My Allergy Journey: Slow Down, But Not Too Much
I was starting to get worried. It seemed like every visit, my dose was getting doubled. With four more updoses to go, I calculated that I'd be eating a fistful of allergens by the end, and to be honest, that was freaking me out. But no worries. Today, my dose increased from around 130 grams to 180 grams, a relatively small increase.
With my GERD relatively under control, I allowed myself an egg bagel as my required pre-treatment carb. I mean, come on: Bagels & Co., one of the best bagel shops in NYC is right around the corner. This indisputable fact was confirmed by several friends, who have made pilgrimages to Bagels & Co. from as far as Tel Aviv and as close as 82nd Street. It would be a crime against humanity to deny myself this comfort food, despite the relatively high-fat schmear of cream cheese. Fatty foods are on the "no-no" list when dealing with GERD, but I allowed myself this one cheat.
So, there I was with my bagel and water; I sat outside the restaurant, where they had a few tables and chairs for al-fresco dining. It was a perfect spring day, cobalt-blue sky, temperature was 70 WABC D-grees (if you know, you know). How could I not sit in the sun, enjoy my bagel and Tums (required at least 15 minutes before treatment), and watch the dog walkers, kids heading to school, delivery bikers, and all the rest of the world go by? Well, that was fine and dandy until a department of sanitation truck pulled up in front of the restaurant. Sanitation workers put up traffic cones and started to lift a manhole cover and pulled out all manner of ductwork with the apparent intent of draining something nasty out of the sewer, 20 feet from where I was sitting.
I wolfed down the rest of my bagel and digestive aids and hustled over to the Latitude office to get my next updose, and a breath of fresh air conditioning.
The updose session seemed to fly by, even though I was there for the usual hour. I worked on my laptop. planning out which booths I was going to visit at a trade show at the Javits Center a few hours later. Cassie, my emotional support human for the week (officially, my nurse) checked in on me periodically. Fortunately, I had nothing to report, and after an hour I was sent on my way.
They Found Me Out
When Dr. Novick entered my examination room, he was playing "I Go To Rio" by Peter Allen, which appeared in one of my early blog posts about resolving my allergy to Brazil nuts, on his phone. (Brazil. Rio. Get it?). "Oh, you found my blog!" I said, a bit nervously. "What do you think?" His response was that he likes it. He's probably reading this now (Hi, Dr. Brian!). In fact, as I was leaving the appointment, Amber Price, who greets everyone as they step out of the elevator, told me to expect an email from Debbie, one of the co-founders of Latitude.
Indeed, when I got home, I found the email. She wrote: "Amber, Dr. Novick, and the whole team in our UES clinic have so joyfully shared your successes with me. I love your blog — what a great way to document your treatment journey. It is surely empowering for other adults navigating their own food allergies!" Such wonderful feedback.
While I can't go into details yet, let's just say this blog might be getting a bigger audience soon.
On to the photos!
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