Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Gee, is there anything else to add to the list?

Last night was not a good night for me. For the last couple of years I've been occassionally getting these strange "attacks" while eating. I basically become unable to swallow any food, and what I have eaten won't stay put. At first I thought it was just because I have a tendency to eat too quickly. Then I thought it was because I eat quickly and, if I'm eating at the coffee table, which is more likely than not, I'm hunched over a bit. Stopping eating doesn't help, sitting up straight and rubbing my upper chest to make it feel better doesn't help, my husband's offer of a drink of water is the last thing I want when it's happening. The results are not fun, to put it mildly. Now it looks like it's something a bit more than either of those things. I'm going to have to put on my big girl panties and go to the doctor to get tests done to confirm this, but all indications point to this possibly being eosinophilic esophagitis. (Strange coincidence, The Aussie's boss was tested for this earlier this year, which is how we found out about this condition. The Aussie described what was going on with me and the boss told him that he's been suffering the same thing.)

According to several websites, EE may be linked to food allergies. The list is not encouraging, for someone who really likes food: milk, eggs, peanuts, shellfish, peas, beef, chicken, fish, rye, corn, soy, potatoes, oats, tomatoes and wheat. The most common food triggers are milk, egg, wheat, rye and beef.

I'm not a vegetarian, for @#*%$'s sake. Granted I've joked that I'd give up meat before I'd give up my wine, but really??? Last night for dinner I made chicken paprika, which I LOVE. So, let's see what's on the trigger list, shall we? Chicken - check, milk - check, wheat and egg (noodles) - check, tomatoes - check. About the only things in the dish that aren't on this list is the paprika and the onion. I can joke that at least I didn't use up all of my WW points yesterday, but I actually would have liked to eat my dinner.

I'm not sure what to do about this. My primary protein sources are chicken, egg, dairy, fish, shellfish and beef. I like tofu as well, but soy is on this list too. Am I supposed to eat pork chops, barley and vegetables for the rest of time?

3 comments:

  1. First: Breathe. You haven't gone to the doc yet, so nothing is for sure. You might not even have all those allergies if you do have this eosinophilic esophagitis.
    It will be ok. There are lots more options out there for foodallergies than there used to be.
    It will be ok. I'll bet the Aussie will be super awesome and supportive.
    It will be ok. Game animals and pork weren't on the list.
    It will be ok.

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  2. I had this problem once. Mine was only spasms with a stricture. I had an endoscopy and they stretched the stricture and I haven't had a problem since. Just wanted you to know not all problems are the same! Mine was simple to correct! Good luck!

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  3. Sheesh...I hope you get some better news regarding this issue. Have you considered seeing a naturopath? I know, I beat this drum often, but my naturopath has made such a difference in my health and life...

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