Auto Immune Disorders and Allergies

My daughter’s family recently had allergy testing done and discovered that they have significant problems with eggs, dairy, yeast and a few other things that are easy to avoid. Thank goodness wheat products were not on that list because I think they would all starve to death.

The ironic part of this is that we live in Wisconsin, the Dairy State, and cheese is a staple here. We produce some of the finest, most delicious cheeses in the nation. Life can be so unfair sometimes. The Francis family really loves their cheese, especially my Grandson for whom Pizza is the best meal ever. He’s 11, what can I say?

I’m not surprised to hear about the dairy part. I’m lactose intolerant and if I want to have ice cream or cheese or a glass of milk I must have an immodium chaser with it. Needless to say, I eat very little dairy. Apparently this is a common problem in the Gavin family. At least one of my brothers is also lactose intolerant and I remember hearing about others in the family that are. Lactose intolerance is often associated with Celiac Sprue which I believe at least one of my cousins suffers from.

According to The Center for Food Allergies, it is also associated with ADHD and ADD which my son and gr-son both struggle with. My daughter and her husband have been fighting the schools strong suggestions to medicate my Gr-Son for ADHD for years just as I fought it with my son. We found that alterations in the diet, particularly sticking to natural non-processed foods, eliminating preservatives and food dyes as much as possible is a better solution. I became a follower of Dr Feingold‘s diet in 1975, the year my son was diagnosed with ADHD.

My daughter who did NOT test allergic to all forms of dairy but DID test allergic to yogurt did not have problems with ADHD or ADD. She has found that eliminating eggs from her diet has helped prevent the break-outs of adult acne she has been prone to. Amongst the many symptoms of whatever is going on with me, I was diagnosed in my late 20s with polycystic ovaries and acne vulgaris.

That got me to thinking and googling.  According to The Center for Food Allergies these maladies which I present with may be associated with food allergies: Acne, Anxiety, Arthralgia (joint pain), Fibromyalgia, Canker Sores (mouth sores), chronic coughing (OK that might be because I smoke but…) Depression, chronic fatigue, frequent infections, Gallbladder Disease (had mine removed when I was 22 which is really young for that disease), GERD (gastric reflux), Lactose Intolerance, Mental Fogginess (I assume that includes short term memory problems and expressive aphasia), Migraines and other headaches, chronic Nasal Congestion (attributed to the OTHER allergies I have), Nausea and vomiting for seemingly no reason, chronic sinusitis, and last, but not least, the Gavin curse, weight problems. Pretty much everything. 

 

Ugh…  I hate seeing all of my symptoms listed in one place.  So damn depressing.  I’ve decided to go get food allergy testing done ASAP. I have an appointment on the 8^th to see my GP to get a referral.

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Olly, Olly, Olly Ox in Free

The process of learning requires not only hearing and applying but also forgetting and then remembering again.

John Gray, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”

OK, I’m going to have to break down and admit to being totally frustrated and peeved as hell. I want to move my Blogs over to BlueHost and have already purchased their two year plan for a fat fee I might add. I’ve been trying to comprehend the whole FTP/Linux/Webalizer thing ever since.

I’ve got the WordPress foundation set up but haven’t figured out how to get my preferred templates over there. I’m having one heck of a time getting my particular distribution of Linux to accept and configure an FTP program properly but I don’t think that would matter much since I’m really not sure what the hell to do with it once I get it, drat it anyway!

What is so frustrating is that I used to FTP all the time. I used to know how to do this stuff. I recognize the basic program structure of Filezilla as being similar to Cute and whatever the heck was the name of the program I used before I used Cute back in the dark ages.

Although I knew how to do it on Windows it can’t be all that much different on Linux especially since the Linux distribution I am using is so similar to Windows you could call it Windows Super-Charged. Especially now that Xandros and Microsoft have agreed to a partnership deal of some sort. I don’t understand exactly what that means but Linux purists are having huge gastric disturbances about the whole deal.

Anyway, my Cronish pride is hurt because I have to admit defeat, humble myself, and go seek help. I’m also worried that after weeks of fiddling around with this, something didn’t click so that I found a way to retrieve the information I know is locked up inside my head. Damnit all, anyway!  I’m finding out more and more all the time, that there are things I know I used to do all the time and did it well, things that look vauguely familiar that I just can’t quite figure out how to do anymore.

It scares me when I can’t get from A to B no matter which route I take. I used to get lost driving once in awhile because I would get scared I was going to have an accident on the heavily traveled main arteries so I’d drive on the back roads.   Sometimes I couldn’t find my way home.

B

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Fickle Weather In Wisconsin

I should be in bed but I took a 3 hour nap this after noon and I sort of doubt I will be able to get to sleep. Especially since I drank 2 coups of coffee. <derr>

I was in so much pain when I woke up this afternoon I could not believe it. <Ouch omigawd Ouch> I finally got up and took a skelaxin. I don’t like to take those if I don’t have to. They aren’t addictive perse but as with any medication you can become dependent on them and tolerant to their effects. I don’t want to use up my tolerance factors. :^/

I turned on the radio and found out why I hurt so bad. I meant to go to ZuZus for open mic this evening but there was a tornado watch. In October! That’s awfully late in the year.

That means the barometric pressure was either high or low. I forget which way the mercury runs when a storm system is coming through. I think it’s high but won’t swear to it. Whichever it is, it has a tendency to give people with rheumatological disorders conniptions. All their connective tissues start swelling up and aching. I wish I had a cigarette.

Since I don’t know how the dog would react during a storm I decided I better stay home. Damnit. It would not be good to go off and have a bad storm hit and the dog get scared out of his wits and make a mess. There was no storm, the dog didn’t get scared and he didn’t make a mess. However, Patches has thrown up every time she has eaten since Monday night.

She has come out from under the desk though. She is sitting on the dresser watching the dog watching her. He wants to play. She wants him to get off of her bed and vacate the premises. They are adjusting to each other. I like having a dog.

The Vet recommended a Gentle Leader Headcollar to help train him to walk at a heel and keep control of him on busy city streets. Pure magic! It was an instant success. He is walking at a heel now and not pulling my arm out of the socket. He doesn’t like it because it takes the control away from him but we’re both much safer with it.

I think tomorrow I will have to pull the alpha dog bit on him because he has settled down and started trying to run the show. Not in a totally obnoxious way just sort of being obstinate and rebelling when he doesn’t want to do something. He’s not very treat motivated either.

I hope the tornado watch means that a warm front has moved in.  I would like very much to take Igor and go for a walk along the lake tomorrow–up towards Picnic point.

B

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