Hi all,
I'm so glad to have found this forum and have a dire question.
My belief is that I'm allergic to eggs and have been 3 days post reaction, and am still running into bouts of:
shortness of breathe (not life threatening)
headaches
sleep disturbances (slight)
anxiousness
GI disturbances
difficulty focusing/brain fogginess - you know what i mean:)
-the above symptoms improve with 1/2 benadryl ~12.5mg. I took a full pill 3 days ago 2-3 times after the reaction.
Is this normal?
How long does it take to fully recover, considering I avoid the allergen? -or should I be looking for another culprit.
How long until my immune system improves?
Thank you.
Brian
if you have difficulty breathing than you need something stronger than a mere antihistamine, a visit to a doctor is more in order here.
seek medical advice.
I've been to the doctors and have spent over $30k trying to locate something seemingly simple.
This isn't life threatening, this is life inhibiting. I'll edit my post to say "shortness of breath".
My goal is not to receive medical advice because yeah, duh, I should go see a doctor, but a month ago I lost my access to doctors and I probably won't get that back for some time.
Are you sure you aren't ingesting eggs due to cross contamination in something else? I wouldn't think you would be still reacting from something you are days ago, but I could be wrong.
Can you clarify your position and request?
We all have a specific medical condition called IgE-mediated allergies that manifest in reactions with acute, objective symptoms typically within 20-30 minutes of ingestion. We are all at risk for or have a clear history of anaphylactic reactions which require rescue meds in the form of injectable epinephrine while we await EMS.
We can't 'do' anything to resolve the mechanism responsible for allergic disease (including asthma) but some allergens individually are susceptible to heat treatment rendering the 3-dimensional composite protein partially denatured. Hen's eggs are one of the allergens whose proteins may be heat treated to make them less allergenic depending on which protein fractions the individual is more susceptible to.
In other words some people can eat some small amount of egg baked into a cake for example but not tolerate the high amount of albumin in an angel food cake or the closer to raw forms like mayonnaise.
I can't think of any non-medical advice we'd have. Am I mistaken that you are asking if a food allergy is transitory and how long until it is gone?
let me make this very clear and easy.
1. I believe I have an egg allergy
2. I came to this forum for help
3. I am still taking benadryl 3 days after a suspected cross contamination
- each time I take it, i feel much much better.
4. My question is to how long it takes for me to recover from an Immune reaction/Allergic reaction to eggs?
5. My second question is to whether the above symptoms are normal and possible while recovering?
Quote from: momma2boys on May 13, 2014, 05:12:28 PM
Are you sure you aren't ingesting eggs due to cross contamination in something else? I wouldn't think you would be still reacting from something you are days ago, but I could be wrong.
Always possible. I'll look into this as this is definitely a variable and hard to determine.
In the wake of a systemic and/or anaphylactic IgE-mediated allergic reaction the body can continue to have protracted symptoms depending on how bad the reaction was (possibly) and how much allergen was ingested (possibly) and how potent the form of the allergen (we already covered the allergenicity of hen's eggs). It can seem like many other things are causing allergic reactions.
Sleep disturbance - not in of itself.
GI - nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Respiratory - shortness of breath, tightness of throat, feeling of 'lump' in throat, tingling of lips/mouth, swelling, yes this is life threatening
Hives - visible outer or otherwise
Fogginess - not unless related to blood pressure dump from shock (dunno, could have happened)
Headaches - not really it's not a part of the package usually
Anxiousness - could manifest due to emotional state but not a mood induced unto itself
Recovery from a single instance of systemic reaction could be 4-6 hours or a week depending on how soon and how much treatment was sought or received. Most would resolve within 4-6 hours unless the reaction presented biphasic, but if it was biphasic you probably would not be here alive to type at your keyboard. So, some GI quakes, anxiousness and some lingering skin reactivity for a while possibly.
The rest of what everyone already mentioned still holds true. None of that changes.
http://theallergistmom.com/2013/02/12/the-science-of-anaphylaxis-an-allergic-storm/ (http://theallergistmom.com/2013/02/12/the-science-of-anaphylaxis-an-allergic-storm/)
The rest of what you'd need to go with it like Benadryl vs epinephrine and how they work or when to use them should all be in the Main forum. One thing you might have to consider is the use of prednisone. It's not fun but it's often prescribed post-reaction to help with the symptoms and help prevent the degranulation of the pockets on cells that dump all the histamines, etc. If you've never taken prednisone and need it make sure to go over with doc or pharmacist how to properly taper off at the end.
Quote from: bamarine on May 13, 2014, 05:32:53 PM
let me make this very clear and easy.
1. I believe I have an egg allergy
2. I came to this forum for help
3. I am still taking benadryl 3 days after a suspected cross contamination
- each time I take it, i feel much much better.
4. My question is to how long it takes for me to recover from an Immune reaction/Allergic reaction to eggs?
5. My second question is to whether the above symptoms are normal and possible while recovering?
Wow, way to alienate those you're seeking help from.
1. What did you react to that leads you to believe you have an egg allergy?
2. We can only help those willing to listen, answer questions and take advice.
3. If you feel better when you take Benadryl, then it seems you are having symptoms which can be helped by Benadryl - there's no way for us to know if that's due to your reaction several days ago or if it's due to continued exposure to an allergen.
4. See answer 3.
5. It is not uncommon for mild symptoms (hives, eczema, etc.) to pop up for several days after an anaphylactic reaction. Shortness of breath is not a mild symptom. When treated by a medical professional, often patients will be given a course of oral steroids to be taken for several days after a reaction to help alleviate the continued mild symptoms and to help their immune response calm back down.
Didn't think about prednisone. We usually use it post reaction, so that may be why we don't see symptoms this far out.
Yeah but if our good friend Brian hasn't taken pred before it's really important we hammer home the tapering off or he's going to up :poop: creek without one of these :paddle:.
Quote from: rebekahc on May 13, 2014, 06:01:50 PM
Quote from: bamarine on May 13, 2014, 05:32:53 PM
let me make this very clear and easy.
1. I believe I have an egg allergy
2. I came to this forum for help
3. I am still taking benadryl 3 days after a suspected cross contamination
- each time I take it, i feel much much better.
4. My question is to how long it takes for me to recover from an Immune reaction/Allergic reaction to eggs?
5. My second question is to whether the above symptoms are normal and possible while recovering?
Wow, way to alienate those you're seeking help from.
1. What did you react to that leads you to believe you have an egg allergy?
2. We can only help those willing to listen, answer questions and take advice.
3. If you feel better when you take Benadryl, then it seems you are having symptoms which can be helped by Benadryl - there's no way for us to know if that's due to your reaction several days ago or if it's due to continued exposure to an allergen.
4. See answer 3.
5. It is not uncommon for mild symptoms (hives, eczema, etc.) to pop up for several days after an anaphylactic reaction. Shortness of breath is not a mild symptom. When treated by a medical professional, often patients will be given a course of oral steroids to be taken for several days after a reaction to help alleviate the continued mild symptoms and to help their immune response calm back down.
Everytime I eat eggs, and only eggs, my body fully shuts down. I just applied that thought to egg ingredients and my health is vastly improving to normal.
I am listening and I'm really sorry about the mis-communication - these things happen - my goal was to provide clarity.
Steroids - hmmmm... I've never thought of that one...so my immune system could theoretically be over reactive right now and need to be settled down.
Trying to think around your insurance issue. Your screen name wouldn't happen to be a Semper Fi marine reference, would it? I was thinking VA hospital or base doctor. The VA always puts my dad in good hands with his allergies and asthma. Could be he's near a good VA hospital where he lives. *shrug*
By the way... asthma or no asthma for you? Don't quantify it or qualify it just you have it or don't. It could raise the ante and not in a good way. It would be helpful for us to know it's an important factor in the equation.
Another med worth mentioning is ranitidine. I forget the brand name, Zantac? Anyhow, it can help with some of the GI issues post-reaction because it too is an antihistamine but it's a H2-blocker, I think. Help me out here guys is that right? Anyhow, I think also it's a proton-pump inhibitor to decrease stomach acid. The bad news there is repeated use is linked to increased severity of something called OAS. For a short endurance to help your body clear a reaction, assuming that's what happened it's IgE-mediated, it shouldn't affect too much to do it once.
I was wondering about the marine thing, too. Be aware, food allergy is a DQ'ing condition...
Yes, to Pepcid or Zantac. Antihistamines like Benadryl primarily affect H1 (H for histamine) while the acid blockers primarily affect H2 and have been found useful in treating severe allergic reactions - after rescue meds, of course. The last time we were at the ER after epi they gave IV Benadryl, IV Pepcid and IV steroids. We were just sent home on steroids, though.
If your body completely shuts down when you eat egg, you really need an Epi pen! Why, after $30K, were your doctors not able to diagnose your egg allergy? Have you seen an allergist? Since you don't have insurance, you should at least go to a doc in a box and get a prescription for an Epi pen.
Here's a link to the Anaphylaxis Grading Chart (http://the-clarkes.org/stuff/ana.html) to give you an idea of when epi should be used. An allergist would be able to tell you exactly when you should use epi, but since that may not be possible, I would suggest use epi for Grade 2 symptoms if you've eaten and for Grade 3 and above no matter what. When using the chart, it's important to remember that each grade includes a variety of symptoms - you don't need to have all the symptoms to be in that level, just one. So, for example, if you had mouth itching and diarrhea you'd be Grade 4. Brain fog/lethargy/tiredness = change in activity level, so Grade 2 even with no other symptoms.
Welcome.
Do you think it is possible you are having environmental allergies and asthma? What you are describing sounds more like that than a food allergic reaction. Do you have inhalers or epi pens?
Breathing trouble, even mild, is a very serious thing. If it is from a food reaction the proper treatment is to have epinepherine and call 911 and go to the ER for 4+ hours for monitoring.
When you say your whole body shuts down when you have eggs, what do you mean? What exactly happens? How soon after you eat eggs does this happen?
I'm sorry you lost your access to doctors. Everyone should have access to good medical care.
Why did it cost you over $30000?
Quote from: bamarine on May 13, 2014, 05:32:53 PM
let me make this very clear and easy.
1. I believe I have an egg allergy
2. I came to this forum for help
3. I am still taking benadryl 3 days after a suspected cross contamination
- each time I take it, i feel much much better.
4. My question is to how long it takes for me to recover from an Immune reaction/Allergic reaction to eggs?
5. My second question is to whether the above symptoms are normal and possible while recovering?
I'm thinking right now zyrtec daily could help too.
Quote from: lakeswimr on May 13, 2014, 07:33:36 PM
Welcome.
When you say your whole body shuts down when you have eggs, what do you mean? What exactly happens? How soon after you eat eggs does this happen?
Why did it cost you over $30000?
Quote from: bamarine on May 13, 2014, 05:32:53 PM
1st off, thanks to everyone for helping!
Good question about the 30k? I have done every test known to man and those things add up. Then doctor A, after ordering 3k of tests, says, he can't help you so you're on to the next doc and so on. GI's want to endoscopy you upon meeting, I'd at least like if they bought me a drink first. I got my head checked too, just in case and that's cool except that sometimes I'm a poor poster (sorry guys above).
A Johns Hopkins doctor diagnosed me with SIBO (Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth) and i've been following therapy, diet, since seeing them last.
Egg reaction - about 6 hours after eating, i feel like I have to "think" about breathing. My sleep suffers and i'm pretty much bed-ridden for a day. I can't hear alarms, function....weird, but it happens. More on the rxn - I'll be breathing normally and it feels like my breathing goes down to about a straws area and i have to tilt my head upwards or pull on my throat for extra air. Then the GI gurgling/discomfort occurs along with headache/foggy mind/dizziness/difficulty focusing. Initially, GI discomfort is mild to unnoticeable, but on day 2, i'm sick to my stomach and until the "cloudy stool" passes - about 24 hours later, i'm waiting for it. If I increase breathing, then GI symptoms dismiss temporarily. It's weird.
-Feel free to keep asking q's
Maybe a weird question,but do you still have your gallbladder?
TT - I hadn't read the allergist mom link you posted, but when I clicked on it, my antivirus had a complete temper tantrum about it. Just wanted to warn anyone else, though it could be my computer.
I haven't heard of Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth. What does the GI suspect or think he/she may see with an endoscopy? I have had an endoscopy and it really is no big deal as far as the experience. It can offer very good info you can't get any other way and could be invaluable depending on what is going on with the person.
What you described does not sound like an IgE mediated food allergy. It actually doesn't sound like anything I have heard of before. I'm not saying it isn't something very real but that looking under the IgE food allergy rock might be the wrong place to look.
I wonder, do you have asthma? Do you have breathing trouble other times other than if you have knowingly eaten egg? Have you been avoiding egg but are finding you are now having breathing trouble? Breathing trouble, no matter the cause, is a serious thing. If you want for it to be what you consider 'life threatening' to do something about it you could very well wait too long.
If it is caused by asthma, then you should be on some type of inhalers to control the breathing issues. If breathing trouble is caused by food that is almost always considered anaphylaxis (even if it is 'mild') and is treated with epinepherine and a trip via ambulance to the ER. Reflux can cause asthma-like symptoms in some people. There are a few other conditions that can cause breathing issues.
People having a food allergic reaction who have breathing issues can go from having mild breathing issues to very serious ones in a matter of seconds. It isn't something to wait and see what happens next.
But IgE mediated food allergic reactions start within minutes to up to about 2 hours of ingesting the food 99.9% of the time. They almost always start within minutes to 30 or at most 45 minutes (as in close to 99% of the time!).
Strangely, tic bite induced beef allergy starts outside this window but causes the same types of symptoms and is treated with epinepherine. That is the only situation where I have heard of a food having a delayed anaphylactic reaction.
From what you wrote about how you feel after eating egg--breathing is certainly an IgE mediated food allergy symptom as is feeling poorly. GI pain is as well. Difficulty sleeping, headache, mental fogginess, dizziness, difficulty focusing and cloudy stool are not, though.
I am wondering if maybe you have several things going on right now. Maybe you have asthma. Maybe you also have a GI condition. You have been diagnosed with Small Intenstinal Bowel Overgrowth.
If you think eggs are causing this, then avoid eggs. But it sounds like you are already avoiding eggs and it is still happening so to me that says there is some other cause other than eggs.
It took me a long time to figure out some of my son's food allergies. I had many false starts with figuring things out. It is very difficult to figure out food related things unless you have a clear case of eat x and then hives, etc start. Then it's quite clear. I have GI issues that took many, many years to figure out as well. I know it can be very complicated.
good luck!
Egg reaction - about 6 hours after eating, i feel like I have to "think" about breathing. My sleep suffers and i'm pretty much bed-ridden for a day. I can't hear alarms, function....weird, but it happens. More on the rxn - I'll be breathing normally and it feels like my breathing goes down to about a straws area and i have to tilt my head upwards or pull on my throat for extra air. Then the GI gurgling/discomfort occurs along with headache/foggy mind/dizziness/difficulty focusing. Initially, GI discomfort is mild to unnoticeable, but on day 2, i'm sick to my stomach and until the "cloudy stool" passes - about 24 hours later, i'm waiting for it. If I increase breathing, then GI symptoms dismiss temporarily. It's weird.
-Feel free to keep asking q's
1
Quote from: momma2boys on May 13, 2014, 08:29:11 PM
Maybe a weird question,but do you still have your gallbladder?
Yes
I just did a little research on SIBO and it seems most of the symptoms you're having now don't really fit, so hopefully that means you've recovered. Were you treated with antibiotics? Did you do an elemental diet for a couple if weeks? From what I read, if you have/had SIBO, you should avoid proton pump inhibitors (Prilosec, Prevacid, etc.) unless a doctor advises you otherwise. Did your GI address the underlying cause of your SIBO?
Okay--I get some of your symptoms. That spaciness--and I've not been able to tie it to low BP--I thought it was connected, but I've had it twice when my BP wAs measured and it was okay (it's typically fairly low though).
My sesame reactions are 20 min, but shellfish, unless airborne reaction, is 2 hours. Then GI symptoms: cramping, D, etc. FWIW I used to get that at 20 min after having peanuts--but I think I've outgrown that (I test negative to them now, too).
Anyway, with both sesame and shellfish, after anaphylaxis I have had cramping for three days--not the kind you'd get (uterine), but it was definitely a symptom from the reaction that I experienced several days--also abated by Benadryl. And yes, after Ana, I take Zantac as well, per doctor.
If you suspect an egg allergy, be aware than egg is in so many things. Also, companies don't have to label for shared equipment with egg, so if your threshold is low, you can be reacting to trace amounts in foods you might not suspect.
Quote from: rebekahc on May 13, 2014, 09:29:29 PM
I just did a little research on SIBO and it seems most of the symptoms you're having now don't really fit, so hopefully that means you've recovered. Were you treated with antibiotics? Did you do an elemental diet for a couple if weeks? From what I read, if you have/had SIBO, you should avoid proton pump inhibitors (Prilosec, Prevacid, etc.) unless a doctor advises you otherwise. Did your GI address the underlying cause of your SIBO?
SIBO, yes, I was treated with antibiotics and noted an improvement, but it didn't really stick. The GI Doc essentially started treatment and expected me to improve, and when I did so temporarily, he mentioned he couldn't help me. I'm following the SIBO protocol, but still it's a little bit of a mess differentiating between SIBO or allergies. I haven't done an elemental diet and only recently learned of that - 2 stars as most people don't know that exists!
Did the doc address the underlying cause of the SIBO? I believe so, since I was given rifaxamin for 2 weeks. Hard to say if it's that, eggs, or otherwise.
The lingering effect of this thing has me looking in both directions.
Rifaximin would treat the bacterial overgrowth in SIBO, but does not fix whatever caused the overgrowth in the first place. From what I've read, unless you treat what caused the SIBO to happen, it will probably come back. That may need to be where you look for answers.
Have you had skin prick testing or RAST testing for allergies? I think until that's done, you really won't know if it's allergies. My daughter is allergic to egg (and peanuts and tree nuts) and the symptoms you describe and the timing of onset do not sound like an allergic reaction.
The only way you'll know if it's an allergy is through testing.
Unfortunately, food allergy testing has a very high false positive rate so even if he tests, it won't mean that he is for sure allergic. The false positive rate has been shown to be about 86% according to a recent study. So, I would not rush in to test unless the symptoms fit an IgE allergy.