TW: near fatal reaction, religious commentary from family, grappling with mental health

Hi all, I am here to vent and seek some support. Thank you so much for reading.

I am currently day 3 of recovering from anaphylactic shock from eating two slices of bread that contained hazelnuts. I am still dealing with itchiness and burning, horrible headaches, diarrhea, and lightheadedness.

I am also having a lot of anxiety and anger over what happened. My best friend of over 8 years, who has seen me go into anaphylaxis before, never remembers my allergies. He has consistently offered me food that I am very obviously allergic to, and will only sometimes catch himself and say sorry.
He is generally a forgetful person with ADHD. I know that this friend cares for me and has been there for me in many moments of life being hard, but I literally cannot fathom how he can’t remember that I have life threatening allergies. I have other friends who have caught on quick and always check labels, so I know it’s possible.

In this particular instance, he offered me some toast on a morning where we were both a little hungover. He always gets the same bread that I am safe to eat, and I was so tired that I gladly accepted the food without questions. I immediately knew something was wrong and went to check the bread- and then he just starts apologizing about how he forgot he bought a hazelnut kind this time. He did genuinely feel bad, which contributed to me trying to downplay what I was feeling.

Him and his partner who is also my friend did not say much beyond the first couple minutes of me being concerned and him feeling bad and they just went on to talk about other things, maybe to lighten the mood? After none of the medication I took was helping, my throat started closing and I started having horrible stomach cramps. I called my parents while trying not to panic, telling them I was going to take my EpiPen. They told me to keep taking medication instead of my EpiPen while they prayed for me. My dad told me I was just having anxiety. Within 10 minutes I started losing consciousness and barely called emergency services. My friend offered to call but didn’t because I said “I don’t know” while losing consciousness. I still don’t even know how I got through that phone call because I don’t remember it.

My friend did not go in the ambulance with me even though he said he was going to, and I couldn’t even talk to ask him to come with me when I realized he wasn’t coming. He met me at the hospital without his partner, and looked so miserable sitting in the hospital room that I told him he could leave. He felt really bad, but I still ended up feeling like I had to resolve him of guilt and give him permission to go home. He went home after my mom arrived which was shortly after. He went about this day and went to dinner and a soccer game.

After this I feel so confused, anxious, upset, and angry at everyone. And of course, no one knows what post anaphylactic shock is like either. I have to miss a work trip for my new job, and I can barely function to work from home. I don’t get why I am having to explain to everyone that I’m doing really poorly after almost dying. And also, my dad is claiming god spared my life because he prayed. I would have died if EMS had not arrived due to my parents’ advising me not to take the epi-pen.
I am asking myself if I have anyone trustworthy in my life to help me in an emergency. I would have been better off completely alone.

I feel horrible about being this upset and resentful with people who aren’t well-informed. But, how many times do I have to inform others.. and why do I have to take the blame for the fact that someone nearly killed me because of carelessness. I ultimately do blame myself but I feel so uncared for.

Muhammad Hussain, a professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, leads a team using AI to design a patent-pending device to improve the timeliness of epinephrine injections to treat anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be sudden and potentially life-threatening.
The device integrates advanced sensors, AI-driven decision-making and automated drug delivery with the goal of ensuring rapid epinephrine administration. The researchers are also focused on the device’s manufacturability, security and integration for scalability.

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/2026/Q4/purdue-wearable-ai-device-aims-to-improve-epinephrine-injections-to-treat-anaphylaxis/

I have Oral Pollen Allergy Symptom, otherwise known as OAS and I have been struggling to figure out how to eat. I also am gluten intolerant and lactose intolerant and grew up a very picky eater (I am trying to be less picky).

Lately I have been eating a lot of a random pasta recipe I made (which is garlic, cooked cherry tomatoes, cooked sweet peppers, Italian sausage, and gluten free pasta) and a chicken casserole thing with cooked Broccoli. I am very tired of eating the same things over and over again. I am looking for suggestions of what I could eat that is easy to make and does not trigger anything.

This is a list of Allergies and Intolerances and what happens to help narrow them down.

OAS: ALL Raw fruits and vegetables except blue berries, blackberries and raspberries, All raw nuts and legumes- what happens- throat closes, everything is itchy and i can not breathe.

Gluten Intolerance: the gluten protein is found naturally in wheat, rye and barley.- what happens- i don't digest it so gastro pains, indigestion, loss of focus, mood swings (why idk) overall not great.

Lactose Intolerance: The sugar in dairy- what happens- vomiting and gastro issues.

I am very tired of researching food recipes and changing them so I can eat them. Please help

Since my baby was diagnosed with peanut and egg allergy, I’ve been navigating starting OIT, introducing the remaining allergens safely, etc. I thought I was getting a better grasp on parenting a baby with an allergy, but I just learned yesterday that “may contain” and “processed in a factory that also processes peanuts” labels are voluntary! It dawned on me just how much more I have to learn.

So what important info would you share to a new parent of a little one with food allergies? What is most important to know about keeping your child safe at home, daycare, the grocery store, and restaurants, etc? Thank you for any tips!

Be careful! I just got back from dinner and threw up; didn’t realize I could react to fish cakes breaded.

At every potlcuk and event where they have salad ever:

Me: What dressing is this?

Them: uhhhhhhh…. caesar? Why?

Me: Oh, I just can’t have anchovies.

Them: 🫪 CAESAR sALAD HAS ANCHOVIEs?!?! EWWWWW!

My 10mo old recently got hives after eating some cashew butter. We had our allergist appointment and they recommended avoiding cashews and pistachios entirely for 1 year then retesting to see if she outgrows it before discussing any further treatment like immunotherapy. I have a friend of a friend with a child who is about a year old who had both hives and vomiting with cashews and their allergist recommended starting challenges/therapies right away. What have other parents' experiences been with this and what recommendations have you received? Should I be trying to get a second opinion from another allergist to get another interpretation of the results?

We just got back from the ER and wanted to post a warning.

My son has a severe cashew allergy, and he reacted tonight after having pasta with Rao’s pesto. Turns out it contains cashews. It is properly labeled, but I’m signal boosting this as a PSA. I know pesto has pine nuts, but Rao’s brand contains cashews as well.

Stay vigilant friends. My son is fine after his EpiPen and consummate 2-hour observance in the ER. I just thought I’d pass this along so maybe others can avoid an exposure in the future.

So tired of food allergies. I have A LOT. Which makes finding “heat and eat” options very minimal and challenging.

Was excited when I found this Chicken Pot Pie. Not happy it was $6. Disappointed when I made it. Barely any gravy, mostly potatoes and the size is ridiculously small.

The crust was surprisingly good from the top though.

We deserve better!!! Shouldn’t be this hard to find, this small, this crappy AND overpriced to boot!

Thanks for letting me vent.

*side note: have a lot of other medical issues going on right now that make meal prepping and even baking/cooking difficult.

His skin test is pretty large but blood numbers are low enough that allergist said he might be able to pass. Any tips, advice. I’m really struggling with this. He is 4

A few years ago, I developed an unfortunate allergy to fresh figs that results in stomach cramps and vomiting when eaten, and the biggest welt during my food and environmentals skin-prick test (the only other two significant welts raised were for ragweed and the histamine control sample). Which made me sad, because I loved fresh figs :(

I'm able to eat them pan-caramelized after peeling them, but I haven't made any foray into using dried figs, which are required for buccellati (which sound like they beat the pants off storebought Newtons). Some of the recipes I've found for the filling involve soaking in brandy or boiling them to rehydrate, and then cooking them down to a jam-like consistency prior to baking. I'm wondering if the heat and alcohol is enough to denature whatever protein I react to, even with the peels still present.

Hi all. My 15mo had a reaction to peanuts when she was 6 months old. She vomited nonstop a couple of hours after having peanut butter for the 3rd time. We think it was the first time she had actually ingested any of it.

Long story short, the ED was leaning towards it being a poorly timed stomach bug instead of an allergic reaction. We finally got in to see an allergist a couple of months later, who told us the vomiting was a form of anaphylaxis. The doc performed a skin prick test. My LO tested positive for peanuts, cashews, pistachios, and hazelnuts. We were told to just avoid those and finish introducing the other allergens. She hasn't had any other issues since.

We just had a 6 month follow up with another skin prick test. Her wheals were substantially larger for all of the positive results (ex: Peanut went from w6e25 to w10e40; pistachio went from w3e25 to w25e55). The doctor commented on that saying her values were “really high,” but it was very unclear to us if this actually meant anything? Our understanding was a skin prick test could not predict the severity of a reaction. The doc also said she didn’t think we needed a blood test, since it probably wouldn’t tell us anything different.

The doc said we could try OIT, but their clinics doesn’t offer it. The only places are in Seattle, which is an hour drive or longer for us. Based on my brief perusal of the Seattle clinics' reviews and websites, they seem kind of impossible to get into?! And all of them have terrible reviews.

We're a bit at a loss as to what we should do. Should we get a blood test done for her? Request food challenges at her existing clinic? Try to get into a Seattle clinic? If you've done OIT in Seattle, have you had a positive experience?

Thank you!

Hi everyone!

We are parents from the Netherlands and have a 3.5-year-old son with multiple severe IgE-mediated food allergies, including milk, eggs, peanuts, and several tree nuts.

We are considering traveling to the United States to start oral immunotherapy (OIT). Ideally, we would like to treat all of his food allergies simultaneously (multi-allergen OIT), rather than treating each allergen separately.

We would love to hear from families who have been in a similar situation, especially those who traveled internationally to the US for treatment.

• Which clinic or allergist did you choose, and why?

• Was your child treated for multiple allergens at the same time?

• How old was your child when treatment started?

• What were your experiences with the treatment, including side effects or challenges?

• What were the results? Can your child now eat these foods freely, or are maintenance doses still necessary?

• Has anyone successfully stopped maintenance doses and maintained tolerance?

• How did you manage the treatment and follow-up appointments while living outside the US?

• Could you share the financial side of treatment? Approximately how much did the entire OIT program cost, including consultations, testing, treatment, and follow-up appointments?

• For international families, were there additional expenses or unexpected costs? Was insurance involved, or did you pay everything out of pocket?

• Do you have any recommendations or tips?

Our ultimate goal is for our son to eventually be able to eat all these foods freely, without lifelong maintenance doses, if that is achievable.

We would really appreciate hearing about your experiences, both positive and negative. Any advice, clinic recommendations, or information about the financial costs would mean a lot to us!

Thank you so much! ❤️

Hello everyone. I was officially diagnosed with Celiac Disease 4 years ago after suspecting it for years and not eating gluten for 5+years. I was happy to have gluten free oats because I love everything oats; oatmeal, granola, my favorite cookies made with oat flour. It was nice to have oats as a snack that was safe. However, over the last year every time I ate oats I'd feel extremely nauseous and get throbbing headaches. When I used oat products like Aveeno I'd get large pus-filled welts out of nowhere. It turns out that I'm now allergic to avenin, the protein in oats. I have to stop eating immediately and also stop using any skin products containing oats.

I'm wondering if anyone has this allergy? It was already hard enough for me to find food with my Celiac. Now I can't eat oats, even if they are certified gluten free, or use oat containing products.

Looking into different treatment options for mainly to not worry about cross contamination. Our allergies are:

Peanuts/tree nuts/coconut/sesame seeds/avocado, OAS to certain fruits and raw veggies and pollen.

Trying to figure out between SLIT, Xolair, TIP through food allergy institute. There’s a lot of research in kids but curious to see some feedback from adults and what worked vs did not work.

Thanks!

Any advice please ?

I’m trying to help him get an idea of what’s going to happen, but I haven’t a clue what to expect lol. What do they do at the first appointment?

Today we gave our 5 month old egg for the 4th time
(Has eczema so told to start early per allergist) - we did mashed up hard boiled egg with breastmilk and I mixed it a little sweet potato puree to help the consistency. She’s had sweet potato 3 times before

After about 2 hrs, she woke up from her nap and threw up 5-6 times and was retching. The spit up/vomit was small amounts each time and didn’t smell at all. After a bit I tried to nurse her and she didn’t take and looked so out of it and wasn’t following me with her eyes and her eyes were drooping.

We immediately called 911. After that, she seemed like she was going to pass out and was not responding so we got scared and gave her one AuviQ dose - prescribed by allergist.

The pandemics checked her and said all her vitals were fine. We were in the ER for about 2 hrs and they monitored her.

We are home now and she’s so sleepy and just out of it. I’ve been nursing her so she gets some energy back

Feeling hopeless, like we shouldn’t have given the Auvi but Peds ER doc said, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

This is the 3rd allergen we’ve tried. Just feel horrible that she went through this. We’ll be seeing the allergist and pediatrician tomorrow.

anyone do a food challenge on a food that was positive in bloodwork but negative skin test?

My 4 year old has a food challenge for sesame tomorrow. He’s always been negative for sesame on skin testing, had hives from exposure once, and blood testing IgE was 2.45 which is one of his highest results

Hi everyone. My 2 year old daughter has a severe tree nut and sunflower seed allergy. She has went anaphylactic twice now (both times went to the ER) and this is how we discovered her severe allergies.

Neither my husband or I have allergies of our own and this is a new territory for us to navigate. I’m honestly so terrified and scared for her knowing an allergy exposure could end up with the worst consequences. I want to make sure she is safe throughout her life and can live a normal life.

What I’m looking for is any advice to help me navigate this. How can I feel calm and a sense of “ease” knowing we are giving her the best care? How did your guardians advocate for you? What is it like living with an allergy and what do I need to know (aside from carry an EpiPen with us at all times?)

Thank you in advance.

My partner and I were in the bathroom and I was using a new hair product. We both acknowledged that it contained "micrograins of walnut shells" but figured it'll be fine since he wouldn't be in the shower with me while I used it. Soon after I washed the product out of my hair (my partner was still in the bathroom), he started feeling tingly and nauseous.

To provide context, partner has a nut allergy (not formally diagnosed so he does not have an epipen, but he does have a history of nut allergies in his family and he has avoided nuts all his life because it causes physical discomfort like tingly-ness and nausea) and we live together in a flat. We have our own rooms and our own beds but we usually sleep together in his bed.

I genuinely feel terrible and I need advice. When we got the product, my partner reassured me it would be fine for me to use just as long as he's not in the shower with me. I was also unsure as to the severity of his allergy as it was never formally diagnosed and we've been avoiding nuts entirely throughout our relationship.

What do I do? I know now that I shouldn't have used the product around him. Currently we're in our separate rooms and he is still feeling nauseous, but the tingly feeling has stopped on his skin. It probably isn't wise for me to sleep in the same bed as him tonight, is it? Or would it be fine after I rinse out my hair again?

So I'm allergic to pork of all things. If I consume pork products, I get a rash across my body, I become really sick (stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting), and it's recently gotten worse wherein I was bedbound after eating gummy candy containing pork gelatin.

I've never met anyone else like this, I don't have any other allergies, so it's not that rare cat allergy thing, and i can eat all other meat so it's not alpha gal. I've been this way for as long as I can remember but it has gotten worse over time. It started as just being sick to my stomach or vomiting after eating pork

I love ice cream and my cousin left us some a2 ice cream to try as she is lactose intolerant but it made me... very sick. My stomach would not stop bubbling and gurgling all night and I had very bad diarrhea. Has this ever happened to anyone?? It feels so backwards because a2 is supposed to be easier on your stomach than regular milk which combines a1 and a2. Is it possible to have an allergy specifically to the a2 protein?? Is it something else, like their pasteurization method, that is known to make people sick?