A Severe Reaction!

I had a very, severe reaction yesterday which resulted in me taking one Xyzal and Zrytec together to stop the pain. It was escalating to the point which I felt was turning into an anaphylaxis attack. This has not happen in a VERY long time now. The thing is, it was not caused by food. I did not eat anything prior to this attack.

Yesterday was Joel's school's swimming gala in which he took part. I got up at 5am to get ready. Got my food and had some oats for breakfast at 6am. We left the house at 7am.

Arrived at the school before 7.30am. Joel was nervous but he swam with all his might. Bagged two bronze medals. He did really good. He gave his best. Which makes him a winner. Hubby and I are so very proud of him.

We then went to a mall for the guys to grab some meal before heading home. The little swimmer was so very hungry!

The guys went to eat and I went to my usual organic shop to get some groceries. Every corner of the shop was saturated in lemongrass + citronella incense smell. It was so overpowering. This isn't the first time I had smelt this. I left the shop after 2 or 3 minutes after paying for my stuff.

I went to buy some stuff while the guys ate their meals.

An hour later, I felt a mild tingling in my head. A migraine was coming. I thought it must be the tiredness from being awake at 5am. Plus the stress and being tense when Joel was swimming. Plus the insomnia of waking up at 2.30am and 3am for the past one week as period was around the corner. Plus me having my period too. So I thought all these added together which was the reason to the tingling in my head.

And then it became worse. To the point I felt nauseated. Only at 2pm, I had my lunch which was now horrible as I felt so ill. By the time we went home, it was so bad that I crawled into bed after showering.  The pain was so excruciating and my mouth started tingling. It was an attack from being exposed to something I was sensitive/allergic to. But I did not eat anything before the attack.

I kept thinking to what I did wrong.

My mind was blank. I couldn't think of anything that I ate wrong.

I got out of bed at 6+ and my whole system was on the verge of collapsing. Every single smell in the house was so profound and pronounced. My chest started to hurt. I wanted to die from the pain. I could feel the insides of my right ear swelling up.

I knew I was heading to a full-blown attack if I did not do something about it.

I took one Xyzal and one Zrytec tablet and waited.

And then it struck me! The incense smell in the organic shop!!! That was the trigger.

But I haven't reacted to smells in years now. Maybe 2 years. I have been on a controlled diet where salicylates are concerned. Why was I so susceptible? Maybe it was the insomnia, the hormones and the stress that caused my immune system to be so weak?

I did ask them to why they needed to saturate the shop with such strong incense. Apparently, the shopping mall requires the shops at the lower ground to clear their pipes quite frequently as most of the food shops are located at the lower ground. They needed to clear their pipes so that the cooking oil would not seep back into the ducts and cause the lower ground to stink. But when the pipes are cleared, there will be a horrifying smell for a short while. Thus the burning of the incense to mask the smell. The smell of death indeed. It almost caused me an attack.

Within an hour, I could feel such relief. The pain was lessened by half. My chest did not feel so tight. I felt relief coursing through my veins.

I have been groggy and in a foggy state of mind the whole of today. For about 2 years now, I have not been taking any meds when an attack comes. I could not fight it this round.

Hopefully my system will be strong once again.

Rough Days

It started on Monday night. I felt dizzy and very light-headed and knew that my blood pressure was low. Sure enough, the reading was 93/68. I went to bed early and thought it was caused by the exhaustion of the three weeks of driving and being on my feet constantly at Joel's school. And then I had dreams about pain. Non-stop dreams about pain. And then I woke up at 2.30am and the pain that was in my head was excruciating. I wished that the pain could be exorcised out! I was having a severe reaction! I immediately got up and swallowed a tablet of Xyzal and Zrtytec each to stop it from escalating into an anaphylaxis attack. I woke my hubby up and he had to massage my head to numb the pain. The mouth started to burn and the usual reactions started manifesting. I even had my Epi-Pen on standby.

The only thing that I could think of that caused this reaction was the fish I had for dinner. I have noticed that sometimes fish can cause a near-anaphylaxis attack for me. Many months back I ate salmon and had an attack within 1 hour! But this does not happen all the time. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it does not. Maybe it is the histamine that is in the fish that is causing the reactions. And with the body being taxed out and exhausted, my immune system was more susceptible to a reaction.

I was in bed the whole of yesterday. I was very drugged and drowsy from the anti-histamines. And the stomach wasn't feeling too well. It always ends up with loose bowels and stomach upset and discomfort.

I was in better shape this morning. But then the pain in my head returned with vengeance before noon and the stomach was extremely queasy and in great discomfort. I could't finish my lunch nor dinner today. And the insides of my ears felt swollen. And the pressure build-up in both ears was so uncomfortable. I had actually planned to do lots of baking today. And the best part was the butter was already melting in room temperature and the dough was already mixed with yeast. I swallowed 2 Xyzals after my so-called 'lunch' and did the baking.

So these were what I baked today. And thank God they turned out fine and yummy though I wasn't feeling fine.

Marble, butter sponge cake

I used cocoa powder for the marble effect.

Twisty high protein bread

Who can resist home-made crackers? :)

I am really grateful that I have my writing to keep me sane when bad days strike. Days when I can't go out to the garden or when I have no songs to sing. I will be going to the hospital tomorrow to get a refill of my medication and also to get my ears checked out. Goodnight!

The Midnight Sun

There's Ketotifen,
Puriton, Zrytec, Xyzal, Aerius and many more
Some are able to take Ibuprofen
Some take so many that it seeps out of their pores

Then there's Claritin
And the Zyrtec - D
It supposedly helps your excessive sneezing
But they all make you zzzzz.

The king of it all
Is called Prednisolone
It causes you gastritis, weight gain,
Osteoporosis, paper-thin-skin and makes you look like a ball
Oh, one can feel so alone

No longer do I ask, 'WHY?'
'Will I get better by and by?'
'When will I be able to wean of the meds?'
Or be bothered about the people's stares

I will be tough as nails
Though on some days I am as soft as tofu
On some days I will sail
And I will be as risilient like the bamboo

Yes, it may be incurable
But there is this thing called hope
Of course the doctors say it's totally not probable
One thing's for sure: I will certainly not mope!

So I say to you Idiopathic Anaphylaxis
This life is like a metamorphosis
The ending IS beautiful and glorious
Though the battle may be fierce
I will fight you like a matador
And it is you that I will gore

So spread out the table for me
Where I will drink, feast and be merry
Nasi Lemak, Tortillas, Prawn Mee, Iced Lemon Tea and Sashimi
I will look to the West
And see it at its best
And proclaim, 'How glorious is the Midnight Sun!'