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i feel like i wasted 4 hours of my life this morning.  i got to the allergist's office at 930, and left just after 1.  after listening to me tell the events of my allergic episode, the dr. felt like it was not a food-related allergy.  he said at this point in my life, it would be super-super rare to begin an allergy, especially after having zero allergies my whole life.  so no skin-prick test for me.  he was going to send me on my way, and reschedule me to come back for an "ibuprofen test" when i said, "well, i have a friend watching my kids right now, can't we just do it right now?"  so i drove to walmart to get a generic brand of ibuprofen, just like we have at home (i was tempted to just come home and get my bottle, but the store was closer, and i didn't want to waste his time), and went back to the office, and proceeded to take half a pill, then a whole pill every thirty minutes with the dr. poking his head in the door to make sure i was ok.  i read a couple chapters of jesus the christ, played some solitaire, then read a couple chapters of raised from the ground.  normally i am all for sitting still and reading a book (it's so rare these days!!), but i was itching to get out of there (sorry for the pun!).  nothing was happening, and i could just as easily monitor myself taking ibuprofen at home, thank you very much.  after i reached 800mg ibuprofen, the same dose i always take, i had to sit an extra hour to make sure nothing was going to flare up.  

at the end he had me retell the ingredient list, the sequence of events, and typed my official diagnosis in his computer:  exercise-induced anaphylaxis.  cue the eye-rolling and laughing.  seriously.  so independently, the food is not a trigger, and the ibuprofen is not a trigger, and the running is not a trigger, but for some reason, that particular time, all combined triggered an attack.  this may happen again, or it may never happen again.  but the dr. said i should always run with my epi-pen, just in case.  i love the dr's notes on the advice page he gave me:  "avoid large meals or ibuprofen prior to running."

oh, he also asked me what i was going to do the rest of the day.  i said, "well, it's monday, my cleaning day...and as i've spent my entire morning in your office, i now get to go home and catch up on laundry, vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing the bathroom...and then i'll probably load the boys up in the jogger, run to a park, play for a bit,, run home, and get dinner ready."  he laughed and said, "you have the running bug, don't you?"  "well, i have an event in 6 weeks...i kind of have to be consistent with my runs!"  "why don't we lay off the run today.  you're full of ibuprofen, and just in case it's the combination of running and ibuprofen, let's give it a rest."   

so, to celebrate, i came home and made broccoli pad thai with spicy peanut sauce for lunch.  and, i'll be honest, i don't know if i buy the whole exercise-induced thing.  my palms were itching as i was walking out the door, before i even started running.  maybe exercise-exacerbated, but not induced.  do running stores carry an epi-pen running belt?...i'm on the lookout for one now...until then, i think i can definitely live this on up, as in, "david, i can't do dishes today, i have chore-induced anaphylaxis, remember?"  or, "david, it's high time you woke up with the boys and made pancakes because i have wake-up-too-early-on-a-saturday-morning anaphylaxis."