My Test Results Are In!
My Allergy Backstory (scroll down for results):
I apologize if this is too detailed, but I wasn’t sure which symptoms would be the most relevant, considering everyone has different experiences and may relate differently. We’ll jump straight in.
As a child, going to the restroom was never easy for me. The only times I would pray to God was when I was thankful for something or stuck in a public restroom with my family waiting on me. Constipation is no joke! My family gave me prune juice to help, but that didn’t solve the problem. I was and wasn’t a “picky eater.” While I enjoyed various foods and even more unusual textures than most kids my age, eating without feeling sick was often hard for me, and getting down carbs was particularly challenging. I struggled to even finish a piece of birthday cake!
My tonsils were constantly swollen, making it difficult to breathe. Doctors told me I “had allergies,” but they never connected them to the food I was eating, and I never heard anything more about it. Additionally, I had severe reactions to environmental factors like sitting on the grass, climbing trees, bug bites, dust, and pet dander. Because of this, going outside wasn’t very enjoyable for me. Although I loved the look of nature, I preferred to be curled up with a book inside. I would amaze my family by sneezing 15 times in a row or finishing an entire tissue box at a friend’s sleepover because they had an indoor pet. I was constantly itchy and tired, and I experienced chronic headaches. Some days, I wanted to rub my nose and eyes off my face. I often had a hard time going to sleep and staying asleep, which I realize now is when my anxiety started. It’s tough to do anything when you're itchy, uncomfortable, and exhausted; it took a mental toll on me. My family would just call me moody and sensitive, gaslighting many of us experience. These symptoms continued, but since no one seemed to care or react when I talked about them, I thought everyone else had their own issues, and this was mine to bear. Thankfully, I grew out of most of my environmental allergies after high school.
At 21, I discovered that I had gastric ulcers and was prescribed medication to help. During that time, I focused a lot on relieving stress. It was a challenging period in my life, and the ulcers seemed to stem from that stress. The next few years were spent being more mindful, yet I still drank and ate everything since I was new to the world. I remained tired and sick but ignored it, often attributing my symptoms to hangovers without knowing the difference. To be fair, I had never felt amazing, so it wasn’t a huge change. I suspect that working in various restaurants and consuming random foods contributed to my gut bacteria being disrupted, but that isn’t proven.
At 25, while in Thailand, I ate a fruit bowl that gave me a sensation I had never experienced before; my tongue and throat felt prickly. It wasn’t severe, but it was confusing. The bowl contained dragon fruit, which I hadn’t eaten before, so I assumed I was a little allergic to it. Fast forward to my birthday when I bought myself a chocolate strawberry cake. My tongue experienced the same prickly sensation, but it extended to my throat this time, causing me to cough a bit. After a few more bites, the symptoms worsened. I was upset, thinking the bakery must have cross-contaminated it with dragon fruit. Then, a third time, I had a smoothie and felt all the symptoms even more intensely with the first sip. The only common factor was strawberries—delicious strawberries. I was in denial for a long time, but when I finally took the tiniest bite of ice cream with a strawberry on top, I immediately felt a reaction. I was forced to accept that I was seemingly allergic to strawberries.
Drinking alcohol made me feel more ill, and overcooked beef gave me terrible acid reflux. I could cook chili in the crockpot, take a nap, and wake up with terrible acid reflux due to the smell of long cooking time. I was always very sensitive to smells and could immediately tell if something had gone bad—a blessing and a curse. During all this time, I was consuming dairy without issue, and gluten didn’t seem to bother me either, though I didn’t eat much of it to begin with.
When I moved to Alabama to care for my grandpa, I started eating much more BBQ, fried foods, and carbs, imagine that lol. I noticed that I was getting exhausted easily and had to take a nap every day or I would be too tired. I became even more sensitive to alcohol; on a bad day, just two drinks could make me throw up. If you've ever been a live-in caretaker, you know how stressful it can be, so I attributed my symptoms to the move, as well as to the depression, anxiety, and ADHD I had dealt with my whole life but that seemed worse now.
When I moved out of my grandpa’s apartment I moved somewhere with SO MUCH MOLD (they had shown me one studio and moved me into another). I really didn't have any experience with mold since there's not much of it in Southern California - unless you're right by the beach. Although I knew I needed to leave, many people assured me that mold was normal in the South and that all houses had it. They would say things like, “I grew up with black mold in my room, and I’m fine.” Eventually, I managed to break my lease because of the mold and moved, but my budget was tight, so I still had to settle for an older house or apartment.
I found an apartment that fit my budget and seemed to have no apparent mold (but I also wasn’t very observant). Shortly after moving in, I developed an increasingly severe sensitivity to tomatoes. One day, after I made a delicious pink sauce pasta, they caused me to be BURNING and so uncomfortable. I was going to the bathroom nonstop and was bleeding for TWO DAYS because my body was so reactive to them.
I stopped eating tomatoes and went to a gastroenterologist, who recommended a colonoscopy and endoscopy. When my results came back, I was diagnosed with chronic gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) and three internal hemorrhoids. They told me to take Prilosec for two months, which they said would resolve the issue. However, I noticed that more foods, like radishes, red grapefruit, red wine, beer, and jasmine green tea, made my tongue tingle.
After two years, I moved into a duplex, where I currently live, and again, I didn’t notice any mold. Fast forward to living here, and leaks started whenever it rained heavily. I thought I was fine. I put out buckets for the drips and had maintenance fix it, but the repairs were only temporary. Eventually, they stopped coming altogether. In my mind, I thought, “Well, they can’t raise the rent on me if my ceiling is leaking, so it’s fine.” Stupid me.
Looking back, I realize that was naïve. I began to see water spots and a little mold, but I remembered everyone telling me it was normal and that I could just clean it. I’m not a huge worrier, so I cleaned whenever I saw mold and moved on. I did some research on mold symptoms, which were mostly coughing and sneezing, but since I didn’t experience those, I didn’t pay it much attention. Meanwhile, my gastric issues worsened.
I didn’t recognize it then, but I started avoiding social activities entirely. I’m not typically sad, but since I’ve struggled with depression in the past, I thought that might be the issue. I am the opposite of a hypochondriac; I tend to ignore problems and assume I’ll be fine. Eventually, though, I had less and less energy, and on some nights, I couldn’t even muster the strength to make dinner and would just go to bed early.
Finally, I reached a point where I could no longer ignore my gastric problems. I began bleeding every time I used the restroom and had already eliminated coffee, most alcohol, and spicy foods from my diet. Nothing seemed to stop the bleeding. I developed severe anxiety around using the restroom. When I saw the gastroenterologist multiple times, I was reassured that it was just my internal hemorrhoids and that it was normal. I knew deep down that this was not normal.
That's when I decided to cut out gluten and dairy, knowing they could cause digestive problems. I was desperate since I had already eliminated everything else that might be causing issues. This change helped tremendously in some ways, but at the same time, I was starting to experience more serious hives (chronic urticaria). I had noticed redness and splotchiness in the past, but I thought it was just my skin (remember, I’m the queen of denial). Now, I would get hives after eating food, drinking tea, getting hot or cold, experiencing flushing, or even from any kind of scrape or pressure on my skin.
I began researching the foods I had even the slightest sensitivity to, looking for patterns or connections. I discovered connections with pseudo allergens, histamines, salicylates, benzoates, balsam of Peru, and nickel. Unfortunately, many of these diets conflicted, and I found myself with virtually no food options. I could only eat fresh meat, rice, garlic, onions, potatoes, and eggs without breaking out in hives.
It felt terrible to be limited to so few foods, but surprisingly, I began to feel much better overall. I felt more alert and energized, my gastric problems cleared up, and my eczema gradually improved as well. I had tried gluten again just to see, and it caused an intense itchy reaction, with eczema all over my eyes and swelling along with psoriasis down my neck. My skin was clearing up, but I began to notice even greater sensitivity to the foods I had previously eliminated.
I had researched extensively by this point and realized that potatoes were likely causing some sort of reaction due to salicylates. After cutting them out of my diet, my arthritis went away. Years of continuously stretching my back, arms, wrists, hands, and neck vanished—it was incredible. For the first time I could remember, I could sit or stand all day without feeling pressure on my joints. However, when I tried eating potatoes again, my arthritis returned.
While I was happy to experience some relief, I found it challenging to eat a variety of foods. I was constantly hungry and seemed to develop worsening hives (urticaria) from spices or random foods I attempted to reintroduce. This led me to see an allergist to learn more about my condition.
For my allergy test, I had to visit an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) doctor. They asked me a few questions about the severity of my reactions. Since I had almost experienced anaphylaxis with strawberries, they decided to conduct a blood test to minimize the risk of that happening again. The doctor mentioned that the test would cover most pollens, trees, environmental allergens, and many foods. However, I was surprised to find that strawberries weren’t included! I had also seen discussions online about how mold could trigger allergies, and considering my leaking roof, I requested to have all types of mold tested as well. Two days later, I received my online test results!
My IgE levels are extremely high, but I have no allergies to strawberries or tomatoes! This is surprising, but I’ve learned that food intolerances can be just as severe and have the same, if not more, symptoms as allergies but do not show on allergy tests. Technically, since they aren’t true allergies, anaphylaxis shouldn’t happen, but it is documented! Turns out, I’m very allergic to dust mites and the proteins they produce! Additionally, I have allergies to three types of mold that are affecting me. This was good to know so I can start treating that and hopefully detox. I am also allergic to cat dander, but I have two cats and no, I’m not getting rid of them. I only posted the out-of-range results above, as the complete list would be too lengthy.
