My Allergy Journey, Part VI: Feel the Fear and Chew It Anyway.

 I went in for the next food challenge with trepidation. After all, one of the worst reactions I ever had to an allergen was this one: The dreaded Hazelnut. I was determined to overcome my fear of this food and make it my friend.

(For my street photography fans: If you're more interested in the street photos I shot before and after my appointment, than in my allergy journey, you know what to do...just skip down to the end of this blog for the pix!)

The Case of the Murderous Muffin

Over 30 years ago, when I was the managing editor of Photo Business (a trade publication for camera store owners) I would swing by Dunkin' Donuts in Highland Park, NJ before getting on the commuter train into New York City. I would often get a corn muffin and a coffee. One day, someone accidentally put a hazelnut muffin in my bag. (The corn and hazelnut muffin bins were next to each other--an easy mistake to make.)

I didn't touch the muffin until I was at my desk. I absentmindedly chowed down on it while starting my day. It tasted a bit weird for a corn muffin, but I was hungry. I ate most of it before the symptoms started. 

First, I felt tingling around my lips. Then itchiness in my throat. Then, my stomach kicked in--hard--and I bolted to the bathroom. Made it just in time, and stayed there for the next half hour, sweating and puking, feeling my temperature rise and wondering if I should go to the emergency room. Eventually, my stomach empty, I found a fellow employee who wandered in wondering what was going on, and asked him to get a bottle of water and to tell my boss that I was having an allergic reaction.

Fortunately, Bill Clark, my editor, was an angel. He had a sofa in his office and once I felt I my symptoms start to abate, told me to lie on it. I did, fell asleep for an hour, and although I felt a bit better, he told me to get a cab to the station, go home, and rest. Which I did. I was exhausted and traumatized, but by the ime I got home I was fine.

The folks at Dunkin Donuts, wonderful people, were mortified and apologetic. 

A spoonful of Hazelnuts, moments before I nervously ate them.

So, that's my association with Hazelnuts and the reason for my fear of them. Fast-forward to now and imagine my shock when we did the allergy scratch test (and subsequent blood work) and I had nearly no allergic reaction to Hazelnuts! "Your trauma was 30 years ago," Dr. Novick said. "You may have grown out of the allergy."

It's also possible that my chiropractor, Harry Shick, was more successful with my NAET treatments for nuts than we first thought.

Marching Towards Nutella

I came to Latitude with trepidation, but also with hope. The doctor felt very confident that I would be fine, but in deference to my fears and previous experience, he allotted as much time for this one allergen as the previous week, when we successfully dealt with two.

In fact, I needed a full 3 1/2 hours to go through the food challenge.

After the second dose, I felt a little indigestion. I got Tums. I burped it out. 

Mallorey Worley, RN, is more than a nurse: She has become my emotional support human, reassuring presence, and cheerleader at Latitude. She spreads cheer for all the patients there.

After the equivalent of half a teaspoon of Hazelnut butter, I was starting to feel a bit more confident. "You've got this," said Mallorey Warley, my nurse and cheerleader. Then, offhandedly, Mallorey said, "ooh, you'll be able to eat Nutella, it's so good!"

NUTELLA?!? That got me. I don't know why, but I suddenly became emotional. I was so focused on what happened 30 years ago I didn't think about how all of those chocolate bars with hazelnuts will no longer be forbidden to me. I won't have to check for that allergen. Now I was determined to get through this.

Mallory checked in on me every 5-10 minutes, and made sure any issues were dealt with immediately. When I started to feel a bit of itchiness on my lip--a classic "early warning" sign of a possible reaction--she called in Dr. Novick, who suggested I suck on ice cubes for a few minutes. Sure enough, as my lip numbed up from the cold, my other symptoms abated and in a few minutes I was fine. "That wasn't an allergic reaction," he said. 

Acid reflux was happening, but it wasn't necessarily the nut that was to blame. Apparently I should stay away from the Dunkin' egg and cheese croissant that I had for breakfast. Nuts and food challenges do not play well with fast food, I learned. 

Next time I'll make something at home.

Finally, at 12:40, 90 minutes after I'd eaten 7 1/2 hazelnuts with nothing more than a bit of GERD, Dr. Novick said I'd won the food challenge! I should wait a day, but then I could enjoy Nutella.

And so, the next night. I did. 

Nutella is friggin' delicious!

Street Photos on Hazelnut Day