Adult sudden allergic reaction

[Oleander53]

I am 55 years old and had a sudden severe allergic reaction to Peanut butter and Chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins last Thursday nite. I ended up in the ER..they gave me benadryl and decadron.. I am freaked out completely since I have eaten this all  my life and is my favorite ice cream..I had not eaten any in a year...I had immediate tingling mouth, itching finger tips and palms, swollen lips.........I feel scared to eat now and still feel wheezy in my chest...I am taking benadryl and zantac every 6 hours...

My mouth feels like I am going to have cold sores on it.....my lips are no longer swollen and my heart is no longer pounding. I am feeling better today.

I do not know what to do or where to start.......there is chocolate, peanuts, dairy, carob, alcohol, a ton of stuff in that ice cream......I have never had a food allergy with the exception of Calimari which is the only food allergy I have and gave me gastrointestinal upset both times I ate it which was over 10 years ago..

Any suggestions for tests or where to start?  no food allergy in my family at all.....I just cannot believe it happened..The ER Doctor suggested it might be Chocolate or Peanuts...How do I find out?.

Open to ideas and suggestions.......Oleander

[doctornee medical]

Hi

I can feel your exasperation and empathize with you. You have explained the situation very well. As I understand, you have not consumed peanut butter and chocolate ice cream in the last one year. So it’s possible the company has introduced some new ingredients in them in the last year that have not suited you. If you are familiar with the ingredients,  then maybe you can identify what’s new in them.

In answer to how you can go about diagnosing food allergy, I would suggest you read http://www.ifr.ac.uk/Protall/diagnosis.html Please consult a good physician who will guide you in diagnosing your allergy.

If you need more help, please feel free to contact. I’ll be happy to answer your queries.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

You seem to be having peanut or chocolate allergy. Pls avoid taking peanuts as it is the most common cause of deaths from food allergy.The allergic reaction that you had was an anaphylactic reaction.

If you had an anaphylactic reaction to these foods,can be found by allergy testing.Skin tests are used for this purpose. This test involves pricking, scratching or injecting food extracts into the patient’s skin. The skin will react with redness and swelling for those extracts capable of eliciting an allergic reaction when consumed.Other tests used are blood tests like RAST and food challenge tests.

You need to consult an allergist for confirming whether you have  peanut or chocolate allergy and get the above tests done.Avoidance of that particular food in any form(even in hidden ingredients) is the main treatment.
Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Oleander53]

Hello and thank you for all the great support and information.

I am feeling better today, not as wheezy and not itchy anymore. I am still taking Zantac and Benadryl.

I saw my GP this morning and he ordered the RAST Test panel. Mostly looking for Cocoa, nuts, milk and wheat.....he also called me in an Epi Pen. My blood pressure was high and I am sure it is from anxiety....I am worried everytime I eat something.

I should have my results by Friday............open to any suggestions.....Oleander

[doctornee medical]

Hi,

Thanks for keeping me posted.

Cheer up. You now have EpiPen, so help is at hand if at all an allergic reaction starts. So what I am trying to say is that your doctor has ensured that you are safe. That’s a positive feeling.
Adult RAST Test Panel is a really extensive test to detect the allergen. Take a look: http://apcgonline.com/forms_doctors/RAST_Test_Adult_Panel.pdf

Soon you will know what caused the allergic reaction. Until the results come in, you have EpiPen with you.

Please keep me posted about the results and other development. If you need more help, please feel free to contact. I’ll be happy to answer your queries.

[Oleander53]

Hello.....feeling better but not great.....tight chest and just in general not like myself since this happened...maybe just anxiety......wheezing has let up.Just a feeling of not quite right. It has been 8 days since my episode.

So I get my results from the RAST test today....much to my suprise I am showing a moderate allergy to Milk.......and nothing else.... MILK?  IGE Class 2

So my Doctor says to start elimating all milk products out of  my diet......before I got the results today I had eaten Chedder Cheese and Cream cheese and milk in coffee creamer.  The IGE was high on the milk only.......cocoa and all nuts were negative.
I could tell he was uncertain and had no explaination..

He also had me report the incident to the FDA adverse reaction agency so they can track to see if anyone else has a reaction to that batch of ice cream......so I did that.

I guess I am just confused about the sudden milk allergy at my age.....my question is what do you think? I was amazed to find out that Benadryl has milk product in it so I was told to stop it immediately and to use a different antihistamine.

I am really going to do my homework now to find out what I can and cannot eat......I eat  cheese and drink milk daily......had no idea I had a problem of any kind.

I was so worried about being allergic to chocolate or nuts but Milk is in so many products.

Probaby normal to have some denial when you find out you have a food allergy.

Thanks for all the support.. welcome thoughts or ideas...Oleander

[doctornee medical]

Hi

I know it sounds strange to have milk intolerance at your age, but adult onset milk allergy is not unknown. Please refer: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_n5_v8/ai_7292124
http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic1270.htm

It’s a tough allergy to have. It is very easy to determine milk allergy. I assume its allergy to milk of dairy origin. Try to go off milk and milk products and see if the tightness in your chest disappears. Read all labels of any products you buy in the market—medicines, processed and canned food—anything, carefully to see if they have milk products in them.

Now the good news! Every cloud has a silver lining. There are many alternate or non dairy sources of milk like soy milk, rice milk etc. So you can still eat milk products made of non dairy milk.

Refer: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stevecarper/nonsubs.htm
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/f/MilkSubstitutes.htm

Please let me know if you need any more information. Please keep me posted.

[Oleander53]

I want to thank you and the Message board for such great support.

Well I am on my 4th day of non dairy........much to learn. It can be Whey or Casein or both. So I have to read labels and learn about foods. I have been told to watch out for anything that starts with Lact also......

For now I have given up butter, milk, cheese, cream cheese, ice cream, any chocolate and my morning yogurt. I found a non Dairy coffee creamer Coffee Rich that does not contain Casein. I am using Rice milk on my cereal and as needed.....

The biggest problem I see is the hidden Casein in products.

As I look back before my allergic reaction I was having much lower GI problems, some occasional rapid heart beat after eating and some wheezing and tightness in my chest that I did not attribute to a possible food allergy.  My poor Body.......I wonder how long this has been going on?  

I thank you for the articles.........sincerely. Oleander

[doctornee medical]

Hi

I am really happy to see you adjusting so well to your problem. I know its tough but soon it will be a part of your life, as common as breathing.

Here is wishing you all the best in life. If you ever need any help in future, please send a post. I would appreciate if you keep me posted on how you are doing, say in a few days time.

Enjoy life! Best of Luck!

[Oleander53]

I take Thyrolar2  for Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism........I was switched off of Armour to Thyrolar 2  about 2 months ago.......I also take Janumet and Hydrochlorot.....

I was told today that Thyrolar 2 has lactose in it and perhaps I should not take it......I called Forest Pharmacueticals and they confirmed Lactose is in the medication but not in Armour which I used to take.....Forest would not say whether you should take it or not with a Milk allergy.......said it was up to my Doctor..... My  Endo is leaning towards putting me back on Armour....He said there is Lactose in Synthroid and Thyrolar2 but not in Armour.  I checked my Cytomel and it is Milk free.

What is your feeling on this? If I have a milk allergy it seems I should not take this....
My gut says do not take it anymore.......unfortunately I had taken it today before I recieved this information.........

Thanks for any thoughts..

Oleander

[Oleander53]

Okay I am doing good.......off of Benadryl and Thyrolar2 because they have lactose in them. I am back on Armour for hypothyroidism since Synthroid and Thyrolar both have lactose in them.

I am eating milk free.....completely milk free and feeling very good. It is not so hard to do....I read labels and ask questions. no casein, whey, dairy, lactose or milk of any kind.

It seems I feel better , have more energy, less GI problems and have lost some weight.  

Thanks so much for your help and support.  Oleander