Question:
About five years ago, I noticed something strange about my sleeping patterns
when staying over at a girlfriend's house: I would have very fragmented sleep,
very shallow and non-restorative. The only difference between locations was
that she had two large dogs.
Eventually, my sleep worsened to the point where I no longer stayed over there.
Sleeping at my own house would resolve the problem. As time went on, I became
SO sensitive to her animals that even seeing her for five minutes, outside of
her house, would disrupt my sleeping.
In the ensuing years, I've noticed a pattern emerging: if someone I see owns a
dog and I'm repeatedly exposed to them, eventually I become so sensitive to
their dander that I will have broken sleep after seeing them, even if the dog
is nowhere to be found.
Now I'm ready to move into a new house and see that there is one dog next to
me, and one dog in the house adjacent. A sleep test showed that I have mild
sleep apnea, which leads me to believe my allergies affect my respiratory
system somehow. I do not have a stuffy nose, puffy eyes, or any other classic
hallmark of allergies.
If I'm in the same room as a dog for an extended period, it seems as though my
saliva increases, I develop restless legs, and I begin to urinate frequently.
If I actually touch some breeds of dog, I will break out in hives instantly.
Obviously, I can't avoid working with or being around people with animals. I
tried treating the apnea with a CPAP, but have thus far had no luck. Has anyone
heard of such a bizarre, ultra-sensitive reaction to dog dander? What are my
options beyond living in a bubble for the rest of my life? Dogs are EVERYWHERE,
and people who own them are EVERYWHERE!
Answer:
I don't have any good answers to the question of how your
sleeplessness connects to dogs but I can surely relate to your term
"strange allergy symptoms" and "living in a bubble" as I too react to
things including dogs strangely. Just being in the presence of someone
who owns the offending pet also makes me sick. My sleep is also
dissrupted but I am so busy with other problems (ringing in the ears,
headache, temporary aphasia, and general inability to function(vision,
taste,smell,co-ordination) cold extremties and the list goes on) I
never considered a poor rest as a symptom as all the discomfort makes
one rest poorly. The classic hallmarks of allergy you refer to are probably present in
part for me but are not the first sign of trouble.
I too live in neighborhood where dogs and cats abound and am
currently so sensitive I experience problems just trying to chat
across the fence with my neighbor, who owns a small dog, when he is
outside. Whenever anyone who owns a pet is in the same area as I am I
begin to feel sick. The first sign of trouble for me is that my nose
begins to crawl and itch and the air feels dusty and thick when I
inhale. As for restless legs I experience general aggitation which if
it occurs at night manifests in waking up with my toes curled up and a
feeling that it's time to act. Once I am wider awake I realize that 3
a.m. is a very poor time to do anything and consciously work to
convincing myself to sleep instead. Succeeding at this takes a minimum
of 1/2 hour and often longer. This part of the problem is less
noticable in the daytime as I just do my best to use the energy for
something useful that doesn't require too much concentration. I am so
thankful that I am an adult and can redirect this to something useful.
If I were a child every one dread having me around in this state.
I hope it gives you some encouragement to know you are not alone in
your "bubble" and in your search to find answers. I am currently
trying to find a way to get my husbands family to understand why they
can't come to our house. The dog and cat they bring in on their
clothes lingers in my home and makes me sick for weeks after. I have
recently purchased a Hepa air cleaner(99.7%) for the the bedroom after
reading advice in several allergy sources that it works and find it
helps me recover when I have been exposed and generally makes me feel
better.
Much as I would like to live in a neighborhood that is pet free they
don't seem to exsist at this time. Adapting to the isolation is one of
the hardest parts for me,and it sounds like this is also going to be a
problem for you. It would be a great help to me to find others in my
area who are also in live a "bubble" so we can interact safely. It
looks like this will be a challenge for both of us. I responded to J.. directly and I mentioned to him that there is
something in my apartment I am highly allergic to--either pet dander
from previous tenants, or more likely, hidden mold or old building
materails.. Being that I already moved once this year from a place where I had
similar symptoms I didn't want to move again and be in the same boat. I
saw an allergist, a neurologist and a rheumatologist with no real
improvement, except that the rheumatologist said my sleep was be
interrupted due to the allergies. She said to Take Tylenol PM every
night for 4-8 weeks. I don't like Tylenol PM because it gives me
hangover effect in the morning, but I reduced the dosage to 1 pill and
it's better. My trigger point pain is subsiding which is good and I
think I'm acclimating to the place.
I have been going through NAET treatments as well and I think there have
been beneficial effects. There's definitely something different about
the "energy" in my body. I'm being treated for mold at my NAET
appointment tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted. I tried the NAET because
I have read several posts by people who are "allergic to everything" and
have found relief. I have been having very good luck with NAET. I have been treated for a
lot of different foods, dust mites, animal dander and mold. There may be
more, but that is all I can remember at this time. Do you have a face
mask to wear for the 25hrs after the treatment, at least when you are
near any mold?I'm glad NAET is working. I was skeptical, but my body does feel
different and I'm not reacting to some of my allergens as severely--and
I just finished the basic "10" treatments. I'm actually going to have to cancel tomorrow's appointment to be
treated for mold.
I came down with a really bad cold or flu.
I was going to stay at a friend's house instead of wearing a mask.
