Not a happy camper right now.

Narwhal

I got my results from my allergy test.

Here's the backstory. I went out with BF for valentines day, and the next day, woke up with a rash all over my face.  Throughout the day it kept swelling and swelling and turned my lips blue. The next day, I went to the doctor because my eye had swollen shut.  He decided it was definitely a food allergy, and if it happened again, I'd probably have to go to the hospital, so he prescribed me an EpiPen, gave me a shot in my butt, and sent me to an allergist.

They poked me with a bunch of different needles and I reacted a little bit to everything, but mostly to lobster.  Which I was upset about, because I love lobster.  They sent it off to be tested for mangoes because they didn't have any at the office and they wanted to double check the lobster.

The results came in today and they say I'm not allergic to either of the two, and they don't know what else it could have been. They said "We're not sure what caused the reaction, so just don't worry about it for now, and if it happens again, just use your EpiPen and go to the hospital, then we'll know for sure what it is."

Eff.

paintgirl

Oh man! That sucks!!! At least if you knew what it was, you could avoid it. Nothing like "try again and if you don't die, we'll know what it is". Gee thanks. Be careful! Make sure people you eat with know you're dealing with this so they know what's up if you get sick and they can help.

Button5807

ugh lame

sorry that you didn't get any answers.

Narwhal

Yeah, I already taught the people I spend the most time with how to use my EpiPen and how to tell if I need it.  It caused them to be a little hyper-aware though. Like whenever I start scratching my face after a meal they're like "DO YOU NEED YOUR EPIPEN?"  But that's much better than them not caring, so I'm thankful.

But yeah. It sucks. />:|

loopy82

Was there something that you had that night that you had never eaten before? Maybe something as small as something in one of the sauces or in a seasoning?

Well hopefully it was just a fluke one time thing and it won't happen again.

paintgirl

I have a sometimes-reaction to shellfish, particularly lobster. Sometimes I'm fine, sometimes I break out in hives. Luckily I take a few Benadryl and I'm good. It doesn't even seem to matter how much I eat. It's just weird. I never thought of a seasoning ON the lobster though - that could be an interesting experiment - bay seasoning versus something else.

Narwhal

Yeah, I had a nice fruity beverage with mangoes in it.  It was delicious, and I had 4 of them.  I had never had mangoes before, so I assumed that was what it was.  But I guess not.

My doctor said that it was probably something I eat commonly, because it is rare to develop an allergy to something your body never encountered before.

PaigeMcC

That sucks!! This is my dreaded situation...I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to bees or wasps or something that stings and flies b/c I got stung by something one time and I passed out and ended up in the ER!  But I'm terrified they won't find out what it is.  And I HATE BEING SCRATCHED!

PS: I may be a little KUI

yellowroseFRA

I'm sorry, that does not sound fun. But I'm curious how a person can be suddenly allergic to something they eat all the time - like, why now? But then again, the human body does some crazy sh*t!

loopy82

The reason I suggested seasonings/sauces because my mom once had a sauce with tomatillas in it and it started to put her in anaphalactic shock.

I had purely hunches. I know nothing about allergies. I am not allergic to anything (well maybe spider bites... but that hasn't been proven.)

Have you tried anything with mango again to see if anything happens?

Narwhal

Yeah, it kind of blew my mind too, yellowrose.  The way he explained it was that everytime you eat that one thing, your body builds up antibodies towards it, which causes a reaction.  You usually don't notice it, or don't attribute it to what you ate.  Then one day, BAM. Too many antibodies, and you look like Quasimoto.

bajediva

yep, i was also similarly confused when i ended up in the ER last year, welts all over my body, my face swollen, couldn't see out of one eye. got me a butt-whopper, and they said it was a medication i had been taking for almost 2 months. i wondered, how did i NOW become allergic to it??? but i got it switched 'cause morphing into Moby D!ck? Not an option.

bethsmiles

That sucks! Its true about developing allergies though. I love dairy, milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt all that good stuff, it was probably my favorite food group. But this year i magically (not actually magic but im taking biology right now and hate it so I prefer to think of it this way) became lactose intolerant. Its the worst, but luckily I can still have a little bit of dairy so I'm learning to deal with it.

Hopefully this was just a one time thing for you and won't happen again though.

SigKapLily

Oh no! That sucks that you didn't get any answers! Hopefully you can avoid having an allergic reaction again, but I guess that would be hard since you don't know what you're allergic to. Good luck!!

hetshup

Narwal, it could have been something else too. I was in Italy and ate eggplant on night. The next morning after breakfast  (of yogurt, fruit, bread and honey) my throat started to swell and itch, and I got really really sick. 

Turns out that they were spraying for yellowjackets by the skylight, and I was reacting to the pesticides. They had likely come through the skylight and landed on the fruit. 

Anywho, the point is, I would get checked for chemicals etc etc too. 

Narwhal

I would get tested for everything under the sun if possible.  I would really like to know what it is.  But alas, allergists are expensive.