How Fighting Ageism Led to a Trip to the ER

When I was in my forties, I was warned that sponsors felt my age was a precedent over my abilities. I was dropped. The new target is millennials, I was told.
 
Fast forward to my fifties; I was able to redefine my career and created a new role I loved and coveted. This new role, like any job, did come with challenges. I was never accepted into the club. I had to develop tough skin, and thank God for all of the inner work I do to strengthen my self-worth. One personality refused to look me in the eyes for over two years. I was virtually non-existent. 
 
So, I thought to myself, "maybe it is time for a "tweak," my friends were doing it and seemed quite happy with the results.  ​

Before I begin to tell my story, I am not here to judge anyone who loves beauty injections. Fit Your Style was designed on the core beliefs that you do what is best for you - period. 
 
I started my injection treatments and developed over-arching eyebrows, and one eye bigger than the other. I was told that could happen, and an adjustment was made.  
 
For some time, I did feel more beautiful, more youthful, and confident. Then, unbeknownst to me, I came to depend on the magic vial on a conscious level. Over time, I would go for routine treatments and found my face was altered and I had repeated issues with my eye being smaller than the other. (It is known as eye drooping) I also started to experience my face would "swell" when I traveled to LA for work. I stopped eating food on the plane I thought was triggering this issue. By the time I was in front of my makeup artist for work on the red carpet, my eyes would be so swollen and distorted.  
 
My last Oscar's role held the most responsibility. I was under stress and had another very intense flareup. I was on Benedryl, hemorrhoid cream for my eyes, you name it, we tried it. Anything to calm my puffiness and swollen face. 
 
I returned home after the most successful event. As an introvert, I always go through a "phase" of seclusion and calm to balance out the events' frenzy. I woke up to massive scratching of my palms; I was still drowsy and just kept scratching. When I finally couldn't take it anymore, I woke up and went into the bathroom to discover I was completely covered in hives and my face was utterly distorted. It was shocking to see. My husband rushed me to the emergency room. I was convinced I had "bed bugs" from my condo. Now my condo was lovely; it is all I could think of that could cause this to happen. 
 
When I entered the emergency room, the nurse asked right away if I was under stress. I laughed and said yes, I was coming off of significant pressure. Upon meeting my doctor, I said, " Doctor, do I have bedbugs?" He said, " Jennifer, you have stress." That was the defining moment where I realized I need to redesign my life; once again. Nothing was worth what I was enduring. I was diagnosed with "spontaneous urticaria," a fancy name for hives that could occur at any time. This outbreak is not caused by traditional allergies, as I also went to an allergy specialist.  
 
I was sent to an urticaria specialist who could not understand why I experienced these outbreaks as I didn't fit the general age. Her answer was, "Take Benadryl every day." Every day, I asked? My thoughts were, "Thank you, Next."
 
I wound up having them for ten months - in and out of walk-in clinics and continue to have lessor episodes to this day. I have photos, but I am not sharing them, for they are difficult to view. 
 
Here is what I learned:
My allergist shared urticaria is triggered by heat and sun: Interestingly, my major flareups occur in California and Florida. 
 
Nearly one year later, I had a breakthrough when I sought out a well-known physician specializing in beauty injections. I was told, " Botox can potentially cause or trigger Chronic Urticaria. You are at high risk for this type of experience." I finally have my answer! 
 
I started researching and found many resources on the subject: Here are a few for your review. 
https://www.aaaai.org/allergist-resources/ask-the-expert/answers/old-ask-the-experts/botulinium-botox=
 
https://academic.oup.com/asj/article/35/5/NP102/239754
 
Long Term Side Effects:
https://iapam.com/long-term-effects-botox-injections.html
 
The bottom line, I encourage you to be your own health advocate. Each time I don't "listen" to my body, I'm given a health issue to deal with. 
 
Now, I embrace my beauty lines, honoring my face with facial yoga and natural oils, and calming my body with Reiki sessions.
 
Here are some of my favorite resources:
 
Facial Yoga Course:
A daily and fast way to strengthen your face, naturally! 
https://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=941
 
Natural Skin Care: 
https://theayurvedaexperience.com/collections/all-products

Pink Quartz Roller by Be Kind:
Not all rose quarry rollers are alike! My favorite is from Love Your Mother Boutique.
This is amazing when you are having urticaria face swelling It calms and cools the skin!  
https://instagram.com/loveyourmotherboutique?igshid=106m79vgsbsah
 
Reiki Sessions:
https://www.instagram.com/reikiwhitelighthealing/?hl=en
 
I hope this blog was helpful! Use in good health!
Stay Safe & Be Well, 
 
Jen xo