Trying not to panic - possible severe allergic reaction

I may be more allergic to cat dander than I thought...
This is an ongoing story. Anyways seem to have a chronic headache problem, so I saw a neurologist. The neurologist told me to stop taking pain meds (Tylenol and related OTC meds) to see if the headaches will ease up on their own.

I did as instructed until yesterday after being outside the day before, got the most severe headache I've had in years.  I broke down and took something; otherwise I wouldn't have made the night because I was in so much pain.  After calling the neurologist again, she suspects I had a severe allergic reaction to the outside allergens (tree pollen) and to the allergens inside (cat dander.)  Now I have a referral to see an allergist.

Now I am really worried because I don't like the thought of not being able to cuddle with our cats anymore, having to keep them out of my room, or have to rehome them altogether...  Trying not to panic.  I will try to rule out other allergies before having to resort to that...

[zodiacqueen]

MJ, look how many years you've been around the cats-don't you think that if you were allergic something would've shown up a long time ago?  I'm no doctor, but I'm gonna guess that your headaches are from something else-you on a new med, change of dose, more stress, fever, etc.  Don't let the doctor blame this on allergies without checking out other causes.  If it does wind up diagnosed as allergies, there's lots of good meds out there.  Zyrtec is over the counter-works great.  Singulair is another good drug-prescription and also works great!

[Jade59]

Hey MJ...ZG just said exactly what I was going to.  You've been around cats a long time and I don't believe an allergy to cats would pop up overnight.  You could also be suffering from rebound pain from stopping the otc meds, meaning your headache may get worse before it gets better.  

Take care, honey

[MJIthewriter]

Yeah I doubt it too...
I went a couple weeks without the otc pain meds and I had mild to moderate headaches not worth noting.  I'm thinking it could be food allergy related or hormonial, but that's what I will bring up when I talk to the allergist.  But it kind of stinks right now having to wait and see...  I will go though the allergy tests and then see whether I should be worried or not about the cats.

But right now since I live with my grandma, she's gonna be watching over me like a hawk until I get those tests done because she will not want to go through another night like last night with me crying in pain from that kind of headache.

[April2]

MJ, even if you do find out you're allergic to cats it doesn't necessarily mean you would have to get rid of your cats or anything. We found out my oldest son was allergic to cats and dogs and this was after having pets for awhile! The doctor just said to have him wash his hands after petting them and to not let them in his bedroom. He needed one place where he could be without cat hair, etc. He also was taking allergy medicine and then the allergy shots for awhile. I was so glad they didn't say we would have to get rid of the pets because I think that would have devastated my son. He loves these cats!

I'm having problems more this year with my allergies too. I don't know if the wheather change has something to do with it or not but I've been getting really bad sinus headaches too.I'm pretty sure mine's related to pollen, etc.

I hope the appointment goes well with the allergist. I'm thinking about seeing one myself. Good luck!

[PrettyKitty1]

MJ,

My husband is allergic to Abby. His allergies were pretty bad. So, here is what I did to stop the situation, since I was going to get rid of my cat, right?

I went to the Pet Supermarket and bought (after researching, of course) a product called 'Allergy Relief from Cats'. It isn't cheap, but it works. It is easy to use, and works fast. If you ever find out that you are allergic to your cats, try it, and you'll see how your problems disappear.