So this year my oldest son was diagnosed with asthma. We had him on a medication but as time wears on he seems to be getting worse and not better. I have some leads on how to fix this and had a great conversation with a preschool mom at the park today about this issue, but that is not my point.
Here is my point. On Monday, I went to the doctor to get allergy testing done to see if my allergies matched up with Erik so I could know if he was having any triggers. Unfortunately none of our allergies matched up and the doctor explained to me that the predisposition to allergies itself is the issue, not what you are allergic too.
What I did find out is very fascinating and might explain a few details about my life. I am basically allergic to every animal with fur including my dog! It also turns out that I am one of the lucky ones, instead of my allergies staying the same or getting the worse from having children they actually got better.
So I asked the doctor about my feelings of feeling fogy, unfocused, etc. Well it turns out that Lovey is more of problem than I thought. Basically she is causing my feelings of fogginess and unfocused brain in two ways and the doctor said there are several generations of studies to back it up.
The first issue with Lovey is just general allergies and sinus problems and why my eyes feel swollen often, I feel congested and its everywhere in my house. Without realizing it I sit where Lovey sits, hold her and its all over me causing me a small reaction. Not the biggest deal in the world and not that annoying in my life, something I can deal with and control.
Here comes the kicker, its the sleep issues. Carl and I have been fighting for a while because I sleep deeply and have problems waking up when the kids cry. Apparently its not my fault and its Lovey's fault. She was sleeping right by my bed, causing my allergies to flare up at night and basically preventing me from REM sleep so instead of feeling rested in the morning I wake up groggy and unfocused like I didn't sleep at all. Here I thought it was the kids, but Lovey was the main culprit.
My doctors recommendations is shower before bed, have dog free clothes, get a air purifier for my room and kick Lovey out of my room. We all doing all of the above, but didn't kick Lovey out, she just can't walk upstairs and her crate is next to Carl's side of the bed and not mine.
I was really thinking about this for a couple reasons. The night I found this out I cleaned everything upstairs, vacuumed, regularly and I slept incredible. I woke up so rested and in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. Yesterday by not vacuuming that night and forgetting to do my netti pot I had the opposite affect. I went to bed early and even got more sleep, but I just feel exhausted the entire day.
I guess sometimes understanding an issue is half the battle, how far I am willing to make myself animal free is a whole other issue, and the big question to me is how could I have not know I was allergic to dogs all these years. The more I thought about it the more I realized I knew, but was in denial. Like everytime Lovey scratched me it swelled up, or if some dogs licked me I would get splotches all over my hand and legs and start sneezing a bit. So Carl and I agree from now on we own small, hyper allergenic dogs with short hair, and I won't deprive them of dogs during their childhood. But now I watch where I sit in my own home and making a few rooms Lovey free just so I can have a little peace and watch tv downstairs in my jammies without waking up foggy headed the next morning.
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