I sit corrected. Thank you. As far as my chemical allergies go, first of all, it runs on both sides of my family. My mother was a nurse and the first to get them documents. She had the usual kind, to all fragrances, then later to peanuts. My Dad's allergies wasn't really talked about. My aunt, my Dad's sister had allergies to neuroleptics too, likely more prescriptions. My brother's son has more and worse ones than I have. My sister's is like my mother's. My brother is allergic to bone glue and he processes anesthesia's really fast. As do I, with a few ones too. Our cousins have some, one of them very bad ever since infancy. Both she and her sister.

I am convinced that one day, it will be found to be genetic. Some drugs I simply process totally different than what it's designed for. There is an antibiotic cream that actually causes me to have pimples. In my 30s and 40s I used to have really horrible migraines. So, when I got both the flu and a migraine one year, a friend convinced me to go to the local ER, which I did. There, I faithfully listed my known allergies at that time, all of which were to chemicals (then). Here's probably the best example. I told them at that ER (and another one later on) I could not ever take any neuroleptics, or despirimine. The despirimine, being a tri-cyclic drug, having sensitized me to both itself and all neuroleptics. At least, this was true then. New classes of both antidepressants and maybe neuroleptic's, also, have since been invented.

Anyway, the doctor kindly ordered a chemical cocktail IV, that was a mix of 3 drugs, for the migraine pain. The nurse put the needle in my arm, and I felt it...so horrible. I only had time to say "Oh God" and that was the end of that. Next thing I knew, another nurse was in my face trying to get me to check myself into the hospital for depression. I thought she was so out of order with that. I had come in for bad flu and a migraine. But the friend with me, she seemed to think I should stay at the hospital. Well, it was true I was going through a divorce I hadn't wanted, so I did as they wanted. Eight days later, I went home, recovered from the injection and my flu. Weeks later, my friend off handedly mentioned the seizure I'd had in the ER that day. It turns out, I'd gone straight into tonic clonic seizure, in the chair onto the floor, the whole bit. It was from the fact that Inapsine, a neuoleptic, was one of the 3 drugs in that chemical cocktail put into me. I have more stories of things like that. It got so bad in the 90's that just disclosing to a new doctor that I was allergic to such drugs knee-jerk caused the doctors to think I had a major MH illness. I never said I did. I was sitting there quietly. It doesn't happen much anymore, which is really good.

Eventually, I made it to a well respected Allergist, who kindly told me (like I was an idiot) that if I knew a drug would likely harm me, or gives me terrible side effects, I shouldn't take them! I just looked at him, trying to figure out how to tell him that sometimes I was extremely pressured (for no justifiable reason) to take drugs in classes I knew were mostly harmful for me. Suddenly, he just got it, and he wrote down a list of all the drugs his search of my medical records and exam had showed him that I was allergic to. He promised me that record of his would always remain in his records. Then, he gave me my own copy to have and told me to never lose it. As far as I am concerned, from that day to now, I believe he just plain saved my life and that of the infant daughter I had by that time.

Because of the permanent harm done to my nervous system by errors, prejudice, and misjudgments done to me, down through the years by doctors, I now must take several prescription drugs 3 times per day, for the rest of my life. There are specifically to treat the 24/7 pain I ended up in. It includes spasticsities, seizures, and repeated TIAs. I am blessed that my once infant is now in her late 20's and is the best live-in caregiver any 70 yr old woman could possibly want to have. She also has a "regular" job outside the home, good friends, is well balanced, and has a life outside our home too. A good friends of her's father recently lost a leg in a car accident, but survived, spending something like a week in ICU. My daughter amazed me at how she so naturally walked her friend through that whole experience. I am so blessed now.