Friday, January 19, 2007

Tagged!

I've been "tagged!" In blog-world, this is where someone writes 6 weird things about themselves and then "tags" 6 other people with blogs to do the same on their site. Kathleen of Cake + Pie has tagged me. I never had heard of this until recently so here goes!
1. A lot of people don't know I have "Nail Patella Syndrome" which is a genetic disorder. From it, I have cracked/incomplete thumbnails. Also, I cannot rotate my forearms...there is no socket in the elbow to turn...I can only bend the elbow. WEIRD! I also have strange hips and knees. Luckily, it's hard for others to notice (except sometimes I get comments about why my arms always seem to look "bent." But I tend to hide it ok. So this is a weird thing about me.

2. A lot of people ALSO don't know I have "Pressure Urticaria" which is pressure hives. I get them every day all over myself wherever there has been pressure on my skin. It's extremely itchy and annoying. On bad days I look like "Pizza the Hut" from Spaceballs. The key is to not do too much strenuous activity and avoid sitting/leaning on hard surfaces. I'm contemplating getting a bubble I can live in. Anyway, side effects are painful/swollen joints, fatigue, and of course itchy red welts. It came on just before I turned 22. I'm halfway to 29 now, so this sucks. There's no treatment or anything...mine is a severe case. So, I'm just used to it now. They say it will probably go away some day just in the way it came. WEIRD, RIGHT??

3. I'm originally from Maine and I hate seafood. Anything that looks like a giant ant is not for me. I'm just not a fan of the tastes or the textures. BLECH! But I know I'll probably never be allowed back in the state and I've also shamed my whole family. I can't help it; I'm weird!

4. I LOVE the muppets and anything muppet related. NO, I don't have muppet shrines in my house. Just a bunch of DVDs. Jim Henson was a genious. And his goal was to create a more peaceful and happy world. His work makes me feel like that. But to be 28 and singing "And Dance Myself to Sleep" by Ernie from Sesame Street makes me a little weird. Oh well.

5. I don't like to be tickled. Yeah, most people don't. But I cry and panic. Who does that?

6. My favorite movie is "Platoon." It's so great. What makes that weird is my second favorite is "Muppets Take Manhattan." I know, I know. Freakish.

Now, I have to tag 6 people. It's ok if you don't want to do it; but it's refreshing if there's a lot of other things on your mind.

RULES: People who get tagged need to write a blog post of 6 weird things about them as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

I tag: Juliet, Thea, Amy, Romina, The "Reluctant Housewife", and Alison


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well it is nice to know I'm not the only weird one:)

Anonymous said...

Even if these might be 'weird' facts about you, I'm happy to get to know you a bit better like this.

xo Sophie

Natasha Fontaine said...

Hi Megan! I was drawn to your site because I believe that I also have pressure hives. I've kindov self diagnosed but I'm pretty sure it's that. I get it mostly behind my knees and on the bones around the knees from crossing my legs, on my arms if knocked, on my tail bone if i sit for too long, etc. the list goes on. I was wondering if you've found any treatment for this...so far I've heard of nothing except steroids; wich I'm not really for. Any help would be great.
Natasha
:)

Unknown said...

Hi Natasha,
Gosh, unfortunately there is no treatment. At least for mine. The best I can do is to avoid the pressure (I've taught myself to stop crossing my legs) and to always choose seating that has cushions (especially at restaurants...I try to ask for a booth). I've found that taking a very hot shower and then letting my skin be very cold with very cold water seems to help sooth them. But nothing gets rid of them. As for itch, nothing really gets rid of that for me either. Benadryl SPRAY is the best for soothing the itch and sometimes helps the most. Having pressure hives stinks. Mine was diagnosed at a dermatologist who took a biopsy of a hive. I'd had tons of blood tests and they couldn't find anything wrong. But that might not be the case for you. I'd suggest an allergist and see what you can find out. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

Natasha Fontaine said...

Wow, thanks for the reply! Yeah, what I have noticed is that I only get them when I'm sick (i presume because my imune system is supressed). I was sick last week (for about 5 days) and the hives lasted that long. Once my cold was gone so were the hives. Back to crossing my legs and everything's ok. It's really weird. I've been to an allergist for a food test (arm prick tests) because I wanted to rule out foods. I'm not alergic to any foods, which is great, but frustrating at the same time because I want to know what causes this. Anyway...I guess I'm stuck for some time, considering I'm 22 and it started about 2 years ago.
Keep spirits high!! :)
Natasha

Grace Sola said...

Megan,
I was also drw to your site because of the mention of pressure hives. I have had mine for a little less than a year. I just turned 30 this summer. I am on a double dose of Zyrtec and Zantac daily and have tried lots of methods, including chiropratic sessions in an effort to make these things go away. Basically, like you, I avoid hard surfaces, tight clothes, and staying in any one position for too long.
I just read online that the average length of time for someone to deal with this is 9 years. I hope that we are on the shorter end of that average!
Take care,
Kelly