Sulfites Reaction-Recovery And Questions-Help!

[mom-2-3]

I have several intolerances and sensitivities to chemicals and food. I knew I was sensitive to wine, but I had a dinner on Tuesday night that had wine in the sauce (which was not specified on the menu). I immediately had trouble swallowing and felt like passing out. I had no idea what I was having was a true allergic reaction so treated it with Benedrly and went home. I UNDERSTAND that was stupid and I could have died.

The next day I went to dr's who told me to take 2 benedryl every 8 hours for 3 days.

Thursday night I was in ER with tight throat and headache. They gave me IV and steroid shot. Also perscription for prednesone and advised to keep taking benedryl.

I never had hives or itching anywhere. My only symtoms at the initial reaction were throat tightness, headache and about to pass out.

I have not been able to swallow food since the incident. When I try, I *panic* and get an instant headache. I am drinking water and diluted OJ and some organic applesauce.

QUESTION: Will this sensation eventually go away? I feel ok otherwise. I feel energetic and really have no other symptoms besides the "panic attacks" when I try to swallow food.

If this is a true sulfa allergy, how do you live? I mean I have intolerances to wheat and corn, tomato and sesame, as well as chemical sensitivities to most everything. The sulfa is the only one that now appears to be serious, life threatening.

Any advice??

[Parda]

I have several intolerances and sensitivities to chemicals and food. I knew I was sensitive to wine, but I had a dinner on Tuesday night that had wine in the sauce (which was not specified on the menu). I immediately had trouble swallowing and felt like passing out. I had no idea what I was having was a true allergic reaction so treated it with Benedrly and went home. I UNDERSTAND that was stupid and I could have died.

The next day I went to dr's who told me to take 2 benedryl every 8 hours for 3 days.

Thursday night I was in ER with tight throat and headache. They gave me IV and steroid shot. Also perscription for prednesone and advised to keep taking benedryl.

I never had hives or itching anywhere. My only symtoms at the initial reaction were throat tightness, headache and about to pass out.

I have not been able to swallow food since the incident. When I try, I *panic* and get an instant headache. I am drinking water and diluted OJ and some organic applesauce.

QUESTION: Will this sensation eventually go away? I feel ok otherwise. I feel energetic and really have no other symptoms besides the "panic attacks" when I try to swallow food.

If this is a true sulfa allergy, how do you live? I mean I have intolerances to wheat and corn, tomato and sesame, as well as chemical sensitivities to most everything. The sulfa is the only one that now appears to be serious, life threatening.

Any advice??

Sorry to here about your severe reaction Mom_2_3. I'm not sure I can answer your question but I hope you find this info helpful. I also suffered from several intolerance's and sensitivities to chemicals and food for over 25 years. I could not eat most common foods without some reaction. Most were minor reactions like runny nose or clearing my throat after eating. My real problem was eczema. It was severe enough that I could not work some days. The worst foods for me were bread, wine, garlic and milk. Not at all easy for an Italian. Wine made my hands swell up like balloons, followed by cuts and itching. It would take me 3 weeks to recover.

Five years ago I was diagnosed as being gluten intolerant. When I reduced my gluten intake I improved a bit. That made it easier for me to see how I reacted to the other foods. I've had help along the way from Naturopathic doctors and Doctors of Chinese medicine (TCM)

I'm not an expert on sulfa but what I learned from TCM was that the foods that contained sulfur were ones I had problems with. They weren't the only problems but I improved by eliminating as many sulfur foods as possible, especially garlic.

Grapes, eggs, and oranges on the other hand contain sulfur. So does the human body. When grapes are used to make wine, the sulphur gets converted to a sulfite. All wines contain sulfites. Some contain greater quantities because sulphur dioxide is added to preserve the wine.

By healing my leaky gut I got better so that I now can consume small quantities offending foods. I still do better when I avoid them. The best for me is that i can enjoy wine again. I prefer organic wines or natural wines as they tend to have the least sulfur added. Some have no added sulfur. In Canada and the USA a certified organic wine has no added sulfur.

I drink mostly European wines and they have minimal sulfur added. I still get a reaction. I end up with a bronchial chough and stiuffed up sinuses.. I got the same cough the other day (only far worse from snacking on a bag of trail mix with added sulfite. The next day I had a headache that was like a hangover. I know it can feel like a minefield out there sometimes so arm yourself with as much info on sulfites as you can