I've been browsing through the forums the past few days and thought I would introduce myself and my allergy adventure.
I've had allergies of various sorts my entire life. I've had a food allergy to potato since I was an infant. I've never eaten potato aside from accidental exposures. I have severe reactions from very minute amounts, whether it's raw, cooked, or processed. Even my allergist seemed surprised that I react to things like potato chips that are highly processed (apparently most potato allergies are to raw only). For the longest time I didn't carry an epipen because I didn't realize how dangerous allergic reactions could be (I didn't actually see an allergist and get a proper skin test to confirm until I was an adult). But I'm visually impaired, and in 2008 I nearly ate a slice of potato (thankfully a friend yelled at me before it got to my mouth), and that scared me enough that I went to my GP and got an epipen. Last year I accidentally took a small bite off the edge of a potato chip thinking it was a tortilla chip, and I really should have used the epipen for the resulting reaction but didn't. Won't make that mistake again - it's one of the few times in my life I was seriously scared I might die.
I've had asthma since I was a kid. As a teenager I had severe cold urticaria and - again - had some very severe reactions, including passing out after trying to swim outdoors, but had no idea how dangerous they were. My GP at the time just told me to take Benadryl before swimming, and never suggested a referral to an allergist. Thankfully, I outgrew that allergy in my early 20s. I'd say that one is even worse than a food allergy.
In my mid-20s I developed seasonal and environmental allergies. Over the years (I'm 32) they got gradually worse until I was pretty much constantly having allergy symptoms even when taking loads of medication. Around the same time I developed the allergies I also had an incident at work where food got stuck in my throat (I could breathe fine) and they would have called 911 except I kept telling them not to. I had similar incidents about once or twice a year, and a few times almost went to emergency but never actually ended up going (I should have ... I have a real issue with not getting medical assistance when required!). About six months ago I realized that it was hard to swallow at pretty much every meal, and that I was scared to eat when there was no water nearby because I used water to help force food down. So I got a referral to a gastroenterologist who did a scope and took biopsies, and I was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis early this year.
I saw an allergist about a week and a half ago who was MUCH better than the guy I saw years ago. He immediately recognized that I have "global" allergy issue, even though I was just referred for food allergy testing. My lungs and nose were extremely inflamed, basically my entire body was just in a state of constant reaction to everything. So he prescribed a daily nasal spray and inhaler. He instructed me to avoid milk, eggs, wheat, and peanuts based on slightly positive skin prick tests. He also ordered blood tests for IgE antibodies. The skin tests also showed I'm allergic to trees, all grasses, dust mites, tobacco, cats, dogs, and horses. Thankfully, I don't own any pets, but I'm trying to get the other allergies under control (I'd already made some changes like dust mite covers years ago, but am trying to get more aggressive).
I have been avoiding these foods for a week now. For the first few days I had no improvement in symptoms at all, but in the past couple of days things have begun to improve markedly. I used to be itchy basically ALL the time and break out in rashes and random patches of hives, and that hasn't happened in a week. My stomach used to hurt constantly, which also hasn't happened in nearly a week. My mom saw me today for the first time in a week and said my face looks better; my face used to constantly be breaking out in rashes (probably eczema, although I've never been officially diagnosed), and I hadn't even realized it but for the first time in a long time it's really cleared up. I am still having eosinophilic esophagitis symptoms - heartburn and pain/trouble swallowing - but they, too, are better (particularly the heartburn, much improved).
In addition to all these allergies, I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to banana. I basically don't eat it or foods containing banana like banana bread or smoothies because it makes my mouth and throat feel like they do when I get exposed to potato, even though the reaction never goes beyond that (never had any hives, etc.). I've also largely avoided milk for years because whenever I drank it my throat and lungs would get horribly irritated - filled with mucus, coughing, wheezing, sometimes my voice would change, and an hour or two later my stomach would get horribly upset. Again, never any hives, but I was suspicious that I had an allergy. I still ate cheese and Greek yogurt, but they, too, made my mouth and throat feel irritated and weird.
I got the results of the IgE blood test back the other day. Out of the eight things he tested, seven of them are positive. Eggs were the lowest, and five things (peanuts, wheat, soy, shellfish, sesame) were all in a similar range (negative is <0.35 and those all ranged from 0.97 - 1.30). Milk, however, was 4.75 which is miles above the others. I'm not sure how high this is in the scheme of things since I've never had these blood tests done before, but I think it may mean I have an actual allergy and should be careful.
I see the allergist again in about three weeks. I think I am still reacting to one or two foods, as there are times during the day that my symptoms flare and then fade. So I'm not sure if the allergist will ask me to avoid more foods. Other options discussed if I'm still having symptoms were steroids or esophageal dilation, both of which I've had before and would rather avoid. But I feel like I'm definitely on the right track to getting my allergies under control. I'm a bit nervous at the prospect of eating out - my allergist said to be strict, but I'm nervous a restaurant would look at me like I'm crazy if I tell them I can't eat about six foods. I'm also not sure how I'd be clear between the different severity levels of my allergies. At the moment I'm just packing all my own food, which works out okay since I've also had Type 1 diabetes since childhood, so eating out isn't the best, though it was a nice option to have at times. I'm heading to two conferences in the next month, and am preparing to basically take all my own food. The fact that I'm feeling better than I have in a long time and feel like I am finally connected with a doctor who can help me get my entire scope of allergy issues under control is very strong motivation.