I could have sworn I was at the emergency room yesterday being treated for hives. I never imagined I'd be back there today.  I thought for sure Prednisone and Benadryl were going to put me on the mend.

Instead:  At 11:30 today I went to have a bite to eat, some leftover chicken.  As I put the fork to my lips, I thought..."Wow, my lips don't usually start way out here."  Then I noticed how funny my face felt.  I went into the bathroom and WHOA, NELLIE!!  It looked like some deranged plastic surgeon had been injecting my lips with mega-doses of collagen.  Angelina Jolie had nothing on me in the lip department today!  With the lip swelling came the rest of my face swelling, my the skin around my eyes was swollen, shrinking my eyes to half their size.  The kids came to look at me and my daughter wanted to call 911.  Instead, I popped another Benadryl, changed my clothes (Mom always said make sure you're wearing nice underwear when you go to the hospital!), put on some mascara and drove myself to the ER. 

I must've have looked hideous because when I walked through the door the pink lady started paging a triage nurse.  I was swollen everywhere, my upper body in particular.   I was whisked to the back and an IV was started faster than you could say, "Jack Robinson."  Some powerful steriod was injected into the IV that made a sensation of warmth and almost menthol travel up my throat and through my head.  Tagamet and Benadryl were then added to the drip.  Now people think of Tagamet as something for ailing stomachs.  It is a histamine receptor antagonist and we definitely want histamines blocked in this body!

I was a nervous wreck when I got there, my throat was just starting to tighten up.  My BP was 141/99 then it dropped all the way down to 102/60.  By the time I left, five hours later it had stabilized at 115/75.  The automatic blood pressure cuff blew up to insane tightness, like a flipping tourniquet. 

The doctor who saw me yesterday said, "You are far worse than you were yesterday."  When I was finally allowed to leave he said, "I can't promise you that you won't be back here.  If you feel funny at all, CALL.  If you start to swell up again, CALL.  If the hives worsen, CALL.  At any point if you feel you can't breathe or starting wheezing, use your epi-pen and have someone call 911."  I thought my hives looked bad yesterday, well he is absolutely correct, they are far worse today.

He and another doctor attempted to give me Vistaril, once in the IV and once in a prescription to take home.  I had to stop them because in 2000 I was given Vistaril and had a horrible array of bad side effects.  I actually spent a night in my bathroom thinking I was going to die while my teeth chattered uncontrollably and my body shivered, oh yeah, and while I puked. 

So my latest list of drugs I can't take:  Penicillin, morphine, codeine, cefalosporins, Bactrim, Vistaril, Cipro & that whole family.

Foods I can't eat:  Tuna, salmon, shellfish, cod, walnuts, almonds, sesame, cashews, pine nuts.

I go to my daughter's allergist on the 13th and he's going to do a complete blood work up.  Meanwhile, hot showers are a no-no and apparently, yes, exercise could make it worse.  Therefore, I'm on a forced hiatus.  I cannot wait to get back to the gym!!!!

When I wasn't consumed with trying to stop itching, I read an interesting article about wonderous marvels of modern science in the medical world.  Here are a few of the cutting edge developments:

-Injections that break down fat cells and eventually flush them from the body.

-A painless ultrasound procedure that can instantly disolve fat anywhere on your body.  Early studies show it can remove an inch or two of waist line blubber.

-Knee implants specifically designed for women.

-Injections of hyaluronic acid, a natural lubricant found in joints, promise a faster fix for ACL tears.

-Healing fractures 30% faster with cold lasers that emit low level energy and stimulate cell growth.

-A DNA repair formula for the skin that actually has been clinically proven to reverse the efects of sun damage - and that even includes wrinkles.

-A surgical wand that can slash the time you have to spend off your feet after common sports injuries.  It emits sound waves that target dmaged tissue inside the foot.

-Replacement discs for your spine created with your own tissue.

-Improved Lasik with a 3D map of both the front and back of the eye with Pentacam to customize eye surgery.

-A fully functional mechanical arm that can move by power of your own thoughts.

-Every think Jordi's visor was pretty cool in Star Trek TNG?  Well, using wi-fi technology some patients may be able to see again.

With all of these amazing breakthroughs in medical technology, why is it that I am covered with hives and NOTHING really works to stop the itching????  Why on earth hasn't someone come up with something better than Prednisone, hydrocortisone and Benadryl, because I'm telling you - they are NOT cutting it.  Here I am at 5am, an hour after taking two Benadryl and slathering my body in Lanacane cream, fighting the urge to scratch and scratch and scratch some more.

You would think that with all this science at work improving the joints, the skin, the eyes, etc, that someone would work on CURING hives and making them be gone!

~o~

I did a full body body-weight only workout yesterday, only about 30 minutes worth, to try to distract myself from the itching.  I had been hoping to go to the gym today but no way am I going there, covered in hives, with potential raw spots ready and available to pick up germs and viruses.  No way.  Therefore, later on, I intend to do some HIIT on my elliptical and stationary bike and then Get Ripped 1000, a killer light-weight, high rep full body workout.  At least doing something would be better than using every ounce of will power to not scratch.