Talking Allergies

]Most people with anaphylaxis are allergic to one to 4 things. I can eat 10-15 things. I am anaphylactic to over 5000 things. I have had 26 anaphylactic attacks in my life and im 19 years old. At one point I literally became allergic to all food and was in the ER 18/30 days. I am wondering if anyone out there is as allergic as me as I have yet to find anyone even close. I have to use organic silk sheets, sea salt and baking soda to brush my teeth, and have to use all organic 1-2 ingredient soaps. I am allergic to EVERY grain except organic brown rice, ALL DAIRY including soy, goats milk everything, EVERY meat except turkey, buffalo, bear, ostrich and alligator, every nut except almonds, all sugar - glucose, sucrose and large amounts of fructose, I cant eat at any restaurants and have to cook all my own meals. I am allergic to citrus, melon, pineapple, and banana for fruits and tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms and carrots for vegetables... I am allergic to all narcotics and cant take any advil, pain medication, allergic to all alcahol, smoke perfume, cologne. and BENADRYLL. I develop allergies monthly and in the past year have developed 6 new allergies. I get pissed off b/c people dont understand how bad my allergies are until they are ion emergency with me and my tongue is stickin out my mouth from swelling. If u think u have it bad haha read my story.

Not that I know the person directly, but when my son was diagnosed with a few things, I was a bit discouraged, and our allergist told us (without names and details of course!) about one of his clients who could only eat one kind of protein. So you're not alone! Not that it makes it any easier....

_________________
11yo boy - peanuts nuts chickpeas
8yo daughter - peanuts, nuts, mustard, eggs, sunflowers (new! ), oral allergy syndrome
husband - pollen of all kinds
me - seafood,, oral allergy syndrome

I don't think I "have it bad", but I can only eat about 8 foods. I have for the last year or so, and although I miss things sometimes, I feel better and am confident that as I heal, my sensitivities will subside.

http://www.allergyasthma.on.ca/foodcross.htm
Here is just an example of foods that can cross-react. If you can't eat one food from a family, you probably couldn't eat the others as well as you sound very sensative to allergens.
It is extremely hard to learn that you have been cut off from a medium that most society uses to express love, happiness and celebrations in general.
It is very hard to have to constantly defend your decision not to eat or be a part of rituals surrounding food. Some people can feel by not partaking of their meal that you are turning your back to them. So there are a lot of attitudes being affected at the dinner table.
You have the right to refuse to eat foods which will make you ill or possibly kill you. You shouldn't have to defend your choices as your health information is confidential but...we all know that is hard to do and it may be in our best interests at times for people to know of our health concerns.
I hear a lot of anger in your post and that's ok, but know that anger is a very strong emotion and it takes a lot of energy. I know because I am a bit of a hot-head!
I find that I really need to focus my energy in ways that produce positive results for me and those around me whom I care about.
I read once that each emotion is part of our emotional tool box and it there to help us deal with situations.
Allow yourself to feel your emotions as they are very real and also very warranted. Then ask yoursef how you can use this energy to create a better situation for yourself.
You may find this artice to be of interest even though it is aimed at the parents of children with food allergies, I think a lot can stil be applied.
http://www.foodallergyinitiative.org/se ... icle_id=55

_________________
Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

That is an amazing article. It is going in my binder of resources, for I am definitely a citizen of Stress City. The article certainly addresses the emotions and management around those emotions in a way that I understand.

futbollercar I feel for you and your situation. There certainly is support here in the forum, for so many of us are looking for ways to manage our Allergic Living.

Caroline

_________________
son anaphylactic to peanuts

fubollercar, my diet is very limited, too, so I can sympathize, although I don't have severe reactions very often, and I can have dairy. Rice is my staple grain although I can have both brown and white rice. My favourite kitchen appliance is my coffee grinder. I don't drink coffee---I use it to grind up uncooked rice. i make rice porridge this way and also add the ground rice to boiling water + honey + salt and butter/cooking oil + any spices I'm using before adding rice flour for flatbread. (IRice flour on its own is *so* dry.) I also find that mixing *rice polish* and rice flour gives the bread a better texture than rice flour on its own. I've been experimenting with different types of wholegrain rices---I love Lundberg's gourmet rice mixtures. (I didn't even know there was such a thing as black and mahogany rice before!)

I've recently discovered non-stick silicone baking pans. Essential for flatbread!

You've come to the right place. As you can see, you're not alone. I was in the same boat a few years ago. Over a few years, some of the allergies subsided, but my diet is still relatively limited. I do a lot of cooking from scratch, of course. Anyway, welcome to this forum.

Andrea, I had no idea that your diet was so limited for a time. I'm in the same boat in terms of having to cook from scratch and having a limited diet. I hope my immune system settles down--although I'm not going to hold out too much hope! How long did it take for some of the food sensitivities to die down?

Helen, let's see. I had several anaphylactic food allergies during childhood. I never outgrew peanut, nut, sesame, and egg, but I was able to eat some egg in baked goods for a while. In my early 30s, I began to react to wheat, tomatoes, corn, milk, soy and a number of new foods. I had no idea why it was happening, but it was objectively visible during allergy tests and challenges. I avoided a long list of foods for a few years. Then, my new allergist had me come in for weekly food challenges. Initially, some were positive, but when repeated a year or two later, they were negative again (e.g., milk). Still no idea why, but I'm now able to have milk, corn, and a few other foods again. Wheat is still a mild allergy. It makes my throat itchy and triggers mild asthma, so I avoid it.

Do you cook in bulk?

Thanks! My experience has been sort of similar in that my mom tells me that I reacted to almost everything as a small child. I was able to eat more foods as a child and a teen . . . although there were some foods (like corn) which made my throat itchy if I ate them too much/too often.

Within the last several years (I've last track of time . . . within the last five, I think) my diet has become more restricted. First there was the wheat allergy issue. But then I started getting minor hives on a regular basis after eating . . . I was sent to a new allergist and got tested for a whole slew of foods. There were other symptoms as well sometimes. I went on a few foods diet (supervised by my allergist) . . . and that helped me to sort things out. The tests weren't false positives unfortunately.

I've discovered that I have celiac disease . . . was diagnosed about a year ago. I haven't been so lucky with trying alternative gluten free grains--I've been reacting to most new foods. I'm only eating rice now . . . and sometimes millet and tapioca. (Tapioca gives me reflux if I eat too much too often. I suspect a mild millet allergy. Also, the millet I get isn't processed in a gluten free place. . although I do use gluten-free millet flour.)

I'd guess the undiagnosed celiac disease might have caused havoc with my allergies . . . I've been gluten free for a whole year now. Maybe . .. just maybe . .. I'll be able to eat a few more things eventually. I sure hope so.

Whenever I cook, I do try to make a larger batch and then put some in the freezer. I cook meat in bulk and freeze it in portions. I have to cook nearly all the fruit that I eat (oral allergy syndrome), and I freeze that too. The only thing I don't freeze is rice . . .I'm not sure if that would freeze well!