Would You Rather...

I submit that a delayed-reaction food allergy is as bad as, and sometimes worse, than a regular allergy where your throat swells up and you die.

The question comes down to: Would You Rather a) Die Quickly by Suffocation or b) Die Slowly Over the Course of Many Years Because Your Body is Attacking Itself?

I have seen many doctors (see the link "Backstory" on the home page...). They all agree that people can of course have a type of allergy that is really more of a 'sensitivity' or an 'intolerance'. What this means is that you eat something and your throat does not swell up immediately, but instead you might experience things like gas, tummy pains, diarrhea, constipation, arthritis, rashes, eczema, autoimmune problems, and really a whole shitload of other things. That's my understanding anyway. It's like your body isn't having a traditional allergic reaction, but rather a sneak-allergy-attack.

The reason I think this is just as bad as a regular allergy attack is largely for lack of sympathy. Someone said to me once, "Well, if it's just an intolerance, then you can have a little bit of gluten, right? Just eat some, this part here..."

I didn't know what to say because the evidence of my 'intolerance' won't be seen for hours, even days, and even then it will be either D for diarrhea or the further death of my thyroid, by way of autoimmune attack. :) There's no sympathy for that because no one (excepting my poor, shell-shocked husband) can see that. What I did end up saying was, "It's just not worth it."

And it's not. I am still unsure which foods could be causing my inflammation (and therefore arthritis, autoimmune thyroiditis, etc.) but it seems clear that it is in part food-related. Eliminating common allergens makes me better! The theory is that because my body 'doesn't like' certain foods it becomes inflamed; this inflammation has to find some direction and since it can't attack the food I'm eating it attacks me. If anyone has a different understanding of this particular process, enlighten me!

So, the moral of my story is that it's just not worth it! I want to live longer, be healthy and energetic, have another child, and not live in the bathroom. That last piece of cake, the milk, the peanut buttery goodness, the popcorn (oh, God, the popcorn)...it's just not worth it until I can say for sure that it's something my body likes.

I digress. My point is that if I had hives or a swollen face people would let me be! You don't see someone gagging on shellfish and their friend saying, "Well, now, really, that's a little overblown. Surely you can have just a little shrimp?"

For example:

You'd all leave me alone if I looked like that guy. :)