Milk Allergy: Are these typical symptoms???? OK, first of all I know I was stupid so please don't tell me.

Question

I'm 31 years old and have just been diagnosed as having a milk allergy. The allergist figures I have been allergic since childhood but other doctors have put the symptoms to other things... When I realized there was a problem it was because I broke out into hives, in addition to the normal gastric and migranes I normally felt.

But two days ago, I ate a tiny sliver of pizza with cheese on it and that cheese sent me into a tale spin. First hives, then immediate violent vomiting (so bad that I also vomited blood, pulled muscles in my right rib cage and did something to my throat!) On top of this while not really labored breathing was difficult and my chest felt really tight.

So that one little sliver of pizza sent me to the ER. Does anyone know if this is normal and WHY after 31 years of being a milk product junky that it would get this bad so quickly? I mean now even my shampoo, that has a milk rinse added, causes my head to break out. AHHHHH

The question is:

Does anyone know if this is normal and WHY after 31 years of being a milk product junky that it would get this bad so quickly?

I hadn't been taken off milk before, my family doctor had always put it to other things, the gastric symptoms were IBS and the migranes were well, migranes. It was only when I went specially to an allergist that they diagnosed (through RAST) the milk allergy. I have only been "off" it for about 2 weeks and I haven't been doing very well but after this episode I am now convinced I CAN"T have any. But still wondering if vomitting blood is normal.

Answer 1

Yes these are typical symptoms, and yes you should expect to be getting more sensitive to it.

What you're experiencing is called Unmasking. Over the years, your body has had to deal with large doses of milk constantly, so the smaller doses it didn't fight so hard. It mainly concentrated on the larger doses and just keeping you alive.

When you took away the larger doses, your body finally had the energy to attack the smaller doses, and does so with a vengence. This will continue until you completely remove all milk products from you. You'll also want to check medications for lactose and milk products.

Also allergic reactions may seem to be more severe as well, because for so many years you got used to feeling like crap that reactions were just normal. Now you know what its like to feel good, that those same reactions seem much more severe.

Answer 2

Well of course you know this is not normal, any allergy is not normal. An allergy is really your immune system in overdrive, it is an abnormal immune reaction to an allergen. In your case the allergen or really an antigen, is some component in milk and milk products. Yours like any true allergy is "not dose dependent". This means that if you have a little of something like a tiny piece of pizza then the allergic reaction won't happen, that you will only react if you take a big piece. No even a tiny wisp of milk will cause the same reaction and you have learned this the hard way. Allergies can actually build and get worse over time, some allergies can be so bad they are fatal. But for some of those fatal allergies they often did not start out that way, the person may just have gotten hives when stung by a bee, but later on that same tiny bee sting is now fatal. I suspect your allergy is a serious one based on your description of the symptoms/signs maybe not fatal but a bad one that has gotten worse over time. You now know what you must avoid, you are so sensitive that you cannot even touch milk or milk products like in the shampoo. This is lifelong you likely will not grow out of this.

Answer 3

I know it difficult to live with allergies. Some days I just feel so limited to what I can do and eat even to the point where I cry about it. You have my sympathy. I was told once that allergies happen in stages. They either get worse, or the symptoms are barely even there, other times you develop a new allergy. I had a sever allergic reaction a few years ago to the cold, literally woke up and sat on the cold tile then my body was so swollen i felt like I was going to burst. I hate having allergies, I just tell myself that it can always be worse. So just stay clear from it, i know it takes a lot of self discipline. Sounds like you should have a epi-pen with you at all times. Everyone reacts different to what their allergic to so be careful, and I hope all is well in the future.

Answer 4

Hello. I have to say that I can relate to you in a way. I'm am going threw a similar situation. I had a very abnormal (period?). I have symptoms of pregnancy. I have been pregnant twice before but it is like the first time all over again. I took a test and it was negative. So I said that I would put it out of my mind and I would wait and see if I got my period in my next cycle. Then yesterday I passed out on the kitchen floor. That happened to me with my first pregnancy. So now I'm thinking maybe i am pregnant after all. I also feel some presser in my stomach and some cramping or pulling on my right side mostly. I'm going in for a internal on Tuesday.

Answer 5

Well, no one is born with allergies... they develop them. For example, a person can only be allergic to bees after having been stung before. So yeah, it is possible for your body to develop an allergy to a food you've consumed before.

Allergies can also get worse, I think... and food allergies are some of the most dangerous. Peanut allergies can cause a person to completely stop breathing, so if i were you, i'd avoid anything that is a milk product. Especially since it tightened up your chest, next time it might be even worse. Please be careful!

Answer 6

They're starting to recommend that people with IBS, or IBS-like symptoms be tested for celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten (wheat, rye, barley and oats). A lot of people with celiac were misdiagnosed as having IBS for years. (18 years for me). It takes an average of 11 years for a person with celiac to be diagnosed.

There is a rash related to celiac called dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001480.htm .

I also get a skin reaction to gluten which isn't DH. The skin on the back of my hands get really dry and leathery and will split and bleed across my knuckles.

There is also such a thing as casein intolerance, which is the protein found in dairy, and different than lactose intolerance. On the message boards I'm mentioning below, there are a lot of people who have a combination of gluten and casein intolerances. You can also google GFCF (gluten free, casein free) and should come up with some information.

I also got really bad headaches. I never got a diagnosis but they sound similar to migraines.

It's also a totally classic thing with celiac (not sure about casein intolerance) for it to pretty much spring up out of nowhere. It's called a "trigger". For me, I started getting celiac symptoms when I got mono when I was 17. For some people it's pregnancy, a stressful event such as divorce or death of a loved one, or even a really bad infection or case of the flu.

Celiac and gluten intolerance doesn't show up on allergy tests because it's not an allergy. It's an autoimmune disease. Some people have a wheat allergy instead of or on top of celiac though.

Here's a webpage by the National Institutes of Health on celiac -
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

And another from the Mayo Clinic -

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/celiac-disease/DS00319

If that starts sounding familiar here are a couple of message boards for people with celiac and other gluten intolerances.

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com
http://www.celiacforums.com

You can also be intolerant to other common foods and get the symptoms you are describing. Soy, corn, eggs, yeast, dairy, etc. You may want to think about keeping a food/symptoms journal and see if you can identify the culprit(s).

I hope you feel better soon.

Nancy

Answer 7

I would check and see if you have some other food allergies that you are not aware of. Diseases like Celiacs (allergy to Gluten) can include dairy products. Diseases like Celiac disease can be in your system for years and not be active, then all of a sudden you are in the ER for no apparent reason. I would check for more food allergies, seasonings, gluten, etc...I would get a colonoscopy as well, sometimes there is damage done that you may not know about. Talk to your doctor about other problems, AND get your family tested you don't want them to go through the same thing you are going through!

Answer 8

Definitly symptoms of a severe milk allergy. You need to carry and Epi-Pen (injectable epinephrine) and carefully avoid milk in EVERYTHING.

That tiny slice of pizza would have sent my 4 yr old into the same terrible reactions. We have to avoid, avoid, avoid!

Allergies can come on all of a sudden. It does sound like you have always had problems with dairy products. The reactions have just gotten worse as you have aged.

Answer 9

I suddenly developed a severe allergy to cats after they had never bothered me.
The best thing you can do is get pizza made with soy cheese. Read labels. A trace of milk can be hidden in things.

Answer 10

I think it just sometimes happens that way. I'm 31 as well and was recently diagnosed as being allergic to yeast. I'm not supposed to eat anything with yeast or anything that my body would metabolize as a yeast. If I were to follow the special diet the doctor prescribed I swear I would starve. I tend to eat what ever I want and then suffer the consequences so I can relate. You're not stupid by any means.