is that a single fucking peanut! GET THAT AWAY FROM ME

Ready for this one?

My fiancé was fed milk for the first time as a baby, and immediately broke out in hives. His parents rushed him to the doctor, who did some of those fun dot tests and told them he was deathly allergic to milk, eggs, nuts, berries, and shellfish. Not only that, but also a significant aversion to gluten and a nice case of PKU (I can't for the life of me remember what it stands for, but it means you can't ingest phenylalaline, the main ingredient in many fake sweeteners, or you go retarded).

So, dude had a pretty weird life. I found out about these allergies when I met him, and I still thought he was pretty cool, and adopting his lifestyle led me to lose a bunch of weight (it's the ultimate in low fat, low carb), so I stuck around and became carrier-in-chief of the Epi-pen. And he had a couple incidents while we were dating with things like a soy latte that wasn't quite all soy and some sneaky mayo on a sandwich that would immediately make him feel sick, ingest huge amounts of Benadryl, and go to bed.

But I got a little suspicious. Having all those allergies, and all of them so severe, as an adult would literally make him a freak show test case. So I encouraged (and by encouraged, I mean gently nagged for the better part of three years - the man is a saint) him to see a real allergist. After all, allergies are still pretty mysterious and a diagnosis by a family practitioner in small town Oregon may have been less about actual allergies and more about CYA.

He finally got re-tested 2 months ago by a food allergy MD/PhD at UCLA. Guess what? He's deathly allergic to peanuts and shouldn't eat almonds or walnuts. That's it. And from the day he was told so, he's been happily consuming all the things he used to be allergic to with no effects at all. As might be expected, he's gained some butter/egg/mayo weight, but hey - he deserves it after a lifetime of no dessert!

If you have some allergies getting you down and you haven't been tested in awhile, take it from us: seek out a specialist and figure that shit out. Your life may stand to get a whole lot easier.

As for me, percocet makes me pukey, but other than that I'm pretty much impervious.

 

I became allergic to Penicillin. I use "Became" to differentiate from what was described earlier that you have your allergic reaction the second time, to what happened to me. I used to get penicillin all the time for minor ear infections when I was a child. Nothing bad ever happened. Over the years I used a lot of the other antibiotics as well, like Amoxicillin or Azithromicin(?).

But a year ago my dentist prescribed me Penicillin to help clear up a root canal. Having never before had an allergic reaction and never concerning myself with what actually happens in an allergic reaction, I was mildly panicked when the odd things began to happen. First, my hands got really itchy. Then my lower back got itchy. Thinking it something innocuous, I went to town with the scratching. Within a short while my hands started to swell. And I got hives on my back. At one point my hands were so swollen that I no longer had knuckles. They were so inflated that I could no longer see the knuckle wrinkles (much less importantly lacking the ability to bend them).

A collapse in front of my (new) boss and a trip to an urgent care center netted me with the knowledge that I'm allergic to Penicillin now.

 

Not allergic to anything thank fuck but on the alt focus I can not stand corn of any kind. The smell of it is horrible and makes me want to throw up everywhere.

 

Eggs.

They smell good, but go down bad.

 

Bees and wasps. I puff out like a balloon. When I was 15 I got stung on the arm and my arm was the size of a small melon. I don't remember specifically if it is bees or wasps so I avoid both. I don't run screaming (usually - I did once but that was a Cicada killer wasp - I posted that in the phobia thread. Look up a picture of those fuckers. They're HUGE.) but I back away at a safe pace to not anger the little bastards. Pen in the purse just to be safe.

 

Blueberries and blackberries. I'm not so allergic that if they touch something I eat, I'll die, but a few tablespoons of blue/blackberry juice or puree and I break into hives. The first time it happened I thought I was going to die. I haven't touched them since, which makes me sad, because they are delicious.

Also, over the last few years, I have become intolerant to wheat and gluten, which SUCKS because it's in everything. Sometimes I cheat and have a tiny bit, and within minutes I am drowsy or asleep, depending on how much I've had. Half a beer is like drinking roofies, it's ridiculous. Any more than a little and, well, it's like I've been to Taco Bell or something. Awful.

 

Focus: I have no food allergies, but back when I was a kid and lived in Canada the people who used to run the indoor pool near our house had NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT THEY WERE DOING. They added chlorine every hour on the hour, for some stupid reason, so the whole place reeked of chlorine and it was so strong that I DEVELOPED AN ALLERGY TO CHLORINE. For a long time after if I opened my eyes underwater anywhere that had even normal levels of chlorine my eyes would go totally bloodshot and red for hours on end.

I've gradually lost that particular allergy over the years, though, so now I'm allergic to nothing.

LOOK AT ME CROWN ROYAL, I'M A BIG KID NOW JUST LIKE YOU!!!! We should totally form a tricycle gang, it'll be kickass.

 

Focus:
Cats. When I was a kid, I was hardly able to breathe if I stayed over at a house full of cat hair. It was really shitty because everyone has cats. Now, either since I'm older or since I've spent so much time around them, it's really not so bad anymore. Some people really need to learn to vacuum, though.

Alt. focus:
Raw vegetables. I get this weird tightness in my chest when I eat them a lot of the time. And it sucks because I only like most vegetables raw. I just deal with it, though.

 

Alt Focus: Most perfumes and some colognes. It is mostly sweeter smelling (or old lady) perfumes that can give me painful migraines in minutes. I rush through the perfume sections in department stores.

Also deodorant. About the only one I can use is Old Spice. If I use another it feels like someone is holding a blowtorch under my armpits.

 

I am allergic to mornings. Whenever I have to wake up early for work or a class, even when I go to bed early to get a full night sleep, I wake up with a runny nose, scratchy throat, red eyes, and I sneeze a lot. This continues until I leave my house. I know you can't actually be allergic to mornings but I would be interested to know if theres a medical basis for this effect or if it's all in my head. The first time I noticed it, I assumed it was dust or pollen in my room/bed, but if I wake up after ~9am it doesn't seem to happen.

Thinking about it more as I type this out, it probably is just dust and the thing about not occuring after 9am is probably the part that's in my head. Still it would be nice if I could get some kind of medical certificate to exempt me from early morning shifts at work.

 

I found out a couple of years ago I'm allergic to penicillin.

Peak hour public transport in winter is like getting into a Petri dish in a germ creating laboratory and my previously unexposed immune system copped a beating. What started as an inner ear infection eventually turned into tonsillitis so bad I could barely move or talk. After the 4th visit to the doctor in 10 days, he gave me gigantic penicillin tablets.

Took them for 2 days, tonsillitis clears up and I head back to work. I was working night shift and around 7.30 I could feel my back itching, and then my hands. By the time I got home at 10.30, my entire back was covered in a rash. I stayed awake all night itching and scratching, until my boyfriend whinged so much I went and slept on the lounge.

The next morning, my entire body had broken out into an itchy, lumpy rash. I told my loving, caring boyfriend that I thought I was having an allergic reaction, and he patted me on the shoulder and told me to walk down to the doctor when it opened (I didn't have my licence at the time) and that he was late for work and would see me later.

After consuming half a packet of anti-histamines and itching myself crazy for 3 days, my sister then told me I should have gone to the hospital and gotten some shot to clear it straight up.

Long story short...fuck penicillin!

 

I'm allergic to nothing that I know of.
Fuck mushrooms, they're gross. Their smell, texture all of it. Yuck.

 

This happened to me. I was interning at a local middle school last year - over the course of my time there, they let not just one but TWO kids WITH MONO come to school WHILE THEY STILL HAD MONO. So, naturally, by having to be near them in class, and never having had mono before, I got mono. Couldn't stay awake for more than five minutes at a time, had all the classic symptoms of mono.

Anyway, my family takes me to the doctor where a Middle Eastern guy diagnoses me with something completely different (I don't even remember what). We attempt to explain that I have been exposed to mono several times within the past week, and the douchebag interrupts and refuses to accept that mono is what I have. So, he gives me amoxicillin and sends me on my way.

Two or three days later, I go back with a huge rash all over my body. The doctor (same one I saw the first time) makes some half-assed excuse that I must have some mild allergy to amoxicillin, and that he still doesn't think I had mono, all while staring at the floor the whole time he spoke to me.

Man, fuck that guy.

Alt. Focus: Jagermeister. Just the smell of it makes me gag and want to throw up. Weird, I know.

 

FOCUS
You know what I'm allergic to? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Haha It's glorious. I can eat, touch, smell whatever the fuck I want WITH IMPUNITY! I am immortal. Your earthly weapons only make me stronger.

Hmm, do I want some peanuts? Hell yeah mothafucka and put some ragweed and penicillin on that bitch too!

Oh I don't know if I can handle milk! Im worried!!! FUCK THAT NOISE! Give me some milk and throw some bee stingers, berry's and goats blood in too. I'M THIRSTY!!!

MUAAHAHAHAHAHAAH.....I can't breeve...

 

Focus: I'm allergic to all sorts of shit - pollen (lots of trees, ragweed, etc), cats (but not the two I own - I'm desensitized to them, thank god), dogs, dust, mold, raw apples and pears, and almonds. As to the apple, pears, and almonds, it's a scratchy throat and itchy mouth type of reaction. If I cook the fruit, then I'm fine, so it's clearly some protein I'm allergic to since the cooking breaks it down. For everything else, it's the whole runny nose and itchy eyes reaction. Since I'm allergic to dust and mold, this means I have allergies year round, which is fun.

I take Benadryl just about every day and I'm one of those weirdos who gets wired from the drug instead of sleepy. It's hands down the best allergy drug out there and I'm thankful every fucking day that it doesn't knock me out. If you look on labels for cold meds and allergy drugs, it says "may cause hyperactivity in some people" - well, I am part of those "some people".

Alt Focus: I'm also lactose intolerant, but lactaid usually fixes that. I can't drink milk or eat ice cream without the lactaid, but those are really the only things that bother me with lactose. I also can't stomach red or green bell peppers. If I eat those, I'm on the toilet about 30 minutes later, cursing those vegetables with everything I am.

 

I don't have any food or medicinal allergies, thankfully, but did get stuck with being allergic to cats and some dogs. I took allergy shots for YEARS that seemingly did absolutely nothing. Around cats, my asthma gets worse, I sneeze, my eyes water, and my skin gets red and breaks out. With dogs, it seems to depend on what type of hair they have. As a kid we had two Dachshunds, one of which I was allergic too, and one I wasn't. Seems to have had something to do with their hair as I've had the same affect from other dogs. If its a smooth type hair, I'm fine, but if it feels grainy, course, or dirty, it usually breaks me out wherever they touch me. I suppose it could be something they are coming into contact with, but considering how much time I spent out in the same woods as a kid, with no issues, I doubt thats the issue.

As many times as I've been to the emergency room, it's REALLY convenient being able to say I'm not allergic to anything they have that I know of.

 

I have always had a reaction with some form of metal - probably nickel. If my belt buckle touches my skin, or i have a watch strap with a metal clasp touching my skin, or a metal necklace, I get a crazy rash that itches like a motherfucker. I also have a reaction with cats - not so bad in the sinuses but when their around my eyes water a lot.

More recently I've had a bad reaction to peaches. My lips start chapping and bleeding and my throat feels like sandpaper. I was really upset as I love peaches.

 

I am not sure this qualifies as allergic, but I'm hypersensitive to a multitude of medications.

Vicodin made me so loopy and paranoid. Paranoid as in "My fiance is trying to kill me! Maybe I should kill him first."

Reglan (for nausea) made me insanely jittery. I couldn't stop shaking for at least two days.

Keflex and Tequin (both antibiotics) made me hallucinate. One was for a strep throat, the other for a UTI.

Ativan/Xanax/Valium/any benzodiazipine tranq: hyperactivity. That shit is supposed to calm me, not make me feel like a kid with ADD on top of imbibing 30 bottles of Pepsi.

As for foods, my gastroenterologist is convinced I have a "sensitivity" just to cheese, because I have no issues with other kinds of dairy like ice cream or milk. Case in point: I made baked ziti two days ago and my recipe calls for a shit ton of ricotta and mozzarella. The next day I was in the bathroom a record seven times in four hours. However, this is not enough to stop me from eating delicious cheese.

 

Focus: Tegretol, an anti-epileptic drug (they thought I had epilepsy years ago- turns out I'm just weird). I was in England when I discovered this allergy, too. Turned all red and bumpy, and thought maybe it was the hotel sheets or something, and then stopped the meds and it all went away. Not too big of a deal, because people don't try to give you Tegretol in too many situations anyway.

I'm also not technically allergic, but I can't take anything in the Robitussin family (or any of its generics). Holy mania, Batman. Last time I took some was probably ten years ago, and I laid in bed and shook for two days straight. It was miserable.

Alt-focus: Chik-fil-a. I know, I'm sad about it too. Not sure why, but anything from that place (excluding their lemonade) makes me miserably sick every time. Really disappointing because they always have them on college campuses around here, and I can't eat anything they make.

And weirdly enough, Barnes and Noble. Not their food, just being in one in general. I walk into one and within five minutes I'm looking for the toilet. Happens in every city and every state I've ever been in one. Strangely enough, it happens to my brother too. It's now family code for we've got to find the toilet ASAP- "Guys, I've got to Barnes and Noble in a bad way."

 

I'm allergic to lots of things like pollen, bee stings, dust, and my classroom. Yes, my classroom. How awesome is that? I'm actually allergic to my work! Whoohooo! There's a whole story about the diagnosis of this one, but in a nutshell, my doctor is awesome. Not surprising at all as this is Chirpy, and nothing can just be normal...not even my allergies.

Strawberries. What a fucked up allergy. When I was a kid, I could eat them all the time. But when I turned 13, that was it...hives head to toe. The allergy has since gotten so bad that I dipped ONE piece of watermelon in a fruit dip that a strawberry had touched and I had to be on prednizone for a month. I can't cut them because my hands start to itch and God forbid I kiss someone who has eaten one that day. And when in restaurants, I have to be that bitch that makes sure there is NO garnish on any dessert. Waiters always look at me like I'm crazy. Sad because I love fresh fruit.
But hey, whatever, it could be worse.

Oh wait, it is.

I'm also allergic to just about every antibiotic out there. Simple penicillin allergies are for pussies. You're not really allergic to medicines until you go into the doctor for a routine sinus infection and they crinkle their foreheads, take out the big medicine book, sigh, and after listing a bunch of medicines read aloud with "no...not that one...that one's a sulfa...hmmm...no...no...", say, "well, let's try THIS one this time." If I wore a medic alert bracelet, it'd be halfway up my arm with the list. Needless to say, I take vitamin C and have a permanent supply of Mucinex in my house just to try to prevent something from happening.

Oh, and cats. But that one doesn't really bother me as now I will never be that cat lady. And anyway, fuck cats.