Sulfite Reactions: How do you treat one?

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admin rebekahc:
McCobbre
Moderator
Posted: 04.18.2008 at 03:31:59

Just reraising because I'm tired of seeing the other thread.

Okay--say one hasn't had any alcohol.

Benadryl?

"Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic. They are potent forms of enchantment, rich with the power to hurt or heal."~Albus Dumbledore

Me: shellfish, chamomile, sesame and a few odds & ends
DS: peanuts

admin rebekahc:
Daisy
Member
Posted: 04.19.2008 at 11:19:29

Ok, so I couldn't figure out whether to post this in the Hair Dye thread or this one. We think my reactions to Hair Dye are due to sulfites, instead of the PPD...

I went to the salon last Friday. So I wouldn't have to read all the labels, etc... I washed my hair just before I went & left it wet. Just got a cut/blow dry.

I scheduled the appt first thing in the morning, so she wouldn't be working on someone's color before me. Just one other client before me, & that was just a cut, too.

She did rinse me in the sink to wet my hair more, but had a towel behind my neck to protect it from the sink...always thinking of residue. ~) Then she moved me to her chair & used a clean comb to trim my hair, & blew it dry with no product. Started that ever-familiar tingle & Uh-Oh feeling. :(

So what did it? Residue on the drape, the brush, the towel? I took Benadryl immediately & drove home. Showered for a good 30 minutes. DD sat in the bathroom to keep an eye on me, & kept the phone nearby. DH came home to check on me at lunchtime. I was ready for a "Benadryl nap" by then, since the reaction hadn't progressed. No respiratory involvement this time. But just that awful doom feeling, the flushing, itching & tingling. Uggh!

So my hair is now well past my shoulders. I guess I will be growing it longer to donate it.

Just uggh!
Daisy

Self: seafood, egg, nuts, sulfites, yellow dye, IV contrast
GA - USA

admin rebekahc:
McCobbre
Moderator
Posted: 04.20.2008 at 10:11:30

Donating it is an admirable thing. And at some point you could learn how to cut it yourself. I used to cut mine myself.

I'm sorry--it's really, really awful that it's come to this for you. I'd suggest to go to a quick cut place because they wouldn't do color much at all I'm guessing, but they wouldn't be as sensitive to your needs either.

Could you pay your stylist to come to your house? You could buy your own supplies, and she could come over? A friend of mine (the one who didn't die from the hockey puck in another thread) did that.

:console:

"Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic. They are potent forms of enchantment, rich with the power to hurt or heal."~Albus Dumbledore

Me: shellfish, chamomile, sesame and a few odds & ends
DS: peanuts

admin rebekahc:
Daisy
Member
Posted: 04.21.2008 at 06:58:15

Thanks. This is just all getting so ridiculous. Right now I can go months inbetween cuts, so I don't have to think about it again for a while.

The good thing is that Benadryl stopped it pretty quickly. But, ohhh, that "Uh-oh feeling"...I could have done without that!

Take care,

« Last Edited by Lupin 04.21.2008 at 08:16:37 »

Self: seafood, egg, nuts, sulfites, yellow dye, IV contrast
GA - USA

admin rebekahc:
McCobbre
Moderator
Posted: 01.10.2009 at 09:07:05

I had a sulfite reaction last night, and I want to put the details here. It's funny---I see that my last big one was a year ago. And also involved Doctor Who and Shiner and Pizza. And last night also two Doctor Who episodes. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Okay, I have the Doctor, Shiner, and Pizza (almost always homemade) quite often, but there was one other variable: wine.

I came home after a long day--filled with getting ready for a school meeting after DS' ana rxn at school, going to work, the school meeting, and more work (with several deadlines), then worked extra to make up for time out for the school meeting. Whew! I needed to relax after a really rotten week.

I had a Shiner Hefeweizen. After a while we made pizza. DH made a crust he always does. We put things on it we usually do, but this time added pears and proscuitto. Yum!!

My errors: snacking on the pepperoni DH place out (which I didn't use on my pizza) and having about four sips of this really fabulous S. African wine DH bought (new to me). It was a red--a pinot. I've had good luck with pinot noirs from other countries--Argentina and European ones. This was absolutely delightful, but I started feeling funny, so I thought I'd go back to Shiner and poured another one that I drank a few sips of (poured most of it down the drain later, too).

I think it was the wine in combo with the pepperoni. And maybe the proscuitto, but I put very little of it on my pizza. I have this very pepperoni on pizza quite often and typically snag a few while building my pizza, so it wasn't the pepperoni by itself. I typically have a Shiner Hefe or Bock with my pizza, so it wasn't that combo. We do homemade pizza a lot on Fridays. This is nothing out of the ordinary. But last night I added a few sips of wine to it.

So--I want to note how I felt for the future, and I notice (in retrospect) that there are some commonalities with other reactions when alchohol is involved.

After a few sips (over the course of 15 minutes), I suddenly felt like I'd had way too much to drink. And that doesn't make sense with the amount of alcohol. Then my stomach started to feel strange, and I thought that if I ate more, it would help with having had too much alcohol. But then I felt so full I couldn't eat more. I just felt yucky. There's no other way to describe it. Miserable.

Last night the big D was also involved, which was also new, and I thought I was going to throw up a few times. A couple of years ago I actually did throw up with a sulfite reaction.

Last night I did take some benadryl. And I know what some of you will say about having it after having alchohol, but all in all I did not have that much alcohol last night, and I took the benadryl about four hours after having a beer. I honestly didn't know how else to treat it, and I didn't think about coming to this thread. I was actually scared of this reaction last night.

I felt better about 40 minutes after having the benadryl.

What upset me, too, is that I really just needed some down time after such a horrible week, and I ended up feeling miserable.

:banghead:

"Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic. They are potent forms of enchantment, rich with the power to hurt or heal."~Albus Dumbledore

Me: shellfish, chamomile, sesame and a few odds & ends
DS: peanuts