Pity, Party of One

Warning: graphic pictures of hives ahead. 

We have been sick. Like, sick sick. In August I had mono, which pretty much wiped me out for about 3 months. Then the flu over Thanksgiving. The Boy was on two steroids between Christmas and the end of the year for croup. Then I developed a bad sinus infection, and what I thought was pink eye. Turns out I just had so much mucus in my body it was draining out of my eye. And that infection, along with the flu and mono, left me with a weakened immune system. I got a nasty ulcer in my mouth that made my whole jaw sore and heavy. All the mucus made me nauseous, and when I went to spit it out, my jaw throbbed from bending over. Plus, you know from yesterday's post that I'm pregnant, and I had super pregnancy nausea and was hurling or on the verge of hurling at all times. The Boy said "mama, in de bafroom you say '(insert gagging noises/laughter here)'".

So all of that was starting to clear up, thanks to steroids, nausea meds and an antibiotic, when I started itching. One Sunday night two months ago I got itchy for no reason. We went to see my grandmother, we ran errands, I went to church. Then when we got home my itchiness increased. The Boy was in bed and The Husband was cooking dinner. I started to get a rash on my arm. Then my leg. Then The Husband said "let me see your face. You've got them on your face!" I thought he was kidding. He was not.

It was hives. For the first time in my life I was breaking out in hives, having a reaction to some unknown allergen. Apparently you can develop new allergies when you're pregnant. I started to fix myself an oatmeal bath, and they were popping up so fast I was watching them appear. I looked like a medical textbook, and I was part freaked out and part fascinated. I'd not eaten anything different, not changed detergent or used a new soap. Hives appeared on my arms, my inner legs, my stomach and torso, my neck and face; and boy, were they itchy. I dare you not to feel itchy just looking at them. 

Even my eyes had hives. My skin was writhing, and the oatmeal bath was not helping. I called my midwife at 9:30 on a Sunday night, who told me to take Benadryl and go to bed. Why didn't I think of that? We prepped the spare bedroom just in case we had to go to the ER and call someone to sleep at our house. 

Eye Hives: AKA, I'm An Avatar

The next morning they were a little better, but still covering much of my legs. They'd morphed into one giant hive on my stomach. I went in to the midwife. It's never a good thing when you show your midwife something and her reaction is to gasp. She was unsure what "environmental allergen" had caused it, but prescribed me some predisone to help clear it up. She told me to take more Benadryl and go to bed, and to use some OTC cream.

Over the next two days the hives improved. On Wednesday morning I woke up writhing and covered again. Even my eyes were swollen and red.  I hadn't been exposed to anything new. So bizarre. I went back to the doctor, and got a higher dose of prednisone, a prescription cream, a prescription for itching meds, and a recommendation to take Zantac (yes, Zantac) and Claritin.

Over the next week they cleared up and I haven't had any new outbreaks. I've been to the allergist, who said "huh. You've got hives. We may never know why..." He wouldn't do a scratch test because I'm pregnant. Thanks. Since then we have been back to the doctor with another case of croup, which the petri-dish of a kid passed on to me. Last weekend we moved into our new house while The Boy had a temperature of 103. Where'd we pack the meds? 

While The Boy bounced back quickly, I'm now on day 12 of this snotty-coughing-sore throat virus. The Husband has single handedly moved every thing in the house on his own (including new appliances and a new hot water heater) while The Boy and I lie around watching cartoons. I feel like I have been useless since August. Or at least November. 

On second thought, what have I got to complain about? Maybe it was all worth putting my feet up during the move. And the packing. And the working. And the construction. And the Holidays. Can you say free pass? Cough, cough......

Here's hoping we're on the mend!