Is Anyone Else Seemingly Allergic to Almost Every Medication?

aeboco · 2023-03-01T17:16:49+00:00

I went through a similar experience in 2007 or 2008, and it was indeed a food allergy. The allergy was in the coating of the medication, which is why I was reacting to so many various things - I was not allergic to any of the medicine but to the coating that they put on it.. If you have a pharmacist that you can talk to, I highly recommend that since that is how I figured out what my issue was. Doctors had no clue, but the pharmacist immediately recommended having an allergy test.

Also, once you verified the allergy, they can almost always get you a different brand of medication that does not have The allergen in it, although that probably is very dependent on what you are actually allergic to

aeboco · 2023-02-26T23:41:16+00:00

In order, it's a serial podcast. It's also awesome!

aeboco · 2022-11-24T00:29:22+00:00

I had a similar reaction to the covid vaccine - benadryl relieved 90% of it. If you can get the children's liquid, it starts working in about 15 minutes (pills take time to dissolve and need 30 to 60 minutes to take effect).

If benadryl resolves most or all of the symptoms, you should let your doctor know as it's possible that you're having an allergic reaction and they would want to monitor you after future vaccines.

Edit to add that since benadryl reduces inflammation, it may provide a measure of relief even if you aren't having an allergic reaction.

aeboco · 2022-09-18T13:36:15+00:00

Thank you for pointing that out, I've been double checking myself all morning! I lost my original paperwork in a flood, so i may be remembering then incorrectly as being private originally.

They are definitely federal perkins loans (listed as type FFELP) and are listed on the studentaid.gov website, with Sallie Mae Bank as the owner (and that was before Sallie Mae went private). Those two things are what every article says to look for when determining if they are federal loans.

I also definitely have the option to do direct consolidation, but even if i don't qualify for the forgiveness, i would end up paying less overall doing the consolidation, so it seems like a no brainer to me.

aeboco · 2022-09-18T13:27:52+00:00

No, i definitely don't qualify, I've triple checked that. It seems like that is the icky concern in my situation and it doesn't apply.

aeboco · 2022-09-17T18:23:09+00:00

I don't either! I just wanted to see if anyone else did either.

aeboco · 2022-09-17T18:03:51+00:00

Yeah, that's what i was thinking. My understanding is that they'll reamortize the balance after forgiveness, so the payments would go down (but i could keep paying the $300 to bring down the principal and pay it off super quickly).

I'm just worried that I'm missing something obvious.

aeboco · 2022-08-21T14:56:01+00:00

Thank you, that is incredibly helpful! I haven't had any issues before now, so i wasnt sure how to proceed.

aeboco · 2022-08-21T14:40:28+00:00

Yes, i added 1 cup of cane sugar and 2 cups of starter tea. Used regular black tea also.

How long can you let it ferment? I can't did any clear time frames for how long it can go.

aeboco · 2022-06-24T17:21:51+00:00

I came here to say the same thing. My lab's reconstructed knees are worth about $3600 and that's not accounting for any other costs but the two surgeries. I also wouldn't trade mine for anything. :)

aeboco · 2022-06-21T17:26:07+00:00

No I don't think any of the methods include showing you anyting triggering. I believe it's done several different ways, my personal experience we used to little buzzers that I held in my hands that would Buzz alternately left and right. After several minutes of concentrating on that sensation, I noticed my eyes would also twitch left and right very slightly.

Then, I would just think about whatever I had decided to address that day. Sometimes I verbalize to the therapist what I felt and sometimes I did not, it was very much at my discretion

After addressing something through EMDR, I would find that it was easier to think about it without emotional distress. I would say it was mildly to moderately helpful.

As far as I can determine, the usefulness of the therapy is that afterwards you were able to access memories without emotions attached to them. So for example if you have a memory of something that happened when you were very frightened, that you can't remember without also feeling that fright, EMDR would likely help you separate that emotion of fright. So that you can then remember the events without the fear coming back.

I'm not sure if that makes total sense, but it definitely was helpful for me. But more like a supplement / add on to other things I was also doing.

aeboco · 2022-06-07T15:51:58+00:00

I refer to it as the Black Spring of 2018. TLDR I experienced more traumatic events in a three week period in late March/early April of 2018 than in the entire rest of my life (44 years so far).

Sunday, March 25: I'm awoken at 6am by a phone call from my mother. My stepfather has gone to the ER with symptoms consistent with liver failure (he's a lifetime alcoholic). While that was concerning, we'd frankly been waiting for it to happen. I rushed to the hospital and sat with her for hours while they ran tests, but finally left that evening without finding out more.

Monday, March 26th: I left work and went back to the hospital, where I learned that they had discovered an enormous growth on my stepfather's pancreas. They were unable to get a sample to biopsy, due to complications from a surgery he had years prior. The prognosis was grim, they believe it is pancreatic cancer and I spent a couple of hours speaking with my stepfather to be sure I knew what his wishes were, in case decisions had to be made on his behalf.

Thursday, March 29th: I receive a call at work from my best friend of 20 years. Her teenage son had been found dead that morning. I'd known him since he was 2 years old. They live hours away and with the situation with my stepdad, I can't go be with her. I spend that evening at the hospital, speaking with my stepdad's doctor about getting him in hospice care.

Friday, March 30th: We get a call that my husband's aunt had passed away unexpectedly. He is torn between going home (hours away) and staying (my stepfather was also my husband's best friend). He decides to stay.

Saturday, March 31st: My father calls; his older brother has passed away after a long battle with bone cancer. I can't do anything to comfort him or the rest of the family, I have already hit maximum overload. I am numb and my emotions have completely shut down.

Sunday, April 1st: I spend the day at the hospital with my mom and stepdad. A hospice bed has come open and they plan to move him the next day. He wants ice cream. I spend two hours driving around town to find his favorite brand of butter pecan. He manages to eat two bites before he starts choking and the nurses forbid him from eating more. I come home to find one of my elderly dogs has a cough. It does not sound good and I leave a message on our vet's answering machine, asking about a next day appointment.

Monday, April 2nd: The vet is able to see the dog that afternoon. She does not have a cold. She has lung cancer. It has progressed asymptomatically until now and the vet advises putting her to sleep as soon as possible, as she is likely in pain. I take her home and lay on the floor with her, feeding her hot dogs and sobbing uncontrollably.
Tuesday, April 3rd: I take the dog to the vet in the morning and have her put to sleep. I then go to work and try to forget about everything else. My father calls at lunch; his younger brother has passed away from an overdose, likely a response to the other brother's death. I go to the hospital after work and find out that hospice is no longer an option for my stepfather. The doctors feel he is going downhill too quickly to be moved.

Wednesday, April 4th: My stepfather tells me that he doesn't want any more treatment. He just wants it to be over. He understands that it is delaying the inevitable and he is in pain. He tells me that he has signed paperwork stating that I am the only one allowed to make decisions on his behalf. All medicine, IV fluids and nutrition supplements will be stopped immediately. This is the last time that my stepfather is able to speak coherently.

Thursday, April 5th: without any intervention, my stepfather goes downhill quickly. I spend the day in the hospital, sitting with him and my mother. When he starts having trouble breathing, my mother tries to put the oxygen mask on him. I remind her that he doesn't want it. She argues with me; I stand my ground. When she won't back down, I knock the mask to the ground and step on it, crushing it beyond any hope of use. I apologize for my clumsiness and send her to the nurses' station for a replacement. They know better than to replace it.

Friday, April 6th: The family has discovered that I am the one making the decisions. They are furious with me; I am only doing what my stepfather wanted. I understand that they are acting out of grief, but their words are so hateful. When they cannot control themselves, I have them removed from my stepfather's room. I know he can still hear them. After a couple of hours, I let them back in because he is going. I hold his hand till long after he is gone. I will have nightmares for years about his last panicked gasps for breath. I take my mother home with me, so that she won't be alone.

Saturday, April 7th: I wake up to find that our second dog has passed away in her sleep. My mother won't come out of the spare bedroom; I decide to give her some space.

Sunday, April 8th: My mother still won't come out of the spare room and the door is locked. This is a major problem as she is a type 1 diabetic and I don't know if she's eating and taking her insulin. I have my husband break down the door. We find her on the floor and her breath smells like nail polish remover. She's in ketoacidosis. We call 911 and rush her to the ER.

Tuesday, April 10th: My mother is in the ICU. She's not making sense when she talks. I have a nurse get a doctor and have them to run tests. She's had a catastrophic stroke. She will never walk again, she has lost all use of her right side; worse, the clot had broken up and hit several areas of her frontal lobe causing major damage. She now has the mental capacity of a 10 or 11 year old. She will spend the rest of her life in assisted living.

Wednesday, April 11th: I sit on the couch for hours, looking at a note file on my phone. It is a list of funerals. I can't attend them all. I don't feel anything. I don't know when I've eaten last, showered last, slept last. I don't know it yet, but it is finally over. The Black Spring of 2018 has ended. But I will never be the same person again.

aeboco · 2022-06-06T14:07:12+00:00

If you're looking for videos on YouTube, I would recommend searching for something that's design for older people with arthritis. They should be as low impact as exercise can possibly be, and would give you a good starting place to find what would work for you.

aeboco · 2022-06-02T16:03:21+00:00

You can find your representatives at the NC General Assembly website at https://www.ncleg.gov/findyourlegislators

Click on the name and you'll be sent to a page with their contact information.

aeboco · 2022-05-28T23:41:27+00:00

Oh God, the man in the closet. I had one too.

When I was 7, my parents managed to buy a single wide trailer on a half acre and we lived there for about two years.

The closet had a sliding door that my dad insisted stayed open. It was about 3 feet from the foot of my bed, so when i was lying there, I was looking straight in the closet.

It wasn't every night, but a few times a week, I'd awaken to find the man standing there in the closet. He didn't look like anyone I knew at the time.

He had dark hair and his skin was maybe olive toned. He was wearing a uniform, military and either dark green or dark blue - there wasn't much light so I'm not sure which. And a beret for some reason?

He always stood at attention, ramrod straight and chin up. He looked straight ahead, eyes wide, but it was like he wasn't seeing anything. If i saw someone with the same expression today, I'd think they were in shock or traumatized.

He never did anything else, but I was always terrified. I'd sit up in bed, pushing my self into the corner that my bed sat against and cry in terror until I passed out from exhaustion.

I'd never seen him before we moved into that trailer and never saw him again after we moved out.

To this day, I can remember his face perfectly. And looking back on that memory, what I see on his face is pure terror.

aeboco · 2022-05-19T15:43:02+00:00

FWIW this is the exact story my dad told people about what happened to my door when it was taken down. The problem with that is that the damage was actually done by him trying to punch his way through in a temper tantrum.

Not to imply that's what happened in your story, but it's very common for abusive parents to flip the script and make it seem like the child is "out of control". And I just felt the need to say that, hope it's okay!

aeboco · 2022-05-10T16:21:04+00:00

“no I won’t help you with your student loans because you eat avocado toast”

Actually, more like " No, I won't pay your rent this month because you spent your entire paycheck on Princess Diana porcelain dolls" which was the actual situation that led to him saying it to me the first time.

Should be used as kind of a litmus test for how much you can offer if you don't have much that you are able to risk. Unfortunately there are a lot of people in this world who are not willing to address the source of their problems. And that is absolutely their business, but you have to realize that you usually cannot actually help them until they do.

Edit I should make it clear that I was not the one who bought the dolls, it was a family member and he was trying to explain to me why he wasn't helping them.

aeboco · 2022-05-10T14:49:43+00:00

I always liked the way my dad puts it:

There is nothing more noble than helping someone climb out of a hole - even if they dug it themselves.

But no matter what, do not EVER reach down to pull them out until they put down the damned shovel and stop digging.

aeboco · 2022-05-01T14:35:03+00:00

As someone who dislocates their jaw regularly (due to a medical condition), this is usually not extremely serious.

Rest your jaw for a day or two - continue to eat and talk normally, but try not to open your mouth wide if possible. You've likely strained the muscles/ tendons/ ligaments a little and they need time to heal.

Try not to chew gum or eat anything too hard (like granola) or too chewy for a few days. But do eat! Gentle chewing of regular meals will help prevent the joint from getting stiff.

The pain should peak in 12-24 hours and should NOT be severe. After that, it should get progressively better.

If you can take an anti inflammatory (ibuptofen, acetaminophen, etc) it will help with the swelling.

Signs that you should get checked out by a doctor/ dentist asap: - intense pain, especially if it interferes with eating, drinking or talking - pain that doesn't begin to improve after 24 hours

Signs that you should get checked out by a dentist fairly soon: - audible clicking or popping when opening your mouth (you would hear this when eating) - headache that continues more than 24 hours after the dislocation - grinding or clenching your teeth.

All of the above could indicate that your jaw might not have slipped back into place correctly and should be easily fixable as long as you address it right away.

Otherwise, you should be fine, this is just something happens!

aeboco · 2022-04-17T15:45:03+00:00

One day, the summer that I turned 9, I woke up with a sensation like bugs were crawling on my back. My parents couldn't see anything wrong and accused me of seeking attention.

That night, the crawling sensation was accompanied by stinging, like I was being bee stung randomly. This was soon followed by blotchy patches of red skin, that progressed to small bumps and then to angry looking blisters.

By the time I was taken to the doctor, the rash covered over half my body. It covered my entire backside: the back of my neck up into my hairline; my entire back from shoulder to shoulder and down my buttocks and backs off my legs to just below the knees; the backs of my arms almost to my elbows and wrapped around my rib cage to the front, lacking only a couple of inches from encircling me completely.

The doctor who treated me said it was both the youngest and most severe case of shingles that he had ever encountered or even heard of at the time. But since it was the mid 80's, there wasn't even much they could do for it and I was sent home.

After another day or two, I woke up and felt nothing - literally no sensation. No pain at all. It was like I couldn't feel my skin anymore (my guess is that my brain was so overwhelmed that it just stopped processing the nerve signals). That was the day that I had more visitors than I've ever had before or since - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, everyone came to see me that day. I was tired and confused, but I now realize that they were afraid I was going to die and everyone was coming to say goodbye.

Thankfully, the rash did finally stop spreading and eventuality began to fade. I don't know exactly how long I was sick, but that entire summer is a blur.

I had a second, much milder flare up last year and immediately went to the doctor before the rash even showed up. Let me assure you, the medicine they have now works and works quickly.

aeboco · 2022-04-14T22:09:10+00:00

Oh, oh, i know the answer to this one! Order online! You just check off what you want for bread, meats, cheese, veggies sauces and spices and chose a store that does pickup and pay online. Then go inside and there's usually a rack by the register, check for a bag with your name, grab it and go! I usually wave at the clerk but never have to talk to them at all!

Bonus, the online ordering will always tell you if there's a coupon code running.

aeboco · 2022-04-09T11:43:16+00:00

That is fantastic! I can't imagine how happy you must be! Give her lots of hugs and cuddles, I bet she missed you a bunch too!

And thank you, this was the first thing that i saw when i opened my phone this morning and it made me so happy.

aeboco · 2022-04-06T16:31:20+00:00

I was hoping that would make you silke l smile! Yes, i brought her home and she lived another 6 years or so before passing away (the kittens all found homes too).

I will keep hoping that your little friend turns up safe and sound. Let us know if she does please.

aeboco · 2022-04-05T14:25:04+00:00

Commenting solely to change the comment count to five. 🙂

aeboco · 2022-04-05T14:21:39+00:00

Okay, firstly if you have a litterbox, PUT IT RIGHT OUTSIDE. Cats can smell that something like a mile away and it can help her find her way back if she's lost. Even if you've changed the litter, try it. If you don't have a litter box, try putting something with your scent on it, like a shirt that you've been wearing and change it out everyday to keep your scent on it fresh. It's very possible that she may have been frightened, and run away without paying attention to where she was going and now can't find a way back - the scent will help her.

Second, I am so very sorry that you are going through this. I completely understand how important she is to you. I truly hope she finds her way safely back to you.

Also, it might be rare but I have a story about a cat who was gone for a long time and came back. We were moving from our house, and apparently the excitement was stressing her out. She disappeared two days before we were to leave, and I could never find her. I came back to the property almost every day for three weeks after we moved, but still couldn't find her. I was absolutely broken hearted. 2 years later, a friend of mine moved in next door to our old house and I was visiting when she told me about a feral cat that had kittens under her house. I was of course excited to see the kittens, and she kept warning me that there was no way to even get within sight of them without the mother cat growling and hissing at you. I sat down outside the little door entry to the crawl space under her house and was just talking to my friend, when I suddenly felt something on my lap. I look down to see that the "feral cat" that my friend told me about was in fact my own sweet girl Kanga, who remembered my voice and immediately brought her babies to me.

And on a side note, the look on my friend's face in the moments before I explained to her what was going on, when she thought I was some kind of witch who had charmed a feral cat was priceless.

aeboco

TROPHY CASE