Our friendly neighborhood fortysomething combats her allergies the newfangled way--with acupuncture.
Jeanne Faulkner is a freelance writer and registered nurse in Portland, Ore. Her work appears regularly in Pregnancy and Fit Pregnancy, and she has contributed articles to the Oregonian, Better Homes & Gardens, Shape and other magazines.
Here's the good news: I've got the sniffles. My sinuses are a little congested, and I know the itchy, watery eyes are coming. I know, I know--you're thinking, "What? Is she nuts? That's the good news?" Well, yeah. It's been months and months since I've been to my acupuncturist and these are the first allergy symptoms I've had all year. The bad news? I can't get in to see her until next week, so I'll be hitting the antihistamines like a junkie with a fresh fix till then.
Up until a year ago, I was a regular in the seasonal allergy department. I lived on Claritin and Chlortrimetron when I lived with cats. Certain types of makeup make me itchy. Due to my 25-year history with wheezing, I don't go anywhere without an emergency asthma inhaler close by. I was pretty happy when Flonase came on the market. A couple of toots up my nose and I was symptom-free all day. That is until last year, when it just quit working. I took everything that didn't make me sleepy, and still I was sneezy, itchy. wheezy and drippy (aren't those four of the seven dwarves?). That's when I hooked up with my acupuncturist, who fixed me right up.
I've written before about my love affair with acupuncture. It works for my insomnia, allergies and, well, basically everything. But here's some new information: It's lasted a really, really long time. This has been a challenging year too. My oldest child moved back home with her cats--two of them: one long-haired shedding machine and one short-haired snuggle monster. Neither one of them can take no for an answer. Lola, the shedder, will sit on the clean towels, my coat and probably my pillow when I'm not home. If I close the doors, she simply bumps up the "let's get dander on everything" game. She's at level six now--opening doors by sliding her claws under and jiggling it until either it opens or someone opens it. Works every time. Then she'll jump on whatever we don't want her on, if only for a second, and then jump off and say, "Ha!" in cat lingo. Petal, the lover, will snuggle with me despite my reproachful glare, forceful brush-offs and definite, "Don't touch me" vibe. I know--cats always love the hard to get. And she is adorable with her big stupid eyes and sweet little voice. She rubs against my legs and pleads, "Pleeeeese! Just love me once." What can I do? I'm not heartless.
So, despite the cats, I've still been allergy-free. Then there are the dust bunnies. I've been working really hard at my jobs, and have made peace with the fact that I can't sweep and vacuum as often as necessary to keep the bunnies from total world domination. I can barely find time to do the dishes (which, fortunately, my husband usually does) and clean my junk off my dresser (which my husband is really patient about). I'm not a slob, but I'm not above living with a little dust either, especially since it's apparently not making me sneeze. If I had allergy symptoms, the house would be a lot cleaner. And pollen? Oh yeah, you bet I'm allergic to pollen. Up until this week, however, it's not been a problem. Though I live in a city, I have two cherry trees, two apple trees, a plum tree and lots of flowers. I also have a colony of bees that have built a hive in an old birdhouse on the fence. They're dutifully pollinating all over the dang yard because we have lots and lots of flora and fauna. Yesterday, I was driving around town picking up my kids when I saw the wind blowing blossoms off trees like a pink blizzard. The petals whirled and twirled around so magically I had to pull over and get out of my car to watch for a while. It was lovely and didn't make me sneeze. Amazing.
Today, however, I've got the sniffles, and I suspect my allergy-free
deadline has arrived. I called up Clarissa (Jade Acupuncture in
Portland, Ore.) and asked her to sign me up. My appointment's a week
away but I'm happy to have it. Apparently, she's booked solid until
then with other allergy sufferers (among the many maladies she treats).
I guess that means the word's out: Acupuncture works miracles for
allergies. Now, if Clarissa can do something about the cats and dust
bunnies, she'll be a real miracle worker.
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