Dove and Steriods

After my little visit to the doctor, no new information was determined...well, I guess I've determined that I'm a freak of nature (but I already sort of new that). He said that the hives and the tastelessness I'm experiencing don't appear to be in correlation with the penicillin injection I received over ten days ago. He prescribed Prednisone for the next little bit in hopes that it will have an effect on the hives. I've heard from others that this is a temporary miracle drug that, if taken too long, will ultimately kill you. Nice. I remember we prescribed it to the animals, when I worked at the Vet's office, for decreasing inflammation. I suppose that is what this doctor had in mind.

I worked from home yesterday after I picked up my prescription. I was sort of embarrassed to go because the Pharmacy ladies know me now. Yes! They know me and now ask, "Is it for you or the baby?" Ugh! I'm a regular. That's so sad. Anyway, they joked with me and said that my visits wouldn't decrease until the kids were at least fifteen. Only fifteen? Why not make it twenty-four? It might as well be one hundred. Each visit for me is like the walk of shame. I can't seem to keep anyone in my family healthy.

The meds seemed to make a difference within an hour. My itching wasn't as bad and I could taste a bit of Indy's french fries...not well, but enough to enjoy them somewhat. My Healthy Choice breaded chicken meal wasn't too bad either. The breading had a lot of pepper and I could certainly taste that. By evening, I was feeling pretty good. I took a shower, hoped into bed and began to itch like a mad woman! I broke out the Cortaid spray and Aveeno Cortisone cream with a quickness. The itching never really subsided, even with the topicals. I had a thought: "What if I'm reacting to my new body wash?" It never occurred to me that this could be because I've used Dove forever! Seriously. The first body bar I was ever able to read at maybe four or five was D-O-V-E. Dove. That's what my family used. Not Zest, Irish Spring, Dial, Lava, Caress...just Dove. When they started coming out with their body wash line (around my college years), I began to buy those with just as much success as their bars.

A couple of weeks ago, we were shopping at Shopko and stumbled upon marked-down Dove body washes. Two were new: the Massage brand and Green Tea. I'd already had experience with the Green Tea bar and loved the fragrance so, we picked that without hesitation. The Massage one smelled nice and had these pearl massage beads included in the formula. It sounded heavenly. The new body wash made it's way into my shower quickly and I began using it right away. This morning, I took another shower but with my Dove bar, not the body wash. The itching went away. Bingo! Sadly, this wash will have to go for it seems I have determined the source of my speckled hivey loveliness.

In other news, I've been going through a Robert Altman phase as of late. One my early goals in my weight loss program was a movie from my half.com wish list. I chose a movie that I've been enamored with for years: 3 Women. It's a disturbing tale with some phenomenal acting by a very young Shelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek. I remember seeing it in high school really late at night, and later seeing it again as an adult. At that time, I taped the movie and try to watch it once a year. If I were a film professor, this would be in my stable of movies to teach. If you can netflix it, I highly recommend it. It will definitely stay with you...an unusual movie indeed.

This past weekend, I watched another of his masterpieces, Nashville, which was a little slow but very good. Being that this is my hometown, I was eager to see if I recognized anything...the turn of a highway, a landmark. So much has changed since 1975 but the Parthenon? Timeless. I knew it and Centennial park right away. The story revolves around 24 protagonist...seriously. You gotta keep up. It's a myriad of themes with the characters all coming together at the surprise ending. I really enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll own this particular Altman.

For the past two days, I've been watching snippets of Brewster McCloud with increased zeal and interest. Mr. Altman was definitely a man about metaphors. The inside and outside jokes, the oncologist narrator. It's one wild ride of a movie and one I hope to own someday. Next week, I think I'll try and find the original Mash and see what that's all about.