Early Easter, Allergies, Etc.

Easter came a little early this year. At church, our Primary (kid's class) held an early Easter Egg hunt last Saturday. I wish we had a bigger crowd, but I think everyone had fun anyway. Charlie certainly did . . . he got popcorn (one of his favorite things) and a cupcake all before noon.

Every year, my mom buys all the grandkids new Sunday clothes for Easter. Since General Conference falls on Easter weekend, Charlie wore his Easter outfit last Sunday. I just LOVE this outfit.

I made sure I got Charlie a very manly easter basket. It's shaped like a football. But, Charlie decided it could also be used as a very Lady Gaga-esque accessory as well:

In other news, I had my allergy test last week. This is my third allergy test, so I knew what to expect. Lots of needles, lots of itching, lots of waiting. I had it done at my ENT's office and the allergy nurse was super nice. She actually stayed with me the entire time and we talked. Believe it or not, it was kind of relaxing! They had a huge soft chair to sit in, a TV, you name it. I guess my life is pretty sad if I consider 2 hours of getting pricked by needles a spa day. Anyway, I'm allergic to a lot of the same things: dust (BIG time), dogs, cats, feathers, over a dozen kinds of tree pollen . . . BUT I'm only allergic to two kinds of mold. And NEITHER of them grow on books. So, my whole theory about books and mold spores is crushed. Must have just been the dust that upset me! And, the test revealed that I'm not allergic to any grass. That is a huge development because I used to be allergic to every kind of grass. Literally. I would break out in hives if I touched too much of it. When I was a teenager, I had allergy shots for about 2 or 3 years. I had 2 a week. So, it was nice to see that those shots actually accomplished something! I was allergic to fewer molds, grasses (and believe it or not) and trees. I don't know if my ENT will have me get shots again, but I'm assuming so. I don't think he really knows why I keep having sinus issues. But, immunotherapy has worked on me before, so it's a good road to take. And I'm ready for it! The pollen is out and I'm MISERABLE. Sure, "allergy avoidance" is a nice theory . . . if you don't have a 2 year old boy. I can't in good conscience keep a boy indoors with such beautiful weather, even if it makes me feel bad. It just seems wrong. Not to mention he's become a total couch potato since he discovered the "Toy Story" movies . . . all he wants to do is watch movies all day!

So, in a few weeks I go back to the ENT to 1) see if I need to get allergy shots again, and 2) to have my thyroid levels tested. I've been on synthroid (a synthetic hormone that helps boost an underactive thyroid) for over a month now and things WERE looking better. About 2 weeks ago I could tell a difference in how I felt. I wasn't achy, I wasn't having chills and I was less tired and weak. But over the weekend, for whatever reason, I crashed. This whole week I've got aches, chills and I'm exhausted. Who knows? Well . . . I've got to be honest. I kind of "fudged" my diet last week. In a big way. It started with blueberry muffins early in the week (I can usually have one without butter . . . but I had several with!), then it led to 2 slices of Little Caesar's pizza (my favorite . . . darn you, LC's! How dare you open a store only 2 minutes away! Grrr . . . ) and ended with a big piece of yellow cake. I figured it was only fair to share my weaknesses after bragging about what I don't eat! I have to slip every few months to remind myself why I don't eat these things anymore! But this was a BIG slip. I don't know what I was thinking. It wasn't even in one day, but all these things have added up to major stomach issues! I wonder if my IBS acts up if that affects the thyroid. Hmmm . . . I've heard it can take up to a year to get these levels right. At my next appointment, I'll have my blood tested and then the doctor will see if I need a higher dosage of synthroid. I have been reading up on this condition and it's amazing . . . I realized that I've been having symptoms for a very long time. Last year, I started to have really weird skin issues (eczema) and horrible cramping. I wound up having to go to a dermatologist and getting a CT scan of my abdomen. Nothing really came of either of these things and it was frustrating. In the fall, my hair started to get really dry. I thought it must have been the weather or something, but my hair had never done that before. Come to find out, all these random weird things are all symptoms of an underactive thyroid! Who knew? Obviously not me or my doctors. I'm grateful this one thought to test me for it. I've been having a lot of health issues ever since I had Charlie . . . and it's a common thing for women with family thyroid issues to suddenly develop them after they give birth. Hmmm . . . not like I'll ever know if that was the case with me, but it gives me some comfort that all the problems I've been having are real and I haven't gone crazy (something I was honestly worried about!). Blah! It's just a frustrating experience. I can't help but feel guilty whenever health problems arise. When I look at the big picture, I know it's not my fault. But most of the time, I just think I must have done something wrong for my symptoms to flare up again. I feel guilty that I don't have as much energy to take care of Charlie or to write or to fufill my Church duties. Then I feel guilty because I think of all the people I know who have way worse conditions than I do. It's a whole lame guilt thing.

Which leads me to say, all of you probably already know this, but a really good thing happened the other week . . . my dad's PSA came back clean which means he is CANCER FREE! He'll have to have that checked every few months for forever, but at least for now, it's amazing news.

Sorry about all the boring health rants. Cheerier posts to come!