This Allergic Reaction Surprised Even Me

Warning: This post contains pictures of hives!

When I wrote this post on Monday, it was inspired by having eaten with my husband the night before. He felt like eating tacos, and instead of making myself something completely different, in a completely different pan, I decided to “join” him, and eat some taco meat (that I had prepared myself) on a bed of lettuce, while he ate tacos in shells with all the fixings. Because eating “together” is fun.

But I didn’t feel very good the next day. It was a reminder to me that my stomach generally prefers no surprises.

The Old El Paso Mild Taco Spice packet looked reasonably “safe”:

“Corn Starch, Salt, Spices (including chili pepper), Maltodextrin, Onion Powder, Sugar, Vegetable Oil (canola/soybean), Silicon Dioxide, and Natural Flavor.”

Apparently, for me, maybe it was not safe?

What happened next…I almost do not believe it myself.

Exactly 6 weeks ago, on December 9th and 10th, I wore a 24-hour heart monitor.

Of course, once I pulled off the 5 sticky patches, I had a rash under each spot. I treated the rash for a few days with my eczema cream, and it went away.

Fast forward to Sunday, January 18. I ate 139 grams of taco meat (yes, I weighed it) on lettuce, with a few grape tomatoes (which I literally eat every single day with my pickles, at lunchtime) and some cheddar cheese I grated myself and sour cream, (both of which which I eat often and without issue).

Monday, January 19, I did not feel all that well, and I was very gassy, (slow protein digestion). And I had a sore lymph node under my arm. I thought, well, that’s unsettling, (no one likes to feel a sore lymph node=alarm bell), I will have to keep an eye on that. I decided, just as long as the lymph node shrinks in a few days, it will have been nothing. I decided to blog about my upcoming dinner out for valentine’s, because with my upset stomach, it was reminding me I dislike eating out, but I must remember to think positively.

Tuesday morning, January 20, I tell my husband, wow, this lymph node under my arm is still sore. Then he says, what’s that red spot on your ribs? I go look in the mirror…

EVERY single one of the 5 spots (4 out of 5 are visible in the picture, but trust me, it’s all 5 of them, and no where else) that had become a rash after pealing up that adhesive in December…is once again flared up into a rash…but this is 6 weeks later!!

Could it have really just been the taco meat?? That is the only thing I can think that it could have been.

Anyhow, this helps:

But last night, 8 hours after taking a 12 hour dose, it wore off and these 2 in particular felt EXACTLY like I had been stung by a wasp !

Thankfully, after about an hour, the Allegra worked again, and I have vowed to take it every 6 to 7 hours (stay ahead of it) until these hives disappear.

I guess I want to document this MCAS reaction because I have experienced a certain amount of skepticism when I declare, even to my doctor recently about my hormone therapy, “Oh, I don’t think I could tolerate a subcutaneous patch, my skin is really sensitive.” Yes, I seem dramatic, but it is because this reaction was…dramatic, and a bit traumatic too. It was painful, like wasp stings, and right now my skin feels itchy and bruised, (and the spots are still red and inflamed, even though they are no longer burning like a sting). And the tendons in my ankles have stiffened up (inflammation in a “weak” spot where I have had previous/reoccurring issues). Generally, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. 😦

Update: I did go see my family doctor (PCP), and then talked with Chat GTP, “Although uncommon, delayed reactivation of prior adhesive-induced dermatitis is a recognized immune phenomenon. The precise reappearance at identical circular sites strongly supports immune memory–driven recall dermatitis, likely amplified by mast cell activation from a systemic trigger.” Just another interesting thing to add to my hEDS/MCAS/POTS list. My doctor checked my swollen lymph node, noted my file accordingly, and prescribed a strong steroid cream for the burning and itching. 👍

Food is Love

I get it, this is a cute cartoon and something that is very normalized in society today. Pleasurable time with other people can involve food. I know my husband absolutely includes food with any date night or daytime outing. For him in particular, food is love.

The way I currently live around food can look like dieting/calorie counting trying to keep my excess weight off. And yes, that is a part of it. There is also the Celiac factor, since 2011, which means navigating all foods for me to be gluten-free. Then add in the benefit I found (personally, for my body) in navigating all foods for me to be grain-free, which reduces my joint (inflammation) pain. Then add in the benefit I found (personally, for my body) in pretty much avoiding all ultra-processed multi-ingredient foods, including commercially available any food with colors and/or fillers, even natural ones. Anything with emulsifiers even things like carrageenan in dairy cream. And commercially available items with chemicals and preservatives, especially those in salad dressings=light my tongue up on fire. This is explained by my hEDS that gives me a lot of “issues with my tissues,” especially with my skin (eczema) and my digestive track, (nausea, bloating, constipation). That just leaves me meat, fish, eggs, dairy, fruits, and vegetables, (which is still a lot), and I simply have to cook almost everything myself from scratch.

After an otherwise wonderful holiday to Hawaii in 2017, I realized I had spent too much time feeling sorry for myself in restaurants, as I struggled to find foods that I did not react to.

After the trip, I reflected on what I could change, (namely, my attitude), and came up with my own personal motto, #notaboutthefoodthistime. I did not want to ever again waste time feeling sorry for myself in any restaurant. I decided from then on, it was not about the food, but ONLY about the company and the experience.

Except, when in a restaurant, well, it’s always about the food, isn’t it?? How can it not be??

When I see posts that show how “fun” it is to share food and good times, I remind myself, that for me, valentine’s dinner out with my husband will be about getting dressed up, and being happy he can enjoy a decadent meal out, instead of my homemade and somewhat leaner offerings at home. I will enjoy the experience, and who cares if the food I choose to eat is somewhat minimal, in comparison. Once again, I will remember my personal motto, #notaboutthefoodthistime.

I Only Know What is Normal For Me

Funny story, that “muscle guarding” of joints I mentioned here, yeah, it’s pretty hard to guard while sleeping. So Sunday morning, I woke up with my knee, (the one that can easily slip out of place, both knees can, but my left is the chronic offender), completely and painfully slipped out of place. This is not the first time (and I dare say not the last) that I have woken up from simply sleeping with an injury. Luckily, bracing it for a few days helps it heal, (sort of).

The interesting thing is how it feels to walk around with a brace on. It is such a contrast to how I usually feel, because my knee feels practically indestructible with this brace on. The same thing occurs when I have an issue with my wrist, and put my wrist brace on. As a kid, I was an expert at using tensor bandages of various sizes for all my “weak” spots, but now I have a cupboard full of various braces from my local drug store from which I can select. A few days of “resting” [insert offending body part here] with a brace on, the pain is mostly gone and I feel safe leaving it, once again, unprotected.

But the whole time with the brace on, my knee or wrist feels practically bionic! I just loved The Six Million Dollar Man (and The Bionic Woman) TV shows when I was a kid. I thought the whole concept of having ordinary human powers increased by the aid of bionic devices (real or fictional) was amazing! And yet, with a brace on, I feel like I am getting a taste of what it would truly be like to be bionic.

And then it hit me, maybe people without hEDS never feel so “weak” in the first place? Maybe what is normal for other people is to feel “bionic” (in comparison) all the time? Wow, what a thought.

It’s been normal to me for my whole life that I do not feel all that strong. I figured I was just one of “those” kids, the ones that play the piano and read a lot of books, the ones that just did not develop the strength that they could have. I felt different than the rest of the kids, but I did not think I was made differently. I just thought I hadn’t done the things I needed to do, like climb more trees, etc., to be like them. Even at a young age I knew that I could easily injure myself, simply because I had and did easily injure myself many times. I remember the first time I tried to play volleyball, one hit of the ball hurt so much! After all the fingers I had broken and sprained, (and no, it was NOT to get out of having to practice the piano), and maybe from watching The Bionic Woman, I came to gym class the next day armed with tensor bandages around each wrist, and wow, that made such a difference! Bionic!

I definitely look back at some of these childhood memories through a new lens. I am just put together a little looser than average, and that means yes, I can hurt myself in my sleep.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Steps into the Spotlight

I recently watched this series Run Away on Netflix. I usually multitask a bit while a series plays in the background, so I miss little bits here and there while I am still “listening” to it, but not watching it. But at one point, I did think, “Hey, I didn’t notice before that the daughter was in a wheelchair, oh well, whatever.”

But then this article about it came up on my Facebook feed:

“It looked like a mistake at first. A detail that slipped through editing. But the truth behind it is far more human than viewers expected….

…Anya is played by Ellie Henry, who lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It is a genetic condition that affects collagen, making joints unstable and movement exhausting. Some days, a wheelchair is necessary. Some days, it is not.

That reality was carried directly into the character….

…By not turning Anya’s condition into a storyline, Harlan Coben’s adaptation shows something simple and honest. Disability is not always visible. It is not always permanent. And it does not need a spotlight to exist.”

Frankly, 6 months ago I had never heard of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. That was until I was told I had it too, (hypermobility-type), and it explained why my heart mitral valve has torn, why I am struggling with small vessel constriction and circulation in my hands, why I have significant osteoporosis at only 54-years old, why I have sluggish digestion, why I now have bilateral inguinal hernias while simply working at a desk job, why my knee caps slip all over the place, why my shoulder dislocated so easily, (and was then also easily reduced, multiple times in one day, but not without tearing things and taking months to heal), etc.

I never realized with all the walking I do, it involves “muscle guarding” of my joints, especially my knees, which adds to my overall daily fatigue. But I need those lean legs muscles to keep going, so I don’t lose mobility! I notice almost right away, if I stop regular walking, how fast I de-condition. Faster than average, for sure. And my heart mitral valve leaflets did not tear because of some strain I put on my heart. Instead, my heart has strain on it because the valve leaflets are torn. So I need the cardiovascular exercise to keep my heart muscle strong, so it can handle the strain of the back flow of blood (regurgitation) caused by the torn valve leaflets.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a group of disorders, and has a spectrum, just like so many other things. Previously, I have not been high enough on the spectrum of resulting issues to have ever needed a wheelchair, for example, which is one of the reasons I went undiagnosed for so much of my life. My mother remembers taking me to the doctor at about 18 months old because I “walked funny,” my gait was very strange. She said it was almost as though I was swinging my hips to push my legs forward. In hindsight, it seems so obvious…but I totally understand how hard it would have been to realistically diagnose a loose joint/connective tissue issue at that age. Needless to say, after constant verbal correction, I eventually figured out how to hold my legs in a more steady way, and to walk straight. I also remember constant verbal correction to “stand up straight,” stop walking “knock-kneed,” don’t sit like that, etc. (Of course, extra flexibility alone, which kids naturally have their fair of, does NOT mean you have hEDS, but when you start adding up all the other issues… “If you are having trouble connecting the issues, think connective tissues”).

Anyhow, I just think that it is wild to hear that an actress hired to play a roll on a Netflix series has this same condition. And when cast for the job, Netflix just filmed her either standing and walking, or in a wheelchair, simply depending on her physical needs for the day. I think that is wonderful.

Workout Express Circa 2004

I found this picture from December 2004, from when I was going to Workout Express three to four times per week (after working 9 to 5 at an office). I am even wearing their t-shirt in the picture, and my cheeks are flushed from having just done a workout, and then driven home.

I was dedicated. Until I wasn’t.

It is truly exceptional to not only get fit, but to also stay fit. I tried to get fit and stay fit many times since my year at Workout Express. Did I even make it a year? Yes, I think I made it a year and a half. I quit when I changed jobs in April of 2006, because by then I was not going as much as I used to anyway. When I changed jobs in 2006, I was actually working on “building a career or business.” Both of those things, in fact. Helping my husband build his business, and going back to school part time to build myself a new career too. We were not raising kids full-time, but we were dealing with our fair share of “handling chaos.”

By the time I started this blog in 2019, I was trying to get fit, for the umpteenth time, and it took me a while to get to where I am today. Now I am trying to stay fit while “aging.”

Aging has added a layer of difficulty to staying fit, just like building a career and business, and handling chaos did. Maybe even more of a layer. And, of course, staying fit while handling chaos still exists. Unexpectedly this week, a huge sheet of ice slid off a cube van that we passed on the highway going 60 miles an hour, and it basically wiped out the whole front end of our truck! We were lucky we were not hurt, because it hit our front end, breaking everything through to and including part of the radiator. But luckily we did not get pushed off the road, and it did not hit or go through the windshield. Even though we have insurance, there is plenty of chaos filing the claim, extra traveling for repair estimates, then waiting for all repairs to be done, all the while being without the use of the vehicle until it gets completed, etc. That’s just life.

I have to remember aging is just life too. I need to adapt to the different signals from my body, and it’s fluctuating and/or changing capabilities. 20 years ago, because I was changing jobs, I basically abandoned Workout Express without a clear plan of what I was going to do instead. I have now learned that staying fit means staying with fitness routines, and adapting and changing them as necessary, but never abandoning them.

Where I Am Now

This is a really good reminder for me today, because have been struggling lately with a bit of extra fatigue. And it’s funny, because it was almost on a subliminal level, and then I finally realized that feeling tired like this was making me feel “out of shape.” And I want to be uninfluenced by these kind of subtle feelings that can hover under my radar, steering me towards bad decisions, like giving into sugar cravings. Instead, I want to pay attention to signals from my body, even when they are subtle, and be eyes wide open with my decisions.

So firstly, dieting 101: sugar cravings for energy = eat fruit, for example, eat an apple. That actually worked for me yesterday and today. I ate an apple, and I felt better. An apple is a much better option than giving in and eating some kind of pure sugar junk food (chocolate)!

Secondly, I am NOT out of shape, as in being in a state of poor physical condition. I walk regularly, yesterday I went ice skating for an hour, and I had an excellent stress test result in December, with my cardiologist very impressed with my exercise tolerance. So, even if I have been feeling some extra fatigue lately, I cannot let that signal to me that somehow I am “out of shape,” and therefore, what’s the point in continuing my routines, as though they are somehow not working. I know for a fact they do work! I just need to push past this extra tiredness, which is probably just temporary. It could be caused by many things, lack of sunlight (it’s January), maybe I am fighting off a virus, or maybe my blood sugar is fluctuating a bit, who knows. All I know is nothing about my life will be improved if I let myself slack off now. 😊

Motivation Comes Afterward

I have experienced this very thing! I do not have any motivation to speak of, but then I force myself (out of pure habit and routine) to do the daily walk I did not feel like doing, (did not feel like doing it partly because of the extra work to gear up and walk outside in winter weather). And then I felt very motivated afterwards.

I need to remember that. I always feel better afterward. 😊

Diet Obsession and Getting a Smart Scale

I know I do not have to justify my decisions about this, but it helps me to articulate outside my own head why I just ordered the Lepulse Smart Scale for myself (with a gift certificate I got for Christmas). This is not an ad for the scale, lol, this is just for me, to organize my own thoughts and set my intention.

But…Is it diet obsession?

Or is it:

Passion
Commitment
Enthusiasm
Devotion
Engagement
Discipline

What does it really take for me to maintain this 70 pound weight loss? For the rest of my life?

I suppose it is all of these things: Passion, Commitment, Enthusiasm, Devotion, Engagement, Discipline, and yes, some diet obsession too.

I would be lying to myself if it did not admit that yes, I spend time (a fair amount of time) every single day logging what I weigh on an app, logging what I eat for total calories on an app, looking at how many macros (and grams of protein) I had for the day based upon what I logged in the app, what my average protein grams were for the week, logging my daily walk on an app, (taking a walk just so I can log it), looking at how many kilometers I have totaled up for the month (or recently, for the year), checking once a month how much body fat percentage my scale estimates I have, (and compare it to the previous month’s reading), checking my waist and hip measurement about once a month too, and so on, and so on…

Am I obsessed? Or just committed? Do I need to continue to be this enthusiastic to keep prioritizing my health like this…for the rest of my life?

Honestly, I think yes, I do have to spend part of my day, every day, paying attention to all these things. In the past, if I did NOT spend time paying attention to making my overall health a daily priority in this way, I did NOT maintain my weight, nor the level of fitness I had previously accomplished. I don’t just mean a previous weight loss. There was a time (2004-2006) when I belong to a gym, Workout Express, and I went there after work 3 or 4 times a week for a 30-minute circuit workout. I even did the 1-hour workouts a few times. And then I just stopped going. There was a time (2017-2021) when I worked out with a friend (treadmill and elliptical) at the gym in her building. And then we just stopped doing it one day, even before we both moved in 2022 to different towns.

And there was a time I stop tracking my walks on Runkeeper (in the first 4 months of 2013), and then it didn’t seem to matter if I took a walk or not. But it did matter, so I started tracking my walks again. Sometimes knowing I am going to track a walk, wanting to track it, is the ONLY thing that gets me out the door in the rain, for example. I find tracking highly motivating, simple as that.

Recently, I was very disturbed by my eating on Christmas Day. It was a true return to my old behavior. I know part of that eating was prompted by feeling terrible (physically), and thinking I could maybe find something to eat that would soothe how my stomach felt. First, I went to liquids, ginger ale, my favorite teas. Then I went to solid food, to soak up the liquid. However I was justifying it to myself at the time, I ended up over-consuming on a large scale, something I had not done in a very long time. I flirted with that behavior in October, over-consuming and indulging in “what’s the point in trying to be healthy” thoughts during Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend. But I was able to quickly stop that thinking, and stop that overeating. I still felt depressed, but thankfully, I stopped wanting to overeat. (I didn’t even really want to eat at all, I felt so down. But I blogged through it, and started to feel better).

But this last week since Christmas, boy, I cannot stop thinking about food. Excess food, sweets, and lots of it. The comfort of stuffing myself with food that day was intoxicating…it created physical discomfort, which somehow eased, or rather distracted, from emotional discomfort.

I think I need to pull out the big guns to get myself through this. So I ordered the smart scale.

Pulling out the big guns=diet obsession. But I find tracking so motivating, and a smart scale will give me new metrics to track. New metrics to obsess over? Maybe. But avoiding the obsession does not cure me of it either. I need to manage it, not hide from it. And if it keeps me going on a healthier path, instead of back to lack of regular activity (because it’s raining/snowing) and weight gain? Then I am choosing obsession.

Far be it from me to tell anyone else how they need to lose weight or maintain weight that has been lost. All I know is for me, counting things, tracking things, seeing small incremental improvements even, (more kilometers walked this month than last, or a faster pace, etc.), is motivating. Even when the numbers do not improve, knowing the numbers helps me to try again the next month, and to keep trying. Bone mass, muscle mass, protein grams, that is what I want to track, even more than a once a year Dexa scan.

Some people may be able to accomplish their goal intuitively, without tracking a thing. That is great. But I know I want to count and track, and I don’t resent having to do it daily. Some people reach a point where they think there is just no way they can keep tracking (whatever it is they are tracking) for the rest of their lives?!? Whereas for me, I am happy to think I can have my whole life sorted, organized, counted, and tracked, every single day, and sure, for the rest of my life, why not.

Even knowing my new scale is supposed to be delivered this afternoon encourages me to get all my winter gear on (which is actually a lot of gear these days) and go for a walk. And to stick only to the food that I plan to eat today, (instead of overeating unplanned leftover sweets), while prioritizing protein.

Whatever it takes to get me out the door each day for cardiovascular exercise, or gets me to do my yoga routine a few times per week, well, it’s worth it. If this scale influences me, I have decided that it will do so in a way that I will use as a super power. I am going to be passionate, committed, enthusiastic, devoted, engaged, and disciplined, and this scale is going to help me track it all.

Great Advice for a New Chapter

I cannot avoid my old story. I need to embrace all of my story, because my story is what makes me who I am, and who I can be, so that I can move forward and write my next new chapter.

1.Consistency over intensity. Consistent action. The long term will beat short bursts, any day.

2.Structure over willpower. If it relies on willpower, it won’t last. Sticking to a plan (structure) means the decision is already made for me, regardless of how I feel at any given moment.

3.Honesty over performance. I know my truth. I show up for myself, not for anyone else.

4.Depth over metrics (numbers). If I am showing up every day, doing my best, then any metrics I track are just proof I am giving it my deepest intent, regardless of any numbers. If I am giving it my best, then any daily metrics I track are still better than they would be if I was just sitting on the couch every day.

Uninfluenced

In my last 2 blog posts of 2025 here and here, I mentioned not being influenced by unknown and uncontrollable things, and not to be influenced without instead taking the time to gather myself an adequate amount of information that will make me feel empowered in my decision making.

That is my word for this year: uninfluenced. To be uninfluenced is to be deliberate. Influence can come over you without you realizing it, or thinking about it. You just go along with something, without much thinking at all. I want to be uninfluenced, so that when I decide and choose something, it is NOT because I am merely going with the flow. I will seek out and independently research topics of my interest, and if I choose to then be positively influenced by what I discover, I do so with my eyes wide open, and with my own autonomy.

I have started this year, January 1, 2026, weighing exactly 4 pounds more than January 1, 2025, 1 year ago today.

And that is over 20 pounds less than January 1, 2024, just 2 years ago when I declared for the first time, “I am in maintenance!”, and meant it.

When I started to maintain my weight 2 years ago, I did not deliberately set out to lose 20 more pounds. Yes, I was vigilant with tracking my food in my LoseIt app, wanting to maintain and preserve my new healthy weight. But the extra 20 pounds lost happened somewhat organically. I did start eating more as I began maintenance, but I was also incrementally increasing my regular walking. I didn’t make any sudden large changes with my eating, but I was no longer actively seeking a calorie deficit. I just kept planning what I eat, (a little bit more than before), and eating what I planned. The scale kept creeping down.

After about 10 months into 2024, my weight stabilized at about 120 pounds, and it finally just stayed there. Then throughout 2025, it was not difficult to stay at or around 120 pounds. My body seems very comfortable here. Even with the probably half a dozen times in 2025 that I did not eat what I planned, and instead ate more, I did NOT have to restrict food to get the scale to come back down. All I did was return to eating what I planned, (maybe one less piece of cheese per day, me and cheese have a long history, lol), but for the most part, nothing dramatic. About week later I was always back to what was and appears to be my new “normal.” This tells me that for now, (maybe not always, but for now), my current weight is sustainable.

I know I am currently at what is considered a low BMI, (although still healthy for my height, and yes, I know, the BMI has flaws). And I know I need to be okay if my weight eventually climbs up and stabilizes at a slightly higher amount. In fact, I may be seeing a little of that happening already, because I did start HRT on December 15. It’s hard to say, because I also did overeat the night of December 21, followed by significant overconsumption of unplanned food on December 25, after which I saw a very large increase on the scale that has not yet entirely disappeared. And maybe it won’t. I do not feel the need to create a calorie deficit to try and lose those 3 or 4 pounds. I just do NOT want to slide into any old habits! I want to continue to simply plan what I eat, and eat what I plan, (with lots of protein).

I definitely want (yes, want) my weight to climb IF I am gaining muscle, (or maybe, please Lord, bone mass)! I am working on tracking my daily calories to include prioritizing daily protein amounts, combined with muscle building, mostly through targeted body movement exercises. I have my repeat Dexa scan already booked for June 12, 2026, which will be my next benchmark to see where I have got to in terms of my body composition, hopefully for the better.