Stefanie [st-eh-fa-nee] n. A Walking, Talking, Allergy.

I'm not sure if I have complained about this particular issue publicly on the blogosphere, but as of late, I have had some serious issues with my sinus'.

These issues include, and are not limited to:

Runny Nose

Post-Nasal Drip {that ooze that slimes down one's throat}

Congestion

Sinus Headaches

Plugged Ears

Stuffy Nose {Yep. If I'm lucky, I can experience both in one day}

Mouth Breathing-{I am indeed, one of 'those'}

Sore Throat

The symptom that I experience most frequently would be that yucky ooze-ness. 24/7. It makes things like swallowing difficult, and often times makes we want to gag. Seriously. In previous years, I made an appointment with a specialist, and discovered that I have a deviated septum.

Mind you, I have not had this little problem all of my life. It occurred after a little mishap my Freshman year in High School. {I imagine some of you remember} It involved flag football, a short boys forehead, and resulted in a broken nose. I'll leave the rest to your imagination. After said appointments, my specialist's have merely sent me on my way with decongestants, of which, didn't really help me much.

So winter is back, and I have felt the wrath of my sinus' something fierce. I am terribly tired of this mess. So I made myself an appointment with another specialist. After an examination, which involved a CT of my sinus', my specialist said, "It looks like allergies. You have three choices, do nothing, take a generic allergy medicine, or have allergy testing to figure out what is causing your allergies." I was very skeptical about his diagnosis. Just allergies?? Oh come on....Regardless, I chose the latter, and that is what I did today.

It wasn't pleasant. I had to subject myself to these:

They aren't needles, but pretty pokey to say the least. After I endured 20 minutes of this VERY VERY itchy stuff on my arms, I had to have 24 of the picture below in my left arm, with more itchy stuff.

I'm not going to lie, it didn't tickle, and was equally itchy. Fortunately, I only had to endure those allergens for 10 minutes, rather than 20.

This is what my arms looked like afterwards:

Ok, it wasn't really that bad, but in some spots, it was definitely that bad! Thank goodness for benedryll cream.

So here are my results: (This is what I am indeed allergic to)

Trees:

Birch

Box Elder

Cedar

Olive

Mulberry

Molds:

Alternaria

Epicoccum

Helminthospor

Curvularia

Penicullium
Stemphylium

Grasses:

Bermuda

Rye

Weeds:

Kochia

Pig Weed
Ragweed

Russian Thi
Sage Brush

Holy Crap! I couldn't believe it! Well, at least my dogs are safe. :) Now, I have a follow-up appointment with my specialist. My allergy testing friends said the Dr. would probably recommend immunotherapy {allergy shots}, because I have so many different allergies. Fabulous. Other than it is a 2-3 year commitment, which involves weekly shots. Wow.

I will keep you all posted. In the mean time, I need to allergy-proof my house. Mattress covers. Pillow covers. Did you know that dust mites can live inside your mattress?? EW. A humidifier. Filters for the vents in my house. Possibly an actual air filtration machine. No more open windows in the bedroom at night in the spring/summer. Oh sigh....

Who knew??