All Praise Cthulu that the weekend is over. I spent much of Friday night & early Saturday morning in the Emergency Room. Friday we went out to Aunt Barb's to swim and had a relaxing afternoon in her pool. However, my hives started acting up & after we had delicious pizza at Armando's Pizza I had to go to CVS for some drugs. After downing 2X the recommended dose of Benadryl along with other antihistamines Adale drove us home. Unfortunately the hives continued to get worse and around 10pm my throat started to tighten up (it's closed twice before during an attack) so I had Adale drive me to the hospital.

I should mention that I was kind of loopy from all the Benadryl so when the ER people started to shoot me up with drugs I stared at the needle. Because have a weak stomach I got woozy from seeing the needle enter my vein and had to ask for a bucket to puke in. Luckily I didn't puke, but the drop in blood pressure associated with my wooziness created a rather unpleasant sensation that continued through to the next day.

The first dose of injections slowed down the hives & throat closing but didn't completely reverse the symptoms. I was, however, pretty high and felt great considering the circumstances. Eventually the doctor gave me more shots & the hives went down enough so I could go home (4 hours after we got there).

Needless to say Saturday was a wash for me. I felt crummy most of the day, especially since one of the ER nurses may have predicted that I'm allergic to wheat gluten. He asked whether I had several symptoms - which I do have - and then said that I might be allergic to wheat. Talk about a downer - no beer, no hamburgers, no pizza, no cookies. Make a list of every food you like to eat and I'll bet that every one has some form of wheat gluten in it. Life would totally suck. I don't have to mention that I can't smoke weed because of my new job.

Anyhooters, I guess I should be grateful that I didn't die and that someone bid on one of my Ebay auctions. That sentence was too dramatic - I was never worried that anything serious would happen. Because of all the Benadryl coursing through my veins I honestly felt pretty good throughout the evening.

Not eating wheat gluten, however, is driving me crazy and I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do it. In February I had a blood test that did say I was slightly allergic to Wheat, but it also said I was allergic to tomatoes, onions, and lots of other things that I like to eat. My only comfort is that I read that chronic hives (which I apparently have) often cannot be attributed to any cause, particularly in people with psoriasis (which I have) and other immune deficiency diseases. That would be great because it would mean that I could eat whatever I wanted to eat, but it would also mean that I could come down with a deadly hive attack no matter what I do.

I've got to go to sleep - fortunately there are no wheat glutens in vodka tonics - but don't worry, I'm pretty certain that I'll be around to write more tomorrow.