Re: It's beginning to look a lot like X-mas:Tis the season to be sneezing (wheezing)

[Guest guest]

Wow. Your family continues to be amazingly consistent in their

insensitivity!

However, we're all stuck with the family we got and I can understand

your need to make the most of it. At least you enjoy your

nieces/nephews and can continue to build a relationship with them.

It's unfortunate that this beautiful time of year is filled with

scents, evergreen, heavy traffic, and other things that get those of

us with allergies and chemical sensitivities sneezing and wheezing.

I'm on my 5th day of antibiotics for an upper resp infection and I'm

still miserable. I left a message on the acupuncturist's voice mail -

I'm hoping they can work me in tomorrow or the next day. I'm

miserable, and that usually helps.

Helpful tip for the season: Tazo chai tea. Boil the water, let it

steep for 5 minutes. Add a little sugar and just a little bit of

milk. Cinnamon stick if you've got one and you're set. I have had

other chai teas and can't tolerate them (esp the instant - I'm

allergic to that).

Addy

Group co-owner

>

> Hello

>

> Hope everyone had a good Christmas for those who celebrated it.

Merry

> Christmas

>

> 12/26....next Xolair shot. I hope it helps.

>

> Here, as my subject line reads: Tis the season to be wheezing

> (sneezing).

>

> I am home for the holidays. Things would not be normal if the

> following did not occur:

> scented candles, specific tree purchased after stating I am

allergic,

> scented plug ins, scented potpourri, a gift set of scented soap,

> shampoo/conditioner in the shower that does not help matters.

> Cleaning supplies Mr. Bubbles bathroom cleaner, Pledge lemon

scented

> oil dusting spray,the hamsper, and the heat to remain on 60

> degrees.

>

> (By the way at 3:45 AM, it's 65 degrees where I reside permanently.

> It is warmer outside than it is in the house here, where my family

> is). I know oil is pricey but there are only so many sweatshirts I

> can put on. It's 26 degrees in NY right now.

>

> Getting the picture? Now, think how lovely the ER was.(Not!). And

> this was the picture of Christmas Eve.

>

> They explained to her again about my condition. ...I feel like a

> child...she questioned them if this was really in my head or was I

> blowing this out of proportion. She did not like their response

> because it echoed mine. Now, my mom puts on her fascade of being a

> caring mom. The RRT spoke to her about my peak flows. My mom chimes

> in. Why such a difference in number? She has no clue, I have

> explained over and over again. But I gave up. Yet when my dad's

blood

> sugar goes off 20 points either direction....STOP THE PRESS!!!!.

Ay!!!

>

> Before going to the ER, I called my dr. He said he'd meet me. He

> spoke to mom again. Big deal, I could have spoken to the wall and

> gotten more of a response. He explained the Xolair (which I am

> getting while up here in NY, but my mom has no clue. She told him I

> should be off all these meds and go the natural route. He gently

> reminded her that she did not have a medical license.

>

> The dr did want to speak to me in private. My mom said " why, what

is

> there to hide " . Oh boy. I am 32 and this is how I am treated.

>

> I did feel it was necessary to thank her for taking me. (I did not

> want to because she made matters worse but I felt she needed that

> acknowledgment). She was all over that one. She was grateful but

was

> relentless reminding me how much was backed up because we had to

> spend time in the ER. (I am sitting here still trying to reach down

> and pull the dagger out of my back that she stabbed me with). I

wish

> she would take thank you nicely without adding a zinger in there.

Oh

> well. I'll put that on my Christmas list for next year. LOL

>

> Christmas day:

> Family goes to church. We have to sit in the front row. (WHY?!).

> Ahhh........the lovely smell of pine trees, the altar looks like a

> forest. The pointsettas, what a lovely display. Oh wait, I am

sorry,

> this is all lovely if YOU DON " T HAVE ALLERGIES AND NOT AN

> ASTHMATIC!!!! Being prepared for all this, I pull out my own meds

> before church. That did not help. Opening song: O Come Emmanuel.

> Wait, I start sneezing, my dad say " O come on! " I Tell him no,

wrong

> song. Ok, I won't go into every detail, just the last song at the

end

> of mass " we wish you a merry christmas " , which for me sounded much

> like " We wish-a-choo a merry christmas " .

>

> Of course we had to stay to greet the priest, etc. Ah.......what a

> Kodak/Hallmark moment. My mom said " pardon my daughter, she had to

> make a point to remind us she was allergic " . (Gotta love families

at

> Christmas, sometimes I think they make the Gotti family look like

the

> Ingalls from Little house on the Prarie).

>

> We have moved on from church and to the home. I was asked to water

> the tree. Trying not to get into an argument, I asked one of my

> nephews (that was a wrong move). I did come prepared with a mask as

> my dr suggested. Boy, was I mocked and told to take it off and not

be

> so much drama.

>

> Moving on....the relatives arrive. The dinner table on Christmas

was

> a punching bag time at me. It wouldn't be Christmas without snide

> remarks how I ruined Christmas eve in the ER. " ...and that machine

of

> hers, it's so loud and it did not work, so we had to stop

everything

> and still had to go to the ER " . (Even though, I said I'd take

myself,

> my mom insisted on coming). She makes me worse but her uppity ways.

>

> They shared the scenario of all the various meds I am on.

Especially

> the calcium. My mom said at her age, she does not need this. I just

> said she was fortunate. I chose not to react, rather, eat quickly

and

> start cleaning up. I love washing dishes. No one bothers me.

>

> The logical question might be: Why go home and face this? The

answer

> is because of my nephews. I miss them a lot and something major is

> going on. I have learned to have patience and deal with their

> intolerance, or at least try to as much as I can. I do suffer and

> bring all the necessary meds and such with me. But my folks are

hard

> core that even with that, it is not enough and I suffer.

>

> Is it worth it? Well, I don't want to spend Christmas alone over

1000

> miles away. I have no family there. Also my friends: My one friend

> has 5 cats, the other has a cat and a german shepard, It is not

worht

> it.

>

> However, tt is worth seeing my two nephews who believe in Santa and

> the magic of Christmas. Nothing can ever replace that. I have 2

> friends who call to speak to them on Christmas ever. They are elves

> and another friend who calls and says he's Santa. Words cannot

> express the joy it is to see how happy they are on Christmas Eve

and

> the magic of Christmas morning.

>

> So, I am reminded of the theme song from the TV show The Facts of

> life: You take the good, you take the bad and there you have the

> facts of life "

>

> Cross your fingers they go away for a couple of days though. As

much

> as I love them, a few days away will help. If not, I plan on seeing

> friends and family and if need be, I will stay over a night. Where

my

> parents are is in no man's land. It's dead in the winter. Their

> second home is even worse. So when we are together, quality is

spent

> within the first 2-4 hours. Then it's time for something new. LOL

>

> Thanks for reading. Writing does help and I know there are people

out

> there who can relate.

>

> Breathe well, I am still waiting for relief from the heavy chest

and

> that tight feeling around it. The rescue inhaler is not doing the

> trick and I sure don't want to go back to the ER. I have Xopanex

for

> the neb but that gets me hyper followed by the shakes and a

headache.

>

[Guest guest]

But just wait until something happens to the " insensitive " relatives and oh

my--the sympathy and understanding they will demand!

And you are right about the cancer--but then cancer appears in the news so

much more often than does asthma or lung diseases. I know that most people do

not know how serious lung disease can be, but cancer strikes fear into the heart

of all.....Lung disease should, too!

I am really appalled at times at the gross ignorance on the part of such a

large segment of the population about allergies and their severity. I am one

who counts my blessings every time meencantador posts. But then allergies run

in our families. My sister had severe asthma/allergies from the time she was

two months old until she passed away at age 45 (from heart failure). My mother

went through the " it's all in her head " song and dance from some of her friends

and relatives, while dealing with a child who was very ill. My mother has

allergies (yes, she is still living at age 93 and has asthma along with some

other health problems). She is one more strong lady, even though her health is

beginning to fail. When my asthma kicked in, my mom was the one who would come

over and take me to the doctor because my hubby could not get off from work.

Yes, I am surrounded by family and friends who are concerned and caring about my

health. SO YES, I AM BLESSED, I KNOW IT AND

I TELL MY FAMILY HOW VERY MUCH I APPRECIATE THEM. My daughter has mild asthma

and my son also has mild asthma. At least I know that if theirs ever worsens,

there is something now that can help.

Mountain cedar is high (we had high winds out of the northwest today) and I

have had a little bit of a stuffy nose, but that is it. It is been two years

since I have been on prednisone because of a bad sinus/respiratory infection.

Praise God--I have been on xolair for a year and a half and increasingly I feel

better.

For those of you who are around insensitive people, my prayers are with you as

well as hugs!

Hope the New Year has better breathing in store for all of us.

Adah

Seychelles Fruit Bat <pteropus.seychellensis@...> wrote:

You are a better person than me. That would be the last holiday I'd

spend with toxic people, who go out of their way to belittle and humilate a

chronically ill person. I doubt they would treat a person with cancer that way.

I was feeling sorry for myself because the IL & s demanded visiting an Asian

restaurant for Xmass eve dinner. I'm ana to soy, shellfish, fish and msg. So I

got to watch everyone eat for 3 hours, while I drank club soda. Never again. And

they do know about my 10+ ER food allergy ana reactions. Your family even tops

that. Life is too short to deal with clueless relatives. Hugs Nan

meencantador wrote:

> Hello

> Hope everyone had a good Christmas for those who celebrated it. Merry

> Christmas

> 12/26....next Xolair shot. I hope it helps.

> Here, as my subject line reads: Tis the season to be wheezing

> (sneezing).

> I am home for the holidays. Things would not be normal if the

> following did not occur:

> scented candles, specific tree purchased after stating I am allergic,

> scented plug ins, scented potpourri, a gift set of scented soap,

> shampoo/conditioner in the shower that does not help matters.

> Cleaning supplies Mr. Bubbles bathroom cleaner, Pledge lemon scented

> oil dusting spray,the hamsper, and the heat to remain on 60

> degrees.

> (By the way at 3:45 AM, it's 65 degrees where I reside permanently.

> It is warmer outside than it is in the house here, where my family

> is). I know oil is pricey but there are only so many sweatshirts I

> can put on. It's 26 degrees in NY right now.

> Getting the picture? Now, think how lovely the ER was.(Not!). And

> this was the picture of Christmas Eve.

> They explained to her again about my condition. ...I feel like a

> child...she questioned them if this was really in my head or was I

> blowing this out of proportion. She did not like their response

> because it echoed mine. Now, my mom puts on her fascade of being a

> caring mom. The RRT spoke to her about my peak flows. My mom chimes

> in. Why such a difference in number? She has no clue, I have

> explained over and over again. But I gave up. Yet when my dad's blood

> sugar goes off 20 points either direction... .STOP THE PRESS!!!!. Ay!!!

> Before going to the ER, I called my dr. He said he'd meet me. He

> spoke to mom again. Big deal, I could have spoken to the wall and

> gotten more of a response. He explained the Xolair (which I am

> getting while up here in NY, but my mom has no clue. She told him I

> should be off all these meds and go the natural route. He gently

> reminded her that she did not have a medical license.

> The dr did want to speak to me in private. My mom said " why, what is

> there to hide " . Oh boy. I am 32 and this is how I am treated.

> I did feel it was necessary to thank her for taking me. (I did not

> want to because she made matters worse but I felt she needed that

> acknowledgment) . She was all over that one. She was grateful but was

> relentless reminding me how much was backed up because we had to

> spend time in the ER. (I am sitting here still trying to reach down

> and pull the dagger out of my back that she stabbed me with). I wish

> she would take thank you nicely without adding a zinger in there.. Oh

> well. I'll put that on my Christmas list for next year. LOL

> Christmas day:

> Family goes to church. We have to sit in the front row. (WHY?!).

> Ahhh........ the lovely smell of pine trees, the altar looks like a

> forest. The pointsettas, what a lovely display. Oh wait, I am sorry,

> this is all lovely if YOU DON " T HAVE ALLERGIES AND NOT AN

> ASTHMATIC!!! ! Being prepared for all this, I pull out my own meds

> before church. That did not help. Opening song: O Come Emmanuel.

> Wait, I start sneezing, my dad say " O come on! " I Tell him no, wrong

> song. Ok, I won't go into every detail, just the last song at the end

> of mass " we wish you a merry christmas " , which for me sounded much

> like " We wish-a-choo a merry christmas " .

> Of course we had to stay to greet the priest, etc. Ah.......what a

> Kodak/Hallmark moment. My mom said " pardon my daughter, she had to

> make a point to remind us she was allergic " . (Gotta love families at

> Christmas, sometimes I think they make the Gotti family look like the

> Ingalls from Little house on the Prarie).

> We have moved on from church and to the home. I was asked to water

> the tree. Trying not to get into an argument, I asked one of my

> nephews (that was a wrong move). I did come prepared with a mask as

> my dr suggested. Boy, was I mocked and told to take it off and not be

> so much drama.

> Moving on....the relatives arrive. The dinner table on Christmas was

> a punching bag time at me. It wouldn't be Christmas without snide

> remarks how I ruined Christmas eve in the ER. " ...and that machine of

> hers, it's so loud and it did not work, so we had to stop everything

> and still had to go to the ER " . (Even though, I said I'd take myself,

> my mom insisted on coming). She makes me worse but her uppity ways.

> They shared the scenario of all the various meds I am on. Especially

> the calcium. My mom said at her age, she does not need this. I just

> said she was fortunate. I chose not to react, rather, eat quickly and

> start cleaning up. I love washing dishes. No one bothers me.

> The logical question might be: Why go home and face this? The answer

> is because of my nephews. I miss them a lot and something major is

> going on.. I have learned to have patience and deal with their

> intolerance, or at least try to as much as I can. I do suffer and

> bring all the necessary meds and such with me. But my folks are hard

> core that even with that, it is not enough and I suffer.

> Is it worth it? Well, I don't want to spend Christmas alone over 1000

> miles away. I have no family there.. Also my friends: My one friend

> has 5 cats, the other has a cat and a german shepard, It is not worht

> it.

> However, tt is worth seeing my two nephews who believe in Santa and

> the magic of Christmas. Nothing can ever replace that. I have 2

> friends who call to speak to them on Christmas ever. They are elves

> and another friend who calls and says he's Santa. Words cannot

> express the joy it is to see how happy they are on Christmas Eve and

> the magic of Christmas morning.

> So, I am reminded of the theme song from the TV show The Facts of

> life: You take the good, you take the bad and there you have the

> facts of life "

> Cross your fingers they go away for a couple of days though. As much

> as I love them, a few days away will help. If not, I plan on seeing

> friends and family and if need be, I will stay over a night. Where my

> parents are is in no man's land. It's dead in the winter. Their

> second home is even worse. So when we are together, quality is spent

> within the first 2-4 hours. Then it's time for something new. LOL

> Thanks for reading. Writing does help and I know there are people out

> there who can relate.

> Breathe well, I am still waiting for relief from the heavy chest and

> that tight feeling around it. The rescue inhaler is not doing the

> trick and I sure don't want to go back to the ER. I have Xopanex for

> the neb but that gets me hyper followed by the shakes and a headache.

>

__________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

I'd like to slap the life right out of your Mother... I feel better

now.....Sharon

In , " meencantador " <meencantador@...>

wrote:

>

> Hello

>

> Hope everyone had a good Christmas for those who celebrated it. Merry

> Christmas

>

> 12/26....next Xolair shot. I hope it helps.

>

> Here, as my subject line reads: Tis the season to be wheezing

> (sneezing).

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have two crisis periods over the year. The Christmas season,

starting with Thanksgiving and ending with the New Year, and the

spring pollen season.

I do belive since I've been on Xolair over a year and a half that my

sensitivity to irritants has decreased since the allergies are not

beating the daylights out of my airways as much. I don't have to

leave church when the air is saturated with perfume unless the

perpetrators are almost rubbing up against me. I do change clothes

when I get home and throw the odorous clothes in the washer.

Since my house is well sealed up to be energy-efficient I wind up

getting an overdose of irritants over the holidays, especially since

it's winter and the days are short and cold and I spend way too much

time inside.

I'm making a serious effort to spend much more time outside this

winter, outside hiking, and that does seem to help.

As for your mother not understanding asthma, I say join the crowd.

Everyone looks at you and you're not turning blue and you're not

falling on floor and you don't have big tumors popping out of your

ears so they think you must be fine. Just like the old ladies that

dump a bottle of perfume on them heading into church, they don't

understand and probably won't understand so don't hold their

ignorance against them.

My wife thinks my asthma is all a big fake and the doctors are just

milking my insurance company. After all I'm not laying on the floor

holding my throat. But when she hears me gasping for breath and

wheezing she does begin to take notice. That's not often since

thanks to modern medicine and good doctors my asthma is under

control most of time..

>

> Hello

>

> Hope everyone had a good Christmas for those who celebrated it.

Merry

> Christmas

>

> 12/26....next Xolair shot. I hope it helps.

>

> Here, as my subject line reads: Tis the season to be wheezing

> (sneezing).

>

> I am home for the holidays. Things would not be normal if the

> following did not occur:

> scented candles, specific tree purchased after stating I am

allergic,

> scented plug ins, scented potpourri, a gift set of scented soap,

> shampoo/conditioner in the shower that does not help matters.

> Cleaning supplies Mr. Bubbles bathroom cleaner, Pledge lemon

scented

> oil dusting spray,the hamsper, and the heat to remain on 60

> degrees.

>

> (By the way at 3:45 AM, it's 65 degrees where I reside

permanently.

> It is warmer outside than it is in the house here, where my family

> is). I know oil is pricey but there are only so many sweatshirts I

> can put on. It's 26 degrees in NY right now.

>

> Getting the picture? Now, think how lovely the ER was.(Not!). And

> this was the picture of Christmas Eve.

>

> They explained to her again about my condition. ...I feel like a

> child...she questioned them if this was really in my head or was I

> blowing this out of proportion. She did not like their response

> because it echoed mine. Now, my mom puts on her fascade of being a

> caring mom. The RRT spoke to her about my peak flows. My mom

chimes

> in. Why such a difference in number? She has no clue, I have

> explained over and over again. But I gave up. Yet when my dad's

blood

> sugar goes off 20 points either direction....STOP THE PRESS!!!!.

Ay!!!

>

> Before going to the ER, I called my dr. He said he'd meet me. He

> spoke to mom again. Big deal, I could have spoken to the wall and

> gotten more of a response. He explained the Xolair (which I am

> getting while up here in NY, but my mom has no clue. She told him

I

> should be off all these meds and go the natural route. He gently

> reminded her that she did not have a medical license.

>

> The dr did want to speak to me in private. My mom said " why, what

is

> there to hide " . Oh boy. I am 32 and this is how I am treated.

>

> I did feel it was necessary to thank her for taking me. (I did not

> want to because she made matters worse but I felt she needed that

> acknowledgment). She was all over that one. She was grateful but

was

> relentless reminding me how much was backed up because we had to

> spend time in the ER. (I am sitting here still trying to reach

down

> and pull the dagger out of my back that she stabbed me with). I

wish

> she would take thank you nicely without adding a zinger in there.

Oh

> well. I'll put that on my Christmas list for next year. LOL

>

> Christmas day:

> Family goes to church. We have to sit in the front row. (WHY?!).

> Ahhh........the lovely smell of pine trees, the altar looks like a

> forest. The pointsettas, what a lovely display. Oh wait, I am

sorry,

> this is all lovely if YOU DON " T HAVE ALLERGIES AND NOT AN

> ASTHMATIC!!!! Being prepared for all this, I pull out my own meds

> before church. That did not help. Opening song: O Come Emmanuel.

> Wait, I start sneezing, my dad say " O come on! " I Tell him no,

wrong

> song. Ok, I won't go into every detail, just the last song at the

end

> of mass " we wish you a merry christmas " , which for me sounded much

> like " We wish-a-choo a merry christmas " .

>

> Of course we had to stay to greet the priest, etc. Ah.......what a

> Kodak/Hallmark moment. My mom said " pardon my daughter, she had to

> make a point to remind us she was allergic " . (Gotta love families

at

> Christmas, sometimes I think they make the Gotti family look like

the

> Ingalls from Little house on the Prarie).

>

> We have moved on from church and to the home. I was asked to water

> the tree. Trying not to get into an argument, I asked one of my

> nephews (that was a wrong move). I did come prepared with a mask

as

> my dr suggested. Boy, was I mocked and told to take it off and not

be

> so much drama.

>

> Moving on....the relatives arrive. The dinner table on Christmas

was

> a punching bag time at me. It wouldn't be Christmas without snide

> remarks how I ruined Christmas eve in the ER. " ...and that machine

of

> hers, it's so loud and it did not work, so we had to stop

everything

> and still had to go to the ER " . (Even though, I said I'd take

myself,

> my mom insisted on coming). She makes me worse but her uppity ways.

>

> They shared the scenario of all the various meds I am on.

Especially

> the calcium. My mom said at her age, she does not need this. I

just

> said she was fortunate. I chose not to react, rather, eat quickly

and

> start cleaning up. I love washing dishes. No one bothers me.

>

> The logical question might be: Why go home and face this? The

answer

> is because of my nephews. I miss them a lot and something major is

> going on. I have learned to have patience and deal with their

> intolerance, or at least try to as much as I can. I do suffer and

> bring all the necessary meds and such with me. But my folks are

hard

> core that even with that, it is not enough and I suffer.

>

> Is it worth it? Well, I don't want to spend Christmas alone over

1000

> miles away. I have no family there. Also my friends: My one friend

> has 5 cats, the other has a cat and a german shepard, It is not

worht

> it.

>

> However, tt is worth seeing my two nephews who believe in Santa

and

> the magic of Christmas. Nothing can ever replace that. I have 2

> friends who call to speak to them on Christmas ever. They are

elves

> and another friend who calls and says he's Santa. Words cannot

> express the joy it is to see how happy they are on Christmas Eve

and

> the magic of Christmas morning.

>

> So, I am reminded of the theme song from the TV show The Facts of

> life: You take the good, you take the bad and there you have the

> facts of life "

>

> Cross your fingers they go away for a couple of days though. As

much

> as I love them, a few days away will help. If not, I plan on

seeing

> friends and family and if need be, I will stay over a night. Where

my

> parents are is in no man's land. It's dead in the winter. Their

> second home is even worse. So when we are together, quality is

spent

> within the first 2-4 hours. Then it's time for something new. LOL

>

> Thanks for reading. Writing does help and I know there are people

out

> there who can relate.

>

> Breathe well, I am still waiting for relief from the heavy chest

and

> that tight feeling around it. The rescue inhaler is not doing the

> trick and I sure don't want to go back to the ER. I have Xopanex

for

> the neb but that gets me hyper followed by the shakes and a

headache.

>