Awake. Itchy and having an anxiety attack, probably from the prednisone. Have taken 3 benedryl and OTC painkillers, have no anti-itch cream in the house. There are spots of poison ivy on my scalp. Frankie chewed open the sock of oatmeal I was using earlier and his farts are epic right now. Am massively cranky about the whole situation. Pronouns gone. Tempted to call in itchy to work. SMONSTER SMASH. Moving to couch in hopes change of sleep venue will help.

Do you have any tagament or pepcid in the house? when DH had reaction bed enough to go to the ER they threw those into the mix. they are histamine blockers, not the same as in allergy drugs, but they can help A LOT with itchy skin. Both what the doctor said and from my experience since then.

and switching sleeping venues helps me

Oh smonster, Honey. I am SO sorry you are going through this.

I can say, without reservation, predisone is likely to make you insane. When I took it in September, I did not sleep for a solid week, plus the fear and the hyperlocution and the whole shebang. Give yourself a total break around any thoughts and/or feelings you are having. Make no major decisions and REST.

I wish I had something calming and/or soothing to offer but will at least say a fervent prayer that you get relief soon.

Poor, smonster.

EM got poison ivy several times and her reaction got worse and worse so that even the slightest exposure caused her body to flip out.

I'm a little concerned that repeated exposure to poison ivy will have that effect on you.

Thanks, all. I hate being this whiny. I do have some Zantac I can take, will do that now. David, that's a worry of mine as well. This is my 3rd round in two months, second time on prednisone I about a month. I may need to look into allergy shots, if they exist for PI. bonny, I was okay on the prednisone last time, but taking the first dose asap as directed means that I took it much later than usual.

I am concerned that if I go to work I will oscillate between cranky tired and FLIPPING OUT LIKE A MAMMAL, and that would not be good.

You're not even the whiniest person I've encounterd today. And you've got a, you know, reason.

Aw, Trudy.

Did I mention I'm likely PMSing? All of that coming into contact with a certain Fresh Maker could be rather explosive.

Found and applied Aveeno oatmeal lotion and aloe Vera gel, took the Zantac.

Ooof, poor smonster.

Jilli, I'm just going to put this out there and then step away from the conversation - I think you need a second opinion.

Hmm, that's an interesting article, thank you for pointing me at it! I will re-read it when I'm not dealing with the aftermath of a flooded basement. I will say that my doctor has talked about how she doesn't think open-ended rounds of antibiotics are the answer, which is part of the reason we're doing another round of even more specific tests for co-infections, and look at seeing what can be done to specifically treat those, then look at diet/exercise/supplements to get the other issues under control.

When I first got the diagnosis, I went head-first into Google, and read some things based off of the article you linked me to. So I am going into this at least quasi-informed.

But again, thank you for giving me that link. Because the more information I have, the better.

Goodness, it sounds like everyone's health is suffering at the moment. Much, much health~ma, Bitches.

Anything that would prop up my shantytown of an immune system? Like...supplements/vitamins/whatever? I am just so goddamn tired of feeling this shitty.

I like echinacea. You can buy it in health food stores. It's a herbal thing. Does seem to help.

I haven't been deliberately neglecting myself; it's just easy to forget about the neti pot, or to not get enough sleep because I want to read just one more chapter (or continue cruising the interwebs), or not get enough fluids because I'm busy reading just one more chapter (or the interwebs). But yeah, I need to take better care of myself, especially until whatever this is abates.

I can completely relate. I'm supposed to get a LOT more rest than I do. But it's just so boring. I hope you can get more sleep, fluids etc, Teppy, and wishing you less cold soon.

Jilli, I hope the meds help with the chronic stuff. Does not sound fun. I agree with Jessica that it's worth getting it looked into further, too. I had post-viral fatigue syndrome for two years, and was on the wrong medication for a while. I hope they can sort it out soon for you.

Hil, I hope your asthma attack wasn't too bad. Are you affected by the cold?

I am always tired and creaky! But I think it has to do with not sleeping well. Though apparently my mom has fibromyalgia (in addition to both parents having sleep apnea), who knew?

Ooh, definitely worth getting it looked into, meara. My fibromyalgia causes major sleep problems. I can't hit the deepest level of sleep, which means tiredness all the time. There are meds that help, so it's worth getting it looked into if you think it could be a problem for you.

smonster, wishing you much less itching soon. You poor thing.

Well, my health is surprisingly good this week (I blame sleep meds!) so I'm hoping to get lots and LOTS of work done. I am a terrible procrastinator at the moment. I need to find ways to pretend I have deadlines. This whole "submit work when you get round to it" approach from my supervisor is adorable, but not good for me.

Tons of health~ma to everyone! Yikes people. Smonster, I hope the itchies pass soon.

As for when you could have been bitten by a critter, is it possible, timing-wise you could have been bitten during the picnic in the cemetery in New York? How long ago was that?

Safety~ma to all the snow-bound Buffistas. Stay safe, sound, and snug as a bug in your warm houses.