Why do I feel this way?

One of the common frustrations I face with environmental allergies is a lack of clarity on what is causing my symptoms. The way I feel varies from day-to-day and even hour-to-hour. When I get stuffy or my eyes feel dry or I am exceptionally tired or have a sudden headache, it's nearly impossible to know what's causing it. Sometimes it may not even be the allergies causing it, but there's no way to know. Or if I was allergic to just a couple things, it may be easier to pinpoint the cause. 

As a control freak strong-willed person, I have an intense desire to know why.

Allergy Purchase: Duct & HVAC Cleaning

One of Dr. D's recommendations was to get the duct and HVAC systems in the house cleaned, due to my dust allergies. This is something that has never occurred to me, as I'm quite bad at adulting (home maintenance, in particular).

My family has lived in this house for close to five years now and have never had this service performed. According to the company that came out to do this work today, it has never been done since this house has existed.

BEFORE

 

AFTER

In summary, gross. Apologies to myself for not doing this sooner and being allergic to my own home for so long.

Post-op

It has been three weeks since my surgery, so I saw Dr. D to have everything checked out. Everything looks really good. My ears are clear, tubes are doing their job, no sign of infection or drainage, and even my nose and throat look better since she saw me last week.

 

I also had a follow-up audiology test. This one was much shorter than the last one because it was pretty obvious that my hearing is restored. I could have simply told them that without a fancy test, but Dr. D wanted to ensure I didn't have any permanent damage from all the ear trauma from before I had the surgery. From what the audiologist could see (hear? observe?), everything is back to normal.

And, as an added bonus, I can't develop further pressure in my ears due to the tubes, which means I can sit back, relax, and laugh at all the tubeless suckers on my frequent work flights.

Son: All you do is work and go to the doctor.

Me: Pretty much. 

Eating Out on the Candida Diet

Over the past few days, I've eaten out thrice. This turns out not to be the easiest thing to do.

Texas Roadhouse

I mean, it's a steakhouse. And given that meat is about 50% of my diet these days, this one should be easy, right?

First thing, we asked the hostess not to put bread on our table. "We're sure," we said as she looked at us as if we were crazy. Who can resist the soft, buttery rolls with cinnamon sugar butter? Not me, which is why I couldn't even have it on the table.

Husband and I both ordered steak and a sweet potato ("Cautious" food). I also ordered a side of green beans, while Husband got the "fresh vegetables." The waitress kindly exchanged the cinnamon sugar butter that came with the sweet potato with regular butter, then we feasted. The only other issue was the bacon bits that were in my green beans. I justified still eating them by trying to avoid the bacon. I'm pretty sure only a few delicious, bacony preservatives made it into my mouth.

Subway

This trip was a necessity, not a convenience. Son was ill and an hour wait at urgent care over lunch time required something be done. So we walked across the parking lot to Subway. This one wasn't as easy for me. Fortunately, Subway gives you the option of going breadless and getting your "sandwich" in salad form (for an extra charge, which I find odd). So I got grilled chicken on top of a garden salad. 

The problem was the dressing. I suppose that I could have eaten plain chicken and salad with no dressing, but c'mon. I'm just a human being, not a saint. I eyed the ranch, blue cheese, and creamy southwest dressings with longing. But in the end, I asked for just a splash of vinegar on my salad. I know, I know. Vinegar is a no-no. But I promise it was only a tablespoon, and I was desperate. I'm sorry.

 

KFC

Probably not the first restaurant you would think of for a diet, but it actually worked quite well! KFC has a grilled chicken option, which turned out to be delicious. With corn ("Cautious") and green beans on the side, I was in heaven.

Of course, our family meal came with biscuits that I was dying to smother in honey and shove in my face. But I didn't. Instead, Son will be getting a biscuit with every meal for the next three days.

A Milestone Day

I did something shocking today. I went for a run.

 

This is huge, people. I haven't run in months. I am feeling so much better that exercise was actually an appealing idea.

I'm not sure what's working: the diet, the weird anti-fungal medication, the Zyrtec, time, or some unholy combination of these. But I'm glad for it.

First allergy shot(s)

"OMG! What are you DOING!?" -my body, post-shots

Today was my first trip to the allergy clinic for immunotherapy. I did a test of my vials first (two shots), then waited ten minutes to check my reaction. I did fine with that, so I then got my actual doses (two more shots). I then waited 20 more minutes to make sure I didn't die.

Immediately upon getting my shots, I felt funky. Foggy/tired, runny nose, and scratchy throat. It was crazy. I wasn't expecting to have a reaction like that, but it helped me to understand just how powerful these allergies are. I sort of take it for granted because I've lived with it for so long.

The allergy clinic works like a well-oiled machine. They got me in and out quickly. I'm pleased that I'll be able to fit this in relatively easily into my routine. And I'm looking forward to feeling the results in a few months!

Diet Day 6

I made a fancy soup yesterday! Mostly I'm proud I pulled it off while also working a full, busy day.

I used the carcass from Tuesday's roasted chicken and made a stock. For the past couple months, I've been saving and freezing some scraps to use for just this purpose - onion roots, small garlic cloves, celery leaves, etc. - and got to finally use them!

To the stock, I added sauteed onions, garlic, and green pepper, diced celery, carrot, and tomatoes, as well as leftover chicken, herbs, and spices.

Son looked at the soup and said, "I'm not eating that." He ended up finishing the entire bowl. 

I also thought it was good. It would have been better with fried tortilla strips, cheese, and sour cream on top. ;)