Talking Allergies

Hi all!
I'm here out of desperation. I'm 30 and recently discovered I'm deathly allergic to just about everything, literally. Just to list the food allergies- soy, peanut, shellfish, seafood,carrots,peaches,watermelon,apples and lactose intolerant with a casein allergic young son. I've been dealing with this about 2 wks now and have already cleaned out my cabinets and fridge of triggers, I shop with a huge list of things that my triggers may be in and uncommon names for them. I'm diligent about calling manufacturers to make sure I'm doing my part it cutting down my chance of a reaction. All this and I still can't eat much more than a handful of fruits/veggies and oatmeal. I'm on daily meds and benadryl for small reactions and an epi-pen with shots coming this spring for outdoor allergens.

Please help! I just want to eat without dieing.

Countrymama

I'm sorry you're new and struggling so much. Those early days are really hard.

Our son has some similar allergies to you: peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, sesame seeds (and oils), sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, mustard, green peas, and many fresh fruits (mostly grown locally which is related to birch pollen allergy, which can also present as "oral allergy") Oral allergy is a reaction which generally takes place in the mouth (although, our son always has hives on his face as well) and is only infrequently anaphylactic. The fresh fruits our son cannot eat are: apples, pears, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, watermelon and pineapple (he used to love all these fruits, but can no longer eat them). However, he can eat them if they are cooked, or in a juice (although, he cannot have apple cider as this is cold pressed, and no heat is used to extract the juice from the apple).

Our son is also lactose intolerant. We buy lactose free milk, lactose-free sour cream (PC lactose-free sour cream), lactose-free yogurt (Biobest makes individual lactose free yogurts), lactose free gouda cheese and swiss cheese. My husband is also lactose intolerant, so I knew a fair bit before about how to handle this. He is able to eat cheddar cheese as well. Oh, and I buy a lactose-free mozzarella from Metro - it's the Bio brand (it's expensive). Your child will not be able to eat any of this due to the casein allergy.

Having said all this, our son is now 9 years old, so we've been dealing with food allergies since he was 6 months old. It's REALLY hard at first, but over time, and with the help of Allergic Living, we are living very well with food allergies, and we now know everything he CAN eat. We never eat in restaurants, and we make all of our own bread. We read all labels, and never eat foods with "may contain" on the label. We buy all fresh meat, and there are very few prepared foods he can eat. We eat lots of other fresh fruits: oranges, grapefruit, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, cantelope, honeydew, bananas, but we have to avoid all the fresh, locally grown fresh fruits. Our son can eat apple sauce, drink apple juice. We can eat potatoes, rice, our own bread, many vegetables (he's allergic to green peas & peanuts, so we were instructed to avoid all legumes (beans and lentils).)

If you need any more suggestions, PLEASE post and we will see what we can do to help you out.

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

Welcome to the forum - you'll find lots of support here!

Allergies suck, but you'll adjust - it just takes time. You can still eat A LOT of foods, so try to focus on that. I know what it feels like to get in a loop of only eating a few items you know are safe and forgetting about all the other great foods you can eat.

Here are some suggestions that may inspire you and lift your stress a bit:
Daiya cheeses are dairy-free (no dairy products whatsoever, or soy for that matter)
Rice and beans (so many great recipes out there)
Pasta and sauce (spaghetti, lasagne, mushroom sauce, red pepper sauce)
Curry
Stir fry
Chili
Sandwiches (salad sandwiches are my favourite!)
Soups (everything from vegetable to lentil to black bean - yum!)
** Homemade food is always the safest, as you can control what goes into it! **

Take it easy and remember that it will get easier. You've found this forum; it helped me a lot when I was first diagnosed and I hope it will provide you with more information, advice, and suggestions that will help you adjust easier. Best of luck and keep safe!

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anaphylaxis to tree nuts and peanuts; asthmatic, dairy intolerant, vegan
other family members allergic to to dairy, egg, peanut, peach, banana, sesame, environmentals

Countrymama, First hugs to you.
It's upending to suddenly have a number of foods "turn on you" like this.

I too am adult-onset allergic. At about your age, I anaphylaxed on shellfish (shrimp); it was a very serious reaction. This was followed a decade later by anaphylaxis to peanut and soy. I remember also being put on daily antihistamines the 2nd time because my immune system was so out of whack that I was reacting to things it later turned out (with testing) I wasn't actually allergic to.

The better news: the immune system does settle down, and knowing what you have to avoid does become a blessing not a curse since with those things out of your diet, you stop reacting.

Suggestion: sounds like you're not eating enough. Which is natural when food feels like the enemy. It won't remain such. Try to keep dinner really simple: e.g. plain chicken, rice and a safe vegetable can work well in the early going.

What's hard to understand is that you need to avoid things that are "complicated" - as in they have a lot of ingredients. Avoid stews and store-bought or friend-made pastry shells and anything with "mystery" ingredients. Keep it really, really simple and know what's in your food. It sounds boring, and it is. But it allows you to put one food on your safe list, then a next and another. And meantime your system is settling down.

Good luck to you. It's usually best to take it slow, steady and a little boring on the plate for now.

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Countrymama...... . This is the right place to come and I look forward to chatting and getting to know you. More hugs...

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish