It just occurred to me that I’ve passed the 10-year mark for chronic urticaria. It started in mid-February 1999. As far as I know I still have it, though I’ve cut back on my allergy meds significantly for financial reasons and it hasn’t come back. I have a few hives here and there occasionally but nothing like the horrific freak show that I used to be around 2002, when I couldn’t walk, couldn’t get out of bed, etc. Knock on wood it’ll never be that bad again.

I received a postcard in the mail from my urticaria doctor’s office saying:

This is to notify you that Allen Kaplan, MD will be retiring as of December 31, 2007. Please contact your local physician for further recommendations. Dr. Kaplan extends to you his best regards.

This is a major blow to everyone who has urticaria and hasn’t already seen him. Kaplan is The Man when it comes to urticaria. I first saw him in April 2002 and I saw him again in July 2007. When I was there the last time, there was a girl there from Turkey – that’s how good this guy is, people come from all over the world to see him, and I’ve heard that he travels all over the world to see patients, too.

But now he’s retiring. I can certainly see why, he has had a long and distinguished career, and he’s probably well past the age that most people retire. But a doctor can only serve for so long, they have to retire too. When I was there in July there was a med student observing him, but as far as I know there is no replacement. It’s a shame, because I’ve recommended Dr. Kaplan many times over the years, and I know many urticaria sufferers who need his services. I hope they will be able to find relief with their local physicians.

Enjoy your retirement Dr. Kaplan – it is WELL deserved but you will be missed!

Note to self: if you are having a very bad day and you forget to take your meds in the morning, it will turn into an even worse day when your hives sneak up on you. Also, if you are on steroids that make you hungry, and then hang out with people who are doing certain things that give you the munchies, you will want to eat the entire universe. I really hope the doctor I’m seeing July 26th will have a solution besides steroids, because I am finding it impossible to drop the weight I gained on the cruise a month ago.

I just want to vent about my feet.
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I had a mostly positive experience with my doctor this morning. I walked in there knowing exactly what I wanted, and I walked out with what I wanted. The purpose of the visit was to discuss my chronic urticaria and see what the options were, but what I really wanted was a prescription for 5mg of prednisone. I have a three-year-old prescription for it, and I have found that if I take one when the hives are really bad, they will settle down for a while. Most doctors won’t hand out steroids like candy, but I think my doctor understood that I knew what I wanted – I’m not sure if she realizes I know more about chronic urticaria than she does, but she did give me what I wanted.

My appointment was at 7:30am, which was not fun because I was out very late last night meeting an online friend who was in town from Minneapolis. I am probably going to take a nap after work, because tonight I have to drive to New York. We have tickets to a special showing of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, which we got because :A: is involved with a perfume group online. So yes, a nap is definitely in order before all that driving.

My chronic urticaria is flaring. It was bad yesterday but today it’s probably a little worse. Oddly enough it’s not along the corset lines, which is good. But it’s affecting my hands, and I hate that. This whole thing makes me so tired. I did a bit of cleanup today but not yet out front like I need to.

I am officially grumpy. It’s partly from hunger – I’m trying hard to stick to my diet today. I had a Slim-Fast shake for breakfast and a similar (off-brand) shake for lunch; I am going to have a piece of fruit on the way home and then a smart dinner followed by a cookie or a brownie.

I’m also fed up with the apparent incompetence of every doctor I try to contact. My dermatologist, who is not on my insurance and whom I normally pay out of pocket, recommended that I visit a specific person on my insurance to get a couple of moles removed. I tried to get my PCP’s office to fax a referral over to the other person’s office. That failed a few times. Then when the PCP’s office insisted they had faxed it, the other dermatologist’s office insisted they hadn’t received it. I’ve been trying to get this done since the beginning of December, and I absolutely have to get the moles removed before spring. So I just called my regular dermatologist’s office to ask how much the surgery would actually cost, and of course they can’t tell me exactly. Even if I do manage to get a referral to that other recommended doctor, I would have to visit twice – once for her to say “yup, your main doc was right, you need these two removed” and again for the actual surgery.

I’ve been trying to get in touch with a psychiatrist, too. I want to start seeing a therapist and I have somebody all picked out but my insurance requires me to see a psychiatrist first. I sent the list of local people to my PCP and she e-mailed me back with who she knew and didn’t know. None of the ones she liked are taking new patients, so I’m trying to see somebody I’ve seen before but not for five or six years. I left him a message on Thursday and got no response, so I just now left another message.

And I had to interpret training all day today, so my brain is shot in addition to all this frustration. (I have no idea how I managed to remember to call these people.) Definitely. Officially. Grumpy.

Added: Forgot to mention that the hives are back. They’ve been creeping up on me for about a week, and now I think I’m going to have to take prednisone for a couple of days. Fuck

I went shopping today! My first stop was at the library book sale, where I picked up $8.00 worth of books:

• Murder at the Pentagon – Margaret Truman (I’ve been wanting to give the Capital Crimes series a try)
• Hearing Faces – Dotty Sohl (turns out this one is autographed!)
• Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies – Craig Shaw Gardner (part three in a series, but I couldn’t pass it up)
• Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed – Patricia Cornwell (those pictures are disturbing, why on earth did I get this?!)
• Unofficial Guide to B&Bs and Country Inns in the Mid-Atlantic – First Edition (I remember this from Rand McNally)
• Away for the Weekend: Mid-Atlantic – First Revised Edition (we have the original edition, but this is prettier)
• Japanese at a Glance – Barron’s (just in case we ever do go there)
• The Little Book of Calm – Paul Wilson (pocket sized!)
• Star Fleet Technical Manual – Franz Joseph (original 1975 edition! my mom has this too, but it was only $1 so I grabbed it)

After I was done at the library, I went to the mall. I received a $50 gift card for Hecht’s for doing some website work for one of :A:’s acquaintances; he gave her a card too but she gave it to me because I did all the work. I wandered around the entire store – lingerie, shoes, jewelry, electronics, kitchen supplies – before returning to the women’s clothing section. I hope purple is in this season, because I got three purple top, all by ie relaxed. One is a heavy purple turtleneck with little rainbow color flecks through it (suitable for work), one is a soft purple and lavender sweater with gray flowers, and one is a casual V-neck top with a purple base and black and aqua designs on top. :A: wasn’t with me, so even though I tried these on I’m not 100% sure they look good! I will have to ask her when she gets back if they are okay. The one I’m not sure about is the V-neck, because it’s got a weird black lacy bit on the neckline. I might be able to remove that carefully, though, and then it would be great!

My hives are pretty bad today. I’m hiding in bed for the rest of the day, I think.

Man: Itchy hives could have ruined my big day.
Woman: Miserable itchy hives drove me nuts!
Oh, you people have it easy!

The commercials for Claritin’s new “Hives Relief” product make me laugh. It’s not that they’re designed to be humorous, but when you’ve been living with chronic urticaria for five years…well, the complaints of others are hilarious. Some of you may not be aware of this part of who I am, because we’ve only met recently, but I’ve come far enough that I can develop that kind of dry humor about my disease. I can also tell you about it.
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