Me==Dorque

[kellan_the_tabby]

So a few days ago, what with one thing and another, I decided to try the respiratory tonic tea I made up a while ago, to see if I was at a point where I could lower my asthma meds some. So every morning I made up a mug of tea, and drank it, and indeed after a few days my breathing did improve.

--

Unrelatedly, I thought, I started getting allergic reactions. Sniffly-nose a little, but mostly annoying post-nasal drip that drip-dripped down the back of my throat, tickled, and made me cough enough to scare people. Okay, it's spring and things are blooming; or, I haven't vacuumed in a while and have four cats; or, it got chilly and I had to close the windows. I took Alavert; no help. I took Claritin; no help. And it got worse and worse until today I woke up feeling like crap and only got worse.

Had a low blood sugar attack that scared hell out of me and most everyone within range. Those who know me well enough know I don't _get_ low blood sugar problems. I can eat breakfast and keep going for hours; I can start getting hungry and it'll make me grumpy, but I won't actually have issues. If I'm helping someone move (and I was, today; Linette's store is moving to a better location) I normally eat breakfast and dinner. Lunch? There's work to do!

Round about four I got too hot. Then I got shaky. I went outside and laid down on a bench; didn't help. I got peanut butter cups to get some sugar into me quick; didn't help. Drank a lot of water, which did help a bit, because I was dehydrated. Didn't help too much. And all through it, cough, cough, cough.

Ate pizza at Joe's suggestion (he gets blood sugar drops regularly). Helped a little. still felt shaky. Got Ray to drive me home so Tim could stay and help Linette, and took about a three hour nap. Felt more awake, still shaky. Couldn't really eat dinner. More nap, no help. Came home and started digging though my herb books for allergy remedies. Wrote down what was in my breathing tea first, thinking that if there was some overlap I'd just add a few other useful things to that.

One book had a lovely little 'allergy warning' at the front that I almost didn't look at. I'm not allergic to herbs; I'm trying to use herbs to help an allergy! But something caught my eye.

Calendula. Related to ragweed.

There's calendula in my respiratory tea.

I've been _drinking_ an _allergen_ for the last four days or so.

--

So now I'm off the stuff, and trying to figure out what to do with it. Find someone with asthma and no ragweed allergy, I suppose. Something. In the meantime, lacking half the ingredients I want and not wanting to go pick dandelion greens in the dark in grass they probably spray, I've cobbled together a 'spring cleaning' tonic out of red clover (good for breathing), nettles (good for cleansing), peppermint (tastes good and helps with half the things in the universe), and eucalyptus (which I basically put in because it felt right). And already starting to feel better.

And soon to bed.

Comments

[montuos]

...and trying to figure out what to do with it. Find someone with asthma and no ragweed allergy, I suppose.

Well if you don't think of anything better, you could send it to me. I have my own breathing problems, and I'm pretty sure I'm not allergic to ragweed, or at least not calendula.

[kellan_the_tabby]

It's gone to Tim, who's closer, but I can send you the recipe. It's not hard to put together.

[montuos]

Hey, hand delivery to somebody local definitely qualifies under "anything better"! ;>

[kass-rants.livejournal.com]

Sweetie, sweetie, sweetie! Oh, what a trial! I wonder what the recipe writer was thinking when she put a calendula in a breathing tea. I mean even people who aren't allergic to ragweed will react to it if there's enough in concentration. It's like putting poison ivy in a topical itch cream and saying, "Well, people who aren't allergic can use it!" :rollseyes:

I'm just glad you figured out what it was that was making you feel so shaky and weak. xxx

[kellan_the_tabby]

Yeah, no shit. It was _scary_.

Gonna be much more careful about what I put into my body from now on...

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Glad you were able to figure it out!

For sugar drops, the fastest acting stuff is orange juice or grapefruit juice (most people prefer oj, but we usually have grapefruit juice on hand at the house).

[kellan_the_tabby]

Those would have been my first bet, had there been any around. Alas, none at work; candy was as close as I could get. Keeping some around from now on, though, just out of paranoia though I doubt this'll happen again.

[meradudd.livejournal.com]

*growls and mutters*

OK...you are officially a dork. I'm done now. At least you're feeling better, which is the primary thing. You had me worried, hun, and that ain't an easy accomplishment.

As for the tea, I could take that stuff off of your hands. Try and get the rest of the nicotine-ridden lungbutter out.

[devichan.livejournal.com]

Holy cow, honey. **HUG**

I hate it when people who know that organic/natural/herbal doesn't mean "safe" get bitten by it anyway. Congrats on having the foresight to do that research. Sorry you went through that!

**HUG**

[kellan_the_tabby]

*hugs*

Doing much better now, and when I rebuild the tea I'm going to do it one ingredient at a time so I'll _know_ if anything's going to affect me.

In the meantime, been picking dandelion leaves to get the last of the ungh out of my system. That's _fun_.

[whouseknecht.livejournal.com]

Yep, did that one myself. Drank some Celestial Seasonings™ tea for a cold, and my symptoms got worse. Found out it had echinacea as one of its ingredients. I'd learned earlier from taking echinacea supplements that I'm mildly allergic to the stuff and that it made me tense and nervous as hell (wonderful thing, the histamine reaction). Stopped drinking that right away.

Glad your feeling better. Keep it up!

[kellan_the_tabby]

Oh, man. An echinacea allergy would make me _really_ whiny...I take the stuff a lot.

Much better this week.

[mariedeblois.livejournal.com]

Yar yar. I can't drink chamomile for much the same reason.

[sigh] Hope you feel better soon, hon.

[kellan_the_tabby]

Wow - I'd be grumpy about a chamomile allergy. Be dble-careful if you ever come over to my place; I have lots of it around.

Also? Chair on porch. Wondering how long it was there before I noticed. Thank you much. :)

[mariedeblois.livejournal.com]

It's that it's either in the ragweed family or ragweed tends to grow in with the chamomile, so you get it in your tea.

Yes, I am allergic to ragweed. Along with Juniper, Mulberry, Chinese Elm, and every major pollenating plant in this state. This is not where I belong.

[kellan_the_tabby]

Hm. I guess I oughta test the chamomile I have around, then, too...if it's related as well, I could be in trouble.

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

oh gods honey.....

dont DO that....

ummm......you could try Goldenseal, assuming you are not allergic to it. it helps clear out mucus and stuff. blessed thistle.. milk thistle for liver detox....there are lotf of good things for detox that are not related to ragweed i am sure!

that must have been scary....

i only put calendula on bruises externally....

[kellan_the_tabby]

It was scary, yeah, and I'm glad it's over.

I've been using nettle and dandelion for detox, and the calendula's out of my system now. Just got to rebuild a breathing tea that I'm not allergic to...