Considering a new career...?

Well friends, today I completed part 1 (of 2) of my allergy and venom testing. Today was just venom and tested the severity of my bee, wasp and hornet allergy. As I've mentioned before, I've been getting venom therapy injections for the last five years. While it appears that the injections have screwed with my vascular system, it would be nice to know that they were at least a bit effective in diminishing my allergy as well.

For those of you who have been blessed to never endure allergy testing, allow me to explain. Typically a tiny amount of an allergen is dropped onto your skin, and then the skin is either pricked with a needle or injected just under the outermost skin layer. The size of the bump (hive) and overall reaction (flare) are used to rate your allergy. I personally think the flare should be spelled "flair" as it was just another way that Mayo has decorated my body- today with bright, red, amoeba-shaped splotches.With bee, wasp and hornet testing, the nurse starts with an extremely low dose, then moves up a level and then one level more. Currently, my right arm looks like I have an extremely organized and localized case of chicken pox.

The bad news? I'm still allergic to bees, wasps and hornets. However it is still possible that the allergy has at least decreased a bit (have to wait until I meet with the doctor next week). Perhaps I'll need to bedazzle my epi pen if it is going to stick around.

The good news? I'm not allergic to honey bees. Yippee Skippee. So if I decide to switch careers and raise honey bees, then I am SET. Thankgoodness.

This afternoon, I went standby at the Pain Rehabilitation Center. The PRC is mostly for people with chronic pain, be it back pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, etc. But it is also for people who are learning to rehabilitate their lives after a diagnosis (or in my case, multiple diagnoses) has turned their lives upside down. The beauty of learning to retrain my brain here, is that I would be under the care of a doctor, dietitian, physical therapist and behavior medicine therapist all in one place. At home, I can certainly find people to fit all of these roles, but not in an organized setting where they all communicate and work together. Seeing as it would mean spending more time in Minnesota, I'm guessing "freeze therapy" will be incorporated into my rehabilitation.

The only rock in the canoe is (prepare for a shocker here), I am exceptionally unique. The PRC has never had a patient quite like me...and they need to make sure they can properly accommodate my fame. For example, one element of the PRC is finding ways to get patients off of pain medicine...which clealy doesn't apply to someone who can't even take advil.

So I met with the head of the department (duh, when you are a celebrity, you jump right to the top) and it was a fabulous meeting. I felt heard and I felt uplifted. While I know a lot about nutrition and am absolutely, positively determined to get well, I haven't the first clue of where to begin. The department head is going to talk to the head physican and the appointment coordinator (who, like most places, is actually the true boss) and see if they can both accept me and design a program that would work just for me. Keep your fingers crossed friends!