Nancy

 
As of Jan 2018, I am no longer have allergies.  I have tested negative to everything.  I may have been misdiagnosed to some of the food allergies. Allergy testing used to be just a skin scratch with the occasional blood test.  Blood test were not necessarily performed. I was tested for varies food allergies in Germany with just a skin test. When I got to the states, I was tested again on Eglin through scratch and 2 other blood tests for carrot and tomato.  He tested me for the most common 10 food allergies and some vegetables. The carrot and tomato were the worst on my skin that is why they decided to perform blood tests. It was determined that I was allergic to melons, tomatoes, carrots. and oranges.  Eglin removed allergist from the base and I was moved to Allergy Partners in Fort Walton Beach.
Allergy Partners tested me for variety of foods, trees, grasses, weeds, and molds. I tested positive for a lot of out door elements. The doctors there were curious about my other allergies and tested me for foods. I tested positive for a number of items.  The reactions for these food items were pretty bad since they had to stop the skin reactions after 10 minutes. It should have gone for 20. I was given a list of bad food at the time and went on. After a problem with my heart and stopped allergy shots. I just continued with skin testing and working with the results given. I have had allergies of some kind since 1996.
Well, my amazing doctors at Allergy Partners are always being trained and do their own research and called had me retested for food items. Some people react to food through a skin test even though they are not allergic to food. My body was reacting to the tree, molds, weeds, and grass relatives of foods.  My body thought I was eating a tree or weed or whatever out door element the food was related to.  If you follow a foods family tree you will ultimately find some of them are distant relatives. The doctor had me do multiple food challenges to prove to him I was okay. A food Challenge is a 4-hour test that consists of eating a food in gradual increasing amounts over 4 hours. The doctor has the nurse check on you every chance they get to make sure you are not breaking out, having shortness of breathe, or anything else that normally goes along with food allergies.
I was having food sensitivities to some of them. I still have issues with carrots but I now know that I am not allergic and it is not going to kill me. I still pay extra attention to when I am eating food and my husband and friends alway watch to make sure I am not turning red or breaking out.  I can not eat actually soy sauce, it bothers me.  I do not eat a lot of carrots. I am very grateful for my doctors Dr. DeVuyst and Dr. Neuland of Allergy Partners in Fort Walton Beach. I am not bitter but I actually ate better with the food allergies and plan to keep eating the same.  The lesson taken from this past 12 or so years is to read your food labels.  There is a lot of unnecessary chemicals in the food in the center of our grocery stores. Shop the outside of the stores.