Fun with allergies

The silliness of my puffy eyes has been the current ridiculousness in my body... so here is the deal:

I have had environmental allergies (grass, pollen, mold, weeds, cats etc) my entire life. They can be annoying but not life threatening or anything. Cats were always biggest problem, just being in a house that had a cat would make my eyes swell shut, but as I grew up this lessened. I also have asthma, which can be triggered by allergies- but again really not a problem. I rarely had to use my inhaler until late 90s when i started waking up 3-4x/night in a severe asthma attack/hardly breathing & had to keep my inhaler next to my bed. So they did a pulmonary function test and my breathing was so bad i hardly registered on the machine. My doctor put me on Singulair and it was like magic. I stopped having asthma attacks all together & also stopped getting sinus infections, bronchitis & sore throats (which previously had been multiple times/year).

All is well. Skip to 2009... my eyes started swelling shut- both eyes, usually while sitting around the house doing nothing. Couldn't figure out the cause at first. So I was sent to see an allergist. He did scratch test & re-evaluated my allergies, nothing new- pollen, molds, grasses etc. Then one night I was sitting watching TV & my heat kicked in, I felt the breeze on my face and minutes later my eyes were itchy and swelling up. DUH- I hadn't had my vents cleaned in a while. SO, I got my vents cleaned and my eyes stopped swelling up. But the allergist had a new treatment called Sub-Lingual Immune Therapy (SLIT). It works similar to how shots work, building up your tolerance for the thing you are allergic to in small doses, but it is much gentler on the system (I had gotten allergy shots as a kid but had to stop as every time got to a certain level I would end up with a soft ball size lump on my arm). The doctor compounds drops that are made specific to each person's allergies, and you drop them under your tongue in the morning right after you wake up. So I figured why not try? The drops are a little annoying, mostly as when I wake up I want to brush my teeth & I have to wait until after the drops (bacteria in mouth aid process) & they have to be refrigerated so when I travel there have to be ice packs. Overall, no big deal. And they seemed to be helping. Minor allergy symptoms I was still having (itchy/runny nose) during pollen season seemed to have backed off. SO... enter phase 2.


Since I had been on the drops about 2yrs, doc decided was time to take me off Singulair. The drops specifically target respiratory allergies so the goal was to get me off Singulair completely. Well, after 1 week off Singulair, I started getting hives. Usually at night, usually on my torso. They'd go away by morning. So my doc changed my meds to Xyzal (which is an antihistamine). Hives (mostly) went away (occasionally get small ones that come & go easily). Then my eyes started swelling shut. And that is where it gets silly... there is no consistency in what my eyes have been doing. Most of the time I will wake up and one eye will be swollen shut, not just a little... like this:

and the other eye would be completely normal! Then after a couple days, the other eye would swell up too. I also usually get hives on my neck that last a little longer than eye swelling/redness. The whole thing would take 1-2weeks to clear up. This has happened on & off- with no consistency. It changes which eye would swell up first, sometimes the second eye would remain normal the whole time. The eye is always swollen the worst first thing in the morning, then swelling goes down and just a lot of redness on eye lid and around eye- making me look really strung out (which is awesome when parents come to drop their kids off at yoga and I look like I've been partying all night). So, we went through what could be causing it... all the usual things: vents are clean this time, eye doc cleared that my eyes are fine (twice), using daily disposable contacts, showered before bed, stopped using all products on my face, changed sheets twice a week (with fragrance free detergent), dogs are not allowed in my room etc. During a reaction, things I would not normally react to even cause the reaction to get worse- such as prescription strength hydrocortisone cream. The only things I have found that I can put on my face during a rxn: coconut oil (ayurveda thing, helps cool down, makes rxn stop faster) and FML ointment (steroid cream given to me by eye doc, has like 3 ingredients). So this continues to happen. I've lost track of how many times. Reactions can start in places other than my home. Such as while getting a massage- no scented oils/candles/incense in room, at yoga studio i work at so no new "air", massage therapist not wearing perfume/scents, never touched my face or head, was in room for 2hrs (we were chatting & catching up too!) and could feel that rxn started at end of session, in 15min of leaving room eye was swollen shut. Has also happened outside of FL, in CT- but was not full blown, just slight swelling on one side that lasted about a week. 

In addition, I started having issues doing breath work (yoga- pranayama). I was not able to practice my breath work for as long as I had come accustomed to, and I was getting short of breath easier. So I brought this up to doc & he did pulmonary function test. Showed definite signs my asthma was increasing. I told him I wasn't having asthma attacks (wheezing) and he said to use my inhaler (xoponex- albuterol makes me shake like I have parkinsons) whenever I was short of breath. To which I laughed and said, no- I just sit down and wait until I catch my breath! He got a little angry about that but oh well. He started me on a steroid inhaler (flovent- note: the disc kind has a lactose base, which I learned the hard way). I did that for a week and then at our next appointment I got a little frustrated. Here I am on a steroid inhaler, xyzal & supposed to be using rescue inhaler multiple times a day? WTF? Why can't I just get back on Singulair??!! He expressed his frustration too, (as per usual) I was not responding to treatment the way any of his other patients were. Usually after drops for 2yrs, people are able to stop using allergy meds completely. So, I am back on Singulair. And still xyzal for a few weeks. I stopped steroid inhaler & after 2 weeks on Singulair my pranayama exercises feel like they are returning to normal. So far no eyes swelling shut- and I have had comments from a few friends saying, "wow, your eyes have really cleared up!"

So the doc is still convinced this whole thing with my eyes is a contact dermatitis. Every time I see him he tries to come up with a new thing it could be- Yoga mat? i use different mats when I teach & also wander around the room & rarely am on my mat, at home I have a woven rug that I wash in machine. Shampoo? I wash my hair with baking soda (him, baking soda? what do you mean? / I mean I put baking soda in water and wash my hair with it & I don't use conditioner/ (takes a moment to consider) well, that actually makes sense, but probably not causing the reaction) Makeup? i don't wear on a daily basis, only occasionally when going out & wash off at night before bed- have not noticed any correlation. Lotion? i use plain almond oil- and use it when no rxn is happening so is not causing it/during rxn use coconut oil which i have observed helps/doesn't make it worse. House hold cleaners? I make my own, mostly vinegar & water. I am starting to feel bad, he is actually trying really hard to help. But he also doesn't seem to understand why I keep bringing up that I have EDS or HPOTS... um, well mast cells (which are involved in histamine response) have 2 types... one of which is connective tissue. EDS is a connective tissue disorder. HPOTS effects my entire autonomic nervous system. How could they not be involved?!!

So that is why I am currently not allowed to shower... Patch Test:

They put these 3 lovely stickers on your back. You are not allowed to: shower, get wet, sweat or stretch (it is July in FL and I have no a/c in my jeep, also as a yoga instructor it is physically impossible for me not to stretch... so we'll see how this goes). This is so they can stay on for 3 days. After 3 days, they take stickers off. You can stretch, still no showering or sweating... for another 2 days to check for delayed reactions. The patch test specifically tests for contact allergies on the skin. Each sticker has a bunch of numbers on it,  each number correlates to a different ingredient commonly found in everyday products- even laundry soaps etc. Also some types of fabric & metals. So far, other than the stickers being weird feeling, no itchiness. Though, last night I of course had random hives in other places- chest/torso- no where near the stickers. They were gone by this morning. The stickers come off on Wednesday, and then I have to check in again on Friday. So, this will show if is a contact issue, or something else.

So we'll see what it shows. I am curious, which is why I will put up with weird random tests like this. Though I think that I might just have to stay on the Singulair for a bit. Which, of course I would rather not need medication. But I like breathing. And not having swollen eyes. So maybe just stay on it until the next idea for me to experiment with comes along! 

UPDATE:

patch test showed allergy to epoxy resin. which i do not come in contact with & tells us nothing! i take my last dose of Singulair July 30th.... just have to wait and see what happens!