It’s truly hard to know where to start. I, of course, went home from the doctor that day and immediately cut out red meat, but I continued to have reactions and little by little had to start removing things other than red meat – cheese, milk, dairy in general, seasonings, even gluten. It was trial and error but I got to a point where I was taking Benadryl every day due to something I had ingested.
I could have chicken so I would cook chicken but then I would react to the marinade or the seasoning or I would react to the side I had made to go with the chicken – canned beans or mac n cheese. It quickly became obvious that I was reacting to by-products.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
Over the course of a few months I lost about 30 lbs and started having issues with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) because my body wasn’t getting the nutrients it needed. My general physician, who knew nothing about Alpha-Gal but was following my blood sugar, began encouraging me to just find some kind of protein that I could eat and snack on it all day – every couple of hours.
So at this point my diet consisted of boiled eggs, mixed nuts and unseasoned chicken or fish. I couldn’t have dairy so no yogurt, milk or cheeses. I couldn’t have beans because I was reacting to them. I was even reacting to potato chips. The list goes on.
Benadryl was in my purse, my car, the kitchen, the bathroom, you name it. Keep in mind that in 2014 there weren’t many vegan or dairy free options, especially where we lived. It was easier at this point to just not put food in my mouth. I was feeling defeated….not to mention starving.
Keep in mind that I have a husband and children who still needed to eat so I was buying groceries for them and cooking meals for them. My husband became my biggest supporter though. I was ready to give up but he walked with me through everything I was reacting to and helped narrow down the specific ingredients that were causing the reactions. And this was when hope came back. The things I discovered is just one of the things I what I want to share with all of you, perhaps to prevent reactions for even at least one of you.
