I have awakened within the gates of allergy hell.
My eyes are bloodshot, itchy, and swollen so much that I feel the need to yell, “Cut ’em, Micky, cut ’em!”
My nose is a set of one way streets, one side police barricaded preventing the flow of anything in or out; the other side allowing only backing traffic. This will only lead to frustration for my family, fellow students and coworkers, who will eventually give me the sideways glance that screams out the parent’s rallying cry, “Go blow your nose.” Wish I could people, wish I could.
My head echoes like a cough in a cathedral then fills up with sand absorbing every sound as a dull thud behind my eyes.
My voice is a combination of Brenda Vaccaro and Fran Drescher – deep, rough and nasal. I could make a good living doing 900 calls this morning.
I really have no right to complain. I do this to myself. On the allergen skin test, with a scale of 0 to plus 4, I register, oh, about an 8 when it comes to cats. I have four cats.
Cats have been part of my life for over 40 years; Midnight, Pete, Clyde, Oscar, Max, Janie, JB (Janie’s Brother), Sully, Quinn, Shai, Boaz, Winnie, Pooh and now Ruthie, who by the way still refuses to acknowledge her given name. Perhaps we should have gone with Zelda, but I digress.
The allergies are a fairly recent development and by recent I mean in the last 15 years. The allergists have told me that allergies can take years to develop and have slow onset or what seems to be an overnight thing. One day you’re sitting down with a plate of shrimp doing fine, the next day your kitten walks in the room and BAM! you start sneezing your head off. Go figure.
I have in the past submitted to weekly allergy shots. I made it almost a year’s time on a four year plan. Since it wasn’t a life or death type of thing, it just became too inconvenient. When I first began the regime, the allergist’s office was literally around the corner from my home then they moved to Western Podduck, 25 miles and upwards of 40 minutes away. Their magic elixir just wasn’t worth it to me at the time.
It’s beginning to regain it’s value.
Sniff, sniff.
halfcnote 
I’m going to ask a stupid question but I still will – so they tested you for allergies and it was positive for cats, right?
I’m asking because I lived in horror for couple of years thinking I developed an allergy to my cat and I was too frightened to check until one day I did and it came negative. The allergy-like symptoms were caused by other things.
So you say no medicine works now?
Is it getting better when you are outside?
Anyway, I hope it will get better for you.
Yes, I tested positive or rather allergic to cats along with several other airborne things. If I go out on a clear day it helps, but pollen and such can add to it. I would have to go back to the allergist to see if I could start over with the meds. I’m just not ready to make that committment again 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and I’m glad it turned out to be something other than your cat!
Is not that I don’t like cats. Cats just don’t like me. It looks many people have cats, more than what I would have thought!. I am wondering if I would give it a try… I will ask my four dogs, lets see what they have to say. 🙂
We had cats before the dogs, so they didn’t have much choice in the matter, but they all get along very well. We believe our cat Boaz thinks he’s a dog – even entered into a dog show one time and he won most unusual!