Catch Up Mondays: How Allergies Prevent a 50 Shades of Grey Life

Amanda from Celiac and Allergy Adventures featured a blog post with this title.  I loved how she compared allergies and Celiac Disease with the book, 50 Shades of Grey.  For me adding in mold and chemical sensitivities and Amanda has it right on.  I thought I had posted this in 2012 but in searching my past blog posts I only found a few comments and Amanda’s text wasn’t shown.  So for all of you, please visit Amanda’s blog and read this post.

Critical Day 3: The aftermath

Hello everyone.  Critical Day 3 ended yesterday.  No more lamb required.  I can go back to eating normally with the exception of the foods that I have gained through the LDA (low dose antigen) process.  I still can’t have my almonds, lettuce, tomatoes, oats, etc.).

I got up this morning to the thought of NO MORE LAMB!  However, there was still some ground lamb left.  At $9.00 a pound I wasn’t going to throw it out so I had a patty with an egg.  The egg was delicious – the lamb just didn’t do it for me today.  Unfortunately there is still a good amount of lamb stew left over.  It doesn’t freeze well and I can’t throw food out.  My husband and I will both have stew for lunch.  Tonight will be beef, chicken, pork, or anything but lamb!

I am still dealing with a headache and being discombobulated.  I also still have itchy arms.  More information about my LDA this go around can be found here, here, and  here.

I hope you are all having a good day.  Me, I need to go and rest and let my head calm down.  I came into the office to do a little bit and have been in front of the computer far longer than I thought I would be or needed to be.

Critical Day 1: LDA

Yesterday I posted about preparing and cooking my food in anticipation of the 3 Critical Days for my LDA treatment.  Today is Day 1 of the 3-day critical period.  This morning for breakfast I had my ground lamb patty and grated potatoes cooked in the famous rendered lamb fat I made yesterday.

Breakfast of Champions.

I don’t miss many of my foods just yet.  After all, it is only Day 1 and I haven’t had much of a chance to miss anything except for my cup of hot green tea.  I love drinking something warm in the mornings and in the evenings when the house is cool.  I had to settle for this today. A wonderful, delicious cup of hot water.

A Delicious Cup of Hot Water

I was going to post a cup of my lamb stew from dinner but I ate it before I remembered I wanted to take the picture.  I will share a cup of it with you tomorrow.

In the morning I am off on the 2 1/2 hour each way drive to get my shots.  If I am up to it, I will report back when I get home.

On a totally unrelated issues:  I still haven’t managed to go in and get my bridge for the tooth I had pulled in September.  I was told I needed to wait 6 weeks, then it was Thanksgiving, then it was Christmas, and now I am preparing for my treatment.  My upper front two teeth are achy.  I think they are starting to spread apart.  I am going to call tomorrow before we leave and get an appointment scheduled for 3 weeks from tomorrow to go in and get this taken care of.  Just one more darn thing.

So, What’s Cooking?

What is that smell  aroma throughout my home?  Could it be?  Dare it be?  Yes, it is the overwhelming smell aroma of lamb cooking.  Lamb in a pot for stew, lamb fat being rendered down to use when cooking my potatoes and ground lamb patties in the morning.  Yes, I am prepping for my LDA (low dose antigen therapy) treatment.  Tomorrow starts Day 1 of my three critical days.  What’s on the menu for those days?

DAY 1

Breakfast:  Ground Lamb Patty &  Organic Potatoes fried in none other than rendered lamb fat.

Lunch:  Lamb stew and a glass of cold sparkling water.

Dinner:  Lamb stew and a glass of cold sparkling water.

Snacks:  More Lamb Stew or a naked baked potato or sweet potato.

DAY 2 

(Repeat Day 1)

DAY 3

(Repeat Day 1 & 2)

WARNING! THE PICTURES YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE MAY BE TOO MUCH FOR THE VEGETARIAN OR VEGETARIAN AT HEART. THERE WILL BE PICTURES OF MEAT, MORE MEAT, AND MEAT FAT.  THERE WILL, HOWEVER, BE A PICTURE OF VEGETABLES.

Step 1 – Get the lamb roast on a cutting board and prepped for cutting into cubes.

Lamb Roast

Step 2 – Cube lamb roast and place in large Dutch Oven.

Cubed Lamb Roast

Step 3 – Place fatty pieces in skillet to render down into fat to be used for frying potatoes and ground lamb during breakfast meals.

Fatty Lamb Pieces

Cooked Lamb and rendered Lamb Fat

Step 4 – Cut up potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, and cabbage.

Cut up veggies.

This is what the final project should look like.

Dinner is ready!

Tomorrow I will post a picture of my wonderful lamb breakfast of a ground lamb patty, potatoes, and a glass of water.

Girl quits school over allergy to books, part 2

A few days ago I posted about a young woman who has been forced to quit school because of an allergy to books due to dust, mold, and chemicals.  I wrote that could empathize with this young woman because of my allergies to mold and dust and my extreme sensitivity to chemicals.

A dear friend and fellow blogger, Michellina,  from the-labyrinth is a student at Victoria University in Australia.  Despite having similar allergies and sensitivities as I, she has managed to get the most amazing accommodations at her university allowing her to continue her education.  I am in awe of all that she has managed to accomplish for not only herself but her fellow students who may or may not know how to go about getting accommodations or who may be afraid for fear of being labeled “crazy”.  Please read Michellina’s post and learn all that she has managed to get done while a student at Victoria University.

Girl allergic to books quits school

I know all to well what it is like to handle old books or books that have been somewhere that may have air fresheners or a smoker in the household.  I don’t accept used books from others to read.  I don’t buy books from used book stores.  I was buying my books directly online and now that I have a Kindle rarely buy paperback books at all any more.

I have to worry about chemicals, dust, and molds sending me into a severe reaction.  I would have to worry about these books contaminating my safe space here at home.  While I did attend two years of community college (way before the age of internet and computers), there is no way I could do it today with all my allergies and sensitivities.  My heart goes out to the young woman in London who suffers and for all the same reasons as I, cannot get books from a library.

Many of you are familiar with my friend Michellina at the-labyrinth who is attending the Victoria University in Australia.  She has made great strides in getting accommodation for her sensitivities.

 

Catch Up Mondays: Mold Spores, Mycotoxins, and Cross Contamination

I originally posted this on August 27th, 2012.  As I read or hear from more and more people about being contaminated by mold, I decided it was time to share this post again.  Mold is insidious.  It gets into and onto everything including those things that we hold most dear like a favorite stuffed animal from childhood, a well-loved book, and our precious photos.  Some of you have heard this talk from me many times about giving things away.  I have heard from some that all I needed to do was place my things out in the sunshine or wash them in borax or vinegar.  For me the decision was my things or my health.  I had gone through so much by the time I was told that it was best for me to give up my things.  I didn’t want to go down that road again and risk another contamination.  I offer what I and some others have done but ultimately the decision is up to the individual.  Some have managed to keep some items and not others.  This is such an individual illness.

Many of you living in the US have seen the commercial on mesothelioma.  It talks about if you or a loved one was exposed to asbestos either directly or indirectly  you could experience this form of cancer.  It has taken years for asbestos and the damage it can cause to finally come to the forefront and for these cancers to show up.

When trying to explain cross contamination from mycotoxins and mold spores, I ask if the person I am talking to has seen this commercial.  I explain that it is very similar.  I was exposed to mold spores and mycotoxins where I worked.  I wore those clothes home and sat on my furniture, walked on my carpet, lay down on my bed, sat in my car and those same spores were spread into the air as I walked around the room.  Those aerosolized spores then were sucked in to my computer fan, my refrigerator fan, my air conditioning ducts and anything else that has a fan or takes in air.  I was constantly being re-exposed at work and then through cross contamination in my home and car.

After getting the results from my urine tricothecene test, I was told that I needed to get rid of my things (clothes, computer, cloth furniture, papers).  I was told this just as I was about to make my second trip to the Environmental Health Center-Dallas for testing and to have major surgery.  I ordered new clothes and was told that until I left and something could be done with regard to my furniture that I could cover the furniture with sheets to help protect whatever new I had bought.  I had no idea that I would be in Dallas for most of 2003.  When I came home my husband had built me a new house using safe products, tile floors, etc.  Before coming home I ordered new clothes again and would only come home with the clothes on my back and toss them and shower before coming into my house.  I was determined not to cross-contaminate my safe place.  I did not bring my computer, refrigerator, television, cloth furniture, papers or clothes.  I literally started over.

When I tell those who have asked me questions or sought advice about such things that they need to basically start over, it is overwhelming and hard for them to comprehend.  I remind them that they are just “things” and their health and recovery is more important than “things”.  I understand their pain at getting rid of their belongings.  I understand their fear of re-contamination.  In my book I wrote:

On February 11, 2004, I wrote in my journal, “I hate this aspect of my life. It causes the paranoia. I am so afraid of re-infecting myself that I wonder: even if the allergies get more manageable, will I be able to go out anyway because of this fear of mold and mycotoxin? It has already taken so much of my life away.

I also wrote:  I saw Rick toss out my old stuffed Scotty dog that I had had since I was very little. I saw him toss out my favorite old teddy bear. I saw him pack up old blankets, cloth Christmas decorations, baby clothes that belonged to the girls, baby clothes that were once worn by me. It was devastating!

This illness goes beyond the physical pain of reactions and extends to the raw emotions of getting rid of cherished belongings, being told you are crazy, being told environmental illness and multiple chemical sensitivity does not exist and of learning to deal with isolation and a new way of living.

Back home (LDA Day 2 continued)

Bless my dear husband.  Once again, he drove me to San Francisco for my LDA treatments.  We left at 8:00 a.m. for an 11:00 a.m. appt.  The drive usually takes 2 1/2 hours giving him a little leeway with traffic.  Traffic was great and we got into the city an hour early.   Since we were early he decided to make a quick stop at the SF Giants’ store to look for some t-shirts.  He made it back to the car in plenty of time to get back on the highway and head to my doctor appointment.  Then we got lost.  Somehow we went the wrong direction and the highway was nowhere in sight.  We asked a taxi cab driver who was a jerk.  Then we got directions from city workers but I think we missed the last part of the directions because we still didn’t make it to the highway.  Finally my husband asked a security guard getting into his car how to get to the highway.  He started to give us directions and then said to my husband to just turn around and follow him and he would take us there.  I have no idea how much further out of his way he went for us but it was much appreciated.  With all the getting lost and asking for directions we made it to my appointment right on time.

I met with the new doctor and had to give him some background on me and talk a little about some questions I had regarding my protocol and if things had changed any.  He felt that because I had been on the therapy for five years that I could start adding foods back in at 7-10 days instead of 15.  PERFECT!  My daughter gets here about that time and I will not have to miss out on many foods because of dietary restrictions.  I really enjoyed this new doctor and look forward to working with him more.

The downside to my treatment, as it is every time, is the headache.  Oh the headache.  And the welts where the injections are given and the itchiness.  There is only one that actually gives me a lot of trouble.

My poor arm!

I am home and yes my headache is with me (nothing unusual about that).  I got it about 3o minutes after I left the office.  My brain is also a little fuzzy and my concentration is not so great.  On the positive side is that I am not itching nearly as much with the inhalant component of the treatment as I usually do.  Maybe this is a good sign that I won’t be flailing my arm around tonight to distract myself.  I am not allowed to scratch the wheals, put anything on them or ice them.

I ate my lamb stew on the way home as my dear husband munched on his Jack in the Box burger and fries.

I received three injections today.  In my left arm I received the Inhalants (pollens, dust, molds).

Nine People Die of Asthma Daily

Wow, that is a scary thought! Especially scary since I suffer from asthma, my daughter suffers from asthma and my granddaughter also suffers from asthma. Please read more about it at the gratefulfoodie.

I have tremors only on the right side of my body.

Again this was a search that led someone to my blog. I have talked about my having tremors around mold  and mycotoxins and while testing molds and mycotoxins. My tremors are always on the right side of my body and start with my right hand beginning to shake until my arm starts, my leg starts and then my whole head and neck shake.   This is followed by my face feeling as if the skin is being stretched tightly and I can’t breathe during the facial spasms.  When they stop, I gasp for air and then the ordeal repeats itself over and over.  For me I believe the fact that my tremors are always on the right side of my body may have to do with the fact that the left side of my head was most affected by the mold, bacterial and fungal infections.  The trigeminal neuralgia I often talk about affects only the left side of my face.  Using this train of thought and knowing that I have problems with my brain with short-term memory, loss of words, etc. the left side of my brain could be affected and have a direct impact on the right side of my body especially when I am exposed to molds and mycotoxins.

Do any of you mold sufferers have these types of tremors.  Do you have a side of your body that seems most likely affected?