I would love to do that, but I’m not quite up to it. That’s the level of gift I’d like to do, though! Plus, it could be that no one wants our GF, DF, Allergen Free cookies. 🤪 Oh wait. Hmmm. DS makes a really good spice cake we could slice. We could possibly do that!

Thank you for all the ideas!

It is! There’s something about listening to them that feels nostalgic. Love it. Yes, the goose/beaver war was wild. Lots of honking and splashing. The beavers made a new home after that. I also get a kick out of seeing turtles basking in the sun, doing their turtle yoga. That always makes me stop and pause, too.

I want to send my neighbor a thank you gift for giving me a ride when I needed someone else to drive. Something small. We usually give each other outdoor pots of flowers, but the weather isn’t right for that, and I’m not up to shopping. She’s a mom of 4, and her DH works elsewhere, so she’s essentially single parenting two teens, a special needs tween, and a toddler. She’s busy! Any ideas for a small thing I could send via DoorDash or Instacart? We sometimes send Crumbl Cookies to our non-allergic friends. Would that work? I know the teens would like it! But the idea doesn’t hit me quite right for her. She has a GI condition and I don’t know what she can eat. Any other ideas?

Oh, horrible. But no second round of anaphylaxis, I hope? I stretched to 8 hours (instead of 6) between doses today, and started itching and having an uncomfortable throat sensation, so I think staying at every six hours is good for now. I also have Zyrtec and Pepcid that I take daily, and hope they help, too. Plus the steroids. Other than no hot showers and staying still for the first few days, I don’t remember much about what to do/expect.

Not appropriate. On so many levels.

Oooh, yes, love to see/hear them fly. We stop whatever we are doing and watch.I love, love, love when they circle our pond, honking, and splash down in the evening. One year, the beavers built a beautiful dam on a tiny island in the middle, and there ensued an enormous battle between geese and beavers. Bet you can guess who won and had a perfect nesting spot!

Oh no, I didn’t remember 4-6 weeks. Yikes! I need a refresher on the after-event care. It’s such a blur, from when this happened to the kids semi-regularly. Thanks.

Yes, it has stevia, and while I don’t use it often, stevia is in a green drink that I use every morning and some afternoons. I will avoid it till we have some testing done. Glad to know monk fruit can do the same, I have some here that we haven’t tried yet. It also had erithritol which I don’t regularly eat but often enough. Apparently they are not an allergen free facility as I thought. They wash their lines, which we normally avoid because of may contains. I am allergic to shellfish, and they say the product is “free from” but I wonder it might have been cross contamination.

Thanks for that link.

Absolutely no idea. The ingredient list is so short and entirely made of foods I have eaten before, even recently. I’m honestly kind of scared to eat anything tomorrow. 38 minutes till I can take more Benadryl. Counting down because the itching has started again. Yikes.

I just got home from the ER for a food allergy event. Unbelievable timing. Earlier when I posted, I forgot to mention one thing, and the ER doc reminded me tonight: one of the most dangerous parts of anaphylaxis is the sudden, dangerous drop in blood pressure. Which has nothing to do with breathing, and that’s part of why we don’t wait to epipen and go in. Benadryl won’t stop anaphylaxis, either, though I can attest that it does help with the full body hives.

Just earlier I was answering a thread about food allergy, and saying my allergist’s line about two systems = anaphylaxis, don’t wait till you have trouble breathing to go to the ER. Seriously. A few hours ago, essentially! I know it sounded over the top, but we live this at my place. We had decided to try a new allergen free food. We don’t do a lot of these types of things, because they have to be special ordered. But I saw a company with some pudding mix type stuff, free of the top 14 allergens and dyes, and thought the kids could try it. They’ve never had any of those types of products because of allergies and I thought it would be an experience, and maybe a treat while DH was out of town. Wow, was it ever an experience. DD and I tried it, and we agreed it was too sweet. I joked that it was so sweet it burned and if we ate it our mouths would go numb. DD decided she didn’t like it. I tried some more, and said, “it really burns, is it burning your throat?” And she said, “I think you’re having a reaction. Stop eating.” I Benadryled and took Pepcid, and laid on the couch. One system. Throat. Kids got their epipens out. Then I started itching, and blamed it on anxiety. Until DS took a pic and I realized I had hives everywhere. Neck, chest, torso, legs, even in my ears and hair. Two systems. Skin. Sigh. To be fair, I had a few more systems involved pretty soon after that. So, yep. I spent the night in the ER after having a reaction to the “allergen free” product. Me. Not the kids, with histories of this. Ugh. Now I have steroids and am sleeping with an inhaler and epipen within reach in case of a rebound reaction, and have to schedule with an allergist. Both kids are in my room, one on couch and one on the floor because they are worried. These things always happen when DH is out of town. Note: if it burns while eating — stop eating!

Oh! And for anyone who doesn’t know, the FDA finally approved Xolair for anaphylaxis prevention. If a person is a candidate, it can really cut down on anaphylactic reactions, apparently, though it’s not a cure for food allergies. It’s an injection, and one would need it done at the allergist’s office, but in case OP’s DD is allergic — here’s some hope.

Agreeing that she needs to see an allergist. In the meantime, her GP can send in an Rx for an epipen to carry just in case. Tell her that two body systems means anaphylaxis, and it does not always look like the movies with swelling, etc, and can move fast. Two body systems can mean any combo of lung, heart, throat, mouth, skin, GI, or a feeling of doom — and yes, I just copied that off of our anaphylaxis action plan. Two of those means epipen and 911. Full body hives = epipen and 911. Don’t wait till there are problems breathing! Past reactions can’t predict the severity of future reactions, so the next time it could be much worse. I don’t know what she’s allergic to, or if it’s an allergy, but I would suspect most strongly sesame, avocado and shellfish. It could be anything, of course! For no reason other than speculating … Does she react to bandaids (latex)? Have a tickle in her ears or throat when she eats a banana (related to latex)? If so, I would be even more suspicious of the avocado (also related to latex allergy). ETA: that list of two body systems has caused my family a lot of angst. DS does not swell up, so we sometimes spend a lot of time wondering if an event is epi-worthy. Having clearly defined parameters and a plan for what to do helps. Sometimes we go sit in the ER parking lot, epipens in hand, until we decide. But we’ve made mistakes, and our allergist tells us we have been lucky.

I liked your post in solidarity. I get it. Right there with you. And confessing that since the onset of a painful midsection area condition — I am all about stretchy clothes — no triggering pain. I could get by with just stretchy clothes, too.

Three sizes of wardrobes! Yes. Oh my goodness, I thought it was just me. Are you down to one size? That’s so brave! And impressive. Nice job.

Do you have any sort of fall alert system? Even an Apple Watch could be good. Also, in that vein, Amazon Alexa used to have some helpful functions for elders that might come in handy for you (I know you’re not an elder and not lumping you in with the geriatric crowd!). It’s possible they ended those functions, but worth a look. Can you load up the freezer with easy meals? Would inviting a friend for coffee a few times a week help? Just to have someone to visit and maybe enjoy some time together might be a good break. Can a neighbor kid take out the trash, or get the mail and bring it to a table on your porch? No idea if those are useful ideas or not what you are looking for today.

Oh no. Do you have an allergist you could see? I think I’d be going back in to a doc. I am so sorry, that sounds miserable! ETA: Do you take any sort of antihistamine daily? I went through a period of frequent hives, and was convinced it was an allergy. After going through elimination diets, and changing detergents, I donated all of my pajamas — thinking it was the fibers or something. Eventually I was diagnosed with MCAS. Zyrtec daily helps, for a start (I think there’s more you can do). I don’t know if that might apply to you, but maybe look up mast cell activation and see if it fits?

I’m not there yet, either, but need to drop this here because it makes me laugh every time. Aaaack, trying to link again. It’s the Southern Thing YouTube video of grandma name shopping. I can’t link it. Maybe someone else can.

Yes, I’d be ok with most 7th graders home for a few hours. Our kids have been fine with it. We have neighbor and friend back ups, and they know how to reach us or friends and neighbors. Our general rules were: - “No sharps, no hots.” This mostly referenced making, as middle kid was into making foam armor at that age using exacto knives and heat guns. But it could also apply to any crafting your kid might do. And the stove, as well. - We also had a rule about no spray painting, ha! That’s probably not necessary for anyone else. - No answering the door, no one comes over. - Phone has to be within reach and charged. FWIW, 12 yo DD stays home when some of us have lengthy appts — her 20 yo brother is in and out, so she’s not technically alone — and she’s great about doing her school work.

Shoe replacement has happened here, too. Wait. Replace isn’t the right word. I have bought new shoes, and am stubbornly hanging onto my old favorites, Docs included, but it’s time for a memorial service. Curly haired kid is convinced the new waves and occasional ringlets are intentional and a result of envying his long ringlets. Ummm, this is just what I’ve got these days! Sleep is my nemesis. I actually just started progesterone last night in an attempt to get a solid night’s sleep. Anyone with thoughts, feel free to share pros and cons. Oh! And I recall seeing older women living in yoga pants and leggings, and other stretchy comfy pants, and thinking, “that will never be me!” Ha! Waving at you all from the comfort of my elastic top pants. Aaaaaach!

Menopause (and peri menopause) is just a never-ending delight, isn’t it?!

I would want to speak to an attorney on my own about that first. In my state, that would be a nope. Anything they “loaned” out would be found in the look back period, and would have to be repaid — as in, yes, your care will be covered *after* you’ve paid the amount “loaned” OOP. I personally would not go that route. Yes, this applies to gifts for down payments, etc, as well (in my state). However, there are legitimate things that can be done with a relatively small amount to be protected. A prepaid funeral fund is a good one. FIL set up a fund with his dentist for dental work. A good social worker can tell you more. If only one spouse is going on Medicaid, there are protections for the other that can be significant. If it’s a larger amount, there are trusts and other options, but I’ve never heard that an under the table loan is a legitimate option (is this an under the table, not reported kind of loan? I don’t know, so don’t read into that!). It stinks, I’m sorry. My ILs required significant care, for which they used all of their LTC insurance and paid the rest of their copays, etc, OOP. They needed skilled nursing for more than a decade, and AL prior to that, and at up to $20K per month, paying for all that absolutely depleted their significant retirement savings and assets. MIL was devastated, but ultimately the gift they gave us was the care they received, and that we did not have to provide it. They both got on Medicaid about a year before they passed. For FIL, it was only 3 months or so. So they almost made it paying for their own care. But not quite.

A coworker of 20+ years. This is not the official gift, more of a small token gift from one person.