My Allergy Journey, Part VII: Wall, Meet Nut

 I arrived all ready for my next food challenge, which I thought was going to be Pistachio, but when I got to the Latitude office, they said no, we’re going to do Walnuts today. I was puzzled, but hey, it would be awesome if I could eat Walnuts, too. 

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After all, another of my most extreme allergic reactions was to a commercially-made kugel that listed “vegetable oil” in its ingredients, so I thought it was safe. But after a few minutes I became violently ill and gave up the Seder that I’d just eaten to the Porcelain Goddess. After it was out of my system, I was kind of OK but I let someone else lead the rest of the ceremonial aspect of the evening.

A few days later I called the company that made the Kugel and asked what oil they used in that batch. I’d saved the label and had a batch number. They confirmed that, in their minds, walnuts were a vegetable and they didn’t really see what the fuss was about. I explained what happened. When the response was similarly nonchalant, I told them they were fortunate their product didn’t send me to the hospital because we’d be conversing through our lawyers instead of a friendly phone conversation.

This was over 20 years ago. The company in question now puts allergy warnings on their prepared foods.

Today’s food challenge: Walnuts!

Walnuts and Pecans are related; I was reassured, since I aced the Pecan food challenge (more about that later) that I should do well today. Approximately an hour into the treatment, shortly after my third dose, I started to feel a little itchy on the back of my tongue—my allergic reaction early warning system seemed to have been activated. I reported the symptoms, and was given a cup of ice cubes to suck on. The itchiness stopped after a few minutes. 

We went to the fourth dose. This time, instead of ground nuts, I had walnut butter mixed with applesauce, which actually tasted quite good! As directed, I kept sucking ice for a few more minutes. 

After the fifth and final dose—equivalent to a whole walnut—I felt a little queasy and my GERD acted up, but I realized that this was more due to nerves (which produce stomach acid) than any kind of allergic reaction. It turns out adult patients are more likely to have this kind of reaction because our life experience can generate more anxiety, which can hit you in the gut.

However, the GERD subsided, and after the standard 90-minute wait I was cleared to go home. Instructions were different this time: Eat 1 walnut a day for a week, gradualy increasing to 3 walnuts. After that I should be able to eat them freely.

And that, my friends, was the last food challenge. 

My next appointment, scheduled in three weeks, will begin the new long-term Oral Immunotherapy to treat me for my three worst allergies: Sunflower Seeds, Pistachios, and Cashews. 

It's about to get real.

Street photos