"“The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit.”So, I haven't posted in a while due to hives. Monday morning I woke up all itchy and went to take a shower. Once I got out of the shower I noticed I had an itchy, red rash all over my body and especially on my face. Immediately I went and showed my dad (I put on clothes first, of course) and he told me it looked like hives. He gave me a couple benadryl and a nice breakfast. An hour later I fell asleep, probably due to the benadryl. I woke up a few hours later still feeling horrible. I was itchy all over and that does not feel good.
- Somerset Maugham
Later that day I took more benadryl (6 hours after first dose) and then a couple hours later we went to the clinic for a walk-in. The docter told us what we already knew: a) I had hives, an itchy red rash b) unless my throat starts swelling closed, I should just take non-prescription drugs. She then gave us a list of drugs good for taking care of hives along with the generic name, joking about how she doesn't have any stock in those companies so she doesn't care if we get the cheaper generic drugs. She also said I should wear more green to be festive (since I'm red all over). My dad came to the clinic to find out what meds I needed (I went with my mom) and went off to Wal*Mart to get them.
That night was the worst of the nights for sleeping. Even though I took benadryl before bed, I woke up four hours later and couldn't fall asleep. My mom came in and checked on me, to make sure I was breathing fine. A little while later my dad comes in and asks if I want more benadryl. Thankfully that helped knock me out until about 5:30 in the morning. Not that long after waking up again though I fell asleep on my own. It's not uncommon for me to wake up once or twice in the night, but usually I just fall asleep right away.
For Tuesday I took a different medication that was one tablet per day. Plus my dad had me put on a bunch of anti-itch cream which helped a little bit. I wasn't as miserable at first, but later on in the day my hands and the pads of my feet swelled up. It hurt to move my fingers or walk (even with shoes on). Though for Tuesday night I took benadryl again along with some ibuprofen for my pain and some anti-itch cream all over my body. Next day? My face, which was the worse in terms of hives, looks normal except for a few tiny hives on my forehead. My arms are their normal paleness with one or two small hives. My fingers and foot pads are no longer swollen and they don't hurt as much (though they still hurt). Even though it didn't look as good on my thighs, waist, or top of my feet I felt a lot better.
I did this same meds from Tuesday night for Wednesday night. I slept peacefully and woke up with no pain, no itching. My face and my arms were completely normal and the hives on my thighs and top of my feet were a lot better. For most of today I felt no pain or itching sensation, but I did have some moments. So I was able to final start cleaning the garage with my dad. We got a significant chunk of work done today, and I plan on doing some more this weekend. Though it might end up that I work on Saturday from 4 to 7 at Subway, because Jordan can't make it. I need some money so I volunteered. I'm trained to work there, have a uniform, and I was a trusted, valued employee before I left for college. I'm going to put up a note saying that I can cover shifts for people up to the 22nd.
Tomorrow my dad will be taking the van I normally drive now in for a maintenance check and it'll be gone most of the day. So my mom asked me to drive her to work (Elton Gregory Middle School, Health teacher) so that I could have her car. The catch is I also have to pick her up and drive her back home. Not a bad deal. However I plan to mostly stay at home and work on my handmade christmas presents. I can't afford to get nice, individual and thoughtful gifts for my friends and family. Instead I'm creating some nice, personalized artwork that shows that I care about them. It'll probably cost me...$1 per present this way. I don't mean to be so cheap, but I don't have the money to spend. I don't even buy stuff just for me as often as I want. I let myself have $20 a month to spend on something for me, but I already spent it on art supplies.
I need to turn in for the night, it's getting awfully late. Later.
