Awful, sudden onset of multiple allergies. What's happening to me?

[maybeinanotherpie]

In the last 6 months, I have started developing allergies

The first was a very serious reaction to cats (I don't own any). My throat started closing, hives, watering eyes and sneezing. The use of a friend's inhaler and piriton stopped it

In the last few weeks, I ready angrily to everything I'm eating.

I have kept a food diary and the only safe foods I'm not reacting to, are bread, milk, cheese (dairy), pasta and chicken

I am reacting badly to beef, I get covered in hives and get an itchy throat. Start sneezing.

Every veg I've tried I'm reacting to - the only exception being cooked spinach and tomatoes, oranges and watermelon. Lemon is also fine. Cucumber fine

I am reacting the same way I do to beef to carrots, broccoli, figs, banana, grapes, apple, apricot, nectarines, plums, most vegetables. Loads more

I am making sure I'm not adding anything to it so I know it's the singular thing at a time I'm reacting to

I am coming out in hives and weeping eyes every time. Piriton sorts it but I'm tired on it.

What the hell is going on?! I've never had allergies before

I am interestingly not a hayfever sufferer and still not. Yet have managed to develop allergies to pretty much every food I try and eat recently

I have tried my GP. Trying to get an appointment asap. But what could this actually be? Am I developing some sort of immunity disorder?

I have lost 10lb in 3 weeks. Sounds great but I'm exhausted

I had the same happen around the same age as you after I had an operation. Suddenly allergic to lots of things I ate and things in the environment. For instance I had a mild grass pollen allergy before but afterwards it became a very severe reaction. Started having reactions to food, particularly things I ate in the two weeks following the op (had my tonsils out by the way).

I had allergy tests and some of my reactions were so severe they were surprised I was managing to stay alive and wanted to use me as a research subject! I ended up with an epi pen, horse strength antihistamines, tonnes of asthma meds and a fairly miserable life for a few years.

Almost 20 yrs later, it has settled down. Food reactions aren't so bad and it's now just a few. specific things I need to avoid. I had immunotherapy for grass pollen which helped, although it didn't go away entirely. I have to take the antihistamines every day still though. Hay fever season is a lot less miserable ie I can now go outside!

Hi OP, bit of a wild card, but are you weaning off any medication? I had this when I was weaning off mirtazapine.

I also think it sounds a bit like MCAS. There's lots of videos on TikTok about it too if you have TikTok.

Thanks so much for all of these responses!

I suppose I just really wanted to ask on here to my GP doesn't fob me off happened in the past. I almost died from gallstone complications and had my GP telling me I was too young for months. Finally got the operation and got my life back free from all of that pain.

That was 4 years ago.

I haven't been weaning off any medication, no.

If I get the GP to refer to the allergy clinic, do they test for absolutely everything I say with a skin prick test or would it be easier to take a blood test?

And, who makes a diagnosis of MCAS? Would that be an allergy specialist or Rheumatologist?

There is a link between mast cell activation syndrome and postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) which is interesting as you mention you were diagnosed with SVT. PoTS is far more common in women between 15-50. https://www.potsuk.org/about-pots/associated-conditions/mcas/

I have a strong suspicion that if it is MCAS or something like that, Candida might be the cause. I've had on and off symptoms off that 'down below' for bloody years, about 2 years. But the creams never really helped and it comes straight back

Can it really get into the gut? And how can I convince a medical professional to let me try and treat that properly with tablets? I think there's actually strong tablets you can take for Candida if you cream doesn't work but I've always been fobbed off with creams

The does sound like one of the two. I have OAS
Oral allergy syndrome is often linked to birch pollen, and a lot of those foods are linked to the birch family.
Take daily antihistamine (fexofenadine have worked best for me) and if you have a reaction take benadryl with the active ingredients acrivastine. This is the antihistamine recommended by an allergy consultant for similar issues.
When the general pollen count is high, you will have more reactions.
Cooking the fruit will deactivate the allergen but I still react badly to stone fruit. Can eat cooked apple though

I'm under a specialist urticaria clinic that's really good
Might be worth trying a different antihistamine - I take 4 Zyrtec daily

You used to be able to buy a pessary for candida.

I've tried loads of these but they aren't really working

I think I need some sort of industrial strength one that you can swallow

Fluciodane or something I'm sure they call it in the US. Obviously it's not a medical websites but loads of Reddit posters seem to be saying once they treated Candida properly, the MCAS symptoms calmed down a lot or went entirely

Sounds like chronic urticaria.

Piriton is a very old fashioned antihistamine and makes you drowsy. (plus buying the branded version is £££) It's better to have a newer one like cetirizine or fexofenadine.

I never excluded any triggers because honestly there weren't any, it's just your immune system going a bit crackers.

I take a daily antihistamine, keeps it under control 99% of the time, if a few hives appear I just have another one.

At it's worst I was seeing a dermatologist and on 6 antihistamines a day.

Oh and stay away from any advice about Candida, that's absolute bollocks. Yes Candida can get into all your cells but only if you are unbelievably sick and on the verge of death.

I am not in any way saying fluconazole is what you need here, but if that's what you're looking for you can get it from online pharmacy websites quite inexpensively.

https://www.pharmacyfirst.co.uk/product/sexual-health-wellbeing/feminine-care-2/vaginal-itching/3-x-fluconazole-generic-canesten-150mg-1-capsule-thrush-treatmen/

Forgot to add that Xolair has been the game changer for me but it can be a long haul to get it
I started with urticaria age 12 and have only just got it under control at 38 - mine is spontaneous and cholinergic