VALIDATION!
I had an annual lady business check up yesterday morning - it was perhaps the fastest appointment of my life! (And thankful praise for no issues. :-)) I got out of there so fast that I decided I had time to go over to my primary care physician's office to get my ear checked out. My right ear has been throbbing for a solid month; it wasn't quite as bad this week with milder weather, but the last two weeks when the weather was cold enough to freeze? Just walking to the bus stop in the morning hurt so bad that it would take about 3 hours after I'd come back inside for the shooting pain to dull down. Cold irritates it so horribly; and it *has* ached a bit 24/7 since we came back from vacay the beginning of October. I am very prone to ear infections and at first had just chalked it up as one that certainly would pass...but this was getting nuts. The doctor checked inside my ear; it was NOT red or inflamed in the slightest. What?!?! Well, then WHAT'S wrong???
Y'all will NEVER believe this, (or maybe you totally will?) I have a clinical diagnosis: my body cannot tolerate the cold!!! FOR REAL! The doctor said there are just some people who are hypersensitive to the cold and then asked, "Does this sound like it could apply to you?" ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! I just got the validation I have ALWAYS felt! I am not made to live in cold areas. It is physically unhealthy for me. He said the only treatment he could offer was anesthetic ear drops for when I know I have to be outside. Really? That's IT? OK - so that's the not-cool part. Until May or we get to move South, my ear is apparently going to throb to some degree. Great. :-(
But there's more: of course I called my mom to tell her my hysterically perfect diagnosis. Her response? "Funny you say that." Funny? Really? Why??? "Aunt Frances [my Grandmommy's sister] has the exact same thing! Whenever she gets too cold, her body can't take it. She even breaks out in a rash. It's really genetic!" O. M. G. I have ALWAYS hated being cold; it has always seemed to make me *physically* waaaaay more uncomfortable than it does average people. People, esp. living up north here, always chuckle like I'm just a pathetic Southerner that won't give enjoying snow a chance, and no matter how much I explain that I really can't stand the cold, I always feel like I'm getting an internal eye roll in response.
I don't care who thinks this sounds silly; this is a serious validation for me. I have NOT just been imagining how much worse the cold feels to me. It's not mental, and that's a big deal...but it does suck that there's no real solution for my ear, (which - by the way - *has* done this for the last four years, too - just not quite as severely; but I haven't had to be outside as much as this year before, with the bus stop (10 min morning & afternoon), soccer, cheer, & football.) I am seriously so thankful to have this peace of mind, that I haven't been imagining it worse. I told JB he needs to tell the higher-ups that he needs a promotion South now for family medical reasons!!! ;-)
Y'all will NEVER believe this, (or maybe you totally will?) I have a clinical diagnosis: my body cannot tolerate the cold!!! FOR REAL! The doctor said there are just some people who are hypersensitive to the cold and then asked, "Does this sound like it could apply to you?" ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! I just got the validation I have ALWAYS felt! I am not made to live in cold areas. It is physically unhealthy for me. He said the only treatment he could offer was anesthetic ear drops for when I know I have to be outside. Really? That's IT? OK - so that's the not-cool part. Until May or we get to move South, my ear is apparently going to throb to some degree. Great. :-(
But there's more: of course I called my mom to tell her my hysterically perfect diagnosis. Her response? "Funny you say that." Funny? Really? Why??? "Aunt Frances [my Grandmommy's sister] has the exact same thing! Whenever she gets too cold, her body can't take it. She even breaks out in a rash. It's really genetic!" O. M. G. I have ALWAYS hated being cold; it has always seemed to make me *physically* waaaaay more uncomfortable than it does average people. People, esp. living up north here, always chuckle like I'm just a pathetic Southerner that won't give enjoying snow a chance, and no matter how much I explain that I really can't stand the cold, I always feel like I'm getting an internal eye roll in response.
I don't care who thinks this sounds silly; this is a serious validation for me. I have NOT just been imagining how much worse the cold feels to me. It's not mental, and that's a big deal...but it does suck that there's no real solution for my ear, (which - by the way - *has* done this for the last four years, too - just not quite as severely; but I haven't had to be outside as much as this year before, with the bus stop (10 min morning & afternoon), soccer, cheer, & football.) I am seriously so thankful to have this peace of mind, that I haven't been imagining it worse. I told JB he needs to tell the higher-ups that he needs a promotion South now for family medical reasons!!! ;-)
Oh, if only the higher-ups would listen! Preferably somewhere that enjoys more temperate climes...like Charleston!
ReplyDeleteI actually have a friend who also breaks out in a rash when it is cold, and she has other "allergic" symptoms to the cold weather, too. It's always nice to know something isn't just in your head--and further proof one should really listen to her own body and instincts when it comes to health!
AMEN TO ALL THAT!!!!!
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