Life can be a Pain

- Hi again @Wanderer

I have had back pain for a long time - and other orthopaedic issues also but the back pain is the worst - right now I am having a hard time with it - I am allergic to anti-inflamatory medication so it's necessary to stay on the pain medication I have been gradually reducing over many years. The changes in barometic pressure trigger it off and in Melbourne lately we have had a lot of variations - I don't have to look at my barometer to know but I still do - thems the breaks - it seems you have these things as well and none of us are alone

We just need to find each other and on-line forums are a good place

I use a wheat pack a lot - I find heat the best therapy - on it's on I doubt it would be enough but it certainly helps and cold weather - yes - that's the living pits

So I have a pain specialist - and I am in Government Housing - so letters from her to the Ministry have been helpful in having my unit insulated and having a split system A/C installed and I keep my place as warm as sensible - this helps a lot. Over the weekend though things went backwards for me and restrict my movements

Btw - I read your melatonin levels might be low - you need to see your pharmacist or even your doctor but you could check to see if it would be helpful if you took Vit D through the winter months - I am doing this - I can't really say if it helps but last winter I was in Sydney for a few days and it was sunny and I spent a lot of time out on the harbour on cruises and sat in the sun and I felt wonderful and I think in the Southern States in winter we could all use a supplement but talk to a health professional about it first

And yes - all those words apply to the complicated syndrome you have there - maybe more could be added but that wouldn't be likely to help would it

All the best

Dec

Hello @jay2 , my husband had Bipolar 2 and he finds the rain depreesses him

Like today I have a Bladder infection and my husband is glued to his computer and eating , hi anxiety is very high

Yes @Owlunar. Mums bruised area has dark thick hair growing on it and it sweats. It is more sensitive than other parts of her leg.

Her immune system is shot. Fibro Myalgia is caused by a virus. And because her immune system was already compromised, she wasn't able to battle this condition away.

Our whole family, especially the women have severe allergies. Mum and I are chemically sensitive. My Gran was too. It starts with a reaction to perfume in our late teens and early 20's. Then over time, we become sensitive to other things. I have to buy non perfumed shampoo, conditioner, soap, deoderant, washing powder, dishwashing liquid. I cannot use any products in my hair and can't dye it.

My neice has Hosimoto's Disease (probably spelt wrong), which is an auto immune disorder that affects the thyroid. So she is on permanent medication for life.

The men in our family don't get as sick as us. No chemical sensitivities, only hayfever and epidpen allergy to bees.

You'll never guess what my sons girlfriend is allergic to? Cold Weather. She carries an epipen with her whereever she goes. My Grans partner (no relation) was allergic to the sun. It developed as he got older.

Mum and I often talk about those of us with chemical sensitivities as being like the canaries in the mine shafts. We are the first group to be hit and affected by all the chemicals. We are the warning that the world should be looking at and saying "no more"

Do you know, if a chemical has been tested and found to be 'safe' and another chemical has also been found to be 'saf'e. companies can mix those 2 chemicals together and because they have been tested separately, they don't get tested as to what their reaction might be together.

This goes for all the products people use in their houses and businesses. The chemical that makes your tooth paste froth up (serves no purpose other than to froth), is toxic if swallowed. But how many of us may accidently swallow small amounts every day? It adds up. The foaming agent in your shampoo is toxic if injested. Although many people are now reacting to this everyday chemical which is in 99.9% of all shampoos. They are reacting through their skin.

The huge number of exhema (can't spell) increase. And people don't find out what it causing it. Exchema is an allergic reaction. People just treat it. Most doctors don't even explain that properly to people.

The world is full of harmful chemicals. Research confirms this is why the male baby making thingy (not allowed to use the proper words here) count is dropping so low.

It's incidious. But companies just keep putting two or more chemicals together, no ttesting done, and we are all the guinea pigs.

Agent Orange - They now know that the Grandchildren of Vietnam Vets and the Vietnamese people, have a higher risk of being born with certain deformities. Yet they still don't acknowledge all of the deformities and diseases that are showing up in this generation of children. It is so scary. But they haven't learnt from the past. It all just seems to be about profits and all costs.

thank you @Wanderer

Hi @jay2

The cold weather can be a major stressor - we call this SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder - and it is very prevalent in cold weather - it does bring people down and causes various kinds of misery

This time of year in Melbourne - often a long period of dull, cloudy, cold weather causes this - we have been lucky with autumn this year - but now it seems to be what I call the unwinter because it's not winter yet but it's bleak and I feel it rots my socks off and I am not alone

Watching humerous movies and cooking sounds like good therapy - if I make cookies I am alone here and I can scrape the bowl out myself - no arguments - I am in charge here

Dec

Oh yes - if you can see your doctor or even speak to your pharmacist Vit D can help with the winter blues

X

Hi @utopia

I knew you were allergic to many ordinary products because of the chemicals in them - not so many though - are you able to find some things that do not contain these chemicals - eg - a shampoo or soap that doesn't set off what gets set off

One "harmless" thing I am allergic to is Trail Mix. I always knew I was allergic to Sulphur based antibiotics because my mother told me - but alas - she didn't know why - and so I had a bout of asthma and I also had my second packed of Trail Mix beside my bed and saw that it contained Sulphur Dioxide - and deduced that Sulphur causes me to have asthma - I haven't eaten that since but I am still conveniently allergic to vacuum cleaners and go outside when someone is vacuuming here - dust mits - the universal dust mite - and I think we actually need those little b^ggers.

I don't think I am allergic to common substances as you are but there is one class of pain medication I can't take because of anaphyaxis - and that's most anti-inflamatories - very inconvenient - and I still have to remind my GP I am allergic to them because of pain - and no - I do not want to try a small dose - the trip to the ED when I last took them maybe 20 years ago scared me and I am hard to scare - so no - I am not taking them just to find out. You would understand that

Thanks for tellling me about foaming agents - one toothpaste brand I used is sold at pharmacies on the recommendation of dentists - an it doesn't foam but it can't be used everyday either - I used one that foams in between and our saliva causes them to foam more - I will be more careful in future but as you say - we swallow some everytime we clean our teeth and with partial dentures I am cleaning them all them time - I never knew

Are you talking about excema - that is a skin condition and the stuff you are allergic to - that would cause such a skin condition - I know it's caused by an allergy - it's hard to treat - maybe doctors don't know a lot about it but I remember a child in my class at school with her arms bandaged from shoulder to wrist and still the bandages showed discharge - it must be so itchy -

Agent Orange is something our Government has been slow to acknowledge - I have often wondered if my son's birth father was exposed to Agent Orange and this caused his MI - of course I will never know and it can't change anything but still - Agent Orange was something entirely destructive to life - and so is war

I have to go and see my doctor this afternoon - it for help for my back pain - and I am wondering whether I need to see another therapist - he gave me another referral and I need to work out how many visits I had with the last one

It's time to say "Bye for now" and thanks for posting such an informative post - I hope other people read it too

Dec

yes Mr shaz was diagnosed with SAD a while back @Owlunar. @Wanderer, @utopia, @jay2

@Owlunar. Thanks for spelling excema correctly for me. Yes my son developed excema when a few months old. I took him to my allergy specialist. He was allergic to the baby formula - dairy. So we switched him to soy. Problem gone. After a year we introducd dairy in small quantities. in small amounts no reaction,. But when he had too much - excema the next day.

Then when he was 18 months old, he became allergic or sensitive to strawberries. Again., We removed them from his diet for a few years. Now he can eat them. When 5 years old it was Mangoes. He was really upset about this one. He loves his mangoes. But again after removing them from his diet for a few years, he can eat them now. Just in moderation.

Thank god i'm not allergic to dust mites. I rarely vacuum. Yes you do need to leave the house if they are vacuuming. You don't want to cause a reaction.

When I' super sensitive and someone comes near me with perfume on, I react really badly. Once irritated by one thing, all of a sudden i can't go near things that don't normally set me off. eg: if the neighbours are mowing, I have to shut all my doors and windows., I cant put petrol in the car on sensitive days. But at other times I can. When I'm worn down, I also become super sensitive. But these allergies are not classed as allergies. They are classed as sensitivities. The only thing I am allergic to is mould. And airbourne mould is in the air everyday. But on north windy days, the mould count goes up my a fe hundred percent.

Isn't it stupid how doctors think you should try a medication that you have reacted to badly in the past. They just don't want to have to look up alternative drugs. Trail mix. Thank god your mum told you about the sulphur allergy. You could have been in all sorts of trouble.

I often have to explain to doctors over and over again, that I am allergic to a particular coating on some medications. Problem is, it's very hard to determine if a tablet has this coating. It's not easy to look up and find the information.

Yes you hae to be super careful with your asthma. You don't want to set it off.,

I hope you get what you need at your doctors.