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Author Topic: Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?  (Read 34299 times)

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Offline dene_mayo

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Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?
« on: September 04, 2014, 10:03:50 PM »
A couple of years ago I had a reaction to eating an oyster po-boy. Within the hour I started getting dizzy which progressed and took like 3 weeks to get over. I thought it was food poisoning. Then in May of this year I ate a shrimp salad and withing minutes I started getting dizzy.  I thought it was a kombucha  drink that I drank with it, not thinking it was perhaps the shrimp. Well, that took a week for the dizziness to finally go away.  Well, in Aug. of this year, again, ate salmon stuffed with seafood dressing and within minutes dizziness.  That only lasted a couple of days.  So I was convinced it was a reaction to seafood.  Well, last week I ate a Wendy's Gouda chicken burger and within minutes, I got dizzy.  So now I am confused.   Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction?

~Dene

Offline CMdeux

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Re: Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2014, 11:15:42 PM »
YES, though the protracted symptom that you mention, it could be something else, and probably is.

If you look at the Anaphylaxis Grading Chart, you'll see that light-headedness or disorientation is definitely a symptom of a systemic allergic reaction...  although, to be fair, this is also a symptom of a variety (a wide variety even) of other medical problems.  There are some vestibulatory (inner ear) issues that come to mind right away. 



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Darlene Mayeaux

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Re: Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?
« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2014, 08:31:57 AM »
But what is weird is that it only happens when I eat seafood and then when I ate that fried chicken burger. That's the only times that I had that happen. I hardly see anyone say that they get dizzy. It's usually hives.

~Dene

Offline CMdeux

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Re: Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2014, 12:40:48 PM »
Thing is, though-- I'm pretty confident saying that the Wendy's item wasn't shellfish contaminated.  They don't handle crustaceans on the premises-- it's one of my family's go-to fast food options for that reason.

I'd also expect (based upon that kind of sensitivity and apparent severity) that you would have had other symptoms periodically which would correlate with contaminated food (shared fryers, grills, etc. or just processed food that is cross-contaminated with shared production spaces). 

To never have symptoms more typically associated with food allergy (cutaneous or GI) would also be exceedingly strange-- and also know that usually, even fairly severe symptoms tend to resolve rather quickly (1-6 hours, usually)-- outside of protracted anaphylaxis that can last for days.  That kind of protracted anaphylaxis is fairly unusual-- especially on more than one occasion.

So those aspects of things don't fit food allergy particularly well.    It's also the sum of several very unusual/rare manifestations of food allergy that makes me suggest that it is probably not a shellfish allergy-- but it's coincidence enough that it'd be worth getting tested, that much is certain.  Do you have an allergist? 

My concern is that without a clear yes/no re: food allergy, you may wind up ignoring something serious like TIA, or something in the pathology list here.

Those things can result in episodes like those you mention. 



Resistance isn't futile.  It's voltage divided by current. 

Western U.S.

Offline rebekahc

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Re: Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2014, 03:08:27 PM »
I agree.  It would be very unusual for a food reaction to manifest solely as dizziness and it would be even more rare for that reaction to last for so long.

My first thought was that you might have Meniere's Disease.  I have a friend with it and the only time she has symptoms (dizziness) is if she eats too much salt causing the vestibular fluid to increase.  Perhaps something about the foods you ate (higher fat/salt content than you're accustomed to?) caused a similar increase in vestibular fluid in you?
TX - USA
DS - peanut, tree nut, milk, eggs, corn, soy, several meds, many environmentals. Finally back on Xolair!
DD - mystery anaphylaxis, shellfish.
DH - banana/avocado, aspirin.  Asthma.
Me - peanut, tree nut, shellfish, banana/avocado/latex,  some meds.

forvictoria

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Re: Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2014, 03:09:18 PM »
I do know fast food chains fry chicken and fries in same oil as fish if they carry it. Also some of wendy dressings and other items have fish listed as an allergen
here is wendys allergen chart
https://www.wendys.com/redesign/wendys/pdf/en_US_nutrition.pdf

But this hapeend to me last week but with fresh corn on the cob. I do have Meniere's which is an inner ear disease which casues vertigo, nausea dizziness etc.
I went to a farm market in NJ that I never went to before and bought all kinds of fruits and veggies.

I made the corn on the cob I purchased there as an mid evening snack and within minutes I because extremely dizzy (not light headed) and got a vertigo attack and became extremely nauseas. It scared the life out of me I did not know if I was having a severe allergic reaction to it (so far I test positive for shellfish dust mites and cockroaches, but never have a problem with corn) or having a Meniere's attack which I havevt had one in close to 2 years due to me taking an off the label treatment for it. The vertigo stopped in about an hour but I was dizzy until the end of the next day.

I am pretty sure the farmers market carried GMO food because I never tasted corn like that in my life. Was extremely sweet and the grape tomatoes were very sweet as well and the colors of the veggies were like a painting.

My dad agreed after he tasted both these were not the run of the mill veggies. I have eaten corn flakes after this incident with no reaction. But I am a little afraid of eating any corn again and threw out all the fruits and veggies from that farmers market.

Do you think I need to be test again to see if I come up positive for corn?
« Last Edit: September 05, 2014, 03:16:28 PM by forvictoria »

Darlene Mayeaux

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Re: Has anyone had dizziness as a reaction to seafood?
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2014, 03:35:17 PM »
Thanks.  After reading all that information, I think you're right.  My ears may be the problem.

~Dene