Talking Allergies

Hello,
My name is Lisa and I was just diagnosed Anaphalytic to Corn as well as several other new allergies (all are listed in Sig line ) Im not new to allergies as I have had them starting in 4th grade when milk, meat and a few other things gave me stomach issues and pollens and dust gave me sinus/allergy issues. In adult hood most of the food went away till around 2006 (early 30's) when I was diagnosed anaph to nuts then in 2008 to peanuts as well. I have done pretty well managing these allergies and avoiding any reactions.

I travel alot internationally for work and in Feb I had an unexplained reaction at work (I ate white beans, green beans and some pasta with oil and pepper) My cheeks flushed, the skin on my throat turned bright red and I felt my throat a bit swollen HMM, had no clue so I went back to the allergist last Tuesday when I was diagnosed with a TON of new allergies. Turns out it was the white beans per my allergist.

I was pretty bummed out as I was primarly vegitarian and loved salads, etc with the diagnosis. However, corn is the one that I am most freaked out about as it is EVERYWHERE as you all know or are learning.

Since Wed last week I have really pared down my diet to eat basic, organic meats that are not injected, eggs, some fruits, etc. It was so depressing at first but then I started to realized I am feeling so much better! My brain is not foggy, Im not tired all the time, I dont crave certian foods anymore, and I dont have anxiety and feel like a million things are going on at once. So, this is turning out to be a good thing with more energy.

That being said, I am really freaked out about CORN!!! It is everywhere and in everything - Hubby made me get a medic alert bracelet and I am actually looking forward to it's arrival as an extra assurance. Other than that, my next concern is if I can keep traveling for work. I usually go to the Italy and know a few resturants where they speak good english and could get translation cards made or something, but still freaking - also about the social aspects of eatting out as we used to do 2x a week or so. If anyone has any tips that would be great and nice to meet everyone.
Lisa

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Lisa
MamasAllergic
Anaph to: Corn, Peanuts, Barley, Pea, All Nuts, Clams, Lemons and Buckwheat. Moderate to: Soy, Lettuce, Pork, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage, Coconut, Green Pepper, Sesame Seeds, Scallops, Trout and Mustard, environ too.

Welcome to the forum. I don't have any tips about corn as that is safe for my daughter. It is encouraging to read that you have traveled a lot despite your multiple allergies.

When I first joined here, I found that browsing the forums provided lots of info!

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

Hi Lisa...I'm sorry that you have had to join the world of corn allergy. It is a very difficult allergy to live with. I hope you take the time to read all of the information under this thread. I'm sure that you have already learned some of the places where corn is hiding. The best way to start to avoid it is to cook from scratch using only whole (organic if possible) ingredients. Even organic can be a problem. I tried some organic chicken that was in a shrink type wrapper and reacted. After contacting the company I learned that there was corn starch in the plastic shrink wrap to avoid sticking....sigh... GMO corn on organic chicken...kind of cancels out the organic...huh? Organic bananas can be gassed with ethylene gas to ripen them. I do fine with regular Chiquita bananas. These are just a couple of things to think about. I've posted a ton of other information on this forum.

Keep a food diary and write down EVERY thing that you eat and drink and any reactions. I have been living with this allergy for 50+ years and still get corned.

As for travelling in Europe, I have been to places like Germany, Austria, and Holland and I always did so much better there. Corn isn't a staple of the diet over there "yet". I'm sure you will find a lot of safe food in Italy. Try to stick to local family run restaurants where they still cook from scratch. Of course, avoid all processed/pre-packaged foods. I found in recent years that the worst thing about travelling is all the darn hand sanitizer (pure corn alcohol) in airports. I thought I would croak at one point...couldn't breathe...face was fire engine red...felt like I was running a high fever. I react differently to ingested corn. If you have a problem with inhaled corn, there are masks that will help. I always make sure I pack a couple of safe lunches in my carry on and just drink the bottled water supplied by the airline.

I hope this helps...let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you to everyone for their responses, it has been a challenge to find food and be prepared - esp with working full time and two young kids. My husband suggested that I start a blog to document my journey and to help me remember what I eat on a weekly/daily basis and to write about this to help deal with it and perhaps that others can learn as well.
Im not the best with writing on paper so I took an hour and started yesterday. I think I am going to link a twitter account that I can post to my blog to keep track of food reactions.
Anyways, if anyone is interested:
http://mamasallergic.blogspot.com

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Lisa
MamasAllergic
Anaph to: Corn, Peanuts, Barley, Pea, All Nuts, Clams, Lemons and Buckwheat. Moderate to: Soy, Lettuce, Pork, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage, Coconut, Green Pepper, Sesame Seeds, Scallops, Trout and Mustard, environ too.

Welcome, I have no advice about corn to offer but I wanted still to say welcome to the forum.

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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

Thank you for the welcome everyone

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Lisa
MamasAllergic
Anaph to: Corn, Peanuts, Barley, Pea, All Nuts, Clams, Lemons and Buckwheat. Moderate to: Soy, Lettuce, Pork, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage, Coconut, Green Pepper, Sesame Seeds, Scallops, Trout and Mustard, environ too.

I just checked out your blog and I love it! It sounds like you are feeling so much better. Eating corn free is extremely healthy...the problem is finding corn free foods. I love that you bought 2 bottles of potato vodka...the small one for the vanilla pod...lol Let us know how it goes with that chicken.

Also, there are corn free (unfortified) milks available in the U.S. Check the corn-free list. It's Canada where it is illegal to buy or sell unfortified milk. I use goat's milk.

Thank you! Im glad you enjoyed my blog! My mom ended up taking the chicken home to roast for me tomorrow during the day while I am working. I didn't realize it took so long to thaw!

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Lisa
MamasAllergic
Anaph to: Corn, Peanuts, Barley, Pea, All Nuts, Clams, Lemons and Buckwheat. Moderate to: Soy, Lettuce, Pork, Tomato, Carrot, Cabbage, Coconut, Green Pepper, Sesame Seeds, Scallops, Trout and Mustard, environ too.

I just want to warn you that ERs don't always read Medic Alert Bracellets. I went to various ERs almost 10 times in the period I wore a Medic Alert Bracellet. They never read it. Even when I pointed to the bracellet for them to read because I couldn't speak and was having a hard time breathing.

I recommend instead to carry documentation with you everywhere you go listing your medical information. You need to highlight the Corn allergy and how you can not have the Dextrose IVs. I recommend specifying a "safe" IV that they can use on you. I personally tolerate Lactated Ringers (no Dextrose) well.