A Likely Story
My Dad used to say, “a likely story” a lot in response to me saying something that sounded fishy coming from a small child.
For example:
“Kids with puppies do better in school, I swear, Dad!”
“A likely story.” He’d lower an eyebrow and give a scrutinous look.
I hear him in my head now as I am writing this, and it makes me laugh, but here I go anyway:
I think I’m allergic to spinach.
I should qualify that by adding I like spinach, but—as they say—spinach does not like me.
Remember the veggie blend Cheerios I was so excited to try? They tasted fine, good even, but within minutes I was sneezing, bloated, in excessive pain from head to toe, and my hands and fingers were both achy and numb at the same time.
So it’s not an Epi-pen situation. Maybe intolerance is a better word?
(I had a really weird episode with arugula several months ago, too. I could not stop sneezing.)
That’s the reason for my most recent break in blogging—I didn’t feel up to the challenge.
Anyway, someone on social media mentioned a histamine intolerance so I’ve been looking suspiciously at foods again.
A histamine intolerance seems very possible, what with chemo, IBS, moderately high eosinophils, and an immune system that seems to always be like, “WTF is this now?”
I decided to test the Cheerios again, for science, but this time with Flonase on hand. I immediately reacted with the same symptoms and felt a little better after snorting the corticosteroid.
I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty convinced.
The new Cheerios are made with spinach powder, which I have come to suspect to be something my body doesn’t handle well. Like, at all. Fresh spinach is less problematic, but I’m still shy about it.
So, I didn’t even open the second flavor of Cheerios. I’m just giving them both away and giving the boxes a couple of middle fingers on their way out the door.
Going back to my other birds now. Later.