VERY unusual allergy problem (warning: its long)?

First episode was September 2001 after eating pizza and cucumber salad in NYC (something I had never had before i.e., THAT specific kind of pizza, THAT specific place, etc) It started with mild hives on my face %26amp; arms. Medics administered treatment and I was fine after that.

25-30 episodes over the past 7 years getting progressively worse.

* Metallic-type taste in my mouth briefly at first onset

* Hives begin on my scalp %26amp; spread to my face, arms, chest and legs

* My skin becomes extremely red

* I sweat profusely to the point it is literally dripping off my body

* Severe stomach cramping with diarrhea that sometimes becomes uncontrollable

* Extreme lethargy to the point where opening my mouth to speak is too much

* My heartbeat becomes extremely rapid

* At the very worst of it, my hearing and vision become virtually non-existent

* My breathing is slow %26amp; labored

* I have an altered mental state and cannot think clearly

I have never lost consciousness. The entire episode from start to finish lasts approximately 2 hours regardless of the treatment I receive. Liquid Benadryl is no longer as effective as it once was.



Foods I鈥檝e consumed anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours prior to onset of symptoms

Pizza (never matters what kind always more than 2 pieces) %26amp; diet coke

1 pint of white rice with butter %26amp; salt with diet coke from a Chinese restaurant

2 cheeseburgers %26amp; fries with diet coke from McDonalds

2 cheeseburgers %26amp; fries with diet coke homemade

Arby鈥檚 market fresh turkey sandwich with curly fries %26amp; diet coke

Fettuccine alfredo with salad %26amp; breadsticks from Olive Garden

2 bowls of raisin bran with 2% milk

Penne with pasta sauce from my hospital cafeteria

Homemade spaghetti with pasta sauce %26amp; bread

2 fluffernutter sandwiches with chocolate milk at home

Steak, bread, salad %26amp; wings from Outback Steakhouse

25 glazed munchkins from Dunkin Donuts

2 glazed donuts (but NEVER other kinds of donuts, and never just 1 glazed donut)

2 bagels with plain cream cheese from Dunkin Donuts

6 pieces of honey glazed chicken chunks from hospital cafeteria





I went for allergy testing a couple times, 1 doctor diagnosed me with Exertional Anaphylaxis (which DOES NOT exist)

1 doctor said I was allergic to milk, wheat %26amp; shellfish - NONE of which makes ANY sense at all. I drink 1 liter of milk at a time and im fine. I eat shrimp cocktail by the 1/2 lb and am fine. There is 0 wheat in rice. I'm soooo frustrated at not getting treatment or diagnoses that makes sense, H E L P!!!!!!!!

VERY unusual allergy problem (warning: its long)?
One thing is certain, whatever you have, it is not a common problem that is going to have a simple answer. The symptoms look identical to several types of food poisoning, but there is no conceivable way you could have had the same type of food poisoning in all of these cases. It also doesn't look like a typical food allergy since there's too many food involved and the same foods don't always produce the same symptoms.



The only thing that makes sense to me is that you might have some type of parasitic infection that occasionally flares up. Some parasites produce toxins that not only make you sick but the toxins can also trigger a systemic allergic reaction. This is a pretty far-fetched possibility, but it makes more sense than a food allergy. Parasites typically have recurrent population cycles with population booms triggered by certain nutrients in the intestine or blood stream.



If you live in the Southeastern US, there is a threadworm (Strongyloides stercoralis) that might cause these symptoms in someone. You can pick up this threadworm just by walking barefoot on moist soil.
Sounds like a wheat allergy or even gluten!

Sue TVERY unusual allergy problem (warning: its long)?
It sounds not only like a food allergy, but it sounds very much like you have been experiencing very dangerous bouts of anaphylaxis.

As crazy as it is, many many allergist know almost nothing about food allergies. You would think that the tests are black and white, but they are not.



Depending on where you live, there might be allergists around that specialize in food allergies that can narrow it down to what it is that are allergic to. If you want to email me about it, I can try to help you figure it out, I might even know off the top of my head.



First thing is first though, you NEED epipens. If you don't have at least one, you need to march into the doctors office and ask for/demand one. Episodes like that can easily end in death. Please make a prescription for an epipen your first priority.


The foods you listed do have wheat and milk in common. I know there is no wheat in rice, but if it came out of a Chinese restaurant it probably had MSG in it. You probably don't want to hear this, but you really should stay away from fast food joints and restaurants. They are famous for selling chemical laden foods that are so highly processed your body can hardly recognize them as food!

Two things jump out at me, first..your diet has lots of bread and other carbs in it. Makes we wonder if you have a Candida overgrowth in your gut. You have so many symptoms of Candida from lethargy and foggy thinking to the fact that they are getting progressively worse. I am going to give you a link that explains Candida overgrowth. Please read it and take some time to do your own search (I know the site it trying to sell something, ignore that and just read the article because it is one of the best at explaining Candida).

The second thing is that you do appear to have a problem with either wheat or gluten and dairy products. I don't know if when you had the tests done you got good results or not, but I can tell you are frustrated. You can go to another immunologist or allergist for testing, but remember that you can't have any meds (OTC or Rx) for 7 days otherwise you will not get accurate results. If you want to do your own food allergy testing. it can be done. But it takes extreme

self-control and no fast foods or restaurants because you can't control how the food is prepared. I will give you a link to the rotation/elimination diet. It can be used to self-diagnose food allergy, but it MUST be followed exactly, so it is not for someone that has poor self control. It takes about a month, and if you mess up and eat something off the diet, you have to start all over again. But, if you want to give it a try.. go for it! Otherwise, speak to your allergist or immunologist about the possibility of Candida albicans overgrowth.VERY unusual allergy problem (warning: its long)?
All of the foods you listed are loaded with gluten. I'm assuming that the honey glazed chicken was either breaded or the sauce had gluten in it. My stepmother experienced similar problems and after many years they finally realized gluten was the offending matter. I read your list of foods and you seem to have a carb dependence, as do I. I'm not judging. More and more doctors are diagnosing gluten allergies and with America's diet of high carb, processed foods it is becoming a big problem. If it is a gluten allergy I feel for you as your diet will have to be drastically changed. I was diagnosed with diabetes a year ago and I was devastated. I love sugar! But over time it has gotten easier. I no longer miss sugar and when I eat large amounts of carbs or even a little bit of sugar I physically feel bad. It's gotten to the point I don't even desire these things anymore. Try experimenting with gluten free food and if no symptoms occur then you have your answer. You are your own best physician.
while there is no wheat in that rice...it comes from a chinese restaurant, which a bunch of food from there is wheat. cross contamination is a biggie there and with wheat allergies a lot of times, even the smallest amount of wheat is even enough to make a lot of people sick.

as well as milk, even though it might not be straight milk that is causing a reaction, sometime it is the proteins in it that can do it. things like the lactose, casien, and whey are biggies
So to another allergy doctor. The one I went to, he put 50 drops and my back, and I got 15 shots on my arms. Turns out I was allergic to everything, but I have little or no reaction to majority of the things. So just try another doctor.