FIXXERVI6
Contributor
People have watched me huff down a full regimen of drugs before I hit the water, they tell you, dont dive on medication, well I have a red bag I carry with me that is loaded with drugs specifically for diving.
Im not a fan of this practice by any stretch but my allergies have progressively gotten worse over the years and it had to be done if I wanted to dive.
I hope now though, I can leave that red bag at home.
I was born and raised up north and moved to TX, lived here for a few years then the allergies started and slowly became extreme to the point I was thinking about leaving Texas, it was near debilitating, the OTC drugs just didnt cut it anymore.
Eventually I developed food allergies as well (almost all food allergies developed overnight), all my life Ive had no issues that all of a sudden I have a list of foods I cant eat and I have to carry an epi pen, what the heck happened?
I would put myself in the category of extreme allergy sufferers. At one point and time I was taking a combination of pills, up to 16 a day + 2 nasal medicines to help hold my symptoms down to even manageable levels that allowed me to live with some comfort and function.
Over a period of several years of high dosages of anti-histamines I started to notice a pattern, it was like I had become dependent on them, if I missed a dose, didnt take them, my allergies were far worse than normal even when the weather said they shouldnt be, however when I traveled and stopped taking them my symptoms would go away. I chalked it up to being in an area that didnt have the stuff I was allergic to, makes sense right?
Eventually I got tired of these pills and their side effects and told the doc I needed off of them or I had to leave Texas I couldnt live like this. He then started me on the allergy injections, Ive been on them for quite a while now.
They only treat airborn allergies with the injections, not food allergies, well it just so happens Im allergic to garlic. Let me tell you folks something, you think peanut allergy is bad, go the grocery store or restaurant and find me a food that doesnt contain garlic . Go on and try, you wont succeed, its in EVERYTYHING.
SOO I have to stay on the anti histamines so I can eat something besides raw plane lettuce, but Ive been able to drastically reduce my pill intake and able to move around some more without my head feeling like its going to explode, so the injections sure helped but I still suffered.
I started taking my antihistamines and eating certain foods based around windy days yes windy days and when I receive my allergy injections, it occurred to me that the anti-histamines were reducing the effectiveness of the injections, which also made logical sense. So I did my best to avoid garlic when it was windy and around the days I was taking my injections. First thing I noticed, without the anti-histamines the injection site would blister up like I was burned and swell massively, stinging like someone was holding a lighter to me. The anti-histamines were keeping the reaction from happening in my arm therefore defeating the purpose of the injections. Windy days were an indication that I was about to have rough days ahead, the wind blows the pollen and dust around, when I see wind in the forecast I know Im in trouble.
With this recent bit of wind and yellow covered cars in Texas I thought for sure I was going to be on my death bed, yet, Im fine, I watched everyone around me complain as they wiped their noses and their swollen eyes, but, I was fine, what happened??
Well it just so happens Ive been so paranoid about my allergies I was able to avoid garlic for quite a long time, and didnt take any antihistamines for a while either, my shots had been blistering up to the point I would have my wife watch me, epi pen nearby, just in case. And Im fine!. So I decided it was time to celebrate, the winds had died down, I was going to treat myself to a nice meal loaded with one of my favorite foods, garlic, time do double up on the anti histamines and off I go. My reaction to garlic is extreme hives and dizziness with gastro problems, anti histamines allows me to enjoy the food symptom free.
In the following week I felt like I was hit by a truck, one of my worst allergy weeks ever, nausea and pain, runny nose itch itchy it was horrible, I had to go back on the anti-histamines to be able to function. At this point it was more than an idea, it became fact, my anti-histamines were making my allergies far worse, which may explain why Ive gone all my life enjoying foods I now cant touch.
Ive since shunned all anti-histamines, I carry them with me, just in case, but now my only allergy treatment is the injections, two per week, ibuprofen for when they do flair up I can combat the swelling and pain, and honey, yes honey, locally harvested raw honey.
Now here I sit typing this up over my lunch, Thai loaded with lovely garlic, no antihistamines in my blood and no reactions. I went for a hike the other day, it was windy, pollen count was high everything was yellow; I could breath, no anti-histamines in my blood.
For me, I happen to believe my food allergies developed from a prolonged exposure to extremely high doses of anti-histamines, in the long run I was doing the opposite of what needed to be done and I ended up increasing my sensitivity to foods and the stuff in the air.
My treatment is now the exact opposite; increase my exposure with no antihistamines through injections (they actually inject you with the stuff you are allergic to) and locally produced raw honey, from the pollen of the stuff Im allergic to. Its reduced my symptoms dramatically, so I tested the waters with garlic so far so good.
Ive never been a fan of drugs of any type, not even Tylenol, but I started taking the anti-histamines thinking I really had no other choice and they couldnt be bad for you all they do is block histamines right? Now I have to wonder what the long term affects on my body will be from all of those allergy drugs and if Ill ever fully recover.
But I thought I would share my experiences, what I thought was helping me actually was hurting me, I sit her e with no drugs in my blood, eating garlic with no runny nose or itchy eyes, no hives, this is the most symptom free Ive been in 10 years.
I did some googling and this was the first hit I found as well
Do antihistamines make allergies worse? : Nature News
Im not a fan of this practice by any stretch but my allergies have progressively gotten worse over the years and it had to be done if I wanted to dive.
I hope now though, I can leave that red bag at home.
I was born and raised up north and moved to TX, lived here for a few years then the allergies started and slowly became extreme to the point I was thinking about leaving Texas, it was near debilitating, the OTC drugs just didnt cut it anymore.
Eventually I developed food allergies as well (almost all food allergies developed overnight), all my life Ive had no issues that all of a sudden I have a list of foods I cant eat and I have to carry an epi pen, what the heck happened?
I would put myself in the category of extreme allergy sufferers. At one point and time I was taking a combination of pills, up to 16 a day + 2 nasal medicines to help hold my symptoms down to even manageable levels that allowed me to live with some comfort and function.
Over a period of several years of high dosages of anti-histamines I started to notice a pattern, it was like I had become dependent on them, if I missed a dose, didnt take them, my allergies were far worse than normal even when the weather said they shouldnt be, however when I traveled and stopped taking them my symptoms would go away. I chalked it up to being in an area that didnt have the stuff I was allergic to, makes sense right?
Eventually I got tired of these pills and their side effects and told the doc I needed off of them or I had to leave Texas I couldnt live like this. He then started me on the allergy injections, Ive been on them for quite a while now.
They only treat airborn allergies with the injections, not food allergies, well it just so happens Im allergic to garlic. Let me tell you folks something, you think peanut allergy is bad, go the grocery store or restaurant and find me a food that doesnt contain garlic . Go on and try, you wont succeed, its in EVERYTYHING.
SOO I have to stay on the anti histamines so I can eat something besides raw plane lettuce, but Ive been able to drastically reduce my pill intake and able to move around some more without my head feeling like its going to explode, so the injections sure helped but I still suffered.
I started taking my antihistamines and eating certain foods based around windy days yes windy days and when I receive my allergy injections, it occurred to me that the anti-histamines were reducing the effectiveness of the injections, which also made logical sense. So I did my best to avoid garlic when it was windy and around the days I was taking my injections. First thing I noticed, without the anti-histamines the injection site would blister up like I was burned and swell massively, stinging like someone was holding a lighter to me. The anti-histamines were keeping the reaction from happening in my arm therefore defeating the purpose of the injections. Windy days were an indication that I was about to have rough days ahead, the wind blows the pollen and dust around, when I see wind in the forecast I know Im in trouble.
With this recent bit of wind and yellow covered cars in Texas I thought for sure I was going to be on my death bed, yet, Im fine, I watched everyone around me complain as they wiped their noses and their swollen eyes, but, I was fine, what happened??
Well it just so happens Ive been so paranoid about my allergies I was able to avoid garlic for quite a long time, and didnt take any antihistamines for a while either, my shots had been blistering up to the point I would have my wife watch me, epi pen nearby, just in case. And Im fine!. So I decided it was time to celebrate, the winds had died down, I was going to treat myself to a nice meal loaded with one of my favorite foods, garlic, time do double up on the anti histamines and off I go. My reaction to garlic is extreme hives and dizziness with gastro problems, anti histamines allows me to enjoy the food symptom free.
In the following week I felt like I was hit by a truck, one of my worst allergy weeks ever, nausea and pain, runny nose itch itchy it was horrible, I had to go back on the anti-histamines to be able to function. At this point it was more than an idea, it became fact, my anti-histamines were making my allergies far worse, which may explain why Ive gone all my life enjoying foods I now cant touch.
Ive since shunned all anti-histamines, I carry them with me, just in case, but now my only allergy treatment is the injections, two per week, ibuprofen for when they do flair up I can combat the swelling and pain, and honey, yes honey, locally harvested raw honey.
Now here I sit typing this up over my lunch, Thai loaded with lovely garlic, no antihistamines in my blood and no reactions. I went for a hike the other day, it was windy, pollen count was high everything was yellow; I could breath, no anti-histamines in my blood.
For me, I happen to believe my food allergies developed from a prolonged exposure to extremely high doses of anti-histamines, in the long run I was doing the opposite of what needed to be done and I ended up increasing my sensitivity to foods and the stuff in the air.
My treatment is now the exact opposite; increase my exposure with no antihistamines through injections (they actually inject you with the stuff you are allergic to) and locally produced raw honey, from the pollen of the stuff Im allergic to. Its reduced my symptoms dramatically, so I tested the waters with garlic so far so good.
Ive never been a fan of drugs of any type, not even Tylenol, but I started taking the anti-histamines thinking I really had no other choice and they couldnt be bad for you all they do is block histamines right? Now I have to wonder what the long term affects on my body will be from all of those allergy drugs and if Ill ever fully recover.
But I thought I would share my experiences, what I thought was helping me actually was hurting me, I sit her e with no drugs in my blood, eating garlic with no runny nose or itchy eyes, no hives, this is the most symptom free Ive been in 10 years.
I did some googling and this was the first hit I found as well
Do antihistamines make allergies worse? : Nature News
(ignoring the fact they may flair up after I live there a while)
