So there's a possibility that this is not a food allergy? Because for the past months I have eaten almost everything I wanted including the FOODS TO BE AVOIDED in my allergy list...ham, cheese, mayo, spam, hotdogs, chicken, cakes, chocos, sodas, canned juices, etc.  And even though I ate those foods I had no immediate allergic reaction...as what you have said that it starts within an hour or 2 or 3 hours.  I only start to itch and turn red if I miss my dose of cetirizine (every 24 hours).

Hmm...I just remembered way back 2003, I went to this farm house and I think I was bitten by a bed bug or dust mite that night, when I woke up my cheek, both arms and one thigh was all swollen up, red and burning hot. But that never happened to me again....or maybe because that was a different kind of insect that bit me there in the farm.

Thank you so much for your replies....somehow you really gave me hope....will go to my allergist for the last time this coming monday and will discuss this to her.  hopefully I can find another allergist here in my place....

Cetirizine really won't prevent you from reacting to a food allergen-- especially not if you're actually EATING the food (not just accidentally getting a little bit of it).  Anything that you've eaten WITHOUT reacting to?  Yeah, I'd call that "not allergic to this food." 

Why do I think that is important?  Because you have to have SOMEWHERE to start with an elimination diet-- and the best place to start is with whole, minimally processed foods that you can prepare yourself and which are reasonably easy to obtain.  Then you start with those, and start branching out-- SLOWLY, and taking notes about everything you eat, touch, use in personal products, etc.  Know that MOST food allergy reactions start within an HOUR of eating the food.  And when I say "most" here I mean about 95% of them.  Yes, it's possible to react 2 or 3 hours later, but it's quite unusual.  Outside of a 4hr window, the percentage is TINY-- far less than 1% of food allergic reactions occur that way.  This is why the first thing that doesn't fit is "waking up with" symptoms.  That's much more indicative of some OTHER kind of trigger for the reaction. 

 

Truly-- I think you ought to find a different doctor.  I realize that may be difficult, but the one that you saw seems to have given you more difficulty and reduce quality of life than answers.    It doesn't seem entirely plausible that you have food allergies and not a significant allergy to something environmental.  Given the severity of your past reaction, it's pretty important to KNOW if you happen to have an insect allergy at the bottom of this.   

Your symptoms sound not unlike what I experience when I'm exposed to high doses of cockroach/dust mite residue.  MAJOR hive-o-rama and itchy-itchy-itchy.  Now, I later developed a shellfish (crustacean) allergy, and I have always had a wasp allergy... and I certainly cannot easily go a day without my beloved cetirizine!! 

My symptoms if I don't take cetirizine everyday....itchiness all over my body esp in the stomach and armpits, redness and lil red bumps which in time covers my whole body, clogged nose and itchy throat.

Don't know yet which foods I am allergic to since I cannot go on with the skin test.  THere are times when I eat the foods that are not allowed (eggs, chicken, foods with preservatives and canned foods)...but my body does not react I mean i don't break out into hives instantly since I am on cetirizine.  I'm afraid that my allergies will get worse  and that one day I will congest and won't be able to breathe..HOPE NOT

Yes now I am starting again to avoid the suspect things...

Elimination diets are definitely not for the faint of heart.

What kinds of symptoms were you having that led you to testing in the first place?  And just which foods did you test allergic to??  Have you eaten those foods since?  What happened?

If you didn't experience symptoms not indicative of probable IgE-mediated food allergy, it might be better to start keeping a food diary and add things back in every few days, particularly those things that you have kept in your diet since your ER trip.


Anything that you know that you ate within 6 or so hours of your emergency care, obviously, is dangerous-- NOT to 'test' at home.  I hope that you've been avoiding suspect things!

Thanks for the reply guys...

Yes that's really A LOT of food...=(

I am from Batangas, Philippines. I am planning to go on a strict allergy-free diet for a month since my doctor gave me the list of foods I am allowed to eat so that MAYBE I can do without cetirizine for a week so I can have my skin test to know once and for all which foods I am allergic to.

Quote from: Bubbles0418 on January 08, 2014, 01:19:34 AM
doctor told me to avoid all processed foods, seafoods, canned goods and all foods with preservatives. 

That's a lot of food.  Personally, I'd get a second opinion from another allergist.  This is your choice, but if you want to share the general area where you live (country, state, etc.), we might be able to suggest where you might look for a good allergist.

Do you carry epinephrine and do you have a "food allergy action plan"?

It is always possible to develop new allergies.  There are also instances of false negatives.

My food allergies started way back December 2009...woke up having red spots all over my body and experienced terrible itching...broke into big hives before lunch time and was rushed to the hospital, was given an anti-allergy shot. hives subsided after 3 weeks. had been experiencing itching from them on. february...went to see an allergologist...had high ESR and high IgE...but phadiatop result was negative. doctor told me to avoid all processed foods, seafoods, canned goods and all foods with preservatives.  haven't done the skin test since i cannot do without cetirizine. i have been drinking cetirizine every day for almost a year now. i know my allergies has worsen, experiencing clogged nose all the time and itchy throat....is it possible that i am now also allergic to the inhalant allergens (molds, house dust mites, cockroach, cat epithelium, bermuda grass, pigweed, pollen, etc) even if the result of my phadiatop before is negative?