Introduce Yourself - We're Glad You Found Us!

[tsubasa292]

Thanks rebekahc, nice to meet you (I never admitted to being an adult though!  ). Thanks for the info about the verification.

[LinksEtc]

A Harry Potter avatar & a funny signature ... you really will fit right in  .

Welcome!

[tsubasa292]

Hi LinksEtc, great to meet a fellow Potter fan ...Unfortunately the signature isn't a joke... >_>

[LinksEtc]

 , I just meant that I liked your signature ...  we all type things we don't mean to & misspell words ... I think we have a whole thread about funny autocorrect mistakes  .

Anyway, welcome again!

[YouKnowWho]

LOL My browser hates anaphylaxsis as much as I do - I may stab my computer with an epinephrine and see if it helps!

Say hello to LA for me   I miss living in Niceville, FL

[hobbssa]

Hello everyone!  My name is Sherry, I just turned 40 a few weeks ago and so far not so good.     The beginning of December I have an anaphylactic reaction to walnuts.  I have since been tested and found I am allergic to tree nuts and peanuts.  I huge adjustment for me!  I am still learning all of the ins and outs so may have alot of questions.

[LinksEtc]

Hi Sherry!   


Welcome to FAS!  I hope we can help you with some of your questions.

[TAC]

I am new.  I have many food allergies, peanuts, treenuts,  and some others that are not as severe .  I really did not get my nut/peanut allergy under control until I banned all nuts and peanuts from my home.  I look forward to reading the posts and hearing what others have to say.  Hoping  I will learn something new.  Teresa

[SilverLining]

Hi and welcome. 

[rebekahc]

Hi Teresa! 

[wise_helayna]

Hello everyone,

I am someone who has never suffered from allergies in my life, until yesterday, when I spent all day in hospital with an extreme allergic reaction (from about 10.30 am, in and out a bit as it improved and worsened, until 3am.)

It was absolutely terrifying, and now, 33hours ish later, my face, throat and and tongue are still swelling up/going down/swelling up/going down, despite all the steroids and antihistamines.

I never really understood how terrifying this whole thing was, and although I didn't get the full anaphylaxis, i was still terrified of suffocating at any moment.

Whilst I wait for my referral to an immunologist to determine exactly what the allergen/trigger was, I am really worried about what to eat. I think the most likely thing is peanuts, but is there a good source to see what foods are connected (e.g. if you are allergic to peanuts, these other foods sometimes also cause a reaction)? I am also wondering if it could be avocado? Or both?

Thanks for reading this,
Helayna (tearstained and swollen!)

[twinturbo]

With those symptoms first order of business is an EpiPen or other epinephrine auto-injector. What you're describing I'd actually inject myself immediately. I take it that you were told you were not anaphylaxing and they did not administer epinephrine?

I'm sorry if this is shocking news or frightens you but on the flowchart we're at the dealing with anaphylactic stage before we do anything else. Call your primary and get a script immediately. I'm not even sure why you were discharged.

[CMdeux]

Yes-- second on the flowchart is "avoid what might have caused this to happen."

There are probably quite a number of possible culprits there-- do your best to write down EVERYTHING that you can remember about your surroundings, activities, and anything that you came into contact with in the two hours before this started-- paying particularly close attention to the twenty to thirty minutes before your very first symptoms started.  And by "first symptoms" I mean anything from this prioritized listing of symptoms given in layman's terms. 



Avoid those possibilities as much as you possibly can until you can converse with a really good allergist about your situation.    Some foods, yes, much more likely to cause anaphylaxis than others, particularly in adults-- nuts, seeds, shellfish, and latex are the TOP contenders there, but it's not completely out of the question for it to have been something else entirely.  In rare cases, a pollen allergy can be SO severe that it results in the kinds of symptoms you experienced-- with fruits-- this phenomenon is called "Oral Allergy Syndrome" and it is mostly localized (though I have to say I have my doubts on that score given what you're experiencing)-- but there is also no bright line that divides it from 'real food allergy' and a number of members here have had that turn into fully-fledged systemic (anaphylactic, not local) reactions to those fruits that are somehow related to the pollens that initially triggered the allergy.  I mention that because in some places, tree pollen season is in full swing-- and it's prime OAS season for those of us in those regions.  Applies, pears, plums, nectarines, cherries, etc. are prime offenders, in case that seems familiar.

  Hang in there.   

[wise_helayna]

Thanks for the advice.
Fortunately the thing that gave me this reaction is hopefully going to be easier to trace, as i had only eaten 3 little things that day.

Is there a resource for what allergies are linked? I expect it was peanuts, but right now my body is struggling with anything I put in my mouth, so I'd like to avoid anything that may also be irritating or linked to peanut protein.

Of course- this is until I see the immunologist- the referral is is being processed as I rang my doctor as soon as I got out of hospital.

Thanks!

[SilverLining]

I'm not sure if we have that list here, but I did find this one.  http://www.foodallergygourmet.com/Food%20Allergy/Food%20Families.htm

Legume: Acacia; Acacia Gum; Alfalfa; Arabic; Black-eyed pea; Carob; Carob (St. John's Bread); Cassia; Chick Pea; Field Pea; Green Bean; Green Pea; Guar gum; Jack bean; Karaya Gum; Kidney bean; Lentil; Licorice; Lima bean; Locust Bean Gum; Mungo Bean; Navy Bean; Peanut; Peanut oil; Pinto Bean; Soybean; Soybean oil/flour/lecithin; Split Pea; String Bean; Talca Gum; Tamarind; Tonka bean; Tragancanth Gum; Urd Flour.

Of that list, the only one I react to is peanut and peanut oil.