HIVES, HIVES, AND MORE HIVES!!!

Oh my. Well, my second allergic reaction came on about 1 week after my last big chemo day and boy was I down for the count! The hives were more severe then the last time I had them and they made me absolutely miserable! The doctor put me on a 5 day regimen of steroids and Benedryl, but it took at least 3 days for the massive itching to subside and here I am still covered in these ugly hives as I wait for them to totally GO AWAY!

I try to be positive about things, but sometimes when you are in pain you just want to be validated that you are not being a total wuss about things. Somehow hearing “you have a right to be upset about this” makes you feel better about being upset. I am sure it is purely psychological, but whatever works, right? J  (I am going to post some pictures below of the dreadful hives to just give you a snapshot of what I am talking about. You know….to back up my complaints and to encourage validation. *smile*)

 



For those of you that have never had hives….be GRATEFUL! When you have them, you have this intense urge to just scratch and scratch and SCRATCH. It’s this delicate balance between scratching them hard enough that it makes you feel better, but not TOO hard so that you damage your skin and cause more pain. I have to tell you, I kind of felt like a little kid with chicken pox…I wasn’t supposed to scratch, but I just couldn’t stop!

I have been sitting in the house for the past 4 days, missing a game day with dear friends, the Women’s State Volleyball Tournament and the first night of playoffs last night. I HATE to miss out!

I called my oncologist today and she said that the hives could linger for a while, but as long as they don’t get any worse I should be ok. I asked her if playing volleyball tonight would be bad for them and she said they might flare up a little with heat, but that I could take a cool shower afterwards and they should get better later in the evening.

Other then being a little apprehensive to go out in public looking somewhat dreadful, I am so excited to get out of the house! Hopefully I can put my self-consciousness aside and just not care what others think of my appearance. That’s how life is supposed to work right? Easier said then done. J  I am sure I will go out of my way to make sure people know I am not contagious, and as long as they know that, I guess I shouldn’t care what they think of my splotchy red skin.  (if only I could have learned that lesson in my younger school days!)

I read a quote in the newspaper a couple months back and although I don’t have the exact wording or author handy, it went something like this:

“Life might not always be wrapped with a bow, but it is always a gift.”

Again…it’s all about perspective.  With that, I would like to leave you with a more pleasant picture to end this blog entry. J I bought a fun new scarf and earrings a week ago with some money that I earned from consigning a few of the clothes that belonged to my dear mom. They make me smile, so I thought I would share…

Love to all…

Nae