Living with Food Allergies, 2013 and on

[ajasfolks2]

The bragging part is....I refrained for pushing her down those stairs.

I dunno . . . I might have accidentally turned away from her, slipped, and bumped her with my purse and overly long Epipen . . .
Especially since I'm used to carrying AuviQ and not so accustomed anymore to the sticky-outy-ness of the Epipen . . . kinda like carrying a flagpole. _{(Or maybe broom handle, LOL).}

Oops!!!!!   

[starlight]

I feel your pain. I bought two 'going out' purses that purposely fit the auvi-q and not epi and only got to use one of them, once. But I hear auvi is coming back? So I'm hanging onto them. 

[SilverLining]

I never switched, so all my purses are long enough.

But my wallet will not fit with it. What I end up doing is carrying a bank card, $20 cash, and keys. And I guess my cell phone too, I'll have to check it fits.

[CMdeux]

That's what DD usually does with formal attire, Silver.  She has a couple of bags that work-- one in silver (to match strappy sandals) and a black bag that is less flashy but does pretty much go with everything.

She joked that a grubby Eddie Bauer fanny pack probably wasn't the thing for such occasions.. 

[PurpleCat]

Allergist this morning for DD.

Lung function - excellent and improved!

Eczema - excellent and improved!  (even though we are in the beginning of tree pollen season here)

We are going to try right now to drop Singular!  Doctor says if we notice coughing or need for inhaler in the first 5 days get right back on it.

Blood work for - melons, sunflower, egg, garlic, and total IGE today to determine other possible food challenges this summer.

On list for (hopefully summer - med group has to buy into program) component blood work for individual tree nuts except pecan.  Dr. feels component testing is necessary for her to determine if we should challenge these as DD will fail in a RAST test.

Pecan to be tested at home (was negative last blood work in 2014 with coconut and DD did and passed a coconut challenge in office).

No planned testing on peanut or sesame as those are both well over 100 and doctor says she does not expect those ever to change.  She said for DD, component testing for peanut will not change anything.

Can't wait to see the total IGE #.  That one has never been below 1100 and historically mostly up around 1500 - 1600.  This is the first time we will test it since starting allergy shots a year and a half ago.

Doctor really was impressed with how well DD is doing overall and was very happy that DD has been vigilant and had no accidental ingestion.  I think this is because she is a teen, in an at risk category.  She is also amazed how DD is doing health wise while working with animals (which she tests allergic to).

Nice to leave the office with many positives!

[spacecanada]

That all sounds like good news, PC.  Yay!

I am off to the allergist again this morning for my weekly allergy shot. At least this week I feel confident that if I mention a runny nose, mild dizziness, nausea and/or an itchy tongue it may get recorded. The doctors I saw before dismissed those symptoms as normal/mild and so I did too, but the allergist says they are reason for Epi because it is two systems reacting: skin + whatever else. Especially since I have a history of severe reactions. Problem is, now I am kind of scared to get my injection today, even more scared for the increased dose next week. I really want to avoid Epi if I can. 😁

[PurpleCat]

How did your shot go SC?  How far are you from the maximum dose?


DD had a lovely large wheal yesterday, but we expect that with her tree shot especially this time of year.

First day without Singular.  She will be on the softball field this morning for a couple hours, so out in the pollen.

[spacecanada]

The shot went well.  I had some very mild reaction symptoms (one drip of the nose, tip of my tongue went numb for a few minutes) but they all came and went so quickly the allergist wasn't too concerned about them since they didn't stick around.

I am just over 1/3 of the way to my final dose. Next week we up the dose.

Good luck with the softball outing, PC.

[LinksEtc]

I'm going to indulge in one last morning of fully being Links ...

letting go of Links does seem like the right thing for me to do, but like with trying to change any habit (ex - eating better, exercising, etc.) ... you have false starts ... it can take a couple of tries ... and something can easily pull you back into old habits.

one good thing ... on Twitter at this point ... I keep seeing the same health themes/ideas being played out again & again ... new examples, but it seems like mostly the same basic stuff ... most of which, we now have in our threads here ... so yeah, that's not as interesting to me these days either.

[PurpleCat]

No test results yet...but DD came to tell me something super cool yesterday.

"Hey Mom!  Your mulching!  I can breath this year!  OK, I'm just a little stuffy, but I can breath!  And my chest doesn't hurt!"

Softball went well.

Day 2 no Singular.  (she has been taking that for 12 years!)

[PurpleCat]

 

Have not heard from the allergist yet, we get test results before she does through our electronic records.

Total IGE 1316......     It's down...but not really.  After our visit last week I was so optimistic.  (and yes, I know better...but this time I really thought, maybe..)

Egg down again as are melons, sunflower and garlic up a bit.

Will have to see what allergist thinks.  She may also rethink the component testing, but I hope not.

[CMdeux]

 

It's so hard not to hope. 

Egg being down is really a good sign, though, right? 

[YouKnowWho]

We had our first visit with a new allergist today.  He used to be in practice with our other allergist, have heard good things and is about an hour closer.  I semi regretted it after 36 pages of paperwork.  But honestly overall, I am semi-optimistic?

DS1 reacted to wheat, barley and a whopper of an egg white, but yolk was negative.  Running blood tests including some immunology.  Possibly considering baked egg desensitization.  DS1 is wavering though.  I will readdress when and if it's a possibility.

DS2 reacts to peanut.  But without a true reaction all this time, we wonder.  So we are running component test.

DD reacted to several tree nuts but not to soy, sunflower or sesame.  Running bloodwork on tree nuts we could consider challenging.  He is leaving off hazelnut and macadamia.  Also running it for soy and sunflower (because allergist agreed I am on right track) and will consider challenging based on numbers.  He believes in keeping in foods that you can eat.

I am mentally exhausted.  Need to take DS1 on his own to get bloodwork done and then I will DS2 and DD to do theirs.  DS1 is terrified of needles, DS2 thinks they are cool.

[Macabre]

Glad you're getting the component test done. And it sounds like you had some nice victories. 

[PurpleCat]

YKW, good luck with the blood draws!  It ill be awesome if you can shorten the allergen lists!