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Yes...this is ALL about me, and mine. Marvellously self indulgent, feel free to tell me how splendid I am, leave comments, nice ones please, I have little kids and teenagers who can do the rude stuff. I am a grandma, to the glorious Joshua, I'm allowed to look frazzled and weary, I earned it. The older I get, the more I see that hanging on and being patient is worth it! They ( whoever 'they' are) are so right when they say you never know what is around the corner, it isn't always an articulated truck! It is vital to make the time for making memories, friends are the greatest treasure, I love mine. I am rich!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

It's sunday.....

It's sunday, seems like no-one reads blogs at the weekend, so I am going to just indulge myself and write about the never ending skin crap.
The longer this goes on, the more I see a pattern, things that fall into a place. What works, what doesn't, what is guaranteed to hurt etc.
Here's what I see so far. Oh before I go on about all that, yesterday I just had the worst day, the itch is in my eyes, that hurts, that REALLY hurts,

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More than it looks like it hurts.
I went to the hospital and the Dr there checked them out, spoke to the eye specialist on call, gave me some drops that either did nothing to help and allowed them to get so much worse, or they made it all worse, whatever, they are worse. I have never felt anything like it, I slept until 1.40 this afternoon because keeping them closed is the only thing that eases the pain.
It isn't pink eye, not conjuncitivitis, it is whatever the skin thing is, exactly the same, burns and hurts like the devil itself, hurts and hurts and more hurts and then suddenly, without any reason STOPS, just gets better. At 4.35 this afternoon it just stopped hurting, right like that, exactly on the 4.35 dot. Went from agony and dear Lord I can't take another second of this misery, to ooooh, it stopped. So I looked at the clock.... see? Too weird.
My eyes are still swollen, still very red, still a tiny bit itchy but not hurting anymore, I can take that.
My skin does the same, agony, wishing for death or coma , can't stand anymore STOPS.
It is worsened every month by having my period, not sure if that is hormonal or if it's the drugs I take to stop the ridiculously heavy bleeding.
Asprin or Ibuprofen make it worse, much worse.
Stress makes it worse, immediately, if I worry or something scary happens, WELT... itch, scratch.
When I get a flare up, my joints hurt, horribly. Real feeling like my ankles are snapping, my hips are screaming, my shoulders are hurty hurty.
I am becoming more allergic and more sensitive to every day things, I think colouring my hair has something to do with this new outbreak. I dyed my hair on friday night and got that horrendous knock back fume thing as I started to put the colour on my hair, it made me gasp and step back for a second, then I just carried on. my head has truly reacted badly to the colour I used and I wonder if those fumes hurt my eyes. I know I didn't get any dye in my eyes.
I straightened my hair and left it down and wherever the hair touched, got welts, my ears were burning and my forehead swelled. I have had my hair up today and washed it again to try and reduce the burning. The docto said I should never colour my hair again but that isn't an option, I hate to admit to vanity but I cannt have completely silver hair yet, I am going to look for plant based dyes rather than a chemical one.
I'm not sure that food makes a difference, I haven't noticed a reastion to any foods, friday night I was ill but hadn't eaten anything new or untoward, so the jury is out on that one.
I do know that I am very done with hoping this will go away, I am going to go to the doctor and really insist that I am tested until we find out why. I am tired of feeling so crappy all the time. All.The.Time.

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6 Comments:

Blogger Julie Q said...

I keep you in my thoughts and prayers Helen. I hope they can find a way to help you.

I too am not ready to give in to those gray hairs! I do hope that the hair color isn't something that bothers you.

9:03 pm  
Blogger LosingSanity said...

I really hope they can find the source of all of the agony. It is so horrible for you to go through this. I can't remember if you had said before that you went to a dermatologist or not..but if not, you might want to try that route. At any rate, when you go in to the doctor next time, be sure to take in the pics that you have taken the various times this has flared up on you. It may help them.

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

9:25 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hair dye of all things. That would be the end of me. Your eyes look better than Jav's in this picture, but still awful. I'm glad it has stopped for now at least. How frustrating. Reminds me of that bladder thing I get periodically. Induced by stress too, I know. Dr's say "oh nothing is wrong". Well, it's certainly not normal. I hope they really get looking this week and at least find out what is causing it all.

10:39 pm  
Blogger Ranni said...

I started having reactions like this when I was a teen. I still get them from not paying attention ot what I'm using OR from finding a new allergen but I don't have as many problems as I used to.

I started keeping a 'come in contact with' diary for my migrains. I included everything I ate, drank, touched, smelled and finally, a pattern started showing. And not just with the headaces. I've had far fewer hive/welt/rash breakouts since I was able to start identifying causes and triggers. Several doctors over the years have helped me with this, too so maybe you could ask for help from your doctor.

For me it's not just soaps and pain meds. Aloe, rosemary, cilantro, cocoa butter, cat hairs, ... it feels like an exhausting list and is extensive, but knowing what my triggers are has made things a lot easier. Stress can be a trigger for many people, me included.

Your eye burn *could* be an actual burn. Harsh fumes, like with hair dye and perms, can burn the eyes without the actual chemical coming in contact with them. When I dye my hair I have a fan blowing against me to blow the fumes away from my face and, even when it's cold outside, a window open for the fan to blow the fumes out of. Also sounds like an ingredient in the dye is reacting with your skin. When that happens with me I shampoo a bunch of times over a day or two and keep my hair up.

Wish it wasn't happening for you. Hopefully your doctor can help you fast. Neat idea on the plant dyes. Never thought of that myself.

10:55 pm  
Blogger rachel said...

I'm so sorry, Helen. I wish there was something I could do or advice I could give.

On a brighter note, I LOVE your new layout!

(and I still read on the weekends!)

11:17 pm  
Blogger Clara....in TN said...

Oh Helen, I hope you get to the bottom of this skin thing. I have trouble with dandruff. The Dr. has even put me on anti-bodies for this thing, and NOTHING has helped. I kinda know where you are coming from. The Dr's call it Cellulitus what I had.

5:45 pm  

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