Itchy Eyes, Stuffed Up Nose, God's Provision

For those who are interested in the lame tale of my life with allergies and the light at the end of the tunnel.


Some of you know I've had horrible allergies since I was about 13 or 14. They used to be really, really bad in the late spring and all summer; itchy eyes, runny nose, clogged up sinuses, etc. Then the symptoms started changing a bit and my eyes aren't bad anymore, but I can pretty much never breath through my nose, and I've had terrible pain and pressure in my ears almost constantly (which is why you'll see me trying to pop them all the time... haha it doesn't work.) and they lasted this whole year instead of just a season. Because of my allergies, my immune system is low, I think, so whenever half of my family gets sick, I'm always in the half, and instead of a 3 day cold it drags on for 2 weeks or so.

Whenever we went in to the doctor for my allergies, they just prescribed some new pill or spray or something. Every time I had to try something new out, it wasn't fun. I would be on something that was working fairly well for me and have to take a break from that, try the other one for a week or so to see if it worked, and when it didn't, take a week to get back on the original medication and let it kick in again. Blah.

ANYway, I thought this was all in my head. I was thinking, "How in the world could I have the worst allergies of anyone I know? Am I just a wimp?" But I talked to my mom, and we knew things weren't right, so last summer we were going to try to get some appointments to get allergy shots. I've heard those are very effective, and help people get over it completely. But that got put on the back shelf because of our stores and everything else that was going on at the time. This summer, after going in again and doing the same old routine of being put on a new medication, and it not working, etc, Mommy called around and got an appointment for me at the National Jewish Health Center, which is apparently the BEST for allergy treatment. They were booked up for the summer so we couldn't get in til the end of August.
We went in about two weeks ago and we talked to the doctor, and I had all these crazy tests done. At one point, they pricked my back 48 times with all sorts of things I could have been allergic to. They then measured each spot (like mosquito bites) to check how allergic I was or something. I wish I could have seen them, but a bunch of the welts were huge. I was so happy when the doctor came in and went "Whoa!!" Haha I didn't feel like such a wimp. My allergies are really bad! Anyway, I guess I'm extremely allergic to grasses (breathing it in) , a bit to trees, and I'm also slightly allergic to cats and dogs.
We also found out that day that the nodes in my nose are so inflamed and I'm so clogged up, that all the nasal sprays people have been prescribing couldn't help me because they couldn't even get up into my nose. So they prescribed some prednizone (or HOWEVER you spell it), which is a steroid that shrunk my nodes. (I guess that pill is pretty serious. Grandma didn't want me taking it. But it was only for 5 days. (And it made me hungry...)) They told me do some nasal washes, and prescribed some more nasal spray (the people at the pharmacy had to double check on the dosages because they never really see it that high). They also told me that I probably would have grown out of these allergies by now, and since we've exhausted so many options, we can go ahead with shots soon. One of the doctors also suspected I might have allergy induced asthma. I was thinking that there was no way I had asthma because I've never had the symptoms, but he said it could be a contributing factor and stuff.

SO, (if you're not bored to death yet, congratulations!) yesterday and today we went back for some breathing tests. Yesterday, they checked my lung capacity and something else (I don't know, I just do what they tell me..). I had to sit in this little phone booth and do all this breathing stuff on a machine. The technology is amazing. And they let me keep the nose clip. (Score!) They also did a CAT scan on my sinuses. I thought that was rather amusing. Has anyone else needed that before? ...... That's what I thought.
Today, we went back again and they did the test for asthma. It was called a bronchial something (yes, I know, so informative), and basically they tried to induce an asthma attack. I sat in a phone booth like I had the day before, and I had to breathe in a series of nebulizers (or, once again, however you spell it.) She told me to let her know if I got dizzy or was feeling short of breath or anything. The first nebulizer was just a control, the second one made me feel a little dizzy, (but I wasn't sure if I was just imagining things. I always think I'm just imagining things like that. ) and the third one definitely tightened up my throat a little. There were a bunch of other ones I was supposed to do, but she said she already had definitive results- I have "reactive airways," and I'm on the more severe end of the spectrum. She showed us the graph and showed me where I was on the third part of the test. She said that when most people get to that point on the graph, they're panicking and going, "Ohmygoodness- Ican'tbreathe!-Ican'tbreathe!" All I had said was, "Yeah... my throat feels a little tight." She said it's funny to see my personality through that. Meanwhile, I was thinking, "Yes! I have bad asthma! I'm not a wimp!" It explains a few things, like why I almost passed out at Elizabeth Nelson's wedding this summer, and why when I go running I feel like I'm working out my lungs rather than my legs, and why I didn't make a big deal out of my throat and breathing being like that - it happens all the time. I thought it was normal. Now, I feel like there are so many possibilities since this is treatable!


Next week, we're going back and the doctor will have all the results and determine what he needs to from those and prescribe whatever's necessary.
Right now, I am actually sooo happy because I know that my body's actually been suffering alot, and I haven't been doing too badly at all when you take it all into account. I discovered that I have a high pain tolerance, and so... I'm not a wimp! Haha.
I'm so excited that I might have some true relief from these allergies soon, and from this asthma that I guess I was ignoring and pushing past.

In the midst of all of this, God is so good! I think He gave me the allergies for a few years to learn to rely on him. If I was 100% healthy, I think I would feel like I could do anything on my own. Now I lean on Him for my support, and recognize that I need Him everyday for EVERYthing. Besides that, I think He's taught me a few other lessons through the years of allergies. And now that I've learned a bit, He's graciously treating them! Now I can move on and advance His kingdom in full health, and learn whatever else He wants to teach me.