Dallas and I have tossed around getting a dog for a few years. It never seemed like the right time and then when it was, when we owned our condo and didn’t have any trips planned for a while, we decided not to. And then I got the urge again and then we were planning the wedding and after that was finally maybe the right time again. But I’d been noticing that Dallas would get an itchy face when visiting the houses of some of our friends who have dogs. Also, since coming back from Hawaii he was snoring like crazy! So, I asked him to go to the allergist for both of these reasons. Since I hadn’t seen an allergist for years, I went too.

On a recommendation from Kristin, we went to see Dr. Anne Ditto at Northwestern. We actually both went on the same day with our appointments spaced just a half hour apart. Northwestern is a teaching hospital, so we actually saw different student doctors with Dr. Ditto overseeing.

After our allergy tests we found out that I am allergic to mold and Dallas is allergic to tree pollens and that we are both allergic to dogs, cats, ragweed and dust mites. So… there go our thoughts of getting a dog! The doctors said we could get one anyway and see what happens and do treatment, but my allergies to cats when they lived with me was so severe, they did not recommend it. When I had two cats I would wake up not able to breath and had to have an inhaler for allergy-induced asthma. Not fun times!

Anyway, we got updated prescriptions and advice on how to deal with seasonal things. We’ve put covers on our pillows and mattress to help guard against dust mites. Oh. Also? All that snoring? Dallas had a sinus infection! So he got antibiotics for that too.

We both have follow up appointments scheduled.. hopefully we’re on the road to feeling better this allergy season!

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