Went for an allergy test today to get to the bottom of all the inflammation in my face/neck I’ve been having since May. Interestingly enough, I am not allergic to grass and trees like I was years ago. Unfortunately, I am allergic to molds and dust mites which don’t go away when the seasons change. They are on the low side – level 2 and 3 out of a possible 8, with 8 being the worst.
Here’s the details:
Molds (all 2s)
Hormodenrum
Alternaria
Penicillium – not to be confused with the drug, Penicillin, which the nurse said is different
Aspergillus
Mucor
Corn Smut
Phoma
Animals
Cat (4)
Dog (3) – Obviously this is an issue since Wookie is not going anywhere
Other
D. Farinae (dust mite) – 2
D. Pteronyssinus (dust mite) – 3
Cockroach – 2 – This one cracks me up
I’ve put off having an x-ray of my sinuses done unless necessary since that’s gonna cost me out of pocket. So far I’ve tried:
Flonase (generic) – after about a week of use it made the vision in my left eye blurry
Allegra (generic) – gave me diarhhea
Both of the above did help alleviate my symptoms so I think my issues are allergy related. I just need to find something that works that doesn’t cause side effects I cannot tolerate. My doctor’s assistant called in a prescription for a different type of nasal spray but it’s $60 for a 30-month supply and there’s no over the counter alternative so I won’t be trying that. I purchased generic Zyrtec which I plan to start taking tomorrow.
I use rhinocort nasal spray. It is amazing and sold over the counter. My allergist recommended it to me when I mentioned Flonase gave me headaches (it has perfumes in it) and she said she never heard any complaints with people using rhinocort. I also found sleeping with my head elevated at night makes all my symptoms go away during the day so now I don’t even need any medicine.