For the past couple of months, Chris has been experiencing strange symptoms when eating certain foods. Felt like his throat was closing up sometimes, other times his tongue got all tingly. Finally, I convinced him that rather than being all stressed out and complaining to me about it, perhaps a doctors visit was in order. So off he went, and there, over the course of several visits, we discovered the root of his problem.
His hay fever has gotten progressively worse since we moved to Switzerland. He has to take two pills a day sometimes, just to survive, and even then, they don't always help. Well, it has now been confirmed by several skin tests and blood tests, that he is allergic to pretty much anything that grows in the ground in Switzerland. He is also allergic to all animals with hair. Sorry girls, no pet cat for you. (There were tears over that announcement.)
He is especially sensitive to birch pollen, which is everywhere here. His allergy has gotten so bad, it has now spilled over into other areas. The way I understand it, there are certain foods that are either similiar in chemical makeup to birch, or somehow cross-pollinate with the birch, and thus set off alarm systems in his immune system. What this all means, is that he is now allergic to several foods, and that if he has continued exposure to them it could eventually kill him. Lovely.
So, the list of restricted foods so far (testing is ongoing) includes:
wheat, strawberries, spinach, carrots (uncooked), celery, hazelnuts, peanuts, tomatoes, and bananas.
He also suspects potatoes, citrus fruits, and apples other than Granny Smith. Needless to say, it has been a rather stressful time for him the past few weeks. He is so afraid to eat anything than he has lost several pounds, although for the past couple of days I was able to adjust some recipes and cook foods that he could eat with no problem.
In the fall, the doctor has suggested giving him shots to try and "cure" him of his allergies. But as we know, that doesn't work with everyone, and can take years to see any results at all. At least, we are getting some solid answers and know more of what to avoid. Problem is, so many things have wheat, celery or celery extract, and hazelnut in them (in this country) that it has severely limited what he can eat.
I went to the local health food store to try and find almond butter for him to substitute for peanut butter, but of course it said right on the label, "may contain traces of peanuts". Same with the spelt flour I tried to buy. So, we aren't really sure what his diet will consist of on a regular basis. But I am talking to others I know who have a wheat allergy or celiac disease to get ideas. They have been very helpful and have shown us that it is something we can live with.
But any extra good thoughts you would like to send our way will definitely be appreciated.