Anaphylactic Response To Potato

[lieze]

I guess this may have been what my very first episode ever was I just didn't get the throat action with it.

This time you could hear the windpipe was compromised as I opened my mouth to talk my voice was whistly wheezy.

Heart pounding adrenaline surges-I freaked.

I was like frozen.

Called my husband in and then took the benadryl-last time I took closer to a teaspoon and it was too much.

My pupils dilated, lips went numb and lower half of body went numb.

So this time I took only a drop.

As soon as it hit my system all of my symptoms started to go away and I relaxed almost instantly.

I want to get into an allergist if possible.

I'm tired of this Russian roulette with food.

It is too traumatizing.

[lieze]

I'm really wondering if I'm really allergic to potatoes or if it's an issue with pesticides.

I've eaten potato chips and done just fine.

Several meals that I ate that had potato in it had set me off in the last couple months.

One was pork and potato and the other was hamburger with sliced potato stirred in.

I just want to be able to eat!!!!!

[icesktr189]

ev

Lieze-

Im not sure what kind of POTS you have, but are for certain it was an allergic reaction? I am asking because my POTS sounds a lot like yours. I notice you have tons of adrenaline surges like mine also.

When mine is bad, I cannot eat anything without surges. Seriously even drinking water right now, I will have a surge, feel ice cold, then get very warm and nauseous. Then it will turn into hart palpitaions and I will then get panicky. For this reason, I generally loose tons of weight because i hate eating when I am like this.

Your ANS seems like its way overactive. Mine is also and until you can slow it down, it will react to everything you eat.

Good luck I know how horrible it is :[

[lieze]

Yes I'm almost certain it was an anaphylactic response.

My throat was closing shut and the benadryl stopped the whole process as soon as it hit my system.

I did have an ambulance trip after the sauce and was duagnosed with anaphylactic type response.

That time I had flushing urticaria and wheezes.

It took me an hour to come out of it and they watched me.

This is my 3rd anaphylactic type response that I know of with the first being after leek soup.

It was the 3rd time I'd eaten it.

Leeks are known to produce an anaphylactic type response and belong to the Lilly family. Onions, garlic and chive are also in that group. If I get any onion at all my heart skyrockets instantly.

[Dizzysillyak]

Lieze,

Sorry to hear that you're going through this. I know what you mean about playing Russian Roulette with foods. From hanging out here, there are lot of us that have serious and/or quite a few allergies. My allergy testing showed that I was allergic to most things on this planet ... lol ... I know that not everyone with allergies, even anaphylaxis, has dysautonomia but I wonder what the connection is ...

I just started doing this last year and it's scarey ... So far I haven't called 911 though. I watched my daughter do this for years and like you, we figured out that most of the time Benadryl will take care of it. From what I can tell, I'm reacting to yeast, possibly S. Boulardi ...

BTW. I know it's hard but it's best not to freak out when these happen. It only makes breathing more difficult. Now that you've seen that Benadryl works hopefully you can relax next time. You need to be very CAREFUL though ... if the Benadryl doesn't work call 911 ... Ambulances have the apparatus on board to deal with this.

Did you use the dye free children's liquid Benadryl ? That works for me. I hold 1/4 tsp in my mouth as it seems to work best this way. Too much Benadryl and I can't think at all the next day ...

Unfortunately, allergy testing may not show what you reacted too. My DD tested positive to a peanut allergy once and then negative. We KNOW she's severely allergic to peanuts. It's hard to say whether it was the potato you ate or not. Was it organic ?

I haven't bought an Epi pen yet but from watching my DD go through this, most of them expired before they were ever needed ... hope you feel better soon ... Dizzy

[lieze]

I'm sorry to hear you and your daughter are also having problems with this.

No the potato was not organic.

I believe it was a yukon gold.

And my Benadryl is the pink one-being new to all of this I didn't even realize I should purchase the dye free.

Those were my thoughts exactly that I needed medical care and should not mess around but I feel so guilty about all of my hospital trips.

The feeling in my head was just horrible there was no relaxing I was in a storm but it was amazing how fast the Benadryl worked and it did not overly sedate me with the very tiny amount that I took.

I almost felt like I got a rebound affect though about two hours later it almost felt as if my throat was closing up again but I hoped it was just my anxiety. The feeling kind of came and went. I thought if it gets worse I could take more Benadryl.

I don't believe I had any heart pounding that round.

I really should have pursued this over a year ago after the reaction to the teryaki type sauce.

I did follow up with my family physician-she suggested perhaps I was histamine sensitive.

Looking back to me if I'm having anaphylactic type responses as a doctor I would not want to risk suggesting perhaps someone is just histamine sensitive I would send them to the testing for peace of mind as a way to start out.

This not knowing is a nightmare.

Now I wish I would have gone on to an allergist right away and not prolonged this.

I will call Monday and try to get in ASAP.

[Dizzysillyak]

We called 911 the first time this happened to my DD. We had to because she simply couldn't breath ... I don't remember ever feeling so scared.

The 911 operator told me to give her some Benadryl so by the time the ambulance got there she was already feeling a little better. Just terrified still ... they took her to the hospital to see what was happening. But like I said the Benadryl had already helped enough that the doc couldn't really see what was happening. They ran all kinds of tests ... I honestly don't remember if we learned anything there or if the allergist we saw later told us that it was from peanuts ...

But ... after they released my DD from the hospital and we got home it happened again ... This time, like an idiot, I decided to drive her myself ... never again .. do not try to drive someone having an anaphylactic episode to the hospital. Talk about nerve racking and so stupid ... an ambulance is prepared to deal with this ...

So, when we got there the doctor told us that it wasn't unusual for this to happen again ... ... Now if he'd only kept her in the hospital to see if it was going to happen again, then we wouldn't have gone through this trauma again. I actually had to argue with the hospital when they tried to bill us separately for 2 ER visits ... I looked it up on the web too and sure enough, they said it wasn't unusual for it to happen again ...

I'm sure you'll feel better once you see a doc for this. Meanwhile, keep the Benadryl handy ... dye free would work better. I used to carry the children's chewable for my DD. For some reason, sucking on it worked better ...

tc .. dizzy

[delphicdragon]

Eep! What a response. I'm so sorry you're going through this Lieze. I just had an anaphylactic type reaction to MRI contrast - and that lasted 3 days and involved two ER trips and double doses of H1 and H2 blockers and steroids to get it under control. I was so sick from the medication. Even with the double doses, it didn't knock me out. Be happy that Benadryl took care of your reaction!

I just wanted to add one thing about the dye free Benadryl. My mom (who doesn't have POTS) and I are both ALLERGIC to the dye free version of Benadryl. She purchased that for her spring allergies a couple years back and took it. Broke out in hives all over. I thought, you can't be allergic to the dye-free version of something, and so I took some to "prove her wrong". I was a dumb teenager back then. Sure enough, I got hives too. If you are able to tolerate the pink version, take it. Perhaps take a few drops before you eat so that you can get some calories in your system and stop the allergic response. Maybe you should look into MCAD and stay on an H1 and H2 blocker regimen in order to give your body a chance to recover?

Hope you're feeling better soon!

Sara

[lieze]

I'm hoping to get into someone that can determine that.

What my specific allergies are and if it is a mast cell reaction.

It seems if I don't show allergy to potato-well I guess that leaves a couple questions-could it be pesticides that may have been on the potato?

I don't know if maybe I just need to go to Cleveland and not mess around locally? I'll ask my doctor what she thinks.

I do not want to do any experimenting really until we determine my allergies.

[Dizzysillyak]

Eep! What a response. I'm so sorry you're going through this Lieze. I just had an anaphylactic type reaction to MRI contrast - and that lasted 3 days and involved two ER trips and double doses of H1 and H2 blockers and steroids to get it under control. I was so sick from the medication. Even with the double doses, it didn't knock me out. Be happy that Benadryl took care of your reaction!

I just wanted to add one thing about the dye free Benadryl. My mom (who doesn't have POTS) and I are both ALLERGIC to the dye free version of Benadryl. She purchased that for her spring allergies a couple years back and took it. Broke out in hives all over. I thought, you can't be allergic to the dye-free version of something, and so I took some to "prove her wrong". I was a dumb teenager back then. Sure enough, I got hives too. If you are able to tolerate the pink version, take it. Perhaps take a few drops before you eat so that you can get some calories in your system and stop the allergic response. Maybe you should look into MCAD and stay on an H1 and H2 blocker regimen in order to give your body a chance to recover?

Hope you're feeling better soon!

Sara

Wow ... Sorry to hear you had to go through this. Is an allergic reaction to an MRI contrast the same kind someone would get from food ? I have no idea how this works ... other than I reacted to something I was given via IV prior to surgery once. I broke out in a rash and my whole body turned bright pink ... that was so long ago though that I can't remember what it was even.

Thanks for telling us about your experience with dye free Benadryl. I wasn't aware of that but it makes sense... we all are so different. FWIW ... I'm using the Target version.

Can you explain the H1 H2 blocker regime ? I can't use any Zyrtec, Sudafed, etc without feeling wiped out. If we react that way does this go away after our bodies get used to it ? It's shocking to me how many of us have allergies ...

thanks ... dizzy

[lieze]

I couldn't handle Claritin as an H1 either.

I had a slight reaction as soon as it hit my system and felt like I was in a funny head space until it was out of my system.

That was with a tiny tiny dose, so I didn't do well with that trial.

Never made it onto my H2.

[delphicdragon]

I'm no expert on any of this. I'll tell you guys what's helped me. A lot of this is from my allergist- who is AWESOME!! (And he pissed that the ER did almost nothing)My allergic reaction was very similar to what I would expect one from food would cause. I have few food allergies. I usually respond poorly to additives. I can't do artificial sweeteners at all. I also have issues with barley malt (so no beer for me). Most of my reactions have been to medications (and rabbits). This reaction started as itching on my face, arms, and chest and then my asthma kicked in and I couldn't breathe.

My allergist was surprisingly willing to mix drugs. H1 blockers block one type of receptor and H2 blockers take care of the other type of histamine receptor.

For my allergic reaction I was on Allegra, with Atarax and Benadryl for breakthrough itching (H1 blockers). I was also on Pepcid (H2 blocker) and Solumedrol plus inhaled steroids and Xopenex (Nebulizer). My allergist said that Zyrtec, Claritan, Benadryl, Atarax and Allergra are all H1 blockers but certain ones worked better in certain people. Allegra and Atarax worked well for me without too many side-effects (No cardiac issues, mostly digestive and insomnia). I've taken Claritin before and I was in such a fog I couldn't spell my own name. Benadryl usually makes me a bit high, but I can tolerate it.

Pepcid worked better than Zantac (also an H2 blocker) for ME. I think a lot of this is just trying stuff to see what happens. Next time I have a reaction I know that Allegra, Atarax, Pepcid and Xopenex should be enough to stop any reaction. But everyone is different.

Also, (and sorry for the long post) Just because a test shows that you're not allergic to something doesn't mean that you aren't. I was tested a while back and was told I had ZERO allergies. I had a same test a year later with a different doctor reading the results and it turns out I was highly allergic to environmental things like cats, and mold, and most plant pollen. My reactions to both tests were identical - the first doctor had totally misread the test!

Lieze - potatoes are members of the nightshade family- which includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. I'd avoid those foods as well for now. Rice seems to be a non-reactive type of food, as is de-skinned chicken. Sometimes cooking the heck out of a food makes it easier to tolerate. Cooking foods denatures the proteins (this changes their shape) and that makes us less likely to react to them. (Not a medical doctor - just a scientist)

Sara

[lieze]

Lieze- potatoes are members of the nightshade family- which includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. I'd avoid those foods as well for now. Rice seems to be a non-reactive type food, as is de-skinned chicken. Sometimes cooking the heck of a food makes it easier to tolerate. Cooking foods denatures the proteins (this changes their shape) and that makes us less likely to react to them. (Not a medical doctor - just a scientist)

Sara

Thank you Sara.

The gluten free bread I have is from rice flour and I seem to do fine with it. I ate a bowl of rice and felt a little funny after-it may have been the quantity but no anaphylactic response.

I seem to do fine on chicken so far. Fingers crossed.

[delphicdragon]

I do better with white rice than brown. I also have some gastroparesis - which makes high fiber things hard to digest. I can't tolerate gluten free bread. No issues with long grain / wild rice. If you are celiac - be warned, gluten is in a lot of things - including some shampoos! Good luck!

Sara

[Dizzysillyak]

Thank you for the great info on allergy meds. For some reason, I actually understood it this time ... lol .. I was looking it all up and got distracted but I noticed that Atarax is converted by the body into Zyrtec.

What I've found when dealing with supplements is that sometimes my body converts things like it's supposed to and sometimes it doesn't ...

I'll definitely be looking at this more closely. IMHO, I have too many allergies not to be on something ...

BTW ... Is there a connection between our bodies natural steroids and allergies ? I thought I read that somewhere. I'm low on pregnenolone, DHEA and cortisol. I also noticed once when I had a post menopausal period aka estrogen rush, that my allergies flared horribly. And estrogen suppresses the immune system ...

tc ... dizzy

[delphicdragon]

Dizzy-

Glad to know that I could help somewhat! Every once and a while I realize I've learned something useful. LOL.

All our bodies convert things differently. Look at people's differing alcohol tolerances. It all has to do with how fast the alcohol is converted into Aldehyde. Some people convert fast- some don't or can't.

As for the natural steroids and allergies - I think there is a connection. I haven't done any research on this (and am not at work currently so I can't look it up) but this is my theory. Steroids in excess suppress the immune system. (If you've ever been on pregnisone long term they tell you to be careful of infection) Allergies are often the body reacting in appropriately to something (Have you heard of the hygiene hypothesis? Theory is that too much cleanliness causes our immune systems to over-react to things it shouldn't over-react to - hence allergies). A normally reactive immune system reacts to germs and not to things in nature. An under-active immune system, like one caused by steroid USE, does not react to germs or allergens (which is why they give you steroids to stop an allergy response). An over-active immune system reacts to EVERYTHING. If we don't have the natural steroids to keep the immune system in check, it's going to react to EVERYTHING. It's WAY more complicated then that - but I figured I'll keep things simple for now.

Sara

[Dizzysillyak]

Dizzy-

Glad to know that I could help somewhat! Every once and a while I realize I've learned something useful. LOL.

All our bodies convert things differently. Look at people's differing alcohol tolerances. It all has to do with how fast the alcohol is converted into Aldehyde. Some people convert fast- some don't or can't.

As for the natural steroids and allergies - I think there is a connection. I haven't done any research on this (and am not at work currently so I can't look it up) but this is my theory. Steroids in excess suppress the immune system. (If you've ever been on pregnisone long term they tell you to be careful of infection) Allergies are often the body reacting in appropriately to something (Have you heard of the hygiene hypothesis? Theory is that too much cleanliness causes our immune systems to over-react to things it shouldn't over-react to - hence allergies). A normally reactive immune system reacts to germs and not to things in nature. An under-active immune system, like one caused by steroid USE, does not react to germs or allergens (which is why they give you steroids to stop an allergy response). An over-active immune system reacts to EVERYTHING. If we don't have the natural steroids to keep the immune system in check, it's going to react to EVERYTHING. It's WAY more complicated then that - but I figured I'll keep things simple for now.

Sara

Thanks again .. that was great ... and it makes perfect sense. I remember them giving my DD steroids when her allergic reactions wouldn't respond to regular allergy meds too.

Sooo, maybe we're onto something here. Our immune systems are over reacting. You know, I've heard that before about people with CFS. That's the reason I was given by my CFS doctor for having multiple high viral titers. It would certainly explain why I have a ton of allergies too ... I wonder how these natural steroids get out of whack ? Where do they come from ?

Have you had your natural steroids tested ? I'll have to look up all of them ...

My doc said that my pregnenolone was either the lowest or one of the lowest she'd seen. In fact, my levels were that of a 70 year old woman and I'm 55. I was taking Country Life pregnenolone but thought I was having an allergic reaction to it and stopped. I'm going to try it again tomorrow though and keep the Benadryl handy.

thanks again .. this is exciting ... tc ... dizzy

[E246]

Hi,

Just wanted to add something about potato - the prof i saw said to be careful off re-cooked potato and re-cooked rice

For some reason the re-cooking causes pots flares as it changes the structure.

I am fairly sure it increases my pulse.