You don’t need it, until you really need it

I have talked many times about carrying both histamine and epinephrine with me whenever I leave the house.  Taking histamine tells my body that I already have enough and it keeps me from continuing to produce more thus slowing or stopping a reaction.   Epinephrine is a last-ditch medication when all else fails.  It makes my heart race and because it has been so long since I have even used it I am not sure if I would react to it.

This morning my daughter was running late so I needed to drop my granddaughter off at preschool.  Even though it is just a ten-minute drive across town each way, I grabbed my histamine from the refrigerator.  It is a force of habit.  I came home and immediately put it back in the refrigerator.

The morning was hectic with emails, projects, and laundry.  Before I knew it the clock showed 12:30 and I was supposed to meet a girlfriend at an outdoor café for lunch followed by a trip across town for my acupuncture appointment.  I grabbed my purse, my water, my Kindle (in case I had to wait a bit at my doctor appointment), and off I went.  Lunch was nice and I was lucky because it was a very slow day and there were only two or three tables outdoors occupied.

As I left for lunch, I promised my girlfriend that I would pick her up at her house after my doctor appointment and take her to pick up her car at the repair shop.  I arrived at my acupuncture appointment on time and was taken back quickly.  I didn’t even get a chance to read when my doctor walked in and started working with me.  All was well; I relaxed as the needles did their work on my body and rested.  The timer went off and one of the medical assistants came in and removed all the needles except those in my scalp and my face.  I continued to rest while I waited my turn for the doctor to come in, remove the needles and continue to work on me.

I was calmly laying on the table as she removed the needles and kept patting at the needle sites with cotton because they were bleeding a little.  Suddenly there was moisture on my head and I felt a tickle in my throat and then I smelled it.  I smelled alcohol!  She immediately wiped it off but there is nothing that can be done once it is on me and getting into my system via the needle puncture sites.

I thought I was doing okay until I got ready to sit up and put my shoes back on after she left the room.  The coughing started, the shaking started, the dizziness came on, and a headache started.  I grabbed my purse to fish for my histamine pouch.  It was not there!  I rarely use histamine because I work on keeping myself safe and away from unnecessary triggers.  I continued to fish through my purse and found my albuterol inhaler and took a puff of it to try to calm the coughing.  My epi-pen was in my purse but the reaction was not so bad that I wanted to risk trying epinephrine with the side effect of my heart racing and the risk that I could have a worse reaction to it.

My doctor came in and helped me into a room that was free of the alcohol chemical and I just sat and shook and coughed for about 30 minutes as I waited for the symptoms to ease enough to allow me to drive home.  I also had to phone my girlfriend and tell her that I couldn’t come by for a while because I was in the midst of a reaction.

My doctor felt so bad because she knows I have a sensitivity to alcohol.  It was just standard for her to do this and she did it without thinking.  I am sure this is a mistake that won’t be made again and I know she didn’t do it intentionally.  Still, I had a reaction.

The first thing I do when I leave home is grab my histamine and yet I haven’t had to use it in a very long time.  And the one time I forget, wham I get hit and don’t have it.   I am going to have to be more vigilant.  The problem lies when I get rushed and don’t think beyond where I need to be.

I’ve Made A Decision!

Finally, I have made a decision.  I have been talking and talking about this darn tooth that needs pulling.  I have debated about pulling it out or going through a very difficult procedure to allow for a permanent crown and the possibility that the tooth may still die.  I have talked about my intuition telling me to not go to the doctor that my biological dentist recommended to have the tooth extracted whose office is an hour away because they used to burn scented candles.  I have talked about going into an oral surgeon’s office locally to see if I could tolerate it only to spend two days in and out of bed.

I then talked about going against my gut instinct when I thought I did better after making the drive and checking out the original oral surgeon’s office.  I then talked about what happened when I decided to go against my gut and choose the first oral surgeon and he refused to work on me.

Last week I phoned the local oral surgeon’s office and spoke again with his surgical assistant.  She had originally told me the would try to accommodate me.  I decided to find out what they would be willing to do because I need to get this done so my mouth and my health can recover.  I finally got to speak with her on Friday morning while babysitting the grandbabies.

She told me that she would remove the air fresheners on Thursday.  She would allow the office to not have them Thursday and Friday and there would be no patients on Saturday or Sunday. She would not put anything back into the office until I no longer needed to see the surgeon.   She would reschedule other patients to later day appointments so that I could be a first patient and be in and out before any other patients came into the office and if necessary take me out the back door.  She would text all staff early Monday morning and remind them not to wear lotions or fragrances including the oral surgeon.  She would order whatever supplies that my biological dentist recommends be used for me.  While this is not a perfect solution as you all and I know the chemicals will still be there but at least the plug-ins won’t be spewing them into the air for a few days before I get there.  But she is willing to mitigate my exposure the best she can and try and make me as comfortable as she can.

I made the decision that this is as good as it is going to get and scheduled the appointment.  My scheduled appointment is Monday, July 29th at 8:00 a.m. PSD.  I will schedule an appointment with my acupuncturist if I can for the same day and try to get an IV scheduled for Wednesday with my ENT because he is out of the office on Tuesdays.

So my intuition was right!  This other guy out-of-town was the wrong choice.  I had no idea he would be so unwilling to accommodate my sensitivities but my gut instincts were telling me no and I tried to override them.  The whole time I had thought the local oral surgeon’s office would be the best choice but chose to ignore it because I had become ill while visiting the office when in fact his office was the one willing to work with me.  I need to trust in my intuition.  I need to trust that it is right when my brain tells me otherwise.

Have you ever gone against your intuition by listening to your brain instead of your gut?  Were you ever able to find out that your intuition was right before you went through with the wrong decision?  I would love to hear from you.

I also will be asking for some healing thoughts from you as my time gets nearer.  I have had teeth pulled before with not very good outcomes.  I had wisdom teeth pulled and dealt with horrible dry socket.  I had four teeth pulled in my 30’s to allow for braces to fix my TMJ issue.  I was given Valium through an IV while the work was performed.  I knew from my TMJ issue that Valium, even 2 mg., would leave me goofy for days but never thought anything about them using it in an IV.  The Valium didn’t leave my system and settled in my vein causing a horrible reaction and infection in my arm.  And I guess I felt more than I realized because my wedding band looked like a big D when it was all over and I had to have it put back into a circle.

Relaxed and De-Stressed

I am relaxed and de-stressed.  So much so that I thought I would watch some video clips on youtube about the new Google+ but can’t seem to focus or concentrate on them.   I just want to sit and do nothing.

It has been over two years since I have had the luxury of  a massage.  I was getting a massage weekly and it felt so good to have my body relaxed with the added benefit of lymphatic drainage.  My massage therapist would put on a tyvek suit and come into my home and use my oils and she was fragrance-free.  She  hurt her back and I never found anyone else to truly take over.  Finding a safe place to go was impossible.  I had someone else come a couple of times here but that was connected to my chiropractor and wasn’t working out.

I have truly missed those massages.  And until workers’ compensation started to give me problems with all my medical bills, they were paying for the massages as ordered by my doctor.

About a month ago I asked my acupuncturist if she knew of anyone who would come to me.  She mentioned a spa located at the end of her building.  I phoned and made an appointment to meet with a therapist to see if I could tolerate the room as they use no fragrance and do not burn candles.  I arrived at the spa in time to meet with her.  I had just come from the oral surgeon’s office that put me in bed for two days.  I checked out the room and thought maybe it would work but of course how could I truly know?  I was in a chemically induced brain fog and had just taken a histamine injection to stop my reaction from the earlier chemical exposure to air fresheners.  A few days later when my body and brain were functioning again I knew that my test was not an accurate one.

Last week I made another trip to the spa straight from home.  I seemed to do okay and I was told that we could try in her room and if I didn’t do well and had to leave in the midst of the massage, she wouldn’t charge me and she would then come to me.  She was even willing to don the beautiful and amazing tyvek suit to enter my home.  I scheduled to have a massage this week.  I would be the first person in the spa as an extra precaution.

This morning I got up and packed my bag.  I took my own set of sheets and my own towel.  I packed my unscented lotion, my jojoba oil, and my jar of Egyptian Magic to see what would work best.  I arrived on time, put my sheets on the bed and got ready for the massage.  I left my mask on and climbed onto the table face down.   Oh, having my tight muscles massaged felt like heaven and I didn’t want it to stop.  When it was time to turn over I continued to leave the mask on and was doing okay (hoarse, but okay).  We hadn’t decided what we were going to do about my face.  Braving the risk of a reaction, I removed my mask long enough to have my face massaged.  I knew immediately that this was not a good decision.  My energy changed, my body tensed, and I got whooshing in my head.  Lesson learned!

Despite the episode from removing my mask, I feel relaxed and calm.  My head sits higher on my shoulders.  I want to do this again!  I will not, however, remove my mask again for my face.  We can do my scalp and forehead and forgo the rest.

As much as I would love the weekly massages from the past, I will have to settle on once a month and depending on my financial situation (maybe twice a month on occasion).  The thought of pampering myself and the added health benefits of massage have me so excited.

My Gut Instinct or Lesser of Two Evils

I have posted about my problem tooth.  My biological dentist wanted me to go to a very specific oral surgeon that he works with.  I phoned the oral surgeon’s office and was not very excited about what I was told regarding candles in their office.

Determined to find another office I tried one locally and did not do well.  This set me off in search of an oral surgeon who didn’t have air fresheners or candles in the office.  I phoned another local office and was told that they also used air fresheners but they were willing to let me go through the back of the office and check out one of the surgery rooms.  I had planned on trying Monday but wasn’t able to make it there.  I phoned an oral surgeon out-of-town and was told that they didn’t have air fresheners but they had dealt with water leaks in the building.

A few days ago a friend had posted on her Facebook page a thank you to her dentist for fixing a chipped tooth.

Me:  I replied that I still hadn’t found a safe dentist.   Dentist: The dentist replied that he knew a very good dentist.  Me: I again replied does he have air fresheners or candles.  Dentist: The dentist replied that he so had air fresheners.  Me:  Why do so many doctors and dentists feel the need?  Dentist: Because all the chemicals used in a dentist’s office give it a unique and unpleasant smell.  I remember hating the smell of the dentist’s office when I was a little girl but why add insult to injury by adding more chemicals to cover up the other chemicals?  I just don’t get it.

Yesterday my husband had a doctor’s appointment out-of-town.  The same town where the oral surgeon’s office is that my biological dentist had wanted me to use.  I rode with my husband and sat in the car during his doctor appointment.  We then drove to the oral surgeon’s office with the understanding that my husband would go in first and if he wasn’t totally blown away, I would step in and check it out.  He waved me in.  I walked in and even with my mask could smell the remnants of fragrance.  I asked if it was possible to be shown to one of their inner rooms.  I walked in, removed my mask, and immediately became hoarse which was not unexpected.  We talked about my sensitivities and I asked if the surgeon wore cologne and she said yes but because they had worked with my dentist, they would make sure not to wear anything the day of the visit.  While I didn’t feel good (I don’t feel great in my biological dentist’s office either), I didn’t have my throat swell on the way to the car or have to take histamine nor did I spend yesterday afternoon or today in bed.

The bottom line:  While I am still not sure if I feel totally comfortable at this office or am totally sure it is the right choice based on my gut instinct, it is the lesser of all the other evils.  This tooth has to come out to cut down on inflammation and to avoid the possibility of more infection because I only have a temporary crown.  My other option is a crown lengthening procedure that I won’t even post a link to because it made me sick looking at what is done during one.  On our way home I phoned my dentist and had them make the referral.  I will only take a first morning appointment (hopefully on a Monday) and will have to coordinate to have acupuncture afterwards.

I am unhappy that I have to override my instincts.

Energy balancing, osteopathic manipulation and acupuncture in one

Recently I went to my chiropractor because my left shoulder has been giving me problems.  I experienced this a year ago and with the help of chiropractic work, acupuncture and my IV’s, the shoulder calmed down.

While at one of my sessions with the chiropractor, I mentioned that I no longer had an acupuncturist (mine moved out of the state in January of this year).  He told me he knew an osteopathic doctor  who also did acupuncture including the cupping often used with lung issues like my asthma.  I made my appointment and went to my first visit two weeks ago.

This doctor had never seen anyone quite like me but was encouraging and didn’t make me feel like I was an alien or better yet that I was “crazy”.  The first acupuncture session was going well until another staff member came in wearing body spray to take out the needles.  That set me off into a coughing fit and the doctor had to come and remove them before doing some manipulation.  I left the office feeling like the acupuncture session was good.  However, because of the experience with the body spray I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a good fit for me.

Last week I went again to see how things would go.  I also took with me my letters written by Dr. Rea for her to look at which explains my illness and what I have been through.  She placed the needles and left the room.  When the timer went off she returned and took out the needles.  She talked about the letters and started to do some osteopathic manipulation on me.  One of her first comments was that she felt inflammation on the left side of my face.  I told her that I had experienced an unavoidable exposure the day before and that this was the result, my trigeminal neuralgia acting up.  As she began to help with the inflammation, I could feel the energy in my body moving (much like the energy balancing I had in Dallas at “A Healing Place”  under Deborah Singleton.  At first my thighs became heavy, tingly and warm.  Slowly the sensation went to my calves and then felt stuck at my feet.  She moved down to the legs and then touched my toes.  Immediately my body stiffened and then calmed as the stuck energy was released.

I was amazed.  It was like having three treatments in one.  I had done energy balancing back in Dallas, done acupuncture here at home but never had the osteopathic manipulations.  I walked away feeling terrific and look forward to a session this week.  To learn more about energy balancing and healing, visit www.ahealingplace.org.

Acupuncture

Hooray!  I got my first acupuncture treatment in months.  My acupuncturist moved out of the area and I was still waiting to find some one.

I got some acupuncture and cranial sacral manipulations.  My body feels so much calmer than it did.  Who could imagine that having a few needles placed in specific spots on the body could cause such peace and calm.  I could do this every day!