blogging about allergies from the doctor's office

i meant to write about this weeks ago, when i first made the appointment.

knowing i was job-shifting, i held off for many months making doctor appointments. and they racked up. when i started work at the big C, i decided that i needed to get my ass in gear. and in one afternoon, i made appointments for all the things i had avoided the previous 10 or 12 months.

dentist. optometrist. dermatologist. couple those with my urologist (remember my lovely kidney stone?) and my gastroenterologist. and finally, allergist.

and here i am today now, at the allergists. getting tested for foods — the foods i can't. the food i haven't eaten since junior year of high school.

soy and peanuts and shellfish.

i had skin tests an hour ago. the scale for these things is a bit loose — foods are ranked 1-4 based on mm of the resulting rash. 3 and 4 are considered 'allergies.' soy gave me a 2. peanuts and shrimp a 3. and oysters a 4. none were huge or bad. none seem serious.

the doctor doesnt think any of these will be a problem. considering i was told years ago that i could eat shrimp, i'm not worried.

i believe we just finished soy. with no reaction. i'm sure i need the doctor's confirmation, but i appear to be all clear for soy. i have asked that peanuts be next. we might not get to shellfish today, so i'm not sure what that will mean.

but yay! soy!

it's going to take a long time to be over this mentally. it's been 14 years of avoiding these foods. man.