Please help!

[StephanieAc]

I'm seeing an allergist Tuesday. The GP took the blood tests, they said they didn't know how to interpret them, but it was pretty simple by the chart that was given. That's all I really had to go on. I'm going to give the test to the allergist. I'm assuming he's going to do a skin prick test and possibly some blood work of his own. He specializes in food allergies and asthma. He came highly recommended. I just thought that assuming that my saying "lol" means I don't take this seriously was pretty rude. I haven't eaten anything but one baked potato a day in weeks because my GP scared me so badly. I don't take this lightly at all...for myself or anyone else. It's extremely serious and I find it rude to assume otherwise. I lost 25 lbs in a month... I'm exhausted...and the fact that the other allergist that i went to (who was certified and had all types of certifications, diplomas, etc.) said that it's impossible to develop a food allergy and then told me to go home and eat whatever I wanted... he wouldn't even LOOK at the test results from the GP or take any tests of his own... I just thought that was absurd, so I wrote lol. I am getting another opinion from someone who, again, came highly recommended. I'm praying he gives me some actual answers...

[StephanieAc]

Side note: the new allergist is also certified and is part of a "group" of specialists I guess you can call them. I apologize if I'm coming off high strung, but when you're scared to eat anything for weeks, I guess that does that to you... 

[StephanieAc]

I don't "see this as a game" either... why would I see something life threatening as a game. That...is what was rude. Okay, I'm done now. Thanks.

[YouKnowWho]

Believe it or not - there are many of us here who can understand.  We have pulled back and held with baited breathe when ourselves or our kids took bites.  And were horrified when our allergy lists grew, not shrunk.  Last November, I thought my 4yo escaped the curse of food allergies - she was 4.5 and had no issues, she had anaphlaxsis to macadamia nuts.  And a few weeks later, to Nutella. 

And many of us unfortunately have dealt with professionals that are tools.  My ped told me kids don't develop allergies until the age of 2 - when DS1 was failure to thrive, covered in a rash, while I was breastfeeding.  When I pushed for a second opinion, he reluctantly gave me the name of a clinic who just ran basic tests, told me to get rid of the dog and sent me on my way.  DS1 had anaphylaxsis to barley and when I called them they told me barley couldn't have caused it, it was clearly nut contamination.  I drove to the ER regardless.

Another allergist decided my son was too skinny and he was clearly eating foods he was allergic to so she went through with testing - wheat, rye, barley, corn, rice, oats, eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts and tree nuts.   Why?  Because she was an enviromental allergist who thought she could handle food allergies. 

It's why I was urging you to find someone who would not blow you off and direct you in a better direction 

[GoingNuts]

Good luck Stephanie, I hope this new allergist knows their stuff and takes the time to help you figure it out!

[Stephanie]

That's awful!! I'm so sorry about your experiences. I can't imagine going through this with a child. You're babies are so lucky to have someone as diligent as you and who cares so much. Thank you both so much for your kid words. I went today. I got some tests done and I think I finally found my guy. He is a specialist with food allergies and asthma. He told me a lot of my symptoms could be from panicked breathing, which, could close one's throat! Believe it or not. I also
Habe very fair and sensitive skin. He told me a lot of other stuff, but we are moving towards food challenges. He said he needs me to eat and get back to a healthy body. Again, thank you for your support. I truly hope you and your children all have found or find people who can help you in every way you need. This support system has been invaluable to me! You guys are great!

[Stephanie]

Ps: that was me. Idk why I'm coming up as a guest? I'm logged in... Odd.

[GoingNuts]

Stephanie, I hope this doc is "the one"!

And FWIW, many of us here seem to have that fair, super sensitive skin.  Sometimes it reacts for no apparent reason, and it's easy to assume it is FA related when it's really just irritated. 

It can get pretty confusing, even after years of dealing with FA's.   

[YouKnowWho]

I keep checking in for an update - I hope you found some answers at your appt.

[StephanieAc]

Hey guys! You're so sweet for checking back, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update everyone. I've literally been at his office pretty much every single day for testing and then food challenges. I went in on Tuesday and had skin prick tests and for him to look at and interpret my RAST test results. Then he told me that the rast test results were super low, which is great, and he told me that he wanted to do the skin prick test. None of the foods that showed up on the RAST test as abnormal came up on my skin prick test! Now I know that neither of these is definitive. but that was enough for him to want to do some food challenges. He actually saw that a big lump came from clams and smaller ones came from crab and walnuts, so he took more blood for a shellfish and tree nut pane;l, ill get the results next week some time... anyway he is an AMAZING doctor! Like one of you said, he said, I treat symptoms, not the tests lol anyway so i went in in wednesday and did a milk challenge (I haven't had milk in a year and a half because I am lactose intolerant so I brought lactaid, which I haven't ever had either ) Anyway I passed! When I got home I was sick to my stomach a little bit and my tongue felt a little bit tingly a few hours later, but he also works ith a lot of people with anxiety and asthma and breathing stuff, so he said it was probably my nerves and it's nothing to worry about because it was so long after the fact. I also went in for peanut (I only ate like 5 peanuts bc I was so scared, but he said that was enough to tell that I'm not allergic bc of how severe pent allergies are) ad a wheat food challenge, passed both! Super excited ! He basically told me that, like I said earlier, my skin is prone to be irritated and my panic and anxiety disorders probably caused a lot of my breathing issues. He taught me breathing techniques and said that you can actually make your throat close from breathing in a panicked way through your mouth! YIKES! anyway, I have been doing everything he said to and he did mention a daily antihysthemine, but he didn't bring it up when we had our last weekly meeting. Well, our last meeting, actually, for a while. He's going to mail me my RAST results (the new ones) and then i will call him and we will go over them. I'll ask him about the daily medication when I talk to him for that. I am really happy because he totally listened to me and he was SO sweet and kind,. I'm thankful I found him I'm sorry if there are tons of typos. For some reason, my computer won't let me see what I'm typing until after the fact an then I can't correct it? It's just really slow right now, but I wanted to update you guys! (hope I didn't offend anyone with my haha's or lols... I assure you i am still taking this very seriously! I am just super relieved to have passed those tests. I had my first full meal in 3 weeks tonight and I am so energized, it's really insane. how much you feel better with a good meal in your system!)

[PurpleCat]

That all makes much more sense and your quality of life is improved which is fantastic!  The less allergens you end up having to deal with the better!  Hoping you have some more passes.

[GoingNuts]

Here's to more passes!    So glad to hear you're feeling better!

[ninjaroll]

  I am so, so happy to hear the great news.  It's a hard road that we would have helped you if you needed it but enjoy the resulting freedom!! 

[StephanieAc]

Thank you all so much for the support and for being so nice! I really appreciate it!

[spacecanada]

This is so fantastic!!  Finding a good allergist who will listen and explain things is HUGE.  Congratulations on the passed challenges.  Hoping for more good news!