the night bowling meetups do have a magical quality about them, but I was just amazed at how good I felt after spending all afternoon outside. That had never happened before. ever.
What brought about this change? I can’t say as I really know. My only theory is the chair. When I bought my house (about 8 years ago, incidentally right about when all this currently allergy stuff exploded) my parents gave me their old furniture. This is furniture they purchased when they got married in the 60’s. It’s good solid furniture. Mom had them slip covered in the 80s. But it’s all upholstered and it’s all 50 years old. When means it’s all full of dust mites. I’d been looking for a new chair and was thinking I’d get something in leather but I couldn’t find anything I liked. I finally decided to just go for an upholstered chair from IKEA. I bought it over Spring Break and have been enjoying it since. It’s brand new, so is currently dust mite free. That’s the only thing that has really changed. Instead of spending all my at home time curled up in a 50 year old chair, I now sit in a brand new chair.
Could it really have been that easy??? All those years of suffering could have been cured* by new furniture? really????
Could it be that with meds I can enjoy outside events in Spring? Could it be that I can take my kids out for recess?
I’m starting to think maybe it’s time to ship out the old furniture and replace it all with leather - expensive yes, but not having to have my whole life ruled by allergies is priceless.
*ok, well mostly cured….cured to the point that meds and other allergy control measures work
We’ll see how the rest of the season plays out before I declare anything “cured”!
This blog is definitely turning into a allergy blog - not exactly what I intended when I started it, but I’m liking it….
