Once in a while there's an article or newscast that puts a bee in my bonnet. A week or so ago there was such a newcast by ABC's Nightline which it highlighted gluten-free as a fad and dangerous to people who do not need to avoid it for medical reasons. (So seriously untrue it's laughable.)
I'm not gluten-free and couldn't go gluten-free healthily as I am personally allergic or intolerent to 99% of the gluten-free carb sources. I am however well versed in the healthiness of limited diets, myself having survived quite well for 2 yrs simply eating bison, tomatoes, wheat, basil, oregano, sea salt, lettuce, safflower oil, palm oil, fresh berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry), fresh pomegranates, grape juice, the occaisional molasses or cane sugar, occaisional potato or artichoke, and dark milk-free chocolate.
Don't get me wrong though, I am not an advocate that everyone needs to be on such a limited diet, or that severely limited diets are healthy in the long run. I will attest though that my severely limited diet was at the time the healthiest diet for me as veering off that path would get me severely sick.
What I do want to talk about is this notion that removing any one food from a person's diet is unhealthy. If you've lived for any length of time, you've seen the recommended diet for "healthy" change from "eggs are evil, avoid eggs" to "milk is evil" to "fat is evil, avoid all fat" to "sugar is evil, avoid all sugar". In the USA, we've become a nation of fad-like food removal, so it seems mind-boggling to me that when it comes to food allergies or intolerances that there are "experts" out there still preaching that avoiding a certain food will leave you malnutritioned, and some that will go so far as to advise people to eat an allergen. (yes, I've met them.)
A couple of the points made in the Nightline report was that gluten-free was unhealthy because it was low in fiber, and notorious for causing vitamin B deficientcy.
I'm not sure on the notorious for Vitamin B deficientcy. The only cases of Vitamin B deficientcy I've personally heard of were from people who actually had Celiac in which absorbtion of vitamins and minerals is part of the condition itself. I do know that B12 is a problem for vegans and vegetarians, as it is only naturally available in meat products.
The "expert" on Nightline was agast that these gluten-free eaters were not getting the added vitamins and minerals in wheat products (mostly vitamin B). Oh no! It's a sad world when the "experts" are convinced that the only way to get our vitamins is through adding into our foods synthetically. However did we manage to live all these thousands of years? Oh wait, its because most of these vitamins and minerals are naturally present in our other foods. Amazing!
The added vitamins to wheat products are Riboflavin, Iron, Niacin, Thiamine (see chart on processed wheat products with added nutrients VS whole grain wheat)
Riboflavin sources (Funny enough all are gluten-free)
Iron Sources (Also, all gluten-free)
Niacin Sources (also, all gluten-free)
Thiamin Sources (also, all gluten-free)
As for all the other nutrients in gluten-foods, there are plenty of alternate sources for those as well.
Now lets talk about this fiber issue. Enriched products that he seemed agast that gluten-free people weren't eating, do not have much of any fiber. The fiber and most of the nutrients is stripped away during processing which is why they add those nutrients back in.
Most of our dietary fiber is not coming from gluten or shouldn't be. There really isn't much fiber in our breads, our hamburger buns, or our cookies, which is what gluten-free diets cut out.
Instead, most gluten-free diets replace those processed breads with beans, fresh fruit, fresh veggies. As such most gluten-free eaters actually end up getting much more fiber in their diet than their average American diet counterpart.
Somewhere along the way, we've forgotten to educate ourselves on exactly what foods are bringing to our table. The nutrients are all there, in many different sources.
Avoiding any one food isn't harmful. Being ignorant about it is.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Hostile work environments not uncommon for people with food allergies
This honestly is a perfect example of a day in the life of someone allergic. I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is upset, and doesn't know what to do about it.
She has a job, and she's good at it. She works hard, pulls her weight, and will help out others if they need it. I know from having worked with her myself that she's a great co-worker.
She just has one little idiocyncrasy. She's violently allergic to cinnamon. Just a small dose of it can send her to the ER. Just a touch of it in the air can cause her to be unable to function like a normal human being (comparable to someone having smoked way too much weed). In both cases, her detox symptoms, symptoms of her body healing from a reaction, include irrational thought, panic attacks, paranoia, and anti-social behaviors. The more severe the reaction; the more severe the detox symptoms.
Since cinnamon is in a lot of places from candles, airfresheners, and foods cooking, she takes anti-anxiety meds daily as a preventative measure. She also carries benadryl with her 24/7.
She does her part to stay safe, but she has to work. She works in an office. Office environments should be simple enough to work in without food problems. McDonald's, or restaurants, it'd be pretty impossible to avoid foods, but in an office working with computers and papers, it should be really easy to make it a safe environment for food allergies.
The Americans with Disablities Act (ADA) has put in steps to ensure that people like my friend can find and keep jobs despite any extra steps the company may have to take. It ensures her right to work at any job that can reasonably accomodate her. (AKA she won't be able to get a job at Cinnabon, but in an office pushing papers is totally manageable.)
All the company has to do is make a policy of no food near her workspace, and enforce it.
Unfortunately, her company is not very good at enforcing. They have made it known (not very well) that there is to be no scented anything on her floor (people kept bringing in cinnamon scented candles and airfresheners), and that there is to be no cinnamon things on the floor when she's present.
Her co-workers are seeing it as an infringment of their rights, and rebel against her. Since she is not management, they also see it as her being attention seeking and usurping authority.
She just doesn't want to go the the ER, or get sick.
If she goes to the boss and complains, its tattle taling. If she speaks out on her own to her co-workers, its usurping and who is she to tell them what to do? The policy itself gives her special treatment and they resent her.
Today she called upset because she's detoxing from yesterday's office debacle. One of her co-workers had brought in a cinnamon cheesecake to share with the office, and everyone was eating it around her.
She could smell the cinnamon in the air, and started to feel the reaction starting. She took benadryl, and asked them if they could finish the cheesecake outside or remove it from the premises. They refused.
Tired of battling with them and scared of a possible ER visit, she went down to the Employee Relations office and reported the incident as a violation of the ADA. The Employee Relations personnel then went and told her co-workers they couldn't eat the cheesecake in the office.
Her co-workers put the cheesecake away.
Simple easy success right?
No. The minute the Employee Relations personnel left, they took the cheesecake back out.
If this was merely someone complaining that they didn't like something, or was trying to ruin people's fun, it'd be more understandable.
But these people are playing with someone's life. It's not fair, its not safe, and it's not sane.
It's getting to the point, that unless it becomes a fireable offense and a well publicised as a fireable offense, people will continue to have no reguard for other peoples lives.
She has a job, and she's good at it. She works hard, pulls her weight, and will help out others if they need it. I know from having worked with her myself that she's a great co-worker.
She just has one little idiocyncrasy. She's violently allergic to cinnamon. Just a small dose of it can send her to the ER. Just a touch of it in the air can cause her to be unable to function like a normal human being (comparable to someone having smoked way too much weed). In both cases, her detox symptoms, symptoms of her body healing from a reaction, include irrational thought, panic attacks, paranoia, and anti-social behaviors. The more severe the reaction; the more severe the detox symptoms.
Since cinnamon is in a lot of places from candles, airfresheners, and foods cooking, she takes anti-anxiety meds daily as a preventative measure. She also carries benadryl with her 24/7.
She does her part to stay safe, but she has to work. She works in an office. Office environments should be simple enough to work in without food problems. McDonald's, or restaurants, it'd be pretty impossible to avoid foods, but in an office working with computers and papers, it should be really easy to make it a safe environment for food allergies.
The Americans with Disablities Act (ADA) has put in steps to ensure that people like my friend can find and keep jobs despite any extra steps the company may have to take. It ensures her right to work at any job that can reasonably accomodate her. (AKA she won't be able to get a job at Cinnabon, but in an office pushing papers is totally manageable.)
All the company has to do is make a policy of no food near her workspace, and enforce it.
Unfortunately, her company is not very good at enforcing. They have made it known (not very well) that there is to be no scented anything on her floor (people kept bringing in cinnamon scented candles and airfresheners), and that there is to be no cinnamon things on the floor when she's present.
Her co-workers are seeing it as an infringment of their rights, and rebel against her. Since she is not management, they also see it as her being attention seeking and usurping authority.
She just doesn't want to go the the ER, or get sick.
If she goes to the boss and complains, its tattle taling. If she speaks out on her own to her co-workers, its usurping and who is she to tell them what to do? The policy itself gives her special treatment and they resent her.
Today she called upset because she's detoxing from yesterday's office debacle. One of her co-workers had brought in a cinnamon cheesecake to share with the office, and everyone was eating it around her.
She could smell the cinnamon in the air, and started to feel the reaction starting. She took benadryl, and asked them if they could finish the cheesecake outside or remove it from the premises. They refused.
Tired of battling with them and scared of a possible ER visit, she went down to the Employee Relations office and reported the incident as a violation of the ADA. The Employee Relations personnel then went and told her co-workers they couldn't eat the cheesecake in the office.
Her co-workers put the cheesecake away.
Simple easy success right?
No. The minute the Employee Relations personnel left, they took the cheesecake back out.
If this was merely someone complaining that they didn't like something, or was trying to ruin people's fun, it'd be more understandable.
But these people are playing with someone's life. It's not fair, its not safe, and it's not sane.
It's getting to the point, that unless it becomes a fireable offense and a well publicised as a fireable offense, people will continue to have no reguard for other peoples lives.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Limb Sleeping, numbness, and allergic reactions.
Dear Body,
I'd like to have my leg back please. While this numb and unfeeling sensation is fun now then, it stopped being fun about an hour ago.
I no longer appreciate your sense of humor. So please, May I have my leg back now?
Sincerely,
Me
I've gone to the doctor for this a couple times now. I've been poked and prodded. I've had labs run. He didn't do ultrasound or xrays, but basically told me I'd be ok. It's only one little section of my leg on the outside of my thigh, and as much as I've searched online I've found absolutely no articles on numbness in that area. So I figure no one has died from it.
I haven't persued it with doctors very hard. Mostly because it doesn't feel life threatening, and I've found a system to its madness.
You see.. it only happens when I've eaten something I shouldn't have and usually hours later.
I've theorized that its probably my colon swelling up as the food passes through it and pressing on the nerve that gives sensation to that part of my leg. I got out anatomy charts and neurological charts, and it seems that the nerves and blood distribution for that section of the body start within the pelvic region, roughly the same area as the large colon.
It usually goes away in a couple hours. It's only mildly painful and more of a tingly pain. Similar to your leg or foot going to "sleep" if you sit in the wrong position for too long. The skin in the area of leg that's affected is slightly cooler to the touch than my other skin. It hasn't ever turned blue or anything severe looking. Just mild discomfort and a sensation that makes me wonder if I'd feel it if I stabbed myself in the leg.
Just another day in the life of food allergies.
See Also: Meralgia Paraethetica
I'd like to have my leg back please. While this numb and unfeeling sensation is fun now then, it stopped being fun about an hour ago.
I no longer appreciate your sense of humor. So please, May I have my leg back now?
Sincerely,
Me
I've gone to the doctor for this a couple times now. I've been poked and prodded. I've had labs run. He didn't do ultrasound or xrays, but basically told me I'd be ok. It's only one little section of my leg on the outside of my thigh, and as much as I've searched online I've found absolutely no articles on numbness in that area. So I figure no one has died from it.
I haven't persued it with doctors very hard. Mostly because it doesn't feel life threatening, and I've found a system to its madness.
You see.. it only happens when I've eaten something I shouldn't have and usually hours later.
I've theorized that its probably my colon swelling up as the food passes through it and pressing on the nerve that gives sensation to that part of my leg. I got out anatomy charts and neurological charts, and it seems that the nerves and blood distribution for that section of the body start within the pelvic region, roughly the same area as the large colon.
It usually goes away in a couple hours. It's only mildly painful and more of a tingly pain. Similar to your leg or foot going to "sleep" if you sit in the wrong position for too long. The skin in the area of leg that's affected is slightly cooler to the touch than my other skin. It hasn't ever turned blue or anything severe looking. Just mild discomfort and a sensation that makes me wonder if I'd feel it if I stabbed myself in the leg.
Just another day in the life of food allergies.
See Also: Meralgia Paraethetica
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Unintentional Party Pooper
I came home early from a party. I really should have read the invitation much better than I did, but I'd been looking forward to this event for a while and wasn't able to go due to cost issues.. when last minute I managed to wrangle a free entry! Woo Hoo!
So I went. Of Course.
I knew something was wrong when I first arrived as my throat immediately became scratchy. I figured it was leftover residue from people smoking outside, and ignored it.
Then as I began to explore the party, I noticed in the other room there were buckets of popcorn. Already popped. No popcorn popper.. Thank GOD!
Since the popcorn was in another room, and not really "airborne" I figured I'd stay and see how the night went, and things went well. I didn't notice much issues at all until a new crowd of people entered the party.
They found the popcorn, and decided to bring it .. all of it.. into the room where we all were. Right in front of me, a drunk guy dropped an entire bucket of popcorn. Then all the rest of the people began to stomp it and stir it up in the air.
Yay me!
It wasn't too horrid, so I waited.
Immediately after, a guy was on stage with a couple girls singing a song. They were having fun, and he decided to add to the joy.
He picked up a bag of popcorn and began to toss it. Then he saw me, and began to toss it at me.. aiming at the drink in my hand.
If I had lasers to shoot out of my eyes the guy would dead. While I'm not necessarily "THAT" allergic to corn anymore, it's still like pelting me with poison. Of course, the drunk guy didn't know that and was confused at my party-pooper attitude.
I started to get cold. (Great! I thought to myself) I tried to move away from the popcorn hoping that alone would stop the reaction. Everywhere I moved I could still feel myself breathing in popcorn.
My lungs started to hurt and my eyes started to water. I had a song coming up and I wanted to wait for it. I popped some benadryl and prednisone, and waited.
The pills seemed to have no effect. My body kept getting colder. My lungs started to feel like I'd accidentally swallowed some pool water. My eyes felt dry and irritated, yet watery.
I had to leave. I had to leave right then.
I didn't want to.. damn it.
But I couldn't deny my symptoms any longer. As it was, my fingers had turned to ice cubes and staying longer I'm sure my teeth would have started chattering.
I hate causing a scene, so I merely put on a calm exterior and said goodbye to my friends as if I'd suddenly just gotten tired, or forgotten that I needed to get up early tomorrow.
I stepped outside and the fresh air filled my lungs as if I'd suddenly come up for air.
It's been about a hour since I left the party. My fingers are warm again though I'm still a bit chilly. I've washed my face to remove any corn residue, but my eyes are still irritated and bloodshot. My lungs no longer have that underwater feeling and no longer hurt, but I can still feel them with every breath. I've also developed a slight cough.
I should be normal by morning. This allergy stuff just sucks sometimes.
Oh.. and I really hate popcorn right now.
So I went. Of Course.
I knew something was wrong when I first arrived as my throat immediately became scratchy. I figured it was leftover residue from people smoking outside, and ignored it.
Then as I began to explore the party, I noticed in the other room there were buckets of popcorn. Already popped. No popcorn popper.. Thank GOD!
Since the popcorn was in another room, and not really "airborne" I figured I'd stay and see how the night went, and things went well. I didn't notice much issues at all until a new crowd of people entered the party.
They found the popcorn, and decided to bring it .. all of it.. into the room where we all were. Right in front of me, a drunk guy dropped an entire bucket of popcorn. Then all the rest of the people began to stomp it and stir it up in the air.
Yay me!
It wasn't too horrid, so I waited.
Immediately after, a guy was on stage with a couple girls singing a song. They were having fun, and he decided to add to the joy.
He picked up a bag of popcorn and began to toss it. Then he saw me, and began to toss it at me.. aiming at the drink in my hand.
If I had lasers to shoot out of my eyes the guy would dead. While I'm not necessarily "THAT" allergic to corn anymore, it's still like pelting me with poison. Of course, the drunk guy didn't know that and was confused at my party-pooper attitude.
I started to get cold. (Great! I thought to myself) I tried to move away from the popcorn hoping that alone would stop the reaction. Everywhere I moved I could still feel myself breathing in popcorn.
My lungs started to hurt and my eyes started to water. I had a song coming up and I wanted to wait for it. I popped some benadryl and prednisone, and waited.
The pills seemed to have no effect. My body kept getting colder. My lungs started to feel like I'd accidentally swallowed some pool water. My eyes felt dry and irritated, yet watery.
I had to leave. I had to leave right then.
I didn't want to.. damn it.
But I couldn't deny my symptoms any longer. As it was, my fingers had turned to ice cubes and staying longer I'm sure my teeth would have started chattering.
I hate causing a scene, so I merely put on a calm exterior and said goodbye to my friends as if I'd suddenly just gotten tired, or forgotten that I needed to get up early tomorrow.
I stepped outside and the fresh air filled my lungs as if I'd suddenly come up for air.
It's been about a hour since I left the party. My fingers are warm again though I'm still a bit chilly. I've washed my face to remove any corn residue, but my eyes are still irritated and bloodshot. My lungs no longer have that underwater feeling and no longer hurt, but I can still feel them with every breath. I've also developed a slight cough.
I should be normal by morning. This allergy stuff just sucks sometimes.
Oh.. and I really hate popcorn right now.
Unintentional Party Pooper
I came home early from a party. I really should have read the invitation much better than I did, but I'd been looking forward to this event for a while and wasn't able to go due to cost issues.. when last minute I managed to wrangle a free entry! Woo Hoo!
So I went. Of Course.
I knew something was wrong when I first arrived as my throat immediately became scratchy. I figured it was leftover residue from people smoking outside, and ignored it.
Then as I began to explore the party, I noticed in the other room there were buckets of popcorn. Already popped. No popcorn popper.. Thank GOD!
Since the popcorn was in another room, and not really "airborne" I figured I'd stay and see how the night went, and things went well. I didn't notice much issues at all until a new crowd of people entered the party.
They found the popcorn, and decided to bring it .. all of it.. into the room where we all were. Right in front of me, a drunk guy dropped an entire bucket of popcorn. Then all the rest of the people began to stop it and stir it up in the air.
Yay me!
It wasn't too horrid, so I waited.
Immediately after, a guy was on stage with a couple girls singing a song. They were having fun, and he decided to add to the joy.
He picked up a bag of popcorn and began to toss it. Then he saw me, and began to toss it at me.. aiming at the drink in my hand.
If I had lasers to shoot out of my eyes the guy would dead. While I'm not necessarily "THAT" allergic to corn anymore, it's still like pelting me with poison. Of course, the drunk guy didn't know that and was confused at my party-pooper attitude.
I started to get cold. (Great! I thought to myself) I tried to move away from the popcorn hoping that alone would stop the reaction. Everywhere I moved I could still feel myself breathing in popcorn.
My lungs started to hurt and my eyes started to water. I had a song coming up and I wanted to wait for it. I popped some benadryl and prednisone, and waited.
The pills seemed to have no effect. My body kept getting colder. My lungs started to feel like I'd accidentally swallowed some pool water. My eyes felt dry and irritated, yet watery.
I had to leave. I had to leave right then.
I didn't want to.. damn it.
But I couldn't deny my symptoms any longer. As it was, my fingers had turned to ice cubes and staying longer I'm sure my teeth would have started chattering.
I hate causing a scene, so I merely put on a calm exterior and said goodbye to my friends as if I'd suddenly just gotten tired, or forgotten that I needed to get up early tomorrow.
I stepped outside and the fresh air filled my lungs as if I'd suddenly come up for air.
It's been about a hour since I left the party. My fingers are warm again though I'm still a bit chilly. I've washed my face to remove any corn residue, but my eyes are still irritated and bloodshot. My lungs no longer have that underwater feeling and no longer hurt, but I can still feel them with every breath. I've also developed a slight cough.
I should be normal by morning. This allergy stuff just sucks sometimes.
Oh.. and I really hate popcorn right now.
So I went. Of Course.
I knew something was wrong when I first arrived as my throat immediately became scratchy. I figured it was leftover residue from people smoking outside, and ignored it.
Then as I began to explore the party, I noticed in the other room there were buckets of popcorn. Already popped. No popcorn popper.. Thank GOD!
Since the popcorn was in another room, and not really "airborne" I figured I'd stay and see how the night went, and things went well. I didn't notice much issues at all until a new crowd of people entered the party.
They found the popcorn, and decided to bring it .. all of it.. into the room where we all were. Right in front of me, a drunk guy dropped an entire bucket of popcorn. Then all the rest of the people began to stop it and stir it up in the air.
Yay me!
It wasn't too horrid, so I waited.
Immediately after, a guy was on stage with a couple girls singing a song. They were having fun, and he decided to add to the joy.
He picked up a bag of popcorn and began to toss it. Then he saw me, and began to toss it at me.. aiming at the drink in my hand.
If I had lasers to shoot out of my eyes the guy would dead. While I'm not necessarily "THAT" allergic to corn anymore, it's still like pelting me with poison. Of course, the drunk guy didn't know that and was confused at my party-pooper attitude.
I started to get cold. (Great! I thought to myself) I tried to move away from the popcorn hoping that alone would stop the reaction. Everywhere I moved I could still feel myself breathing in popcorn.
My lungs started to hurt and my eyes started to water. I had a song coming up and I wanted to wait for it. I popped some benadryl and prednisone, and waited.
The pills seemed to have no effect. My body kept getting colder. My lungs started to feel like I'd accidentally swallowed some pool water. My eyes felt dry and irritated, yet watery.
I had to leave. I had to leave right then.
I didn't want to.. damn it.
But I couldn't deny my symptoms any longer. As it was, my fingers had turned to ice cubes and staying longer I'm sure my teeth would have started chattering.
I hate causing a scene, so I merely put on a calm exterior and said goodbye to my friends as if I'd suddenly just gotten tired, or forgotten that I needed to get up early tomorrow.
I stepped outside and the fresh air filled my lungs as if I'd suddenly come up for air.
It's been about a hour since I left the party. My fingers are warm again though I'm still a bit chilly. I've washed my face to remove any corn residue, but my eyes are still irritated and bloodshot. My lungs no longer have that underwater feeling and no longer hurt, but I can still feel them with every breath. I've also developed a slight cough.
I should be normal by morning. This allergy stuff just sucks sometimes.
Oh.. and I really hate popcorn right now.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Long Term Effects of Food-based Allergic Reactions
I woke this morning.. ok that's a fabrication, I woke up at 3am with a pain in my thigh. A strange pain that I'll equate with getting pierced by a knife. The pain hovering somewhere between a nick and what I imagine what actually being stabbed might feel like.
It was in all seriousness a "WTF" moment where I was pretty sure I was still dreaming or otherwise halucinating. I mean I was in bed, alone, without any sharp objects nearby. So the simpliest answer is the most likely; I was dreaming it.
So I attempted going back to sleep and nearly succeeded when I adjusted positions slightly only to find the pain had returned, instantly and sharply.
Now fully awake, I grazed my hand along my thigh and found a sore spot, but nothing seemed wrong otherwise. I was puzzled.
So I went to the bathroom and turned on the light to look at it in the mirror.
I saw it. I think I said about a million cusswords.
Since I'm not a dermotologist, I'm not sure what the correct word is for it. But I believe its called an abcess. Only it's not infected, its small about the size of a zit, bleeds every time I move, and hurts like a SOB everytime something rubs on it.
It'd been a few years since my last one, so I'd forgotten just how important staying on my allergy-free diet really was.
Not to mention that I'd forgotten how my allergic reactions affect my blood sugars. It's a long round about explaination that really would require a medical degree to fully comprehend, but essentially regularly eating my allergens causes a domino effect in my body which results in an inadequate supply of insulin. Aka Elevated blood sugars.
Prolonged elevation of my blood sugars (not as high as diabetes, but I assume uninhibited it would get there) also taxes my body and causes my cholesterol to be all wonky. Which if it gets bad enough, my endocrinologist will insist on putting me on meds (which I already know will contain something I'm allergic to.. requiring me to find a way to get them made special and cost me many moola.)
It's really hard to remember sometimes that that one little indulgence now, might effectively kill me in the long run.
That is until I wake up with the warning signs like today. If I'm really really good for a few days, it will disappear. I'm hoping that my body will heal on the inside as well, but for now, it's detox time.
It was in all seriousness a "WTF" moment where I was pretty sure I was still dreaming or otherwise halucinating. I mean I was in bed, alone, without any sharp objects nearby. So the simpliest answer is the most likely; I was dreaming it.
So I attempted going back to sleep and nearly succeeded when I adjusted positions slightly only to find the pain had returned, instantly and sharply.
Now fully awake, I grazed my hand along my thigh and found a sore spot, but nothing seemed wrong otherwise. I was puzzled.
So I went to the bathroom and turned on the light to look at it in the mirror.
I saw it. I think I said about a million cusswords.
Since I'm not a dermotologist, I'm not sure what the correct word is for it. But I believe its called an abcess. Only it's not infected, its small about the size of a zit, bleeds every time I move, and hurts like a SOB everytime something rubs on it.
It'd been a few years since my last one, so I'd forgotten just how important staying on my allergy-free diet really was.
Not to mention that I'd forgotten how my allergic reactions affect my blood sugars. It's a long round about explaination that really would require a medical degree to fully comprehend, but essentially regularly eating my allergens causes a domino effect in my body which results in an inadequate supply of insulin. Aka Elevated blood sugars.
Prolonged elevation of my blood sugars (not as high as diabetes, but I assume uninhibited it would get there) also taxes my body and causes my cholesterol to be all wonky. Which if it gets bad enough, my endocrinologist will insist on putting me on meds (which I already know will contain something I'm allergic to.. requiring me to find a way to get them made special and cost me many moola.)
It's really hard to remember sometimes that that one little indulgence now, might effectively kill me in the long run.
That is until I wake up with the warning signs like today. If I'm really really good for a few days, it will disappear. I'm hoping that my body will heal on the inside as well, but for now, it's detox time.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Adults have food allergies too
There are times that I just am bitter. I have happy days.. happy moments. Like today, I'd been putting off making lunch because I didn't want to cook, when I remembered I had some leftover pasta in the fridge. Just plain pasta. So I drizzle on some oil, sea salt, splash of lemon juice, some shredded fresh basil, diced fresh tomato and mix it all together for a delicious lunch. Yay, no cooking!
But there are also moments where I'm bitter. Like earlier today, I get my hopes up seeing a link that advertises that a magazine is looking for stories from allergy sufferers about their lifestyle, and about dealing with people who don't believe the allergy. I click the link, and its wanting stories from mom's about dealing with their allergenic children.
It's moments like this that make me want to scream: "Dear World, Adults have allergies too, and its not fun for us either."
But I suppose this is a lot like the "cute puppy" advertising problem. If it's ugly, disgusting, and yucky, no one wants to hear about it, let alone buy the product. But if it happens to a cute puppy or adorable baby, then everyone takes action.
I just fear that it gives off this misinformation that allergies only affect children, and it makes me angry.
But there are also moments where I'm bitter. Like earlier today, I get my hopes up seeing a link that advertises that a magazine is looking for stories from allergy sufferers about their lifestyle, and about dealing with people who don't believe the allergy. I click the link, and its wanting stories from mom's about dealing with their allergenic children.
It's moments like this that make me want to scream: "Dear World, Adults have allergies too, and its not fun for us either."
But I suppose this is a lot like the "cute puppy" advertising problem. If it's ugly, disgusting, and yucky, no one wants to hear about it, let alone buy the product. But if it happens to a cute puppy or adorable baby, then everyone takes action.
I just fear that it gives off this misinformation that allergies only affect children, and it makes me angry.
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