For real? It's Friday already?
Having Wednesday off was more than my feeble mind could handle apparently as I've been thinking it's Tuesday all day.
What movie is this from? "I've got two words for you: Therapy." I can't for the life of me remember. Wedding Singer? A pint of Spicy Calamari Juice Cocktail to the winner of Name That Film Quote".
So, I've said here before that this bloggy is an outlet for me. Other outlets include: therapist visits twice a month, soccer every Tuesday, and randomly beating my dogs*. Lately though, it seems that these outlets are insufficient for stress reduction as I've now broken out into hives three times in the last month.
The first time was at the Piney. Yes, that bastion of peaceful observation of nature and drunken idiots does move the needle on the stressometer a bit because of the proliferation of poison ivy and my straight-up OCD aversion to getting it. I always carry anti-bacterial gel around with me the entire time I'm there and whether it really works to rid the skin of the Ivy Oil of Supreme Itchiness or not, I don't really care because it definitely gives me peace of mind. This trip I had forgotten the gel and was knee-deep in a healthy patch of poison ivy on Friday and woke up Saturday with a mild case of hives. There was a little bit of dizziness and feeling nauseous, but nothing a benadryl and an hour-long nap didn't cure. Kayaking and canoeing and drinking ensued.
The next time was about a week later. A seemingly calm Wednesday night degraded into a night of hell that included hives on the face in addition to severe dizziness (on the order of full-on passing out...twice), full-blown nausea, and the worst symptom of all - swollen feet and hands that itched so badly, I was prepared to chop the mothers off. Ok, the worst symptom was the face hives since I found out later that hives on the face is a form of anaphylaxis and I should have called Nueve-Uno-Uno as you don't know when it will stop and could affect breathing and what not. Super.
I did end up calling the old doctor's office, who without seeing me, prescribed an antihistamine to take for two weeks and instructed me to schedule an appointment for the end of the two week trial of the drugs. This leads me to believe they think it's an allergic reaction. Which, until yesterday I hadn't ruled out.
Cue yesterday. I'm at work, having a generically stressful day except that this day I also have to fire the first person I've ever fired. Pretty much directly after my talk with the now-defunct employee, I sat down at my desk and started feeling itchy. And the telltale red, rashy business started appearing on my arms and legs. Well, I hadn't picked up the antihistamine yet (because I wasn't convinced it was an allergy, and frankly, I was annoyed they were prescribing me something without seeing me - something they'd never do if I was after say, some pain meds or anti-anxiety drugs) and I didn't want to take the benadryl (because my theory is that it is the reason I've been getting dizzy and nauseous with the hives) so I just suffered through it. And they miraculously went away in a few hours. Allergies? I think not.
So what other outlet can I possibly employ to reduce my stress levels to the place where I don't get hives anymore? I don't really feel all that stressed out most of the time it happens, but clearly there's a connection. Any suggestions on hobbies that include some form of legally-sanctioned physical violence? No, really...maybe I need one of those little sandy zen gardens and I can rake away my stress. Like that works.
*I only beat the dogs on Wednesdays. Ok, I don't beat the dogs at all. I can't catch them.
What movie is this from? "I've got two words for you: Therapy." I can't for the life of me remember. Wedding Singer? A pint of Spicy Calamari Juice Cocktail to the winner of Name That Film Quote".
So, I've said here before that this bloggy is an outlet for me. Other outlets include: therapist visits twice a month, soccer every Tuesday, and randomly beating my dogs*. Lately though, it seems that these outlets are insufficient for stress reduction as I've now broken out into hives three times in the last month.
The first time was at the Piney. Yes, that bastion of peaceful observation of nature and drunken idiots does move the needle on the stressometer a bit because of the proliferation of poison ivy and my straight-up OCD aversion to getting it. I always carry anti-bacterial gel around with me the entire time I'm there and whether it really works to rid the skin of the Ivy Oil of Supreme Itchiness or not, I don't really care because it definitely gives me peace of mind. This trip I had forgotten the gel and was knee-deep in a healthy patch of poison ivy on Friday and woke up Saturday with a mild case of hives. There was a little bit of dizziness and feeling nauseous, but nothing a benadryl and an hour-long nap didn't cure. Kayaking and canoeing and drinking ensued.
The next time was about a week later. A seemingly calm Wednesday night degraded into a night of hell that included hives on the face in addition to severe dizziness (on the order of full-on passing out...twice), full-blown nausea, and the worst symptom of all - swollen feet and hands that itched so badly, I was prepared to chop the mothers off. Ok, the worst symptom was the face hives since I found out later that hives on the face is a form of anaphylaxis and I should have called Nueve-Uno-Uno as you don't know when it will stop and could affect breathing and what not. Super.
I did end up calling the old doctor's office, who without seeing me, prescribed an antihistamine to take for two weeks and instructed me to schedule an appointment for the end of the two week trial of the drugs. This leads me to believe they think it's an allergic reaction. Which, until yesterday I hadn't ruled out.
Cue yesterday. I'm at work, having a generically stressful day except that this day I also have to fire the first person I've ever fired. Pretty much directly after my talk with the now-defunct employee, I sat down at my desk and started feeling itchy. And the telltale red, rashy business started appearing on my arms and legs. Well, I hadn't picked up the antihistamine yet (because I wasn't convinced it was an allergy, and frankly, I was annoyed they were prescribing me something without seeing me - something they'd never do if I was after say, some pain meds or anti-anxiety drugs) and I didn't want to take the benadryl (because my theory is that it is the reason I've been getting dizzy and nauseous with the hives) so I just suffered through it. And they miraculously went away in a few hours. Allergies? I think not.
So what other outlet can I possibly employ to reduce my stress levels to the place where I don't get hives anymore? I don't really feel all that stressed out most of the time it happens, but clearly there's a connection. Any suggestions on hobbies that include some form of legally-sanctioned physical violence? No, really...maybe I need one of those little sandy zen gardens and I can rake away my stress. Like that works.
*I only beat the dogs on Wednesdays. Ok, I don't beat the dogs at all. I can't catch them.
Comments
what about renewing your passion for raquetball? take up running? walk up and down the small mountain you call a driveway?
could it be a food allergy? they can develop at any time you know.
i know! i know! you are going into kim withdrawls.
talk to shannon--she is well-versed in the subject of stress-induced mystery hives. fo real.
whoaaaa man!