Okay, I am sick

annpeeples


Its funny, even though its done, I still feel crappy..

 
<rimshot>
 
Brad

UPDATE!!!!!
It wasnt food poisoning, as I thought.Last weekend, while at a party, I ate some shrimp. 2 hours later, my face blew up, and while I wasnt sick as before-same symptoms. Apparently, at the tender age of 52, I have developed an allergy to shellfish. I am absolutely devastated.I love all things shrimp, crab, oysters, lobster.My God, now what do I do????????????????

ann peeples


UPDATE!!!!!
It wasnt food poisoning, as I thought.Last weekend, while at a party, I ate some shrimp. 2 hours later, my face blew up, and while I wasnt sick as before-same symptoms. Apparently, at the tender age of 52, I have developed an allergy to shellfish. I am absolutely devastated.I love all things shrimp, crab, oysters, lobster.My God, now what do I do????????????????

 
Ann:  sounds simple to me.  You just omit any of those things that you are allergic to.  I am sure that you will miss those things that you care about but just remember what difficulty you had.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN 

I know, Paul. last night at work shrimp scampi was on the menu, and as is my usual procedure as a chef, I tasted the dish.Completely forgot about my allergy! Didnt have enough to garner a reaction, but this will take some getting used to!

Sounds like strictly speaking you have a food intolerance rather than an allergy, which is fortunately less dangerous.  Google "food intolerance mayo clinic li" - Li is the author.  Very informative & short article about the difference.
 
And Andrew Weill says sometimes you can overcome a food intolerance:
"Sometimes you can overcome food intolerances by avoiding the food or foods to which you're sensitive for a few months. Then, you can try reintroducing each food (separately) on a regular basis beginning with tiny amounts. Eat some every day, gradually increasing the portions. With luck, you'll find that you are able to develop tolerance to foods that have previously bothered you."
Google "Andrew Weil food intolerance"
HTH
ed

Very interesting, WarmBeer.  Perhaps my food allergies which I had as a child (which I mentioned on the previous page of this thread) were only food intolerances, as I lost most of them around the age of 21.  My doctor at that time called them allergies, but that was 60 to 70 years ago!  Now, I only avoid all mold-related foods (blue cheese varieties, mushrooms, etc) because I don't care for their taste, which may or may not be related to the severe allergies (intolerances?) in my childhood.

Sometimes what seems to be food poisoning isn't.  When I was 25 I went through a spell where I was chronically weak and tired and ran a low-grade fever every evening.  I went from 220 to 187 (which for me is emaciation) in only six weeks.  Turned out it was pin worms I had caught from my small children.  Evidently I was allergic to their excretions; everybody else in the house was eating like horses.

I, too, had food "allergies" as a child-had to have shots several times per week for a couple years. Then they went away.Its just so strange to me that all of a sudden, after years and years of eating shellfish, I have this reaction. Thanks for the info, WarmBeer-well worth reading up on! Plus you gave me hope that I may be able to eat it again.

Ann, My heart goes out to you.  I hope this is just a small bump in the road, and someday we will be doing oyster shooters together.

Ann:
 
I know everyone on this site means well, but be very cautious about these diagnoses that it's a sensitivity and not an allergy. From what you described, you sound as if you were very close to anaphylaxis, which can kill you in a matter of minutes.  Symptoms can include turning bright red, itching around the ankles and wrists, developing hives, swelling of the lips and other mucus membranes, shortness of breath, chest tightness, nausea and/or vomiting, and dizziness. I developed this kind of acute allergy to orange juice in the 1980s,  after literally decades of drinking it every day for breakfast. 
 
That's the nature of allergies -- they can come and go.  But as my allergist says, if your reaction is THAT severe, you don't want to take chances by trying "just a little bit." Just because it didn't kill you this time, doesn't mean it won't the next.  Not cheerful, but that's the reality.
 
I hope you will consult (or have consulted) a physician.  He or she can do a challenge test, although some allergists don't like to do that, even under controlled conditions, because there's always a risk of a very severe reaction.  Skin patch tests aren't as reliable.  Often, the doctor will just take your history and make a sort of a presumptive diagnosis. He or she can give you a prescription for an Epi-Pen (adrenaline).  Learn how to use it and carry one with you at all times.  When your blood pressure drops, it is a necessity.  (You haven't lived until you've "shot" yourself in an airplane restroom!)
 
Best wishes!
 
Rumaki

I did some research, and consulted my sil the doctor, and while I was hopeful, we are pretty convinced its an allergy.I was bright red in both instances, my whole face puffed up to the point of no recognition. I was vomiting, and dizzy, in the first case for days. My coworkers witnessed it the first time, and insisted I go home, or to the hospital.Bob was out of town, so my sil came over to check on me as I was alone.Bob witnessed the 2nd episode, and it scared the wits out of him.I will be taking no chances at this point, and I have been prescribed an epi-pen.
On a side note, while I was obviously sick and in distress at work, I received a "verbal warning" about attendance! Thanks again for everyone's good wishes and thoughts, this was a truly horrific experience.

ann peeples
 
On a side note, while I was obviously sick and in distress at work, I received a "verbal warning" about attendance!  

 
Sounds like a candidate for the new Horrible Bosses movie teatment.
Glad you are feeling better.  Sorry to hear that your reaction was more global.  Did not realize when i made the suggestion above that it included facial swelling.
I have a friend who is allegic to chocolate.  I often think that would be a VERY disturbing situation.  But I guess once you have one or two episodes like you describe you look at the food that causes it in an entirely different way.
 

WarmBeer-I appreciate your input. I looked up your food intolerance sites in hopes that is what perhaps it was.

sort of waiting in the wings here until you got word from the Doc. I'm sorry you've developed this allergy, but, at least you know what was causing your illness. In that, you can be thankful you won't have another episode!

My brother had a horrific case of food poisoning once.  It started the day after he got into an argument with a waiter.
 
Lesson:  If you want to pick on your server, do it after you get your food

I hope that it is true that Ann can avoid another episode.  But in my experience, it isn't as simple as not eating the apparently offending food. 
 
Obviously, it is prudent not to order and consume the shellfish that seemed to be the triggers for Ann's reactions. 
 
But really sensitive individuals can react to other foods that were prepared on the same surfaces as the offending foods.  Or, in another example, eating food, like fish, that was deep-fried in oil where shellfish were also deep fried.   Or, in some cases, breathing the fumes when shellfish is steamed.
 
I know there's a lot of criticism of schools that prohibit peanuts because one student has an allergy.  I recognize that, for anyone who has never experienced a life-threatening allergy, it seems like overkill.
 
But if you've never experienced it -- or watched someone else experience it -- you can't really appreciate how frightening an anaphylactic reaction can be.  My father (who was a doctor) once watched a fellow doctor take one bite of a shrimp cocktail at a banquet, turn bright red, and immediately pass out on the floor.  Only a shot of adrenaline (which my father had in his medical bag) saved him.  Really.  True story.
 
And just to muddy the waters some more -- it's always possible that the allergy is actually to a preservative, like sulfites (which are frequently used to "treat" shellfish, often right at the dock).
 
It can be Russian roulette out there.
 
The only recourse is to read labels very carefully and to ask lots of questions when you are dining out.  When servers are reluctant to answer my question, or seemingly clueless, I say something like, "Well, I hope you're certain about the ingredients, because if you are wrong, and I have an allergic reaction, I could drop dead right here in the restaurant." That usually gets their attention.
 
I know that seems extreme -- and maybe obnoxious. But unfortunately, it is necessary, and, in my opinion food servers and preparers should be as prepared to deal with anaphylaxis as they would be to deal with someone choking on a piece of steak.
 
Some restaurants are really proactive about this, and invite their diners to inform servers of allergies and sensitivities.  It's certainly the diner's responsibility to look out for his or her own health, but I think restaurants can make that easier (or harder). 

Rumaki-well said. Bob and I went to a restaurant the other night and they had gumbo-no seafood.I did ask how they made it, as I am SO wary of going thru what I had-sure enough, the chef used the shells of shrimp in the making of it. I do not at all fault the chef-shrimp shells add a ton of flavor to things, but I am glad I asked. Bottom line, this sucks.

BS got a bad clam about 22 years ago. He didn't even try to eat clams for the next decade. I kid you not.
 That's why oysters are a vicarious thrill- each one may be my last, for whatever reason!

So sorry to hear this news, Ann. I hope you can avoid a recurrence

Ann
 
As your friend I will volunteer to eat ALL your shellfish for you! 
 
On a more serious note, I am sorry that you have developed this allergy.  My uncle developed a shellfish allergy after he turned 50.  The man LOVED scallops and shrimp.  It is not a good time when he has a reaction.
 
 
 

Ann, I love oysters and I'm sorry you got sick.  I love oysters on the half shell and once got a bad one and I was crawling across the floor to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so and praying for death, it was that bad.  Maybe the bad oyster just put something in your system that will eventually go away.
 
Shellfish are my favorites, and I hope you can get to enjoy them again.  I think in my case  it was food poisoning and not an allergy.  It was violent, and has not happened since.
Andrea

Being from (and in) Louisiana, shrimp & crawfish are my best eating friends. Had a case of samonella a few years ago from a salad bar lunch; missed 3 days of work plus the weekend. Since having bariatric surgery I have intolerances to iceberg letttuce, lactose, anything high-fat, and some beans.  Also found out in a most unpleasant way that pectin is too high in fiber for my system to handle. I've learned to read labels carefully!