I Had the Wrong Answer
I’m so relieved to realize I was wrong yesterday. I normally take my diuretic morning and evening. Yesterday I didn’t take it at all, and as I mentioned, by noon most of my symptoms had disappeared.
However, the itching and hives returned with a vengeance in the evening. It was not a “residual” reaction as I thought when I posted last night. It was the opening salvo in a full-blown allergic reaction and last night was worse than the night before. I really struggled to sleep as I felt like my skin was on fire. Every inch of me itched. And I’m not supposed to take antihistamines because of my heart history. Also, I gained 3 pounds overnight due to fluid retention and no diuretic.
So I had to do some serious thinking about what I could be reacting to. In the morning, I take my prescriptions and supplements together. In the evening, I take my supplements at suppertime while keeping the guys company and drinking electrolytes. Then I take my prescriptions at exactly 8:00 (12 hours after the morning dose).
Last night, the itching started up before I took my prescription (blood thinner). So I know it isn’t the blood thinner, and it isn’t the diuretic. Which means it was one of the supplements I took at suppertime. Most of the supplements I take are for heart health, and most of them are taken twice a day, morning and evening. This is very helpful, because I know whatever it is, it’s something I only take in the evening. That leaves two options, and the most likely one is the turmeric/curcumin supplement I take for joint pain. So I didn’t take that today.
Meanwhile, I made breakfast for my itchy self and waited in misery for the itching to subside. The door project isn’t quite finished yet. The front and back doors have metal screen doors that didn’t need to be painted, but the side (kitchen) door had a wooden screen door that was in really bad shape and in dire need of paint. The screen had holes in it, but replacing the screen would involve dismantling the door and then reassembling it, when, like I said, it was already in bad shape. Replacing the whole door is the sensible choice.
So, after I savored my last sip of tea, we set off for the land of Lowe’s. Walter had a fairly lengthy list of stuff to get. We found the door we wanted, but all three of the ones they had were damaged in some way. We picked the least-damaged one, knowing that Walter could fix the damage with wood filler. And the Lowe’s guy knocked $20 off the price. That same guy rang up all our stuff after we finished our shopping, and to his surprise the door rang up even cheaper. So instead of paying $65 we got it for $16. No complaints here. The guy was super nice and shook both our hands before we walked out the door. With the door.
After we returned home I worked on some stuff in the kitchen for tonight, and then decided I might as well head to Hobby Lobby to look at door handles. Lowe’s hadn’t had any that I liked at all or felt were suitable for our new screen door. I found some and bought them, but they didn’t come with hardware so Walter wasn’t thrilled about that.
Meanwhile, as soon as Jasper got back from his yard job, he hauled his window unit down to the carport. Jasper’s room is upstairs, over the garage, and although that room has vents for the central air conditioning, it has never been sufficient to keep it cool up there. So we’ve always had a window unit up there too. Yesterday, it stopped cooling and poor Jasper was so hot and miserable he ended up sleeping in the guest room last night.
So anyway, it turns out the unit needed a thorough cleaning, and it was a big job. Walter helped him with it.
They finally finished right before Cianna showed up for supper. Joanna had to work tonight. Jasper hauled the window unit up to his room to get it going again. The temperature in his room was 92º! Hopefully by the time he goes to bed it will be more bearable.
After supper, Cianna watched a movie with us. We showed her Joe Versus the Volcano. Not sure what she thought of it!
You’re wondering about the allergy situation, aren’t you? Well, like I said, I eschewed the turmeric/curcumin, but I took my other supplements. And then while we were watching the movie, the itching started. I find myself facing the prospect of another night of misery. Please pray that I’ll be able to figure out what I’m reacting to! The only other thing I can think of is the electrolytes I mix into my water at suppertime. I know it’s something I ingest at suppertime. Most of the stuff I take then is stuff I also take in the morning, so I’m running out of ideas. I’m specifically suspicious of the artificial sweetener in the electrolyte mix.
Joy Spark: Having Cianna back after she was gone for two weekends at the Oshkosh extravaganza. Also, she brought me this lovely sandalwood fan as a belated birthday gift:
The scent is powerful! And it’s compact enough to fit in my handbag.
Parting Shot:
This is another photo restoration project, a photo of my friend Gwen and me during a sleepover at her house when we both lived on the same mission station in Zambia. We were probably about nine years old at the time. Here’s a more recent photo of us:
