Sudden Peanut Allergy/oral Allergy Syndrome?

[Waitingindreams]

Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I started seeing an allergist because I have terrible seasonal allergies - and quite a few foods allergies, too. I got a few blood tests done for different foods - (nuts, herbs, etc) and when the results came in, the nurse casually asked me "You know to stay away from peanuts, right?"

 

What? NO! I had just eaten extra chunky peanut butter that very same day! I was eating a lot of peanut butter, for protein. And now all of a sudden after 25 years of eating peanut butter, I'm allergic? Well, this was back in June or May, I believe - and then I was diagnosed with celiac disease in July. I've avoided peanut butter since being told I'm allergic, but I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else. My primary care physician did say that when someone with celiac disease is eating gluten, your entire body is in a state of 'attack', and it did probably cause a false positive result. Regardless, I am being cautious and I will not try to eat peanuts, even though I have an epi pen. I plan on being re-tested once I've been gluten free for a year...I was just curious if this, or something similar - has happened to anyone? 

 

Did you see your allergies improving after switching to a gluten free diet?

 

I also have Oral Allergy Syndrome - which means I cannot eat fresh fruit or vegetables. It's awful. I'm wondering if that will calm down after being on the gluten free diet as well. Any insight?

[shadowicewolf]

Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I started seeing an allergist because I have terrible seasonal allergies - and quite a few foods allergies, too. I got a few blood tests done for different foods - (nuts, herbs, etc) and when the results came in, the nurse casually asked me "You know to stay away from peanuts, right?"

 

What? NO! I had just eaten extra chunky peanut butter that very same day! I was eating a lot of peanut butter, for protein. And now all of a sudden after 25 years of eating peanut butter, I'm allergic? Well, this was back in June or May, I believe - and then I was diagnosed with celiac disease in July. I've avoided peanut butter since being told I'm allergic, but I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else. My primary care physician did say that when someone with celiac disease is eating gluten, your entire body is in a state of 'attack', and it did probably cause a false positive result. Regardless, I am being cautious and I will not try to eat peanuts, even though I have an epi pen. I plan on being re-tested once I've been gluten free for a year...I was just curious if this, or something similar - has happened to anyone? 

 

Did you see your allergies improving after switching to a gluten free diet?

 

I also have Oral Allergy Syndrome - which means I cannot eat fresh fruit or vegetables. It's awful. I'm wondering if that will calm down after being on the gluten free diet as well. Any insight?

Opposite for me. I found i was allergic to tomatoes after i had went gluten free. It took a while to narrow down.

[StephanieL]

Just a note but if you had been eating it for years with no reaction then you aren't allergic.  It is NOT recommended that Dr's diagnosis an allergy on testing alone because of the hight rate of false positives.

Now a person CAN develop an allergy at any time but if you weren't having reactions, it's doubtful that you are truly allergic.

Did the Dr. prescribe epi pens to you?

[Juliebove]

Of course it could be a false positive.  What sort of test was done on you?  I am no expert because I do not have IgE allergies but...  And I could be wrong on this...  I believe that they can do repeated RAST tests on you at various intervals and if your numbers go down enough, they can do a food challenge there in the office or a hospital to see if you are still allergic.

 

Daughter and I have IgG allergies/aka intolernaces.  She was eating almond butter because she can't have peanuts.  Now she can't have almonds either.  She switched to hazelnuts and now she can't have those!

[Waitingindreams]

StephanieL - Yes, he did prescribe me an epipen...but this was before I was tested for the food allergies. When he did the prick test on my arms, the arm where he pricked me with the pollens, trees, and grasses swelled up so large that he was nearly freaking out. I have very, very bad pollen allergies...so I expected that kind of reaction on my arm. He prescribed me an epi pen immediately. I got the results from the blood tests later on, and it was casually stated that I'm allergic to peanuts. I read that a peanut allergy can cause stomach upset/diarrhea and etc which I WAS experiencing, but I also was an un-diagnosed celiac. When I eat cherries, peaches, etc - my throat gets itchy and starts to close...I did not experience this with peanuts or peanut butter...but of course I am going to avoid them to be safe.

 

Juliebove - I had the prick tests done on my arms for the normal allergies (pollens, trees, grasses, a few tree nuts, etc) and then blood tests done for the food allergies (herbs, peanuts, hazelnuts - etc) That is exactly what I plan on doing - being retested. I've only been off gluten for just under four months, and I got glutened last week :\ Because of all of my food allergies, my lactose intolerance, and the celiac disease- peanut butter was one of the few ways I was getting protein. On the off chance I am allergic I of course am avoiding it, but I do want to get re-tested when I've been off gluten for six months, or maybe longer just to be sure. 

 

I thought it was a false positive as soon as I was diagnosed with celiac disease, but I didn't know much on the matter. I really was curious if anyone else had experienced something similar. I was in SHOCK when they told me I was allergic to peanuts, it made no sense.

[StephanieL]

Glad you have the Epis!  Be sure you always carry BOTH with you at all times!!!

And OAS is very common for those with pollen/seasonal/outdoor allergies.  Just a note on the peanut thing is that peanuts tend to cross react with birch trees so if your EA's are that server, it could account for the peanut showing up positive but you could actually eat them.  If you are missing having them in your diet, you could perhaps ask for a challenge as Juliebove mentioned.

I'm not trying to push it but just mentioning it because I am of the "don't avoid more than you have to" club  

[Waitingindreams]

Ah, okay - that could also explain it. That's good to know! And I am definitely going to do something about it. I definitely need to talk to my allergist and see what he can do about it. It's hard to get protein in my diet because I don't eat red meat or fish either. I honestly just don't like meat - the smell of it even sometimes makes me sick. So peanut butter was definitely my go-to source for protein (I also eat lentils - Progresso makes a great lentil soup that is also gluten-free) Finding out that I am 'allergic' definitely through my diet off course, then finding out I have celiac disease made it even worse. 

 

Incidentally, after finding out I was allergic to peanuts (but before finding out I had celiac) I accidentally ate part of a peanut butter granola bar. (I thought it was chocolate, and I wasn't used to being cautious about peanuts) I stopped immediately, but I didn't have any bad reaction. I'm still being cautious, though...because I do know how tricky food allergies can be and it's best not to risk it. 

 

I miss my peanut butter! I really do hope it was just a fluke. I will have to contact my allergist soon.

[elizjk]

Waitingindreams- When I figured out I had a peanut allergy I was also surprised. However, when I took the peanuts out of my diet a lot of my GI symptoms resolved and I was simultaneously bummed/psyched.

If you tolerate soy or sunflower seeds or tree nuts/almonds there are a lot of non-peanut "butter" alternatives out there with a good amount of protein. I also dislike meat. I just started eating chicken to try to balance my diet while I work on trying to figure out what is causing MORE GI issues despite all my avoidances... I just try not to think about it.

[Waitingindreams]

Wow! Hmm...I haven't really noticed any improvements since giving up peanut butter, but again I am also lactose intolerant so it seems my stomach is upset a lot of the time. That is pretty interesting. I do eat sunflower seeds, so I think I'm going to give sun nut butter a shot. I do eat grilled chicken sometimes too. 

 

 

As for your persistent GI symptoms, maybe you should start keeping a food diary? Write down everything you eat and make note of when symptoms show up? Maybe then you can narrow down what exactly is making you sick. Could you be lactose intolerant? I personally feel like I'm falling apart sometimes...I'm glad I was diagnosed, but I still have lingering issues from the celiac disease. I'm hoping they clear up but I guess only time will tell. :\ I'd really love for my signature to one day say only "Diagnosed via blood test July 2013".

[elizjk]

I started a food/symptom diary about a month ago. I have an appt with my allergist and with a GI doc in early December. I seem to do fine with dairy so far as I can tell (thank goodness, I LOVE CHEESE). I more or less stopped the gluten about 3 weeks ago with a lot of improvement in symptoms, but I am planning to start eating again in about a week so I have a few weeks of it in my system before seeing the specialists. My PCP only checked a IgA TTG and the gliadin antibodies. I wouldn't be surprised if I have an IgA deficiency due to my horrendous allergies, asthma etc. Even if it's all negative in the end I am pretty sure something is happening somewhere in there.

Also re: oral allergy, when I was 16 my throat nearly completely closed when I ate an apple while in South America. Luckily I had benadryl on hand as well as albuterol since the closest hospital was 2.5 hours away! Not fun!

The silly part about this is I am a RN and I feel like advocating for myself is so much harder than advocating for my patients! Argh!