Friday, March 13, 2009

Aw, nuts

I had a very interesting appointment with an allergist the other day. I got tested for food allergies. In the past, I've had certain foods that make my tongue itch, and certain foods that make my mouth red and irritated. I was always more worried about the stuff that irritated my mouth because it was things that were too awesome to give up, like fresh peaches and nectarines.

Well the upshot of the test is, all the fresh peaches and nectarines are fine. It's the stuff that made my tongue itch that could kill me. So far all the reactions I have had haven't been bad but I get to avoid them now because they are BAD rather than just because they bug me.

Conveniently enough, this relatively short list includes:

nuts
soy
peas

most of which I picked up on, I used to eat almonds by the handful and had to stop because it was so uncomfortable, likewise soy milk, edamame and I vividly remember a gorgeous shrimp and pea risotto that Matt had to finish because I couldn't eat it. Sigh.

At least two of the ones I was most worried about tested out ok, I would have freaked out if he had said I needed to kick garlic or string beans. Weird, I know.

So this will put a major crimp in my Asian-food habits, cooking and eating thereof. No more Thai peanut chicken, no more cashew shrimp. It looks like moo shoo for me. I am not going to obsess about it but if I have to carry a stupid Epi-Pen I might as well hedge my bets a bit as I don't EVER want to have to use it.

Also, no more peanut butter. Whoda thunk it? Double sigh.

6 comments:

Marianne said...

Hold on...peanuts aren't nuts. Are you allergic to legumes? The soy/pea thing makes it sound like you are. What about other types of beans?

The soy thing really sucks, though. Soy is in so much stuff these days.

How did the appointment with the allergist go? Did they do the skin test? Was it expensive? I've been curious about going to one. :)

Being allergic to garlic would be the worst thing EVER!

scb said...

I can't eat nuts either. Or peanuts. It's a royal pain. But it's better to be safe than sorry (wow, wasn't that original!).

Take care of you!

Anne At Large said...

The allergist did a skin test for foods only, not inhaled allergens, and I was very pleased I didn't have more things set it off (garlic, strawberries, fish/shellfish, it could have been WAY worse). I think it cost my insurance about $500, and they offered to schedule the inhalant test too but I chose to wait on that one before I throw more money at them.

I think it's nuts and legumes, basically. I'm just glad it wasn't string beans too, so maybe it's just certain legumes. I will definitely have to rethink some of my recipes... and yes, soy is in EVERYTHING.

Matt thinks it's overkill, but I agree, SCB, better safe than sorry. I just need some bigger purses if I have to carry an Epi-Pen all the time...

lsaspacey said...

I also tested very high for nuts about 10 years ago. My tongue doesn't itch but my saliva gets thick and I start coughing after too many walnuts. Despite what they said, other nuts don't seem to cause the same effect. So, yes, I still eat nuts. But then I also eat a lot of dairy products and my body doesn't like them that much either.

This year I've decided to revamp my diet as I think it has a lot to do with my lethargy so who knows, I might have to start eliminating these things. I don't know how that's going to work because they're in almost everything I eat.

Zack Sheppard said...

Sorry to hear it my friend. Next time I'm in Reno we will have to go out and not eat nuts together. :)

Kelly said...

Oh man. I don't have any food allergies...and I'm kind of glad so I don't have to give gorgeous plates of food to anyone else to finish!