I want to reiterate I am sharing my story for two purposes: it helps me process what happened and I feel it is important to share experiences that can benefit others. My choice to try to go dairy free was to ease tummy troubles. I found it alleviated my stuffy nose. Little did I know that a simple choice could turn to a situation like this in my life. It was and still is unnerving to me.
I must confess, come Tuesday morning (the morning after going to the ER for anaphylactic shock) I didn't trust my own body. It felt foreign. Eating breakfast that morning took courage. Food seemed like an enemy. Plus I was on day one of four days of taking the follow up prescribed Predisone. I really don't like taking any medicines and was foolish to read all the potential side effects. That was unnerving. Knowledge is power but I got to say, sometimes too much knowledge may not be good for this running mom. And I needed to run.
That first week was really hard. I was stuck in the "oh my goodness how could this happen to me?", "did this really happen because I opted to go dairy free?", "how different would my life be at this exact moment of time if I never stopped eating dairy?", and the final "what about darling daughter?". Those questions still pop around in my mind but I am getting more used to them. I am getting more used to reading every single label for every single thing I put in my mouth. And I often read them twice. And I am being very careful until I get more information. I have an allergy clinic appointment scheduled for later this month so until then, I am even avoiding things that may contain milk and yes, food labels tell you that. And dairy can be in anything - barbeque sauce and corn starch are my recent surprises.
And I need to plan more. I need to think about how long I will be out and make sure I pack accordingly with my snacks and meals. I can't say "oh, I will just pick something up" because it isn't that easy. I never really liked to just pick things up but with that option pretty much gone, it is harder. I need to stay focused because one "oh, this is okay" may not be okay.
For example, on Monday I picked up some meatballs that I figured were fine. I ate them before going to Texas. I was okay. I once again stressed no dairy at all. Last time they didn't top the meatballs with cheese but gave me cheesy bread. This time, they still didn't top the meatballs with cheese but gave me buttery garlic bread. Both times I gave the bread to co-workers. Monday I ate some meatballs and began to feel a bit funny, nothing too intense, just odd. My head felt fuzzy-ish. I figured I was paranoid about the buttery bread that was on top and stopped eating. It was just 4 small meatballs and I ate maybe 2.
As soon as he told me that the meatballs did have dairy it made since. I was beginning to feel odd eating the food. I am glad I stopped and have you heard the expression hindsight is 20/20? It is true. That proverbial light bulb went off. That itchy neck I had where I noticed some red bumps after eating the meatballs....it had happened before going to Texas too....I even complained then to my co-worker about my itchy neck. If only I could remember when and what I ate the first time but I am sure you may be getting that proverbial light bulb too. The thought that perhaps that itchy neck with little red bumps was my body responding negatively to the dairy in the meatballs.
To some Monday's experience may be scary. To me it adds a bit of comfort. Yes, my body is not happy with something I am eating and the allergy tests should pinpoint what exactly it is in that dairy that is upsetting my system. That kind of sucks. But what is good is that a wee little amount isn't as disasterous as a cake with sour cream, pudding mix, and butter in it! And what is even better is that I am very acute to listening to my body. I thank running for that.
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for your support.
Daily Affirmation: My body is a temple and it is growing stronger.