I’m not quite sure exactly when my food allergies started. Growing up, I never felt the greatest. When my stomach would hurt, I would chalk it up to overeating or being too fat or too lazy. I found myself tired and lethargic a lot. Back then, I didn’t even know food allergies outside of peanuts, milk, and shellfishes even existed.
It wasn’t until college when I had a few nights where it felt like my thought was closing up and breathing felt heavy did I know that something was wrong. It was after the third incident that I finally got into an allergist.
I explained to my doctor that I thought it was rosemary, sage and oregano. My worse reactions had happened after I ate pizza and my friend made me a steak and potato dinner using those spices. He tested me for those plus ran a seasonal allergy test. I only tested positive for being allergic to grass. I am so allergic to grass that the doctor said, “I have never seen anyone else react this badly. Does it hurt when I poke you here?” Insert me trying not to sware here. Instead of delving further into my allergies, my old male doctor told me it must be the grass and not the herbs causing my throat to close up in the middle of winter with 3 feet of snow on the ground before he turned his back on me leaving the room.
I was infuriated. All three of my reactions happened during winter, so sure, it’s my grass allergies, or maybe it’s all in my head. I was too tired from my chaotic work and school schedule to fight him, plus I used to not being listened to, so I just continued to eliminate those herbs out of my diet, which meant staying away from Italian food and no red sauce on pizza.
I look back at that time in my life now, and I’m furious that I didn’t fight back after being ignored. However, in kindness to myself, I know that I constantly dealt with things not being okay, and my doctor brushing me off was just another thing on the long list of things that I should have never had to deal with during college.
My journey continues in part 2
Disclamer: I am not a medical professional there for anything I say or do on health, mental health, fitness, or anything medical related. None of the information or advice should be seen as advice from a certified medical professional. Only a certified medical professional can advise you on what’s suitable for your health. Anything you do or try after reading this site and blog, you do at your own risk, and I am not liable for it. Please seek the advice of a medical professional on everything medical, health, and fitness related.
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