Peanut Allergy

I knew that it was possible to develop allergies to things later in life, as opposed to being born with them or discovering you have them when you are still a child. I just thought it was limited to hay fever and seasonal stuff. I never thought you could suddenly be allergic to peanuts!

I have enjoyed peanuts, especial in candy and butter form, for as long as I can remember. I absolutely love the stuff. In fact, prior to the last few months, I have eaten a PB&J sandwich at least twice a week (if not more) for nearly my entire adult life. It is one of my go-to comfort foods; actually, it WAS one of my go-to comfort foods because I recently figured out that I am allergic to peanuts.

I was trying to eat healthier by having a no sugar added fruit and nut loaded peanut butter granola bar for breakfast every day. I normally skip breakfast because I’m simply not hungry for several hours after I wake up, so I had to find something I could look forward to eating every day and not stress over choking it down. The granola bars made it really easy and I looked forward to having them with my tea every morning. I did this for nearly two weeks, during which time I had eczema on both hands (nothing new there) but I also had it on my elbows and a little on the back of my neck. I also had a lot of headaches, digestion problems, chest tightness and some general overall body/face swelling that as an added bonus made me look fat as well as ill. Now I had had severe allergies last year and been to a rather expensive allergist who diagnosed me with a “non-specific” allergy that she claimed was common. She explained that many allergies are just unexplainable and sent me away with a crapton of prescriptions to try and ease my suffering.

The thing is, it only just made a small dent in my symptoms and it was really expensive. My insurance would not cover the visit (Anthem, you’re shitty and I hate you) so it cost me nearly $800 and there is nothing I can do but pay the bill even though the doctor kept me waiting for an hour past my appointment time, she was completely wrong about why I was suffering AND gave me a bunch of meds I did not need. Yeah, that’s American medicine for you.

But I digress…

I felt so bad that one day I ate my usual PB granola bar, two PB&Js and a small bowl of peanuts. I had so much stomach/intestinal pain, my face was swollen, my eczema exploded, I got welts on my face, I was itchy, my chest felt heavy and I retained a lot of water. I know you would think I would rush to the hospital, but I did not. I could not afford what my shitty (Anthem you suck!) health insurance won’t cover. It didn’t feel life-threatening and my breathing was fine so I just took some Benadryl and waited for it to pass. It took a few days but once it passed and I did not exacerbate it with more peanut related foods I started to feel better.

I got rid of all the peanuty stuff in my home and over about a month I noticed that most of the severe allergy symptoms I had been experiencing for a few years (yup YEARS) went away. My eczema flair ups, digestion problems, strange pain and swelling stopped. Though I still have mild seasonal allergies, it’s nowhere near as bad and I’ve had those for as long as I can remember. I do take a daily allergy pill for those but I quit all that other nonsense the allergy “specialist” prescribed and I feel a lot better!

I started eating almond butter and I like it a lot. It’s less convenient and certainly more expensive but at least it is a good substitute. I tried other nut butter (cashew butter is very good too) and I have tested myself with other foods and I’ve not seen any reaction like with peanuts. I’ll have to make my own candies (almond butter cups) if the cravings overtake me, but being able to have a sandwich without needing to be seen by a doctor is a huge treat!

So you can develop allergies to things as an adult so if you have eczema and/or a “non-specific” allergy diagnosis – or even a non-specific general diagnosis – look into the food allergy thing. It might be a happy/sad (happy you found out/sad you can’t have it anymore) thing for you too.

Oh, and Anthem you suck!