Why Must I be allergic to things I like?

Why can't I be allergic to things I hate? It would be great if a person could choose their allergies. I would be allergic to canned spinach, bright pink polyester pantsuits, mean people, and soap operas.

I would not be allergic to chocolate brownies, ice cream or any other yummy thing.

What would you be allergic to?

Medication roulette - allergies

The recent recall of steroid medications due to contamination brings up the topic of the so called 'benign' or 'inert' ingredients in common prescription medicine and over-the-counter medications.  As a person with severe allergies, I have learned to read labels carefully and when in doubt, leave it out (of my regimen).

Quite a few years ago, a newly released allergy medication was prescribed for my use.  I asked the doctor about combining it with other prescribed medications and medical conditions I have.  The doctor assured me that there were no problems with any of these and the new medicine.  Shortly after beginning the new medication I began to feel 'not quite right' in my body.  I called the doctor but he reassured me and told me to continue the medication.  I still felt ill so I chose to listen to my body and stop the new medication and revert to the old one.  Within weeks of stopping, I began to hear about deaths associated with the new medicine and combining it with one particular prescribed medication that I was also taking.  The moral of this story is, that if you have allergies, it is important to pay attention to how your body is responding and take steps to help yourself even if someone else doubts your symptoms.

Go take care of yourself!

Where there is smoke there is asthma

The local fire wildfire has filled the air with smoke, burning pine needles and other debris.   One important thing to think about if you  have asthma is that the masks will be hard to breathe through.  I was able to wear one for about 10 minutes and started feeling like I wasn't getting enough air.  So, I am hiding out in an airconditioned (filtering the air) building with an air purifier.  This is a good reminder to have the inhaler up-to-date and to have a backup plan that doesn't rely on the smoke filtering masks.  So as I sit indoors listening to the scanner and waiting for an update on which areas are being added to the mandatory evacuation list, I am thankful that I made preparations ahead of time for emergencies.

Items you might need:

Bottled water, medical supplies in a handy to grab container, a sleeping bag and other emergency supplies in your car, an emergency buddy who lives in a different section so you can make arrangements for a place to sleep if you or your buddy is evacuated.  Shelters are a good last resort, but people with allergies can be exposed to perfumes, soaps or other allergens in a shelter and if you have an allergy buddy you can be more certain of a safe healthy place to weather the emergency.

If you could choose your allergies what would they be?

Some people think that allergies are all in your head.  If that were true and I could affect my allergies just like some people guide their dreams at night, then I would choose to be allergic to pickled beets.  Not the beet sugar, just the pickled beets because I can't stand the taste or smell of them anyway so I would have absolutely no problem avoiding eating them.  Then I would become un-allergic to shrimp, aloe vera, milk (ice-cream here I would come!), eggs, and wheat!  I don't care if I am allergic to carob because real chocolate is better tasting anyway.

So take the challenge, what would you choose?

Menu please!

Coordinating meals with our family is very interesting and challenging.   We are a multiple allergy household and we can't simply cut out everything anyone in the house is allergic to or we wouldn't be eating much.  So we have opted for entre style dining.  Sometimes we will make a basic item, and then let each person custom add the things they like (and can eat safely).  So we have our 'build a salad' or our 'top a potato' or 'stuff a taco' days.  For other items we cook the cassarole without the offending ingredients and steam the offending stuff for addition by the ones who can eat them. 

For other things, we might have a pizza for most, with a corn tortilla pizza for the wheat allergic member.

How do you manage meals in your house?

Allergies as incentive for creative cookery

I really enjoy cooking and have always enjoyed trying new recipes and foods so when I discovered I have multiple food allergies it has inspired me to get very experimental with substitutions in many of my favorite recipes.  Over the last few years I have made my own pine nut butter and baked pine nut butter cookies, made home-made gluten-free ravioli with pumpkin filling, and made my own deep fried chicken kabobs with a gluten free coating.  I have made tempura with gluten free batter.  I even made Mennonite macaroni salad with rice pasta.  When I developed a soy allergy, I started using fish sauce on my favorite homemade chinese food instead of soy sauce.

I am thankful that experimental cooking is an interest and a joy rather than a chore.

Celebrating Migraine free for more than a year!

I have strictly eliminated my food allergens (milk, raw egg white, wheat, fresh pineapple, bananas, and carob) from my diet and have had no migraines!  I  am so happy about no migraines. 

So, if you are having migraines besides those related to hormonal changes, take a look at your allergies to see if these could be a factor.  Some are not difficult to test.  I get a headache from carob within 15 to 20 minutes of eating it.