My Symptoms

04/28/14

For as long as I can remember I have had eczema on my hands.  The itchiness and pain would be so severe that I would sleep with ice bags on my hands so that they would be numb enough that I could sleep.  Topical steroids would help for a time but I would end with a worse flare up.  Eventually I found a hand cream that helped and faithfully put a thick layer of that on every night and covered my hands with socks or gloves.  At bad times I'd put more lotion on more frequently.  I also found that red dyes and benzoates (a common food preservative) would make the eczema much worse so I avoid them.

I have been smell sensitive for as long as I can remember - natural and artificial scents make me ill ranging from headache to rash, joint pain, asthma attacks and nearly passing out.

I have had fibromyalgia for as long as I can remember.  Medications do not help and severity comes and goes but is always present.

When I turned ten, I started having asthma attacks.  This led to allergy testing.  I reacted extremely strongly to the histamine control and then either tested positive for every single test or negative for every single one.  Inconsistent results meant that I couldn't do allergy shots and was determined to not have allergies.  My asthma comes and goes and I have excellent lung capacity for an asthmatic.  I'll be attack free several years and then suddenly have to go on numerous drugs to get things under control.  Eventually I discontinue all but one drug (Singular) and have no asthma attacks.

By the time I was 12, I had severe sinus headaches and completely lost my sense of smell.  At 13 I had my first sinus surgery to remove nasal polyps and another when I was 14 to finish the first surgery.  My sense of smell did not return.  I immediately begin to make polyps post surgery.  I had the next surgery when I was 20 and the fourth when I was 30.  I then started a medicated nasal wash and now my sinuses look "great" and I can generally smell.  My sinuses feel awful.  I have continuous headaches, pressure and post nasal drip.

Eleven years of chronic fatigue started when I was 20 and lasted until I was 31.  The fatigue was so severe at times that I had to drop out of school for a semester or take a medical leave of absence from work.  In between the very bad times, I would still be continuously exhausted.  Physical exertion of any type would cause me to feel as if I was dying and I would have a very hard time getting out of bed for as many as three days afterward.  Medications did not help and my blood work was normal.  .I eventually determined that I could not share laundry facilities or use fabric softener.  I discontinued that and my chronic fatigue was 100% gone immediately.  I do experience unusual fatigue during "body freak out" episodes.

When I was 29 I started having significant memory issues.  While documented, no cause has been found.

When I was 31, I started having regular bouts of acid reflux/heartburn lasting as long as eight months at a time.  When I was 33, I started having bouts of nausea lasting as long at six months at a time.  Diarrhea and constipation come and go.

I am occasionally dermatographic.  I periodically have hives lasting as long as six months.

I am generally an itchy person.

My eye lids randomly swell and turn red.

I have been sun sensitive most of my adult life, burning in as little as five minutes of sun exposure.  I can even burn outside of the hours of 10 am to 2 pm.

I am fairly ill for approximately one half of my menstrual cycle each month.  Birth control pills make it worse.

So, here I am at the start of a big diet/lifestyle change.  What will stay and what will become history?