So there's this 26-day Blog Challenge that Jade is hosting and I thought, you know what, why not?  I'm getting a bit bored lately about what to write other than just chronicling what I'm doing, what I've done on such and such day or weekend. 

Here's the list of what each day's topics or discussions/pics are about:



I'll start off for day two, Tuesday, August 5th.  "What's in my makeup bag".......

So, obviously, I don't wear everything all at the same time but typically I put eyeliner and mascara on.  I feel like I look like I'm 12 years old if I don't because I have blond eyelashes and eyebrows for the most part.  Anything on my eyes makes them pop, though.  For work, I usually have eyeliner, mascara, a bit of stuff on my eyebrows and some powder.  I often wear a bit of neutral colours for eye shadow but not always.  I'm a bit of a creature of habit.  Unless I'm going somewhere or wanting to experiment, only then will I put on a bright colour or something different that catches the eye.  I've always loved make up but never been one of those with makeup that's literally caked on or you can see that they've got their "face on".

This is what I carry around with me, but I have much, much MORE makeup in a case (or several, I should say) at home.  On the upper left is Benefit Brow Zings.  It's not cheap but I shit you not, if you're not caking that stuff on, it'll last you well over a year.  Then there's Rimmel Quad eyeshadows, below that is a Loreal nail polish that I'm currently obsessed with.  MAC lipsticks (can't remember what they're called off hand as I write this but they're nude-like colours), Loreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara.  Love this stuff.  People always ask me if my eyelashes are real, to which the answer is YES.  I've never had fake eyelashes except for back in the modelling days when I used to do trade shows and conventions and they'd just cake shit all over you, it was actually quite gross.  Below that is my go-to neutral eyeshadow tones, I think I bought that brand at Rexall?  I just liked the shades.  Below that and working right to left is Physicians Formula "Mineral Tinted Moisturizer"... So I ended up buying this months ago when I had raging skin from the stupid allergic reactions I was having and my face looked wretched.  I'm not one for foundation but sometimes a girl needs some cover up and this stuff is alright.  Not great, but lets your skin breathe and that's all I cared about when I bought the sucker.  Beside that are my various liners, two liquid and one pencil.  And finally the NARS lip gloss.

And now it's Day three, Jade has already done her post, albeit because she IS in South African but I need to get on the ball. 

I had my hospital appointment this morning... FINALLY and needless to say, a bit disappointed because what I was told was nothing I hadn't heard or been told before.  And I had to insist for them to do some research and get back to me about any other similar drugs like that nightmare I was on so that in the future, I can avoid them if necessary.  Considering it was a drug reaction clinic, I was a bit pissed off that it seemed like water off a ducks bath that I had that many swelling episodes, all to do with my face and HEY! Maybe, just maybe I'm a bit concerned that should this shit ever happen again, it'll be WORSE than my previous episodes.  Swelling episodes typically are worse each time around.  Whatever, frankly I just want to forget this ever happened.  It was so traumatic and upsetting, not to mention frustrating and annoying. 

On a happy note, my friend Tara's wedding is just 3 days away!!!!!!!!!!! So excited!!!!

And a few pics from the weekend.  I haven't been snapping pictures as much as I used to....

At the range with Jeff and my father in law.

A little bit of this and that...

So here's a few more pictures of my life of hives.  By doing my own research, I can only conclude that I fall into the small percentage of people that have serious, adverse reactions to this god damn SNRI my family doctor prescribed for me in November.  While I benefited in that I felt better emotionally and mentally, the first side effects presented as sweating.  Like a beast.   I'm talking looks like I'm having hot flashes sweating.  All the flippin time.  I should also state that I every single typical side effect Effexor has listed when I first started taking them.. At first, my GP said it was all about risk versus reward.  Could I handle being a new-found mad sweat-er?  I wake up nightly, wearing nothing, wearing shorts, pyjama pants, whatever I'm wearing and I'm completely soaked.  Like I've wet the bed soaked.  How annoying is that?!

I didn't start getting immediate adverse effects right away but they became serious and hell around the four to five month mark.  That's where shit went downhill and fast.  While I know that the internet has a lot of false or inaccurate information out there, I don't find it a coincidence that I've found a forum with a small number of people experiencing the exact same side effects and serious ones at that.  From what I've read and concluded, the side effects become worse around the 4-5 month mark.  And I was bang on in the 4-5 month mark when it got bad.  You see, I would get and continue to get hives on a daily basis.  Waking myself in the night, bleeding and covered in massive hives, some the sizes of saucers.  I'll say this first before I say where I'm going next.  Immediately after starting Effexor, my face broke out in acne or almost what I describe as painful ulcer.  And they wouldn't heal at all and if they did, it would take several months.  And I was starting to scar easily.  I used to be a crazy fast healer.  Not anymore.  So not only has my face become what looks like a heroin or meth addict, my shins broke out in painful, weeping sores, and they too would just not heal.......

The next side effects were the massive swelling of my face, my lips primarily, but also my eyes, eyelid, my cheeks, and also I was started to get throat tightening, which is basically the beginning of anaphylaxis.  Good times, right?  Not at all, my friends.  So I began chronically in pictures what was happening and I began to wonder:  if this is going on externally, what the fuck is happening to my body internally?  The first phase of absorption of this medication is through the liver.  So.... my liver, from what I can conclude based on what I've researched, has been trying to stave off and fight whatever it is that's in the medication, thinking it's bad and it's attacking itself.  So.... in the end, I'll have to do a liver cleanse and likely kidneys too.  I drink a ton of water but I don't think that's sufficient enough to flush out my system with whatever shit is attacking it.  In this forum I found, many people's doctors referred them to allergists, endocrinologists, immunologists and GI doctors and not one of them could point the finger to a cause of why these side effects were occurring.

And so I was to go to the doctors this Thursday, for an update and to get more of the medication, since it was about the 6-month mark.  

Well last week I had had enough.  I was in agony. I had decided at this ppint, the risks far outweighed the rewards. I told her that I didn't even want to contemplate going on anything and I mean anything unless I was dying on my death bed. She said I should do a 14 day taper down to nothing so that I would t get sick going cold turkey. I decided in my own mind after that the sooner the better and that even 14 days was too long. So I'm doing a 10 day weaning. 

The first give days (thurs, fri, sat, sun and mon) I cut my original dose in half, as suggested and the next five days it's down to a quarter of the dose. I've been feeling a bit wonky, mostly Monday night coming home from work, I felt faint and nauseous like I was going to either pass out or throw up or both. I went home and had a nap on the couch with Charlie and Baxter and felt better when I woke up.

I've included some pictures from last weekend petsitting so enjoy. Loved the Cane Corse, he was stunning and like a little rambunctious kid. ;)

This week at work has been crazy as well with a co-worker that is on vacation in Roatan, so I'm covering her desk in addition to mine.

That's enough rambling for one post so night night!

The grey Himalayan is Ashleigh and the Creamy coloured one is Oliver.  They're both about 15 years old.  Aren't they gorgeous?

And next we have birthday party pictures for Miss Lily, our friend Dina's Bichon who turned 8 years old last Friday.  She is Baxter's lady friend :)

My step-dad, Brian and Charlie.  Charlie loves his
"Pa"

Miss Chloe

These are mild hives compared to what I was getting.  I'm definitely getting less and less hives but because I've got so much histamine in my body right now, it's super sensitive and reacting to everything and nothing.

This picture was taken on Monday while going to a BodyShred class.  Already huge improvements, my face is healing, my shins are looking better..... And this is day 5 of tapering off the medication.

This picture was taken on Tuesday morning.  The sky was beautiful this morning.