Hello, everyone!! My name is Brynn, and I have been sick for seven years now. My symptoms started at the age of eleven (I turned eighteen a few days ago) and we are finally starting to figure out why I've been sick for so long. Long story short, after six years of suffering (I was diagnosed with IBS at age of 12), I was diagnosed with severe food allergies (at age 17). My allergies include dairy, garlic , nuts, eggs, onion, most vegetables, most fruits, corn, soy, legumes, rice, and many more. My diet consists of mostly chicken and beef. If I'm not extremely careful, I will go into Anaphylaxis. This has happened five or six times total.

Anyway, I've been on homebound from school for the past two years of high school because I've been so sick. When I'm sick, I can't function at all. We've figured out that I've had all the symptoms of a Masto problem all along. We believe that I may have MCAD, but possibly Systemic Masto. My symptoms include: Gastro problems, severe (but unexplained) bone pain, Anaphylaxis, extreme sensitivity to smells (a friend's perfume sent me into Anaphylaxis), food allergies, terrible headaches, drug intollerances (Antibiotics make me EXTREMELY SICK, and They will keep me down for months. I have to get Rocefin injections, because any antibiotic that goes through my GI tract makes me so sick that I want to die.), strange skin rashes and bumps/blisters, heart palpitations that last forever, severe asthma, fatigue, and several other symptoms.

I am seeing Dr. Afrin in February. I already had my blood drawn and did the 24 hr urine for the tests that he ordered. We are hoping that he will be able to give me some relief. I went through four bottles of Benadryl for just the month of December alone. I have been taking Allegra and Tagamet every day, and it has made a HUGE difference. I also take Singulair and use a steroid inhaler (Alvesco) daily for my Asthma.

I was put on Prednisone four or five times last year, and every time that I was on the steroids we noticed that I impoved significantly.

Hopefully I will be diagnosed soon, and we can get my quality of life back up to what it used to be. It's difficult to be a teenager and not be able to go out with your friends because something as simple as a smell can send you into shock. I'm lucky though, because even though I'm sick, I have some of the greatest friends that I could ask for, and the most supporting family in the world.

Hello, Joan!

Thank you very much for your reply, you have given me a lot of new information!! I have been checked for parasites, and they were all negative. My family doctor had a huge run-up of tests done, and they were all fine with the exception of having very low vitamin D levels.

As far as the allergies go, we aren't sure. I had the skin prick test done and reacted to almost every food that they tested me for. I'm also allergic to every tree and grass. My allergist said that I was one of the worst cases she had ever seen. Is it at all possible that they aren't true allergies, but I'm reacting to the foods because they are triggers for a mast cell disorder? I can barely eat anything, and I've gotten to the point that I don't want to eat because I'm tired of everything. We saw a Dietician, and she had no clue how to help me. She said, "This is the first time in my life that I have ever felt completely stupid. This is my job, and I have no idea how to help you. " All of my doctors are very concerned about my situation because I haven't had any calcium in over a year. I'm can't have any type of milk because I'm allergic to the things they use to substitute. (Goats milk, rice, almond, flaxseed, coconut, etc.) All of the suplements we have found contain something that I'm really allergic to.

I am sometimes eating leftover meat, but now that I'm only eating it every once in awhile, it has not been much of a problem. I have eliminated turkey from my diet completely, because I've noticed that it makes me sick every time I eat it... even though I didn't test positive to being allergic. I've also eliminated ham. My diet consists of chicken, beef, asparagus, grapes, apples, and berries. Everything else I'm either allergic to or makes me sick.

I have heard of Gastrocrom, and my Mom actually called my doctor to see if I could try it. My doctor wanted me to wait until after my appointment with Dr. Afrin to see what he says. She said that he needs to see my full symptoms before I keep adding more medications to everything else that I'm taking. On the other hand, I have never heard of the Veramyst, and really appreciating you putting that name out there! I will definitely look into it. It would be awesome to reduce my sensitivity.

I have tried to attach a picture of my first skin prick test... Hopefully it works!!

Thank you VERY MUCH for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

Brynn

All of my reactions were also 3 and 4 +'s!!

I love the "bucket" metaphor!! The more I hear and read about mast cell problems, the more convinced I am that this is what has kept me sick for so long. I agree that it's amazing how small things make such a big difference. It's amazing that something as simple as food can keep us down and so sick!!

I haven't heard of Xolair, but I definitely will look into it. I am currently on Singulair for my asthma.  

We are starting to put the pieces together. I had an anaphylactic reaction to pecans a few months back, and pecan was the only nut that I didn't react to on the scratch test. We couldn't figure out why... but now we are starting to think that maybe it was just a trigger, and not a true allergy. Finally putting the pieces together and knowing that I may be close to a diagnosis is very exciting!

Thank you very much for your help!!