I recently had a life-threatening anaphylactic shock episode. I have experienced horrendous hive episodes since I was 14 yrs old and never really been able to settle on the cause, although we have always believed it was food related. I thought perhaps it was due to coconut or paraffin wax because the first time it happened I had eaten some homemade coconut balls made by my cousin. As years went on, I would have a series of episodes and then it would go dormant and not bother me at all for months or even years.
Oddly enough, I began to eat coconut pies, candies, fresh coconut, and dried coconut fresh out of the bag when cooking. No problems whatsoever! So there went my coconut theory. So, perhaps paraffin then which shouldn't be a problem I thought because I never eat paraffin -- that I know of anyway.
And yet, the hives would come back. I would wake up in the middle of the night to horrendous scratching and clawing and torture of hives. So WHAT was IT kept running through my mind. On one particularly nasty episode, I had eaten some cheap generic chips that we had bought for a barbeque. They were cooked with *palm oil* it said, so I decided *palm oil* was the demon that torments me. So I quit eating any chips that had the word *palm oil* anywhere on the label. Plus it helps that I'm not a HUGE chip eater. Just an occasional one -- usually holidays or a cook out, and I don't attend that many cookouts. So all was well for a number of years.
But they always came back unexpectedly!!!! Like an evil attacker in the night. And even worse, they accelerated in intensity and began to swell my lips and tongue. Now it was getting scary but I was always able to ride it out. Benadryl pills and liquid Benadryl became a staple emergency supply in our household. But even that eventually was not enough to save me.
In May, I ended up in the Emergency room fighting to breath. I had taken 5 Benadryl tablets in desperation and believe it or not, they gave me MORE Bendadryl after I was admitted. And followed that up with Epinephrin. The doctor grimly told me I had something that was nothing to play around with. I needed to find the source of my allergy because next time it could very well KILL me. That got my attention. I promptly made a doctor appointment to get a referral to an allergist.
Luckily I hadn't eaten a lot of things on the fateful day of my emergency room incident so I had recorded it all and kept it for the doctor. There were two odd items that I took a sample bite of only that I had never consumed before in my life. But that wouldn't explain all the past history. There had to be something I wasn't seeing. Perhaps a combination of things that is deadly for me. But what things?
When I got in to see the allergist nearly 8 weeks later, she saw a pattern immediately, and promptly warned me she was going to ask a very odd question of me..... had I been bitten by ticks recently and throughout my life. YES! I had. And then she asked, do you react to them with unusual intensity. YES! I do. They itch like the dickens and take FOREVER to heal.
Then she shared with me that she strongly suspicioned that I have an allergy called *alpha-gal* which is triggered by tick bites. Alpha-galactose is a sugar in mammalian meat that is in the fat as I understand it and therefore takes the body a while to digest it to the point that it breaks down and causes the reaction -- which takes 4 to 6 hours to happen and therefore, is why the middle of the night hive episodes after an evening meal of meat.
AND because I eat lots of cheese and chicken and not a lot of red meat, usually only very lean ground beef or a very occasional steak (like once every 2 or 3 years) when I do eat red meat, that explained why it wasn't a constant issue and was so sporadic. AND the fact that I have been a country dweller and outdoors person all my life, I do get bitten by ticks on an annual basis in the spring and summer. The nearer to a tick bite I consumed red meat, the more likely an episode would occur and the intensity to be severe because the tick saliva had sensitized my immunity system.
There is some contemplation that the allergy isn't permanent and goes away after a period of time -- IF no further tick bites occur to re-initiate the sensitization. In my case, however, the doctor has cautioned me that I should NEVER take the chance again because I live in an area where exposure to ticks is recurring and being bitten is inevitable. Given the severity of my last reaction, it wouldn't be worth the risk of dieing.
You may have noted at the beginning I said *preliminary* diagnosis, so this isn't confirmed until further blood work is done and other triggers are tested as well. But because of the severity of the issue, and the strong possibility of diagnosis, I have to live the next 30 days as though it were an absolute diagnosis. The upside is I get to try a lot of new foods. The down side would be, if it ISN"T a correct diagnosis, whatever it is that tries to kill me is still lurking out there. :(
So, what does that leave a person to do? I'm having to re-examine my diet and reinvent my menu which is long overdue with or without an allergy issue. It's going to be an interesting ride since I now have to source my protein from things other than mammalian meat.
Although I said *beef* allergy, it is actually ALL mammalian red meats AND although it is called *the other white meat*, pork is also out. So, no beef, no venison, no Elk, no pork (I LOVE Mexican carnitas...sigh....) -- If a tick will eat on it, I can't. UGH! The goods news is I can have fish, shelfish and chicken, ALL of which I dearly LOVE. The other neat thing is, this crisis is spurring me to finally do something I have considered for a long time -- to go vegetarian. I have a HUGE learning curve but I think I'm going to have fun with this adventure.
Today, I tried to make Dosas -- I didn't do too well. LOL But, hey, I'm an Okie in middle America so I am very uneducated to Indian cuisine. But I have eaten it often and LOVE it. They use lots of beans and legumes for protein sources which is also intriguing because those are dried items that a person could stockpile. If there was ever an emergency and food was a shortage, I would know how to eat very well and survive using dried goods. So, there's lots of upsides to this thing. :) It's all a matter of perspective.
If you don't know what Dosas are, they are a delicious crepe that is made from a batter using rice and lentils. Check out this article over on Veggie Belly:
The Perfect Dosa Recipe (Rice and Lentil Crepes)
I'll blog my progress as I go along.
Bright Blessings and Blessed Be,
Rayven Michaels
Wiccan Witch of the Midwest
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