Went out into my back yard the other day and cleaned up all the limbs that had been blown off the pecan trees by the recent storms that passed through North Texas.  I wasn't paying particularly close attention to the fact that one of the limbs was already pretty wrapped up in poison ivy.  

As a teenager, I did not react to poison ivy at all.  My father who was terribly sensitive to it would send me to clear it out from the hedges.  I wouldn't even ear gloves and I had no reaction to it.  About a decade ago - about the time I now realize that my cognitive impairments started - I became very sensitive to poison ivy.  If I got into it at all, the bumps would come up and then spread out of control until most of my body was itching.  I would ultimately have to give up and go to the doctor and get a shot of steroids to calm it down.

Well, this time I did get the rash.  It is itching and I am miserable from that, but this time the rash is not spreading.  In fact, the bumps came up where I had touched to poison ivy but where I have been able to avoid scratching them too much they're already starting to crust over and go away.   

I don't know if the change is attributable to the immunomodulatory properties of the antibioticsi [1], the fact I have fewer bugs floating around inside me provoking my immunei [2] system to overreaction or some combination of the two, but whatever the reason my experience with poison ivy is definitely better than it was when this happened last year. 

CAPi [3] for M.S. since 8/2007. Currently: 100 mg Dox. (2 x day), 250 mg Zithi [4] (3 x week) ceased 3/2008, restarted 5/2008, 150 mg Roxi (2 x day) starting 3/2008, ended 5/2008. Eighth pulse metronidazolei [5] completed 5/10/2008.

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CAPi [3] for M.S. since 8/2007. Currently: 100 mg Dox. (2 x day), 250 mg Zithi [4] (3 x week).  Sixteenth pulse metronidazolei [5] + INHi [6]i [6] completed 12/20/2008.