bad non-medical news from two doctors (lyn)

For about a year now, I have periodically been getting little irritating welts on my body.  Usually in clusters of two or three.  The pattern is generally this:  I’ll awake in the middle of the night with a tingling, slightly itchy sensation somewhere on my body.  By morning, two or three welts have appeared at the site of the tingling.  These usually are extremely itchy and are gone within a few days.

I have seen a dermatologist who said she thought they were some kind of bites or maybe even hives.  At first I thought it might be sushi.  But the welts that crop up early yesterday morning occur nowhere near the consumption of fish.

Today I go to see an allergist, hoping I’m allergic to something, but fearing I’m not.  I want him to see these little bumps in all their glory.  He takes one look and says, “Sorry, but I think these are bed bugs.”  I so want him to laugh and say, "Just kidding."  He doesn't.

The allergy tests he later takes all come back negative.  There is no definitive test for bed bugs.  A food allergy would be much easier to detect. 

Later, I make an appointment with a dermatologist who takes a biopsy.  From that, she might be able to tell if it is a bite, but not what kind.  

It’s a start.

I order sushi for dinner without worrying if I'm allergic to it.  I kind of wish I were.