Allergies

LikeAnOcean

So my seasonal allergies all but disappeared a few years ago.. awesome. Everything seems good, right? Not quite..

Since I was a teenager on and off I've always had troubles swallowing food. I always thought I just wasn't chewing good enough, but over the years it got progressively worse, to a point I had to go to the ER a month ago because lunch was still stuck in my esophagus five hours after the fact.

Doctor said I had something called eosinophilic esophagus and that only until recently, it was something that was not diagnosed properly. She prescribed me strong anti-allergy medicine and recommended I see an allergist because there a good chance something in my diet could be causing it and that I could cut out rather than take medicine. Great I think.

So today I see the allergist and it turns out I'm allergic to a shit load of things I have everyday! Things that may show no external signs, but may have been damaging my insides my whole life!

Things I have everyday to be healthy like apples, bananas, broccoli, orange juice, peanuts, nuts.. I already knew I was allergic to fish, but this is like half my diet I need to change!

I have to go back in a few weeks to see if there's anything else I'm allergic too. This sucks. I'm pretty much safe with meat, dairy, wheat, grains and beans which is good, because those are my favorites.

I guess being a vegetarian is not an option, not that I ever wanted to be one. I just hope I don't find out I'm allergic to grapes.. no way I'm giving up my cabernet.

EDIT: I've decided I'm not going to give up orange juice. If I'm only "slightly" allergic to it, what's the worst that could happen???

tybird

Almost the same reason I can't be a vegetarian.....allergic to tree nuts, mushrooms and peppers.

TravisTheSky

You have my sympathy. Well, you have my empathy. I can't eat leafy greens because they make my throat swell a bit. Swallowing is difficult, it feels like there's a constant lump. I suffered for nearly a decade (1994-2003) with barely being able to breathe through the nose.

Unfortunately, all the doctors I saw were just out to make money. I tried all of their drugs, took their expensive tests, and had one surgery. The surgeon had straightened a deviated septum, so that the openings were the same size on both sides of my nose. That operation made sense because I could see the obvious diagonal position. When that didn't help, he suggested removing the lining of my nasal passages behind the cheekbones. The tissue in that narrow space flares up, blocking air from getting in. I asked if he used lasers? He said he would use a rotating blade! AH!!!!! Even my external skin turns scars into hideous keloids...Imagine what would happen inside my skull?! So of course I refused. I had exhausted all of his options, and was leaving his practice. Almost as an aside, he said I might have food allergies and briefly explained about exclusion diets to test for sensitivities.

That's what it had been all those years! I was allergic to eggs, oats, carrots, green leafies, and had lesser reactions to other things. I was a trusting idiot at the time, I only now understand that the doctor should have informed me about food allergy on Visit One! It was not in his intere$t to do so. Sigh.....

Feel free to read the public blogs on my MySpace page, I go into a lot more detail about my allergies and how going organic caused me to lose 26 pounds! (It also cured my shocking insomnia, which I haven't written about.) http://www.myspace.com/goodnightbrynne Click on "View all blogs" and scroll down to the earliest ones. It has been nearly 6 years since I stopped eating the problem foods. I've read tens of thousands of pages of books so that I can try reverse all of the causes that brought about the allergies. I could give lectures on Leaky Gut Syndrome because I know so much about it [That's not a euphemism for diarrhea- It means permeable intestines which allow molecules of undigested food to pass into the bloodstream.] I learn more every month, yet I still react to all of the "trigger" foods. In fact, I even have a new allergy: Soy!

TravisTheSky

tybird wrote:

Almost the same reason I can't be a vegetarian.....allergic to tree nuts, mushrooms and peppers.

Sorry Tybird, that's your safe comfy excuse. I am vegetarian even though I react to most fruit and veg. (I'm good with celery and broccoli.) I am also a HYPOCRITE, which I openly admit: I love cheddar! It is the one topping I can put on grain items like toast, pasta, and rice to make them delicious. (Sauces and spices are problem foods.) If I wanted to be a true vegan, I would not eat cheese.

It seems to me that you are allergic to three foods, and you are an omnivore. Not cause and effect.

This is off topic, but long before going veg I stopped using bovine milk on my cereal. I switched to soy. After six years, I decided to taste milk again: It was bitter, salty, body fluid! Amazing what we become accustomed to.

LikeAnOcean

tybird wrote:

Almost the same reason I can't be a vegetarian.....allergic to tree nuts, mushrooms and peppers.

I'm not sure about peppers. I love jalepeno peppers so I hope not. I'm going back in a few weeks to see what else I shouldn't eat. I'm trying to find stuff that is ok. From the few things they tested me on, I'm ok with carrots, although, I don't like carrots.. I'm going to ask them to test me on blueberries and strawberries next time.

Being a vegetarian would suck anyways. Now PETA can't make us feel guilty. We have an excuse!

LikeAnOcean

TravisTheSky wrote:

You have my sympathy. Well, you have my empathy. I can't eat leafy greens because they make my throat swell a bit. Swallowing is difficult, it feels like there's a constant lump. I suffered for nearly a decade (1994-2003) with barely being able to breathe through the nose.

Unfortunately, all the doctors I saw were just out to make money. I tried all of their drugs, took their expensive tests, and had one surgery. The surgeon had straightened a deviated septum, so that the openings were the same size on both sides of my nose. That operation made sense because I could see the obvious diagonal position. When that didn't help, he suggested removing the lining of my nasal passages behind the cheekbones. The tissue in that narrow space flares up, blocking air from getting in. I asked if he used lasers? He said he would use a rotating blade! AH!!!!! Even my external skin turns scars into hideous keloids...Imagine what would happen inside my skull?! So of course I refused. I had exhausted all of his options, and was leaving his practice. Almost as an aside, he said I might have food allergies and briefly explained about exclusion diets to test for sensitivities.

That's what it had been all those years! I was allergic to eggs, oats, carrots, green leafies, and had lesser reactions to other things. I was a trusting idiot at the time, I only now understand that the doctor should have informed me about food allergy on Visit One! It was not in his intere$t to do so. Sigh.....

Feel free to read the public blogs on my MySpace page, I go into a lot more detail about my allergies and how going organic caused me to lose 26 pounds! (It also cured my shocking insomnia, which I haven't written about.) http://www.myspace.com/goodnightbrynne Click on "View all blogs" and scroll down to the earliest ones. It has been nearly 6 years since I stopped eating the problem foods. I've read tens of thousands of pages of books so that I can try reverse all of the causes that brought about the allergies. I could give lectures on Leaky Gut Syndrome because I know so much about it [That's not a euphemism for diarrhea- It means permeable intestines which allow molecules of undigested food to pass into the bloodstream.] I learn more every month, yet I still react to all of the "trigger" foods. In fact, I even have a new allergy: Soy!

Thanks for the link!.. I hear ya. That sucks. Fortunately I'm not that bad.. yet.
Thankfully I can eat eggs, dairy and oats. That would be a lot to cut out of a diet.

tybird

TravisTheSky wrote:

tybird wrote:

Almost the same reason I can't be a vegetarian.....allergic to tree nuts, mushrooms and peppers.

Sorry Tybird, that's your safe comfy excuse. I am vegetarian even though I react to most fruit and veg. (I'm good with celery and broccoli.) I am also a HYPOCRITE, which I openly admit: I love cheddar! It is the one topping I can put on grain items like toast, pasta, and rice to make them delicious. (Sauces and spices are problem foods.) If I wanted to be a true vegan, I would not eat cheese.

It seems to me that you are allergic to three foods, and you are an omnivore. Not cause and effect.

This is off topic, but long before going veg I stopped using bovine milk on my cereal. I switched to soy. After six years, I decided to taste milk again: It was bitter, salty, body fluid! Amazing what we become accustomed to.

True...I love meat....and don't plan on stopping.....I have enough problems with allergies, so I am not going to "suffer" through certain foods to ease my supposed social consciousness....which is already at peace with my decision to eat what I do.....thank you for your concern.

LikeAnOcean

So..

Of the things I'm allergic to I'm going to cut out everything I'm moderately or highly allergic to, BUT..

I am going to refuse to cut out orange juice. I LOVE orange juice. I've been drinking it every day for the past 15 or so years.

I'm only "slightly" allergic to Orange juice according to the tests, so what's the worst that could happen?

Thoughts_Arrive

Allergic to housework.