My Allergies Are Gone! ...Maybe

Allergy testing

Because of various reasons, I ended up seeing an allergist yesterday. If you don't know, I've had pretty extensive allergies my entire life. When my mom was nursing me, she was down to 5 foods she could eat that I wouldn't react to. I would even react to the amount of wheat in one of those small, styrofoam-y communion wafters when she ate it.

Anyway, food allergies have been kind of a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. When kids would bring cupcakes to school for their birthday, I got a box of raisins. My mom would often cook two meals for dinner, one with cheese and one without. So when the allergist tested me for everything I've been allergic to for as long as I can remember (nuts, dairy, wheat, shellfish, cats and wool), I was completely shocked to find out each and every test came back negative!

How could this happen? Apparently, a change in allergies is common after pregnancy. The allergist said he sees it all the time - women who have never been allergic to anything suddenly having them or those that have always been allergic suddenly aren't. It has something to do with the baby's immune system reacting with the mother's or something...he explained it, but I don't really remember how it works. Apparently it's fairly common though?

My first graham cracker in more than a decade

Of course, I'm kind of taking this with cautious optimism. I mean, part of me doesn't really believe it. I've just been resigned to the fact that we'll always need to order two pizzas (one without cheese) and that when the ice cream comes out I'll just opt for a cookie with some sorbet. I did test this last night though, and the results were good. After my appointment I picked up some graham crackers (an item I've reacted to since I was about five) and tried two of them. No reaction yet. I guess over the next several months I'll keep trying food out, paying attention and seeing what happens...