- Search CSN:
- Members: Login to search all areas
- Not a member? Click here to search public areas
You are here
Scary Allergic Reaction!
 |
Aug 19, 2009 - 11:04 pm
Hey Semi-colons! Looks like there's been a little bit of a rumble in the room lately, huh? Sure glad my days of being in the middle of the fray are over (I hope). HA! So I'm back from my 30 year high school reunion weekend extravaganza and where do I land but in the ER! Not once but twice! YIKES! I'm driving with my son, Ian (thank god)(who's doing much better thank you) 8 hours to my hometown and I have him make me a pnutbutter sandwich (so we can eat on the fly--I always pack my own Ezekial bread, baby carrots, apples etc). I gobble it down and not 10 minutes later I am starting to have an anaphylactic reaction. I know what one is cuz I'm allergic to Tylenol and cumin. (no Indian curries or Mexican food for me wah wah). We are in rural Wisconsin and by the grace of god we are at an exit with a hospital right there. PTL-seriously. Four hours and lots of epipens later we're back on the road. So Saturday I'm at one of the reunion parties (oh such fun seeing old pals) and in the excitement of the day I had totally forgotten to take my meds. oops. And here comes a repeat reaction and after another epipen off to the ER we go. So now I am so full of anxiety about having another attack. It is so darn scary. I give you all SO MUCH CREDIT for doing chemo. You all who know me and my story, I often include in my testimony of no chemo that the chemo scared me more than the cancer. Truly, because of my allergic reactions to certain meds, I was petrified of the chemo (not to mention what it did to my sister but we won't even go there). Next week I see my primary doc and then in September I'll be going to Mayo to see my allergist to see what's up with this new nut allergy. I LIFT MY GLASS TO ALL YOU WHO SPEND MONTHS IF NOT YEARS DOING CHEMO. You are the courageous ones. Off topic, have we had a group hug yet after the most recent rumble? (((((((SEMI-COLONS))))))) peace, emily who is feeling like a nervous nellie :-( and could use that group hug |
Joined: Jan 2009
Hi Emily!
So glad to hear your son is doing much better, and glad you had fun at your reunion, but sorry to hear about your allergies, I would hate it if I had a nut allergy, hope you don't have one!
I'm doing my 8th chemo treatment right now, and feeling sick of this as well, but just 4 more to get through!
I hope you feel better, and also wanted to give you a hug, don't be nervous, you'll be just fine :)
(((((((SEMI-COLONS)))))))
Hugsss!
~Donna
Joined: Dec 2001
countdown
You hang in there girlfriend!
Joined: Jun 2009
Can We All Have ONE Now?
Hi Emily
I know I could sure use a HUG about now too :)
-Craig
Joined: Jan 2009
Craig...
(((((((HUGSSSS)))))))
~Donna :)
Joined: Jun 2009
Donna, how are you doing? I
Donna, how are you doing? I know you said you were doing your 8th treatment. Did you get a chance to talk to the Dr. about how things were looking? I have not seen an update anywhere so, I was concerned. Sorry to ask during this post! God Bless, Patti
Joined: Jan 2009
DR.....
....Said everything was looking good, but if I end up in the hospital one more time she is switching me from Irontecan to Oxy, which I'm scared of, I am recuperating great, getting less tired. Thanks for asking Patti, Blessings to you!
Hugsss!
~Donna
Joined: Dec 2001
Here ya go
(((((((CRAIG))))))))
Joined: Jul 2008
Emily
Emily,
Wow- scary for you! I guess you'll know to be prepared at all times now with an epipen.
So far as the group hug, it sounds like apologies were made, but maybe not an "official" group hug :)
I never felt part of the "semicolons" officially, as I'm not one- didn't ever have that surgery and am still in tact. Now "semilivers"- I could belong to that club! :), but I definitely belong to the colorectal cancer survivors group!
Here's to our group hug:((((semicolons,semilivers,semilungs,colorectal cancer survivors!))))))
Love ya'll,
Lia
Joined: Sep 2006
Peanuts
My mother is allergic to peanuts. If you eat peanuts, peanut butter and give her a kiss, she will have an attack. She swells and her throat begins to close, but she carries a shot with her for immediate relief but still has to go to ER.
What is funny, none of her kids (3) and grandkids have this allergic reaction. It's funny how things can keep generations and pop-up in others.
I think someone was watching over you :)
Joined: May 2005
Wow
That's nuts Emily! I had a thing with bee stings a while back but I out grew it. Scary stuff. I hope you feel better.
Apparently NOTHING happened because any sign of it has disappeared. It must have bee a dream like with JR in Dallas (?). The censors at the ACS took care of any mention of it so it never happened I guess. I said my apologies publicly and privately to those involved. I slept fine.
We will never all agree and that's fine but I do wish they (ASC) would not censor us. It was an incident that was working itself out it seemed.
Oppps, gotta go, the thought police are coming!
-me
Joined: Feb 2009
Bees!
Hey! Lucky thee! I grew into allergy to bee stings. Great! But I carry an up to date epipen all the time and have so far been able to out run the little devils.
You did just fine with the 'unpleasant" post. I am delighted that you sleep well. You should. Right, we will never all agree. But that's what makes us homo sapiens interesting. (P.S. I'm not sure how to spell sapiens/sapians?) I just is one!
Best wishes and go forth with energy! (The cops will never catch you, they's love the hat too much!
:-) Sandi
Joined: Dec 2001
Hornets nest
You stirring things up again my friend?! haha
:-)
You dated yourself with the JR comment. Who shot him anyway?
peace, emily who thought her reunion was the bees knees!
Joined: Jul 2008
off the subject- who DID shoot JR??
How funny,
I used to watch Dallas most Friday nights with my boyfriend when I was in college- exciting nights's- I know- often followed by Falcon Crest. I'm getting the characters from those two shows mixed up. Who DID shoot JR- does anyone remember? It's going to bug me until I find out now! :)
Joined: Jun 2009
Who Shot J.R.?
It was KRISTEN....Sue Ellen's sister.
:)
Joined: May 2005
I'll take any date I can get!
I can proudly say that I never watched that show. I liked Larry Hagman in "Failsafe" and of course, "I Dream of Jeanie". Dallas was Dullas as far as I was concerned. But hey, when have I been to follow the crowd.
Joined: Jun 2009
Hey Phil
I live near Dullus...I mean Dallas :)
Joined: May 2005
Question
Who shot JR then?
;-)
Joined: Dec 2001
Too busy
I was too busy having fun as an Art Student at Madison to watch but my sister was an addict.
Joined: Jun 2009
Sorry for the reaction, that
Sorry for the reaction, that must be a scary feeling....God Bless, Patti
Joined: Jun 2009
(((((((HUG)))))))
Hugs Emily!
Sorry to hear about that reaction - glad you are feeling better and so happy your son is too.
Hope you enjoyed your reunion!
Be well,
Donna
Joined: Mar 2009
Emily
You're going to think this is silly, but I think of you as 'Woman of Steel'. Choosing to fight cancer the way you did took real guts, girl! You Rock!
Hope your allergist can figure all this out so it won't happen again. (I'm eating a PBJ before heading out to our home school book club with my almost 15 year old son, so wash your eyeballs after reading this.)
BIG HUGS to you and all.
Diane
Joined: Dec 2001
Homeschooler???
Diane!
You're a homeschooler? Me too! Going into my 16th year but this will be my last. Very cool you are too. Raised 5 of them and all but one of my big kids went off to school eventually. The one son never wanted to engage in the institutional system. More power to him. My other son has done it all, private, homeschool, Christian, public and he is very thankful for his homeschooled years. But I'm done after this year. My littlest will go to private school when we move. I look forward to cherishing this last year with her. I wouldn't trade it for anything!
peace, emily who is NOT eating any more PB&Js!! *(and has already lost 5 pounds hardly eating anything--aside from juice I'm too scared to eat much)!
Joined: Mar 2009
Our 11th year!
Yep. We decided to Home School Nick when he was a toddler. Our 3 grown kids, ages 38, 34 and 32, all went to public schools up north, as do our grand children. The school system in Georgia.... well let's just say Nick attempted to find a book at the library today and asked the librarian if she could locate 'The Pianist' by Wladyslaw Szpilman. She asked us could we write down 'pianist' because she doesn't know how to spell it.
Nick is 9th grade. He loves history, science, literature and spelling. His spelling words for the last three years are college level. He takes Spanish and American Sign Language on Mondays with the home school group. We have book club once a month. This month's assignment is WWII, non-fiction. He has to create a diorama to go along with his book report. We LOVE home schooling!
Hey. Who wants to be in an institution? (Hubby teaches middle school math. Go figure.)
Diane
Joined: Jun 2009
Oh,Emily,peanuts,looks like
Oh,Emily,peanuts,looks like this thing creats lots of problem for you.Anyway I am glad you are back to the board.Hugssssss!
Joined: Jul 2004
em, sorry to hear you had a
em,
sorry to hear you had a couple of reactions.
glad to hear you are feeling better!!
you rock juice chick!!!
((((((((((em)))))))
be well
never,ever give up!!
bruce
Joined: Dec 2001
Hey!
Right back at ya buddy!
Joined: Feb 2008
Yikes
Emily,
I can see why you'd be scared. Goodness! I hope you get some good words that will help you prevent future problems and make you feel less worried about all this.
*hugs*
Gail
Joined: May 2006
Food allergies
I understand the problem with food allergies. I'm allergic to lots of foods, and it makes eating out a hassle, especially the soy allergy. You have to ask things like, "Is this real butter? Does this bread or whatever have soy in it?" Also allergic to peanuts, shellfish, and a few other things. I find that if I eat just meat, vegies, and fruit, that I can find something off the menu, but again meat sometimes has soy. My reactions are not as bad as yours, but I've had those and am now on allergy shots for food, molds, and pollens. Go to your allergist and get some testing done so that you can exist in the world of food that comes out of a bag.
Eating is an educated guess and the people you are with get tired of listening to you quiz the server. Oh well, he/she usually gets a bigger tip if they are nice about it.
Jo Ann
Joined: Sep 2009
Food allergies can be very
Food allergies can be very scary.
As for foods, I'm only allergic to mushrooms. The options are getting better in restaurants now, but try not eating red meat, and being allergic to mushrooms. For a long time I had a lot of trouble finding anything in a lot of places that didn't include one or the other, or both. For some reason, restaurants think if you are vegetarian, you must want mushrooms on everything.
My last big scare was many years ago in a Chineese restaurant where I made it very clear I could not have mushrooms. Of course, my food came with mushrooms. I explained again and asked for a new plate. Several minutes later I got a plate with cold food - but no mushrooms I could see. But a light-bulb went off in my head. Cold food 5 minutes later? Should have been hot if they just made it fresh... hmmmm? Could they have picked out the mushrooms and returned it? So I explained again that they could not just pick them out - I needed a fresh meal that never had mushrooms touch any of the food. About 5 minutes later (after everyone else was done eating) I got a new hot plate. I wolfed it down and we left. It was late, so I headed right to bed. I started to itch, but was really tired and didn't think much of it. I woke up in the middle of the night, hives all over my chest and face, and I'd scratched layers and layers of skin off my arms. I actually hallucinated - caught in between dreaming and reality for hours. It was miserable and scary once I woke up.
The crazy thing is I am not allergic to all mushrooms. But I avoid them all because I don't know which ones I will react to. I've learned to ask if something has mushrooms or not, even if it seems like it shouldn't, and even if it isn't listed on the menu. You'd be surprised at the items I've found them snuck into - even clam chowder. I stay away from most Chineese restaurants now, except for one local one that knows the importance of my allergy issues. The worst is when I'm with a group of people that want to order a pizza with mushrooms. I can pick off a little meat if I have to - but I can't pick off mushrooms and be safe. I don't even like them, but wish I weren't allergic so I wouldn't have the hassles.
Stay prepared with those epi-pins and Benadryl.
(I'm also allergic to mold and most antibiotics.)
I am a late comer - missed all the fun earlier, but I'll get in on the group hug!!!
Joined: Dec 2001
Bummer
Hi Kathryn,
Scary middle of the night reaction. Good thing you woke up and it was itching and not your throat closing in your sleep!
Funny this old thread got popped up again.....
My first anaphylactic food allergy happened years ago at Taste of India in Stillwater on hwy 36. Do you know it? I'm allergic to tylenol so I knew what was happening but a friend I was with said I was having a panic attack. I just hate that. When I was tested at Mayo by my allergist sure enough cumin wheeled on me. One of my recent triggers happened after my daughter got a mexican meal at our coop in Duluth and pulled off the cover and the smell of cumin went right into my nostrils. On the way home I reacted. I don't go anywhere without my benies and epi.
For 31 days I have been gluten free and for 14 days no grains at all and have been eating a low histamine/low allergy regime and haven't triggered to the point of benadryl or epi. Just some chest tightening and itchy/flush and then removed those foods. After a month of this I plan on reintroducing one food at a time to see if I react or not. I am soooo orange from drinking so much carrot juice! HA! :-) Have lost 11 pounds so far (so good!).
Yeah, I get the mold mildew issues too....and the dusty hay etc. I try to not feed our horse and donkey because of it. The same friend who said I was having a panic attack never understood why I couldn't help put up her hay. sheesh.
peace, emily
Joined: May 2006
allergies
If a person doesn't have allergies, they do not understand. I have to ask so many questions in restaurants and I can tell that it makes the people I'm with uncomfortable. The soy and shellfish are the worst ones to detect, and the chefs have to read the ingredient list for the soy. Crosscontamination is a big factor sometimes, so I do steer clear of Asian restaurants and am very careful in seafood places. Just figure out your allergans, and then avoid the culpret the best way you can. Eating at home is safe, but I do love eating out and do. Keep trying. Somedays I feel puffy after eating out or have unusual bowl issues, but with vigilance, most of the time it is ok.
Joined: May 2009
Emily, what do you eat if you can't have grains or gluten?
Emily, what do you eat if you can't have grains or gluten? What kind of meals do you have? Thanks!
Joined: Dec 2001
Regime
Hi Lizzy,
I feel like I'm back to 8 years ago when I was doing a vegan macro juicing regime for my cancer curing only I am not being vegan at this time.
Since I am following a low histamine diet, there are veggies that I am avoiding like the plague, for example nightshades. So I'm eating flax seeds, salads, squash (I am so hooked on buttercup squash right now), steamed broccoli, beets, carrots, kale, romaine, apples, applesauce, pears and lamb. When I was vegan I could rely on grains to fill in the gaps for my hunger but since I am not doing any grains I am eating some lamb--it's a low allergy meat. I started this low histamine/allergy regime not eating any meat but added it later. So I'm really upping my flax seed fiber and checking my pH to make sure I don't fall into an acid state. So far so good.
I am juicing 34+ oz of fresh veggie juice/day. I'm not eating a whole lot I can say that..ergo the 12 pound weight loss (yea!).
When I start adding foods back in, I am not planning on adding gluten grains back in partly because my daughter needs to be gluten free and it makes it easier, and partly because I know I overdo the whole grain issue (I love carbs!).
Does this help?
peace, emily
Joined: May 2009
Thanks!
Thanks, Emily. I appreciate your advice. No bread, no crackers. Yikes!
Joined: Dec 2001
Gluten Free
There are gluten free crackers and cookies and tortillas at my coop. The bread tastes like sawdust but if you make wraps the rice tortillas we get are really good. You just have to soften them up in the micro for 20 seconds- no more or they get hard.
You can buy gluten free bread and pizza mix. My kids love the pizza crust. I also make gluten free/vegan waffles on the weekends for my family. That's really hard to not eat since I love waffles with agave nectar. Oh man! But I haven't triggered since September 21 so this regime is working. Yea! It's worth it!
What are you dealing with?
peace, emily
Joined: Mar 2008
HUGS!
HUGS ARE MY FAVORITE! SENDING EVERYONE ONE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KARYN:0)
Joined: Jun 2006
Hi Emily
Sorry you are having such trouble emily. I have been wanting to write you so I'll just tag on here. I know you would like us all to avoid sugar and I really try to that and I am finding not just for cancer but for yeast re-actions. If I have sugar I get a real gut ache, and stuffed up sinuses...After surgeries ther hospital always puts you on a clear diet that seems like pure sugar to me....ie:ginger ale, jello, apple juice, popsicles. I always end up with the worst case of thrush so this makes me think candida.
Right now I am trying just veg and some protein....really seems to help. what do you think?
Thanks emily
Best wishes, hope you get sorted out
~mags~
Joined: Dec 2001
Hi Mags!
Things are MUCH better these days now that I am following my low histamine/low allergy/ anti-fungal regime.
As for hospital diets, you can request a visit by the dietician and work out a diet especially for you. You do NOT have to eat what they give you but what you ASK for! I've been doing this for years ever since I was 20 and was dx'ed as hypoglycemic and allergic to dairy and sugar. Just tell them you're allergic to sugar since you get the thrush and gut aches ans stuffy sinuses--that's classic allergy!
Sounds like you're doing just what I'm doing except that I do have apples and pears in my regime which is a no-no actually for the anti-fungal (candida) issues. That's not my primary focus whereas it sounds like that's yours. Good for you!
Are you taking probiotics? This will help heal your gut and so will digestive enzymes taken after eating cooked foods.
It's amazing how my body has grown accustomed to eating less and how much better I feel emotionally not eating grains and gluten. I feel so much more "balanced" these days.
Is your regime helping you?
Thanks for caring and asking. I hope you heal your gut too! :-)
peace, emily
Joined: Jun 2006
Hi em
Hi Em....glad you are feeling better....lol I just went to the fridge to get my probiotics...it's 9:30 and a little dark and I can't read the label.... too small....lol
yes they do make me feel way better and I am doing much better too...I take a little grapefruit seed extract for yeast control
I think I will try apples this week because we live in apple country and I just don't want to let this season pass ....the Cortlands and Spys are in...
Best wishes...and thanks
Mags
Joined: Aug 2009
Group Hug
count me in! Wow, as if you didn't have enough on your plate. Lots of hugs to you.