allergies

[yaf_user681_26736]

Hi,

I'm new to this, so don't know if I'm in the right area - if not - sorry!

I have a problem, I have severe/brittle asthma, am a diabetic on insulin & have had a lifelong (well, since a baby) allergy to dairy products & eggs. I have now been diagnosed with a wheat allergy as well & am having reactions to certain antibiotics now. I have been prescribed with an EpiPen as well now!

Does anyone else out there have any or all of these problems - in any combination? How do you cope food wise? I am waiting for an appointment with a special dietician at my local hospital & Birmingham Heartlands (Dr Mansur) is referring me to a special allergy centre.

Any suggestions gratefully received as to what to have/not have & how best to find recipes etc.

Thanks, Chris

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Hi Chris

I have severe (epipen requiring) allergy to wheat eggs and nuts and my kids are allergic to dairy and I also have allergies to antibiotics.

Have you checked that the antibiotic's you are supposed to be allergic to don't contain wheat fillers as this was found to be the problem for me with certain ones.

Food wise is actually not that difficult as long as you are prepared to cook everything from scratch all the major supermarkets do wheat free stock cubes and gravy granules etc look out for potato starch thickening granules as they are brill for making a soya white sauce and tamari type soy sauce. Be warned just because something says it is gluten free it does not mean it is wheat free as the gluten free levels of protein are designed for people with coeliac disease whereas allergy means you can react at lower amounts.

Antoinette Saville does some good allergy cook books and the anaphylaxis campaign can send you details on things to look out for on labelling like Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein, Modified Starch = Wheat

Have a look at their website, They also send out warnings to members of cross contamination.

True Wheat allergy is actually really rare as a lot of people cross react to grass pollen on the skin prick testing mine has been confirmed by oral challenge/skin prick testing and it's worth asking them to do a full MOT to check what you actually are allergic to as things may have changed since you were a child eg i'm not allergic to peanuts but have anaphylaxis to tree nuts.

It may seem overwhelming but it is managable with a bit of research and trial and error!

Marmite

[yaf_user681_26736]

Thanks marmite. Have been sent a lot of leaflets from the asthma nurse at Heartlands regarding wheat allergies & anaphylaxis leaflet.

My GP has taken blood & is doing tests to see if it is wheat or gluten that I am allergic too.

The dairy & eggs were tested many moons ago & found that I would react to cows, goats & sheeps milk - so presume that means lactose? If so, could I be having problems with my medicines as most of them contain lactose? Just a thought.

I do keep trying diary products & eggs every once in a while & still get the same reactions - stomach cramps, vomiting, skin rash, itching etc.

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hi jovi devil, I too have numerous allergies. fish, eggs, nuts, dairy, strawberries and a wheat intolerance. The wheat was a blood test. I can't even be in the same house where fish is being cooked or walk down the aisle in the supermarket where therer is fresh fish. Its a real pain and as Marmite says its ok but you have to cook from scratcah - very healthy but a bit of a pain. I have seen a dietitian and got good advice about trying different forms of grains eg., millet - I must admit to being scared about trying new foods though. At the moment I am waiting to recover from current blip before cooking my own pumpkin seeds so I know they will not be contaminated with nuts as I need some omega 3 & 6 - well at least my brain does.

I'd love to know how you get on at the specialist Allergy Centre.

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I am allergic to fish and shellfish. I cant be in the same room as any of them, which makes my life really hard since my shcool has a whole day every week dedicated to fish, and all the food they serve is fish. I cant eat any of the food because there is the possibility that it has been cooked with the fish (fish sticks, and chips being fried in the same place forexample). And the cafeteria is self service and lots of time a piece of fish ends up in the other food. This doesn't really matter though, because if i am in the same room as the fish ill get very sick in just a few seconds. So on these days (usually fridays) I can't buy school food, nor can I sit in the cafeteria and eat with my friends. Anyway, this really bothers me because nuts are strictly banned because a couple of people are allergic to it, but there are a almost as many allergic to fish as well. In the cafeteria there are pictures of everyone with food allergies and it states what they are allergic to. We had a debate about this in one of my classes, and it surprises me how litte a lot of people know about food allergies. Out of the 6 people that participated in the argument, 4 of them said that nuts were banned because nut allergy was much more serious than all other allergy and that you could actually die from eating nuts if you are severely allergic to it. That made me mad because it doesnt matter what you are allergic to, you can still die from it if you are severely allergic to it. Nut allergy is just more common than other foods.

As for recepies i am sorry, but I can't be to any help. I just avoid fish and shellfish, which is easier to avoid than diary products and eggs. But i wish you the best of luck in the subject matter.

[yaf_user681_26736]

Am still waiting for appointment at specialist allergy centre (will post something when I get answers from them), dont go back to Heartlands until end of Jan (was there on 17 Oct), but Dr M was hoping for results before I went back.

Waiting to dietician at local hospital for some advice about what to avoid & what to try.

Was given antibiotics end of last week & (think) I had reaction to them - itch, rash, vomiting, stomach pains, mega bad headache & wheeze so bad even I was aware of it! Kept going for 2 days & then gave up - itch still there but rash has gone. Going back to GP this morning to see what else he can suggest as still have chest infection & pain on left side of chest when I breathe. Hope its only muscular.

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Haagendaz - At least your school is trying if they have a nut free environment. I appreciate how annoying it is that no one seems to realise just how serious cross contamination is. I find eating out impossible to do - I have had stroppy reactions from quite posh restaurants even though I have rang up beforehand and sent them a detailed letter of my allergy provoking food and a simple menu that would be fine for me. The annoying thing is that when booking and discussing they were happy to oblige but then were rather rude to me when I turned up!

I find it socially isolating as lots of my friends use eating out as the main social get together. I hope you have a good bunch of friends to sit elsewhere with you on Fishy Fridays.

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Hi jovi devil - hope your GP has sorted you out with some new antibiotics. Sounded like an allergy rash to me. I find that the antibiotics that are a cross over with penicillin give me this sort of reaction.

[yaf_user681_26736]

Have got blood test results back & am not coeliac, only have allergy to wheat (as well as all the other allergies) - so something to be glad about. Maybe my luck is changing!