I absolutely cannot catch a break this year

[ironbjorn]

Aside from having Schizoaffective Disorder, since May I have had one thing after another going on.

 

From May to mid June I had a tension headache that nothing and nobody could get rid of.

 

Then it was nerve pains in my right chest and arm (everything else was ruled out) for several weeks. No known cause.

 

Then it was SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth) that caused horrible gut pains, discomfort, and gas for a few weeks.

 

Then I went to Lake Michigan with my family and got hit in the side of the face by a wave while making sure my youngest daughter was having a safe, fun time. I've had water trapped in it for a month. No prescription nasal sprays or drops will touch it. Thankfully no infection, but it could head that way. Next up is an ENT and probably surgery to drain it.

 

Back to the SIBO. We found out the root cause of that and my vitamin B12 deficiency was being caused by hypothyroidism. I was on my Levothyroxine medication for 2 weeks with no ill effects. In fact, I didn't realize how sluggish, fatigued, and just flat out bad I had been feeling, because I started to feel energized and great. However, 2 weeks in, I woke up one morning to red and flesh colored raised bumps on my hands and fingers. I went to the ER as a precaution because I have known people with allergies and I know these things can progress dangerously. Better safe than sorry. It was indeed an allergic or histamine reaction. They said it was likely the new medication, as that was the only thing new in my life. I saw my primary care physician the next day and he disagreed that it was an allergy and told me to continue the medication. I DID NOT take it again for nearly a week, but I started to feel the ill effects of not doing so, so I took it. Less than 72 hours later, I woke up intensely itchy everywhere, but especially on my hands, knees, and the back of my scalp. My hands were a bit red, as were my knees, and my scalp was covered in bumps (I could feel them as I was digging at my head). I thought I was just breaking out because I had recently shaved my head. As I'm playing Call of Duty with my friends, my hands started to burn. I looked down and they were swollen and FIRE red. My knees were also fire. My abdomen itched, so I checked it. Hives everywhere. Hives on my hands, knees, abdomen, back, hips, and scalp. I was flushed as well. I went to the ER and had to have IV Benadryl and steroid shots. I had to stay for monitoring for several hours to make sure things didn't take a dangerous turn. The ER doctor learned of my previous trip and the medication and said I absolutely am allergic to this and cannot take it any longer and to see my doctor.

 

There are other thyroid medications out there, but I'm definitely going to be scared to take any of it, although I have to treat the hypothyroidism at the same time.

 

Going back to the Schizoaffective stuff, I almost earned myself a trip back to the mental hospital several days ago. I wasn't acting right and had dug out a closet in the house to lay in to hide from "the demon" (one of the hallucinations I get). Haven't dealt with "him" in awhile. That was an emergency call from my fiance to the therapist, and next week I see the psychiatrist to talk about it and probably a medication adjustment.

 

I've had the worst summer of my life, and I've had some bad summers, heck, bad years.

[Happybeerbuzz]

I swear.  Modern medicine is more wack-a-mole than science sometimes.  Keep venting as much as you need to, but hang in there and don't lose hope.  It will get better.  

[Hammer 4]

Really hope things improve for ya. Must be very frustrating to go through all of this. hang there bro, will be praying for you and yours.

[Susky River Rat]

Yikes buddy. I hope your insurance is good. Medicine is scary the things we can do just by ingesting a capsule. Don’t get me wrong it’s amazing and needed. I wish you the best!    Just remember you’ll eventually be on top of the wave and sailing in the clear.

[GRiver]

I’m sorry your going through this.
Try and keep you eyes on the horizon,  

[TnRiver46]

Praying for ya, hopefully you’ll be back out hitting the ponds with some topwater or jerkbait soon 

[DitchPanda]

 Yeah that's a rough go of it for sure, hopefully things get better for you. Allergic reactions are nothing to mess with. A few years back my girlfriend was experiencing severe stomach cramps and pain, turned out to be her gall bladder we found out much later but at the time they thought it was some digestive condition treatable by medication. They prescribed her ranitidine and she immediately broke out in hives...like everywhere in her ears, mouth and places unmentionable. Never took it again, hasn't had hives since.

 Last summer we went to a buddy's house for a BBQ. Enjoyed a few beers and the girlfriend had a few seltzers. We get home everything seems normal until she comes to me and asks for help. I ask what's wrong and she says I can't pee. Ended up getting bad enough that I took her to the ER to check her out. They used a catheter on her to give her relief and checked her bladder but couldn't pinpoint it. They sent her home and told me to watch her and bring her in at any sign of trouble. Next morning we woke up and she yells from the bathroom hey I just went fine, no trouble. I asked her if she had ever experienced this before and she said yes last summer once but it wasn't as severe. Thinking back she said you know I had the same seltzer that time. Best we can figure there is some kind of coloring, preservative  or sweetener in those seltzers that give her a reaction that causes her bladder to not function.

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Dang man, hang in there. Sorry you are going through this. Prayers up. 

[ironbjorn]

10 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

Yikes buddy. I hope your insurance is good. Medicine is scary the things we can do just by ingesting a capsule. Don’t get me wrong it’s amazing and needed. I wish you the best!    Just remember you’ll eventually be on top of the wave and sailing in the clear.

When I was still able to work this would have broke me. I'm now disabled because of the mental issues, so my insurance is taxpayer funded. No doubt some people will hate that, but I like to think that I'm one of the people who this is truly meant for. I've been sick for nearly half my life, although we didn't know what it was until a few years ago. It caused me to drop out of college 15 years ago and ruined many jobs, but I always got another job and kept on keeping on and trying my best, with many successes and failures. In recent years my cognitive decline ruined me, and hallucinations and delusions finally hospitalized me. I tried for a long time. More than most can say. I take pride in that actually.

 

4 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

 Yeah that's a rough go of it for sure, hopefully things get better for you. Allergic reactions are nothing to mess with. A few years back my girlfriend was experiencing severe stomach cramps and pain, turned out to be her gall bladder we found out much later but at the time they thought it was some digestive condition treatable by medication. They prescribed her ranitidine and she immediately broke out in hives...like everywhere in her ears, mouth and places unmentionable. Never took it again, hasn't had hives since.

 Last summer we went to a buddy's house for a BBQ. Enjoyed a few beers and the girlfriend had a few seltzers. We get home everything seems normal until she comes to me and asks for help. I ask what's wrong and she says I can't pee. Ended up getting bad enough that I took her to the ER to check her out. They used a catheter on her to give her relief and checked her bladder but couldn't pinpoint it. They sent her home and told me to watch her and bring her in at any sign of trouble. Next morning we woke up and she yells from the bathroom hey I just went fine, no trouble. I asked her if she had ever experienced this before and she said yes last summer once but it wasn't as severe. Thinking back she said you know I had the same seltzer that time. Best we can figure there is some kind of coloring, preservative  or sweetener in those seltzers that give her a reaction that causes her bladder to not function.

 

Allergic reactions are my absolute worst nightmare and fear. Particularly the anaphylactic shock aspect. This goes back to my mental illness. In 2014 I developed a strong delusion that I was allergic to virtually all foods and medications, despite zero evidence that this is true, but that's part of the illness. For 2 years I only ate potatoes, and I didn't take a single pill for 7 years until I had to for infection in 2021. Going back to my previous reply on top of this one where I've always tried my best and have been as strong as possible, in 2016 I broke the spell myself because I wasn't yet receiving mental health treatment, but I knew something was wrong and I had to do something about it. So I took each individual food, one by one, every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, for months, and sat in the ER waiting room while I ate it so I could be sure I was safe if I had a reaction. I of course never did, and it opened my diet fully back up. My therapist nowadays says that was very impressive and I did my own exposure therapy without realizing it. Now that I have had a fairly serious allergic reaction it's really messing with me mentally, even in regards to food again. I'm having anxiety attacks even attempting to eat. Worst of all is that I absolutely have to treat this hypothyroidism and that means trying another drug. That's terrifying.

[volzfan59]

Good luck buddy, sounds like you've really had a rough go of it this summer. I don't know what else to say other than I'll be praying for you.

[TnRiver46]

And epipens are a rip off , all mine are very expired

 

i went into anaphylactic shock when I was 8 years old and have had some close calls since but never had my throat swell shut. I think I’m slowly growing out of it but no idea for sure, i haven’t been to a doc in ages (need to go) . I think being exposed to anaphylaxis at a young age made me a tad more comfortable with it. Last few times I just mustered up some adrenaline and that helped way more than an hour of ice and Benadryl. I tried both strategies twice this summer with bees and getting blood flowing was way better 

 

my niece is 7 and allergic to everything, she can rattle off all the items on a list really quick. But she also doesn’t know much of what’s in everything so it’s a challenge. She had some cake with coconut and a granola bar and instantly reacted, but eventually the reactions all retreat 

 

Oh yeah I forgot, I’ve broken out into hives after jumping into cold water, go figure. 

[GreenPig]

Work your way through this as you previously did.