Talking Allergies

I agree with all of you. My peanut-allergic son was diagnosed at age 4. He is now 18. I've been through the terror, the sorrow, the guilt, the anger and the constant vigilance. But it does get easier in that it becomes a way of life. I don't discuss allergies every day, but my ears prick up when I overhear a news report or a conversation. I keep my information current. The most difficult thing lately has been letting go. My son is now an adult and I have to let him be responsible for his safety. I have to let him make his own decisions. I do find that my son is more open to differences in others. He is very accepting of the "round pegs in square holes" that are often hovering on the fringes of kids' social groups. And I guess it really made sense to me when he told me he had decided to become a teacher. That was not an allergy decision. He wants to brings sports to all kids, not just the "athletes" in schools. But the not-quite-fitting-in of his own life, the care of his friends and the kindness of adults he met along the way in regards to his allergy have all combined, I think, to bring him to this decision. Maybe, down the road, it will make it easier for a mom to send her allergic child to that very first day of school.

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Mom of 21 yr old son with peanut/nut allergy & environmental allergies

My son is very detail - oriented, good thing, because ingredients are really detailed, but he almost always notices medic alert bracelets ask often asks the wearer what it is for, then the 20 questions about their individual conditions...he really got a "kick" out of his soccer coach this year as he was also PA. My son finally found a "big" person he could talk to about what they can and can't have as snacks and analyzed what the different parents brought to the games. It was interesting watching these two bond (that probably never would have). His teacher at school was thoughtful enough to introduce my wee guy to another student (a grade ahead) so they are both PA and can talk about their differences and similarities to the other kids or even share with each other (I don't like it, but that's what kids do, I'm glad its with another PA child). Even just having other kids (and parents) to the house that are PA have mentioned that they feel more comfortable as we all have some unique bond and similar views about safety and food. All of this stuff I didn't experience before this little guy was placed in my arms. As I have learned how to research as well as tremendous tolerance and patience and realized how blessed I am to be in Holland.
Cheers,
Buzimom of 4 boys ages 14, 12, 11 no allergies & age 6 PA, eggs, shellfish, environmental

Waah! As a result of testing today we now have to add pretty much all legumes to our daughters allergy list.
How often do you order a new MedicAlert bracelette?
We now have an invitation to test legumes prior to serving them (this is from a Dr who usually requests a reaction occur before he'll do the SPT-I guess he's changing) as every one we tested today came back positive.

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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

Susan - oh no! Sorry to hear.

Damnable multiple allergies; I really, really hope the challenging
disproves some of the positive skin tests.

A girl sure deserves a break. G

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Thanks, I'm handling it in stride but my husband is feeling her (and therefore, our) world get just a wee bit smaller.
He needs to greive what he knows she can't have and worry about furture allergies and I need to find the positive (some days it's hard).

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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

Susan, So sorry to hear your news... it's SO difficult to add more allergens to an already complicated list. Not to mention that it can be quite depressing when you learn that something new needs to be added to the list. We're also avoiding all legumes, with the exception of soy and green beans, so I know it definitely takes some adjustment. I have a recipe for our families version of "chili" if you would like it. If you're interested, I'll post it under the recipes section. Other than that, we completely avoid all legumes (except for the two I mentioned)

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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

Julie-I'd love your chili recipe (or more to the point, my husband would love it!)
Yes, please do post it under the recipes.
Thanks!

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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

Susan, I'm so sorry to hear about the legumes. How discouraging for you guys.

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

Oh - my heart goes out to you!

I think I knew from before confirmed diagnosis that the multiple food allergies were here to stay in our family (damn all those others for insisting, including in front of her that allergies are something kids outgrow - always) BUT i was NOT prepared for ADDING foods as we evolved. adding "soy protein isolate" has and still freaks me out and it raised the very real question "is there something she hasn't yet had (fish?) that is also a trigger AND horror, are there things she's tolerating NOW that will become allergens over time?!"

and so it goes... i personally feel like food remains a roulette game... always... that's where the "managing anxiety" thing comes in.. oh yeah, i do it OK sometimes and others i still wake up in night sweats with nightmares so graphically horrible i can't even voice them (as a total aside, i was not superstitious before the first anaphylactic episode... the other day i threw spilled salt over my left shoulder...)

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renie
daughter: ana for egg, sesame, dairy, pistachio/cashew/hazelnut. allergic on contact. allergic to soy protein isolate. other lesser allergies (e.g. dogs, dust mites). well controlled asthma. eczema.
son: p-p-p-p-peanuts

sorry to hear about the positive test results! the combination of dairy and soy allergies is really difficult to manage!

Hey Susan, I've posted our "chili" recipe under the Recipes section. Hope your husband enjoys it

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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

Thanks!

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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

I have found that life with an allergic hubby and an allergic child has gotten easier as I get used to what I can and cannot buy. I buy very few items that not everyone can have. My son is allergic to potatoes, but I have not stopped buying them... he just gets rice or Alphaghettis (his fave) instead. My son is allergic to oranges, but we cannot even have them in the house because my little guy gets all rashy just having someone eating an orange in the same area that he's in, so that is something that I have definitely stopped buying. We use Pea Butter instead of peanut butter. I only just recently started buying eggs, although I still don't feel comfortable feeding them to my non-allergic children because of the risk of cross-contamination. Every once in a while I still find myself getting emotional in the grocery store trying to find something a little different... it can be frustrating at times. It's my life now and I have to get used to it... good or bad.

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Married mom of 4 living children and a baby girl in Heaven.
Between myself, my husband, and our children we have way too many allergies to list.

I'm having a bad week...very busy at work and our daughter Sparks is starting to erk me.

Tonight is the Advancement Ceremony where she and the older Sparks "fly up" to Brownies. Of course there will be cake...

Of course I e-mailed the leader who never called me back. Hubby informed me last night that she forwarded my request for telephone numbers to the higher ups who...did nothing.

In 2 weeks they will have a BBQ.

Then the following week camp.

Then the following week a Momy and Me Tea.

I am sick of the food and I am very annoyed that my requests go on answered.

I will be complianing to someone today...I just don't know who yet.

I don't know if I want her going tonight...of course I want her to go but my anxiety is very high...to high just for this...I am mostly annoyed at my requests being ignored.

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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

Susan, I'm so sorry you have to deal with this!

I hope you can find a listening ear in the organization soon! It would be really sad if your daughter missed out on this because of unconcerned parents...

That's one of the things that scares me about my daughter's future... When she gets into activities with other children, everything is celebrated with food! A birthday, mother's day, and end-of-year party, a graduation ceremony! I don't want her to miss out, but I don't know how I will deal with this...

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Me - Kim - No allergies
DH Ben - 31 - Allergic to nuts and peanuts, lots of environmental allergies.
DD Anne - 4 - Asthma. Allergic to dairy, eggs, mustard, kiwi, peanuts, wheat and barley... for now...
DS Francois - 1 - No allergies so far...