Quote from: LinksEtc on October 27, 2013, 07:46:41 PM
We have insurance that does not require referrals, but our primary docs give them to us anyway when they feel we should have them for health reasons. Having a good primary is like having a strong foundation that can be built off of in managing your health.
Quote from: Macabre on October 27, 2013, 01:30:50 PM
For shrimp: I never ever eat grilled or fried food in a restaurant unless the chef can guarantee that it is a dedicated surfaces. They will say, "we clean the grill well," and I will ask of they cleaned it with bleach or soap and water, knowing they didn't (I wouldn't either). Also, many places fry shrimp in the same place they use for frying other things--like chips.
I'm guessing fryers also pose problem for milk.
Even though shellfish and nuts Te more common adult onset allergies, you can develop an allergy to any food.
Honestly, right now--and I am saying this as a person who developed allergies in 2005 as an adult And who has a 15 year old son with a peanut allergy, i would recommend living with it a bit before you worry about desensitization. Learn what's safe and what isn't--and how do be a sleuth at avoiding.
Everyone wants to get rid of this. But early on its good to do us on living with it.
Quote from: LinksEtc on October 27, 2013, 01:00:17 PMQuote from: jschwab on October 25, 2013, 11:30:23 AM
My primary doctor handed me a prescription for epinephrine and told me to find a youtube video at home to figure out how to use it and that I did not need to see an allergist since they "can't do anything".
Is this your primary doc now? This would make me consider getting a different primary doc.
A good primary doc will know the value of referring to appropriate specialists.
Quote from: LinksEtc on October 27, 2013, 01:41:56 PM
I did go back and read your story more.
I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with the first allergist & the paramedics. You are your best advocate.
I agree with Twinturbo about frogs ... We here can help you recognize when you might be dealing with one.
Finding a good allergist is extremely important - don't give up hope- there are lots of them out there. With a good allergist, tests like office food challenges can be extremely helpful in confirming true allergies. We have been through several.
Please be aware that just because some reactions may have resolved without epi, that doesn't mean future reactions will. If epi is not used in time, it has less of a chance to be effective. It sounds like those paramedics telling you it was anxiety were out of line. Get a good allergist, get a good allergy plan, and don't let others make you doubt yourself.
Quote from: jschwab on October 24, 2013, 10:55:01 PM
Hi, I might have a few questions for awhile. So, I just had a major new allergic reaction to a new food. When I did my followup appointment (with a doc in the practice but not my regular doctor), she said that she sends her allergic patients to an allergist who gives shots for food allergies when I asked her if an allergist could help besides testing.
Quote from: jschwab on October 25, 2013, 11:30:23 AM
My primary doctor handed me a prescription for epinephrine and told me to find a youtube video at home to figure out how to use it and that I did not need to see an allergist since they "can't do anything".
Quote from: jschwab on October 26, 2013, 06:11:06 PM
Just to be sure I am looking in the right place, is this the clinic you mean http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/allergy?
Quote from: jschwab on October 26, 2013, 10:52:49 AM
I don't have a PPO now so I have to rely on the referral from the doctor and I'm not sure if I can just pick and choose who I go to like I used to be able to. As it was, this was a two month wait for this appointment, but maybe it doesn't matter since I have my Epi's in order and it's not clear that just any allergist will be able to help very much? I'm half a mind to just cancel so I don't get stuck in a rabbit hole again. I really, really, really hate going to doctors and would prefer to avoid it if possible.
Quote from: lakeswimr on October 27, 2013, 09:34:50 AM
Have you had anything with peach since? Some people have such bad oral allergy syndrome that it can produce some throat swelling. I wonder if that might have been the cause? Oral Allergy Syndrome rarely requires the epi pen but sometimes it does in people who get throat swelling.
Quote from: twinturbo on October 27, 2013, 09:09:58 AM
Let's play guess a Philly allergist with five minutes of Google. http://www.philadelphia-allergy.com
AAAAI.org lists him board certified sees both pediatric and adults participating in continuing education with other allergists through AAAAI.org's education feature which I guess shouldn't be visible to the public but someone there messed up permissions on individual file retrievals.
He's got at least one paper (I think he was lead author hard to read on phone screen) on anti-IgE, and no matter where I look I can't find a bad review on the man. I don't know if this is the guy you saw but on paper he's very promising.
And if you want to email him first I grabbed his address from the AAAAI.org education file. Not always the best way but it was there.