Scattered Thoughts . . .

I spent about 24 hours sick with a stomach virus.  It wasn't horrible but it was pretty lousy.  I'm typically not a puker but I had a very difficult time keeping everything down especially when I was lying in bed.   This virus started shortly after going to bed on Mother's Day so I must have picked it up on Saturday when I went to the Post Office to send a package.  I suppose it is possible that I picked it up on Mother's Day from Whitney or Ellie but it is more likely that I picked it up the previous day at the Post Office.   I spent almost all of Sunday night going to and from the bathroom.  Even when I was not in the bathroom, lying down to sleep was not much of an option.  Lying down just allowed the puke to move upward more easily so I spent my little bit of time in bed in a sitting position.  I think I may have gotten only one to two hours of sleep Sunday night before being awoken with a mouth full of puke.  I didn't actually get any restful hours of sleep un

I've never really been a big fan of poultry even before my illness. In fact, you would often find me in the backyard at the grill with a thick, juicy steak on Thanksgiving Day while my family was inside waiting for some tasteless bird to come out of the oven. Don't get me wrong, I love tasty grilled chicken... deep fried chicken... chicken parmesan...  chicken curry... and even chicken cacciatore... but I'm really someone who loves beef and pork. Poultry is rarely something I would order in a nice restaurant (and never something I order in a less-than-nice restaurant if I feel I may get bad poultry).  Even when I was healthy, before this insidious illness, chicken would make me feel slimey and I would be hungry again within an hour. Fish would affect me the same way. I always just figured that I am more of a hearty meat and potatoes sort of guy. And, let's be honest, I am, always have been, and always will be a meat and potatoes sort of guy. It turns out that perhap

When I awoke from my nap yesterday afternoon, I immediately noticed that I was experiencing some pretty intense nausea. Nausea is a fairly regular visitor for any Systemic Mastocytosis patient and I'm no different. At the time, I was hoping that my dinnertime medications would knock that down and I would be feeling better...  I took my meds... unfortunately, the nausea only got worse. We headed out to our local supermarket to pick up some food and this is where the nausea became unbearable. At this point I was holding down puke... I had a few small dizzy spells... and my vision was narrowing. I knew I needed more emergency medications before my condition worsened into all-out anaphylaxis. All these symptoms are signs that my body is headed toward anaphylaxis and unconsciousness. Out came my emergency medications and I popped a few pills immediately.  The nausea stuck with me all night long and there is still a little bit lingering this morning but my condition never worsened in