Weird Health Issues

Lupus causes other health issues that seem unrelated. For example, allergies. I am allergic to the weirdest things. As a child, I lived in the mountains of New Mexico. We would play in the little strip of forest behind our backyard on weekends and during the summer. One fine summer day, I woke up with blisters all over my body. Of course, my mom took me to the emergency room. They never figured out what it was, only that it wasn’t the usual suspects: poison oak or poison ivy. That is really when I first met prednisone. I am certain that’s what they gave me to help it go away faster and itch less.

When I was in my 20s, some friends and I went to the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens. We got lost somehow and ended up bushwhacking up hills and back to our cars. Even before the day was over, I was feeling sick. More prednisone and a week off work and I felt better. Needless to say, I am very careful around all plants now.

However, I’m also allergic to medications, especially medications prescribed for lupus. Daypro, Relafen in particular. Both of them gave me bad rashes – all over my body. My doctors don’t prescribe NSAIDs any more. When I first got sick, I was prescribed aspirin: 925 mg three times a day. That didn’t last long as I literally stopped eating. When I called the doctor and explained this, I had a difficult time getting the nurse to understand me. She kept saying did I try this or that to make the aspirin easier to take. I finally just said as sternly as I could, I’m not eating. She got that message. I can still take aspirin, just not every day like that.

A few years ago, when the migraines were at their worst, I saw a neurologist who prescribed Nortriptyline. I couldn’t go out into the sun without itching like the dickens. Sulfa drugs and amoxicillin are taboo for the same reason. I’m taking amitriptyline for anxiety, and it makes me extra sun-sensitive as well. But, I’m not quitting that one. I like sleeping too much. However, I’m not allergic to plaquenil or prednisone. So, that’s a plus.

Nutmeg! While living in Flagstaff, I had an acupuncturist who told me nutmeg was good for something I can’t remember the details. So, I shaved some fresh nutmeg into water and drank it. I spent the night throwing up everything I’d eaten that day. I couldn’t eat properly for weeks. Even now, pumpkin pies make me a little queasy. Anything that smells like nutmeg, or pumpkin spice (like those oil stick thingies) makes me nauseous and headachy.

I’m also sensitive to chemical smells. I worked at a company that imported custom-made chemicals for drug development and research. One of my jobs was repackaging and shipping. One day, I opened a package and could barely breathe. My eyes were watery and I was making “ugh” sounds and faces. Everyone else was looking at me like I’d lost my mind. They joked that I should never work in a chemical lab. No worries there.

People wearing too much perfume, particularly patchouli, bothers the heck out of me. I can taste it and it’s terrible. Which reminds me – perfumed lotion. That stuff will ruin potato chips. The only thing more disappointing than eating a potato chip with that weird perfumey taste of someone else's lotion is eating a chocolate chip and finding out it’s a raisin. I can also taste the chemicals in cleaning solutions. They make my stomach cramp up. Don’t even get me started on the foul “florid” scents of dishwashing liquid, laundry soap and softener. I have a hard time being in that aisle, must less using those products. My husband used to use Ivory dishwashing liquid, until I begged him to try something else because I hated the smell and it leaves a film on everything. Scent-free all the way.

They say that which does not kill you makes you stronger. I say, bulls**t. Chronic illness, while it won't kill me, is certainly an adventure I could do without, frankly.