Allergies SUCK!

Ever have one of those days where you’d rather lie down and sleep all day, and for no apparent reason? I’ve just had two of them. I’m finding that my allergies are getting worse as I age, and it’s not fun. I know there are more terrible things in the world than bad allergies, but days when they attack really jack me up.

I can handle a stuffy nose and sneezing and all that, but what I get is different. It makes me feel *extremely* tired, it makes my eyes really sensitive to light, my hands hurt and are cold, and I have the general symptoms of a slight fever. As my fellow men out there know, that’s code for feeling like death.

I’ve been scouring websites and testimonials from people with allergies, because I’m certain that’s what these attacks are. Lately I’ve found that simply cracking the window in my office is good enough to keep the allergy attacks at bay for a while, which was ground-breaking.

Friday we turned on the swamp cooler for the first time this yea, and the damned the damned thing spit dust and debris everywhere into the house. I haven’t felt right since then. How can one person be so fawking sensitive to things? I never was before; when I was younger, I could motor on past shit like this. Now it puts me down for a while.

Of course, even though I feel so tired I can’t function, I’m a die-hard who doesn’t take naps unless I’ve actually got the flu. Which I don’t. So I take all-day-allergy pills, Mucinex (even though my nose isn’t stuffy, per-se, it helps with the symptoms a tad), and Mountain Dew. Anything but lay down for a couple hours. Lawzy, I hate naps.

The trouble with allergies, as I’m reading, is that although symptoms are all generally similar, the causes aren’t. It could be pet dander, hay fever, god-damn gluten, wheat, or any of ten-thousand other things. In my case? It’s probably a mixture of four or five that make me feel awful for a couple days every once in a while.

I’ve requested Claritin, as I’ve heard good things about it. Those of you with invisible pain know what I mean when I say it’s beyond frustrating not knowing what is stopping me in my tracks or what to do about it. I’m not a fan of runny noses and tickly throats, but I’d take those any day over the crap that I get. It’s ridiculous, really. I’m looking for reasons and effective treatment, though, so I’m hopeful. Always hopeful.