Are these allergy symptoms?

[yacketycat]

Hi all! I have a question regarding allergies, as I've never had them before, and am wondering if I do now. I moved to Houston a year ago from northwest Ohio, and although I have been enjoying the new climate, I've suddenly been miserable for the past few days. I've never had allergies (other than an apparent dust allergy I developed not too long ago, as I have sneezing fits when I dust), but starting last week, I began to feel absolutely terrible. A lot of people I know with allergies are miserable right now too, but their symptoms seem different. The best description I can give of mine is:

- it feels as though the lower front part of my brain is on fire.
- I have a roaring headache in the front of my face and back of my head every day, one which makes me want to "crack" my neck.
- my eyes are dry and burn, except for two occasions when they watered uncontrollably.
- I can barely get up in the morning - it takes me an extra half hour just to get moving, and I am tired all day and cannot focus or feel good about anything.
- I feel very depressed for no reason, confused and "foggy" - I can't think straight or be as productive as I normally am, which is difficult because I love my job and want to do it well!
- I have a lot of sinus pain; however, I do not have any congestion, post-nasal drip or the like; I've always assumed that allergies automatically caused a stuffy nose (is it possible to have inflammation with no mucus production?).
- my teeth hurt. A lot.
- the dark circles under my eyes and spider angiomas on my cheekbones seem to have gotten worse recently. My eyes have been puffy in the past few mornings, which makes the dry, burning eyes that much worse.

Since I have OCD, I am going a little overboard trying to figure this out, and obsessing about it only seems to make it worse. Earlier, I started to worry that my symptoms were from a brain tumor or hepatic encephalopathy (I'm a recovering cyberchondriac, of course), since I've enjoyed having a glass or two of wine with dinner for the past few months. However, my liver profile came back fine last month, along with other blood work that showed nothing other than a vitamin D deficiency. I know I'm panicking about the wine only because I don't feel good right now; and other than the occasional "wine blahs" the next day if I don't have enough water before bed, I've had no issues, and these symptoms came on very suddenly and with no clinical evidence to explain them.

This didn't happen to me last March, although I was living out in the country at that point and am in the city this year. I've also been told that Hurricane Ike introduced new allergens to the area, but since I've never had allergies before (and have no congestion) I don't feel like I can conclude that this is an allergy situation unless I have a bit more info as to whether these symptoms sound appropriate to the condition.

Thanks for listening, I hope you don't think I'm crazy - beyond the OCD, of course! I'm just new to the whole allergy thing, so I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience with this. As you can probably gather from my terminology, I work for a hospital; however, no amount of clinical research ever really tells you what something like this "feels" like, so I'm curious as to whether I should be seeing the allergist or the neurologist!

[yacketycat]

Thank you so much for your comments and advice. Sleep disturbances make sense - I can tell I am not sleeping well because of the sinus pain and headaches, as I wake up far earlier than normal lately. I especially appreciate the advice on the creams and almond oil, I will look into those - and I will cut down on my caffeine consumption, which has gone up quite a bit lately.

I took a B-complex vitamin last night, along with Benadryl, and had lots of green vegetables for dinner, and found that I felt much better today and (despite having a bit of a hard time waking up) I was far more "clear-headed" and positive and productive. Allergens were also lower in my area today, so there may be a connection. I will definitely get a referral to an allergist soon. Thanks again!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

The dry eyes,dark circles under the eyes and sinus pain can be explained by allergies esp air borne allergies but rest of the symptoms don’t seem to fit in allergies.Headaches can be due to tension headaches or sinus headaches,rest of the symptoms like dark circles under the eyes,tiredness and fatigue after waking up and confusion can be due to sleep disturbances.Take rest adequatey and eat healthy nutritious food containing lots of green vegetables. Try to avoid caffeine, because it promotes water retention and leads to the dryness of the eye.Apply almond oil or skin creams containing vit C or K,alpha hydroxyl acids and kinetin.Also consult a physician/allergist if the symptoms persist and get allergy tests done.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted if you have any additional queries.