Diagnosed with almond, walnut allergies today...feeling a bit overwhelmed!

[SweetandSour]

I feel so bad that I missed this thread until now. I was diagnosed in adulthood,and would be happy to answer any questions you may have while you and your dh adjust to it. Please feel free.to message me.

[SwayGirl]

Hi everybody! I havent posted in a while. Got super-busy in RL with a big move to a new house, and all that entails. But I wanted to tie up loose ends on this thread for future readers. I hate when I stumble across a thread that seems related to what I need to know, and then questions never get answered and I'm dying to know how it turned out!  Anyway, my situation has shaken out like this:

(1) Yes, I'm ana to tree nuts. 
(2) Yes, allergic to strawberries (no indication it's anaphylactic, but not sure how I'd know until I know, you know?).
(3) Eggs were possibly a red herring, or possibly an intolerance. Doctor wants to do a challenge in 6 months. For now, I seem to tolerate egg in well-baked items, but the thought of something like scrambled eggs turns my stomach, so haven't even attempted that yet. Turned out the angel food cake was definitely made on shared equipment and had a TN cross-contamination warning on the label.
(4) Still had some mystery reactions and was suspicious of sunflower or sesame. Skin test was neg for sunflower, minor pos for sesame. However, RAST for both was negative according to DR. However yet again, I do seem to react to sunflower in things like chips that are supposedly safe for TN but fried in SF oil, so just avoiding for now. After much trial and error, I haven't found any store-bought bread that is ok for me (except King's Hawaaian rolls, which makes my son happy. He loves them--they are so sweet it's like a danish!). So I've been baking my own, and that's helped alot with minor mystery reactions.

Generally, life seems to have calmed down considerably, and after initially feeling like there was nothing left I could eat that I WANTED to eat, I've started to build a list of safe foods, figured out how to plan ahead to have some food ready to eat so that I don't make risky choices and/or starve, and just feel like I have a better handle on things. (Although a trip to visit relatives this week has thrown me for a loop--that's a whole other story!)

All that said, I had to use my epi for the first time about a week ago. Won't bore you with the details, as this post is epic already, but I'll just say this: Although I was super-irritated that I had a reaction after feeling so good for so long (and thus feeling like I was back on the react-to-everything roller coaster afterward), I was ultimately really glad it happened, because I was fine in the end and I can leave "fear of the epi" behind me. The shot itself was nothing. I mean, I literally didn't even feel it. Not even a pinch. And I felt better right away as everyone said would happen, and I didn't feel any bad side effects of the med. I didn't realize I was worried about that until it didn't happen. Just fear of the unknown, I guess. But now I know I will not hesitate to use the epi when I need it. That makes me feel much more in control, which is huge.

Thank you to everyone on this board for taking the time to educate newbies like me, calming fears and answering any and all questions with patience and good humor. I hope, as I learn more about life with FA, I will be able to return the favor some day. You guys rock!

Swaygirl

[SwayGirl]

I feel so bad that I missed this thread until now. I was diagnosed in adulthood,and would be happy to answer any questions you may have while you and your dh adjust to it. Please feel free.to message me.

Thanks so much! I appreciate the offer and I'm sure I'll take you up on it. THere's so much I still don't know about all this.

Swaygirl

[CMdeux]

YOU rock!!

There is nothing more awesome than a positive example for others as they learn how to live with a life-threatening food allergy.  You're living proof that life can still go on-- and that it really doesn't take forever to figure things out (though it can sure feel that way in the beginning).

It is wonderful that you've figured out work-arounds that allow you to feel safe and confident.   

[SwayGirl]

Aww, thanks!  I appreciate the kind words. I still have soooo much to learn when it comes to living with FA, but I'm glad if I can offer any comfort to someone who is reeling from a first reaction/diagnosis and came here to figure out what to do next. That was me about 5 minutes ago, it seems. I'm glad to be on the other side of the very steep initial learning curve, and I hope I can help someone else the way the many thoughtful posters on this site helped me.

But as hard as this has been for me to get a grip on, what keeps hitting me over and over is how much easier this is than if it were my son. I'm pretty sure, if he was having little reactions to the thought of a whiff of a tree nut in Target or the grocery store, like I kept having, I would have either (a) already had a complete nervous breakdown or (b) tucked us both in bed, pulled up the covers, duct-taped the door closed, and never left the house. 

I am nothing less than dazzled by the sheer competence and get-on-with-it attitude of all the moms dealing with this. You all are the rock stars here.

Swaygirl

[SweetandSour]

YOU rock!!

There is nothing more awesome than a positive example for others as they learn how to live with a life-threatening food allergy.  You're living proof that life can still go on-- and that it really doesn't take forever to figure things out (though it can sure feel that way in the beginning).

It is wonderful that you've figured out work-arounds that allow you to feel safe and confident.   

[SweetandSour]

But as hard as this has been for me to get a grip on, what keeps hitting me over and over is how much easier this is than if it were my son. I'm pretty sure, if he was having little reactions to the thought of a whiff of a tree nut in Target or the grocery store, like I kept having, I would have either (a) already had a complete nervous breakdown or (b) tucked us both in bed, pulled up the covers, duct-taped the door closed, and never left the house. 

I am nothing less than dazzled by the sheer competence and get-on-with-it attitude of all the moms dealing with this. You all are the rock stars here.

Swaygirl

so true.