Greetings and a question

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blujen:
Hi, Just registered here to ask a question of you all, I've been reading the allergy boards for years but i'm generally shy and my allergies are pretty well controlled in general so I haven't posted.

First off I want to assure you that I have an appointment with my Allergist, but I can't get in to see him until next week and just wanted some opinions in the meantime.

I've had asthma and allergies all my life, first anaphalactic experience at age 12 from dog dander. That time it was classic, hives swollen throat, hard to breathe, all the stuff I have always associated with it. What i've had recently is different, and I wouldnt' have called it anaphalaxis except that it seems to match some of the descriptions.

Basically, i'm on all sorts of medications, and 100% compliant on them. I have lots of allergies, most recent skin tests were actually in January, and resultes were similar to those i've had in the past, although this round was smaller than the rounds i've had in the past. No food allergies were tested this round, in the past i've had strong positive to wheat, apple, milk, and a few others. Never had a problem eating apples or cooked wheat or milk products, uncooked milk and ice cream can give me reactions.

Saturday night we were having movie night, with pizza and bud lite. I've had no problems with pizza in the past, we have it about once a month, same toppings and same source, no issues. Bud Light i've had frequently but i'd say i'm not a big drinker, mostly social, maybe 10 drinks a year? Mushrooms do give me an immediate reaction but it is a classic reaction, and the shop I get the pizza from has always been very careful, I don't believe any mushrooms were on the pizza.

Before I had finished my second slice of pizza, beer 1 was finished and beer 2 opened but not started, I had sudden stomach pain. I went to the bathroom, had MAJOR gastrointestinal distress, serious pain. Suddenly went all sweaty, sweated through the clothing i had on, then started vomiting. Vomited entire contents of stomach. Sick for about 2 hours, then eventually felt better.

Afterward we sat down to talk about it, and realized that I had had 3 incidents just like this since December. The first one I had been drinking a Hard Cider with dinner (a burger), second one I had a glass of Sangria with dinner (salad). The only other time i've had any alcohol at all during that time was New Years I had 1 mixed drink, and had about a 30 minute gastro upset but no vomiting or other symptoms. I blamed the cheese with dinner (which sometimes gets me). But now i'm beginning to suspect alcohol itself. IS that crazy?

Could I be allergic to Alcohol?

Was this anaphalaxis? It wasn't the reaction I've had in the past, so I didn't associate it with it, and didn't even think of my Auvi-Q until I was well past needing it.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your help!

TL:DR - nausea, vomiting, gastro distress, all over cold sweats, result of beer?

ajasfolks2:
Hi & welcome!

I'd be wondering about the beer's ingredients as being the culprit -- wheat? Barley? Especially if you are allergic to wheat.

ninjaroll:
Cooking doesn't alter wheat for IgE-mediated allergies. And yes, we live with wheat/barley anaphylaxis. I'm not sure what you mean by uncooked wheat causing a reaction. No one eats uncooked wheat but if you're in an area like a bakery that agitation in the air is usually enough to trigger people anaphylactic to wheat/barley because it is agitated and can be ingested via inhalation.

It sounds like you were diagnosed as allergic to wheat based on a skin test alone although you eat it all the time. That's separate from your history of anaphylaxis. You just lack a history of anaphylaxis to wheat which would trump your test results.

Therefore, based on what you wrote I'd suspect a trace or cross contact with something you have a history of anaphylaxis to.

I don't think the alcohol idea is crazy, FWIW, some people can't digest it and some wine has high histamine. I'm on the fence whether that's a closed case. I think you have to food journal and go through some in office oral challenges with your allergist.

Although... I'm seriously wondering celiac. I'm not celiac but for me that would be serious enough to get the right diagnosis. Unfortunately you can have anaphylaxis and celiac at the same time. But celiac can be very dangerous and you'd need to do more than just cut out gluten you need good supportive medical care.

blujen:
You're right eating wheat has not triggered allergies although I test positive to it. Skin contact to uncooked wheat, in fields or ground into flour does trigger hives within minutes, and I have horrible respiratory reaction to all grass pollens, and wheat pollen season I can count on being sick during the high week.

Cross contamination IS possible, either in the beer or the pizza, though I've had both in the past with no issues, and the owner of the pizza shop knows me and makes my pizzas himself to be on the safe side.

The reason i'm suspecting alcohol is that it's the only recurring theme in the 4 reactions I've had lately. The first meal was hard cider and a home-cooked burger, - possibly the bread could have been contaminated but other buns from that package were fine. The second meal was just some sangria and a home made salad. I suppose the greens could have touched some mushrooms at the store?

Celiac is a possibility, though I don't generally have other symptoms i've read about. Thank you for the idea, I'll do more reading about that.

Other than these 4 incidents, I haven't had a MAJOR reaction in several years, once we got my meds and triggers figured out. I've had strong reactions to things other than mushrooms in the past (melons, celery, banana, shellfish), but i've been able to successfully avoid those, and over the last i'd say 5 years, only mushrooms have triggered it (which sucks because I have friends and family tell me that you CAN'T be allergic to mushrooms). Mushrooms are everywhere.

Thanks for reading and responding.

Macabre:
First of all you should know that alcohol can exacerbate reactions. My allergist told me this after I had anaphylaxis after putting some lotion on my hands at a store in the mall--after sharing a bottle of wine tigh DH and eating a red sauce (which probably didn't help things). Within 20 minutes of trying the Everything Nice lotion at Origins, my hands began to swell up, my nose started running like a faucet, and my tongue swelled. I wasn't Dx with allergirs, but did have my toddler son's epis and liquid Benadryl in my purse. I used the liquid Benadryl, bating my tongue in it, and I lucked out.

The culprit? Chamomile.

No one has said yet, but everyone in this thread is thinking that we need to tell you that skin prick tests are very unreliable for food allergies. They have a high false positive rate. Once you narrow your suspicions down, get an ImmunoCAP test, but even that can have false positives and negatives. Your reaction history is the most reliable. But the tests can be helpful.

Do you have an EpiPen? If you have two or more body system symptoms OR only one symptom and it's throat closing youbshoukd use an Epi and call 911 for transport to the ER. Do not go by car. Also--if you have bad GI like that again, Epi could be called for. Gi symptoms are associated with a sudden decrease in blood pressure.

An epipen will not hurt you (unless you have a pretty rare heart issue) and it can save your life. Use it sooner rather than later, becUse there can be a point of no return when even Epi can't save you. Also, if you aren't better in 5 mins a second Epi is generally called for. Also, stay at the hospital for four hours. Biphasic reactions are common. I have had one (second Epi in the ER) and DS had one after 8 hours.

We are very glad you posted. Stay safe.