Well, shit.

[rivka]

The last time I ate blueberries, I felt a little bit of tingling in my lips and throat. I ignored it.

This time, it was beyond ignoring. I had about half a cup of blueberries with vanilla ice cream, and suddenly my mouth was itching and tingling and burning. My lips, the insides of my cheeks, my throat, even on the outside - my neck and collarbones and arms. I found myself scratching, and gasping a little, and breathing very. Carefully.

I've been through this before. When I was twelve, suddenly cherries started making my mouth itch. My father was allergic to cherries too, so my parents instantly recognized what was going on. Next I became allergic to peaches, then plums, nectarines, pears, apples, almonds, and other nuts. That was high school. In college, I lost strawberries, blackberries, raspberries. It actually makes sense, by botanical family: anything with a pit, anything with a core, compound berries. Then I thought I was done. It's been years since I've had the wanting-to-claw-my-own-throat-out reaction that heralds another fruit lost from my diet. I could still eat grapes, melon, citrus fruit, tropical fruit, and blueberries. Scratch one from that list now, I guess.

I've just drunk a lot of water, and that helps. I should really keep Benadryl in the house for situations like this - Misha offered to go get some, but I knew that by the time he got back, the allergic reaction would be over. I've been through this before. Now the itching has faded (although I'm still scratching), and my mouth and throat just have a mildly unpleasant feeling to them. Systemically, I feel kind of worn out and icky, but that's a common post-allergic reaction for me. Emotionally...

I'm disappointed. I liked blueberries - but it's more than that. I wonder where the hell it's going to stop? Blueberries are in a different botanical family than anything else I'm allergic to. What if grapes are next? Am I going to go through this thing again where I have allergic reaction after allergic reaction until I figure out everything new that's been dropped from my list?

I hate this.

Comments

[tammylc.livejournal.com]

That sucks. Hugs and commiseration.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

Ack, I'm so uncomfortable! My fingers and sides and back are itching. I believe I'll send the boy out for some Benadryl after all. Or maybe a baking soda bath would help.

Oh, ick.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Maybe both, even.

Benadryl sounds like a sensible thing to have on hand all the time, if I may be so opinionated (and feeling so protective) as to say so.

Re:

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Benadryl sounds like a sensible thing to have on hand all the time, if I may be so opinionated (and feeling so protective) as to say so.

That's what I've been saying for the past half hour. "You know, we should keep some Benadryl in the house." Which finally morphed into "Can I change my mind about having you run to the Food Lion?"

[tammylc.livejournal.com]

Several years ago, I was struck with a couple of severe allergic reactions. We never did figure out what had caused them, but fortunately they have not returned. (knock, knock)

The first time, I just got big monstrous hives. The second time my palms itched, then my fingers swelled up like balloons and my entire torso turned bright red and started swelling. I got paranoid that I was going to have trouble breathing, so took two Benedryl and headed to the hospital.

Horrible, frightening, and oh so uncomfortable. I hope you're feeling better today.

Re:

[rivka.livejournal.com]

The first time, I just got big monstrous hives. The second time my palms itched, then my fingers swelled up like balloons and my entire torso turned bright red and started swelling. I got paranoid that I was going to have trouble breathing, so took two Benedryl and headed to the hospital.

Yow! Goodness. I'm glad you turned out to be okay. Mine was nothing near this bad, and the retrospective comparison makes me feel much better about it.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

I hear ya. That sucks mouldy rocks through a straw.

(If I ever find the Complaints Desk, I'll ask if they'd let you trade the fruit allergies for allergies to moldy rocks through a straw or something.)

There's something particularly... disheartening about losing something from an already thinned list, I find. Dunno whether it's that the loss is proportionately bigger, or what. It's like, "hey! I already gave! I gave at the office!"

And the emotional reaction... makes perfect sense to me. I mean, what's your experience with food allergies been? That each loss is followed eventually by more loss. You are a sentient, sensitive, pattern-finding person, and it's no wonder that you're wondering what the hell is next.

I wish it weren't happening to you.

I know that you'll cope with this damned thing. But you know, I wish you didn't have to.

Is there anything a Lioness could do to help? My email ear is open for ya, and it's not like you're gonna shock me or anything. {wry smile of offered cameraderie}

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Be careful with cranberries, then. :/

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, they're rarely eaten raw. All of the fruits that I'm allergic to raw, I can eat when cooked. Allergies, it turns out, are to proteins. Proteins, as I learned in ninth-grade biology, are denatured by heat.

So, for example, apple pie is okay, and cranberry sauce will probably continue to be okay forever. As long as I wear gloves to handle them raw.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Note to self: do not get Rivka any fancy chi-chi-muu-muu pureed fresh strawberry facial glopparoonie stuff or massage butter or whatever.

Only get Rivka cooked pureed strawberry facial glopparoonie stuff or massage butter or whatever.

[almeda.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I wonder what Jack's allergic to about peanuts/pine nuts etc, then, since cooking doesn't stop it - he's reacted to the residual traces of peanut oil used to deep-fry things in. It is a genuinely allergic reaction -- anaphylaxis, to be specific.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Right, a lot of peanut allergies are that way. My guess is that it involves a different subset of proteins, less sensitive to heat. I do count myself very lucky that I don't have to worry about peanut oil, peanut butter, candy made in factories where peanuts are used...

[eeyorerin]

I hate to offer GAS if you don't want any, and perhaps you've investigated this, but perhaps an allergist could help? I know that there are treatments for airborne allergens (pollen, mold, etc) -- my mother's husband and his sons have been receiving allergy shots which have improved the quality of their lives tremendously. Although my own animal dander and seasonal pollen allergies are improving as I age, I'm also considering looking into more long term treatments simply so I'm not so miserable when they do strike! I really sympathize about the all-over body horrible reactions.

(i'm now picturing microscopically small fruit salads being administered by syringe in order to treat the problem, and giggling. forgive me.)

[rivka.livejournal.com]

(i'm now picturing microscopically small fruit salads being administered by syringe in order to treat the problem, and giggling. forgive me.)

*grin* No, it's okay. I'm giggling now too, in between scratching my eyebrow and my ankle and my arms and... argh!

Shots aren't recommended, mostly because it's so easy to avoid raw fruit. I think they only use them for people who might unavoidably be exposed to an allergen - for example, to airborne pollen. Shots would certainly not make it safe for me to actually eat fruit on purpose, it would just make accidental exposures like this one less unpleasant. Given that it's been seven years since my last accidental exposure, it doesn't seem worthwhile.

From now on, we'll have Benadryl in the medicine cabinet. That should help a lot.

[eeyorerin]

Ah. It is a shame that there's not much that can be done, but hopefully the Benadryl will help muchly. I have found that baking soda baths or oatmeal baths in cool water help with the itching, too -- I think Aveeno even sells "oatmeal bath" packets now or some such. (One hopes that an oatmeal allergy would not also be discovered.)

I've had seasonal (spring/fall) allergies since I was five years old, plus a rapidly worsening set of allergies to animal dander, and twenty years ago, they didn't have much to offer children except dosed-down versions of adult medicines or over the counter treatments that always left me sleepy. Several years ago, when the first round of prescription allergy medicines hit the market, my doctor and I tried a few until we found one that works for me (Claratin) and it's been so *wonderful* to know that I can treat the symptoms without turning into a zombie -- in undergraduate days, the non-prescription decongestants caused me to sleep through the entire Protestant reformation. :)

If I can get an immune system upgrade, though, I'd gladly do so. Anyone know where I go to file a bug report? I'd like a few things patched.

There ain't no justice

[redbird]

But there is some hobbitish sympathy, if it will help any.

MEMO

Date: Wednesday 24 July 2002

To: Complaints desk

From: Redbird

Re: Allergies

Lay off Rivka, already. She hasn't got any berries to spare. If someone has to get a stupid annoying fresh fruit allergy, send it to someone else. Me if you have to, but better it should be someone deserving (the Shrub, say).

Re: There ain't no justice

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Hee. Thanks. I had a banana for breakfast, and no reaction, so obviously it's working.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

*hug* I'm sorry love. But it's good that you're (mostly) OK. Misha once again proves himself a prince among men. I'm so very glad he's there.

Understood

[curmudgn]

I lost all descriptions of shellfish in just about the same way during the ’70s and ’80s.  My allergist says in theory I can still eat oysters, since I didn’t react to them when he ran a panel on me, but I don’t even try.

This makes it awkward when I go to visit my in-laws, because (as you know) the accepted celebratory thing to do when you have out-of-town company is to have a crab feast.  Well, not for me, bubba.  Obrycki’s, Philip’s, et al. are completely off-limits, and I don’t much care for fin-fish either.  And you just try finding good Tex-Mex anywhere in the area.  Go on, I dare you.  (Although I am keeping in mind that interior-Mexican place in Federal Hill you mentioned the other month.)

I also lost raw button mushrooms (but no other variety, for whatever reason) a few years back. Eventually I may wind up having a sensitizing event with eggs or tomatoes, but it hasn’t passed the threshold yet.

[wiredferret.livejournal.com]

Food allergies suck. I know exactly how depressing it is to watch that progression and feel like soon you may be confined to soy-pap.

Mine are non-standard, so I don't get life-threatening swelling kinds of reactions, just silent migraines, but I still cried for a day when I realized that pork was almost entirely verboten.

[kyttn.livejournal.com]

Having Benadryl is obviously a very good idea, but since you have systemic reactions which effect your breathing, I strongly suggest you go to an allergist and get tested for fruits and the common foods. (I do transcription for 2 allergists regularly and have learned a lot by typing the same explanations over and over again :)). Liquid Benadryl works slightly more quickly than tablets, and may be easier to swallow. It sounds like it might not be a bad idea for you to have an epinephrine pen around for emergency use. Anything that causes difficulty breathing should be watched carefully. One of our patients had a strong reaction to peaches, got short enough of breath that she passed out before the neighbor she called came to help, fell and hit her head on the corner of a table - ended up in the hospital with stitches.

Btw, that chocolate cake went over beautifully! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe :)