Endless Snow Days, Endless Research Opportunities

What began as a typical day didn't turn out the way that I had planned. I didn't exactly anticipate that there would be challenge for the day. But there was. After completely shredding a tire, I wound up at Burton's Service Station where, thankfully, they were able to help procure the proper sized tire and get me rolling again. If you're ever in town, I highly recommend that you stop by for a fill-up or even a tune-up, because they're always awesome and always kind!  

Despite the challenges of the day, I managed to check off a whole list of errands anyway. I also learned some things that I am still trying to process. I am not sure what it is about reading and comprehending massive amounts of information, but it sure does make one voraciously hungry for a good hearty soup. With no mammalian meat. 

You might wonder why I would say it that way. Normally, I wouldn't ever use the phrase, "mammalian meat." I don't think that I have ever uttered the word "mammalian" aloud until this very day! How interesting and strange. If you don't already know, you can become allergic to mammalian meat. Mammalian meats encompasses beef, pork, and lamb, but also extends beyond, to goat and any other non-primate mammal consumed as food.(You can read all about it here, in the NIH Pub Med Central report: PMC8344025 "Diagnosis & Management of alpha-gal syndrome:lessons from 2,500 patients," by Scott P. Commins). Tick bites are presumably the culprit, as indicated in this article from 2011: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3085643/ , "The relevance of tick bites to the production of leg antibodies to the mammalian oligosaccharide galactose-a-1,3-galactose," in which the authors, Commins, et al) conclude the following:     

"The results presented here provide evidence that tick bites are a cause, or possibly the only cause, of IgE specific for alpha-gal in this area of the United States. Both the number of subjects becoming sensitized and the titer of IgE antibodies to alpha-gal are striking. Here we report the first example of a response to an ectoparasite giving rise to an important form of food allergy."(Commins, et al, 2011)   

For those who want to skip reading the entire article, reading the abstract can give you the gist. According to the studies, a person can become allergic to red meats after being bitten by a tick.  The antibodies Immunoglobulin E, or (IgE) that result form the tick bite cause your body to have a delayed allergic reaction to ingesting the mammalian meats, and, sometimes, mammalian-derived products such as dairy foods, foods containing "natural" flavorings (derived from mammals), as well as skincare and healthcare items that may contain mammalian products including lanolin as well as gelatin capsules. It is noted in the aforementioned papers that many AGS (Alpha-gal Syndrome) patients are able to tolerate gelatin capsules, however, it is recommended that AGS patients who follow the strict avoidance diet but still have reactivity discontinue use of products with gelatin, carrageenan, and lanolin, as well as natural flavorings. One interesting bit of information tucked inside the Diagnosis & Management article relates the following information (in Table 3): 

"Having pets is fine but educate that pet dander can contain alpha-gal"

So now we have some answers. I thought I was allergic to cats. Turns out that having a reaction to the alpha-gal in pet dander was not something that I had ever even considered. Although I tested negative for a cat allergy, I have significant allergic reactions when I am in environments that have pets. I had been researching and learning a lot about autoimmune disorders since recently embarking on the journey of trying to finally discover just what in the hell is wrong with me (Shout out to my allergy doctor, who is ANOTHER BETH, for being so very intelligent!!!!) and had narrowed down the possibilities of what it could be--and that list was scary. My allergy doctor recently gave me a blood test to rule out one that I was very concerned about, vasculitis. Thank goodness it isn't that. Alpha-gal Syndrome, OAS (Oral Allergy Syndrome) and asthma are the latest diagnoses. 

I COULD HAVE BEEN A STAR ATHLETE! (maybe)

In eight grade I ran track and played in the community softball league during the spring but that was the semester that I walked away and never went back to organized sports. I had slowly been switched from A team to B team for the relays and, as everyone else seemed to grow taller and faster, I stayed short and never really was able to improve my times significantly. I used to complain a lot to the assistant coach (he was a lot nicer than the head coach) that I would get really dizzy after I ran my sprints with full exertion. He asked if I had eaten enough that day that I recall complaining. I never knew why. I never even understood that I shouldn't have so much trouble breathing until rounds of steroids taken in adulthood eased my breathing so much (and luckily I kept repeating this to every doctor I have seen in the past 7 or so years) that finally a doctor decided that I probably had asthma and needed help with that. Of course, I had been told once before, in 2018, after a round of allergy testing that I had allergy induced asthma and that doctor prescribed me Singulair and then started double billing me--billing the insurance and then sending me a bill as well--anyway, I didn't go back. I ran out of Singulair and just kept on living my life. I can't help but think of the things that I could have done with my body and my life if someone had just treated me for asthma when I was a teenager! But I can't go back, only forward. AND I AM GOING TO RUN SO MUCH!

Now, I'm finally getting somewhere. The initial diagnosis at the rheumatologist office was non-radiographic ankylosing spondyloarthritis and had I made the mistake of reading the notes in my chart that the doctor made. The doctor who didn't seem to like me or be able to hide that fact had noted that my symptoms were likely psychosomatic. I told the allergy doctor this. I said to the other Beth, Dr. Beth, that I wasn't making up an allergy, that I was sure that I was having an allergic reaction to something and that it was happening all the time and I had yet to pin down the exact culprit. I told her my bones hurt when I am out in the cold. The pain in my hips and my heels. I asked her about the interstitial cystitis. I told her that I was having more and more reactions to different foods--that's the Oral Allergy Syndrome and Alpha-gal Syndrome. No wonder I had felt so much better when I was dairy free. I was afraid that this doctor, too, would just completely dismiss me and my symptoms. But she didn't. She clocked my asthma right off the bat. I had a breathing treatment and Spirograph and was given some asthma medicine that makes me feel as though I can get up and sprint wherever I want to go and maybe, possibly, run and run and run!  

Outside the ground is covered in ice and snow, with still more snow falling as I watch from the warmth of my home. Most everything is iced over, even the snow, a thick white layer encompassed in ice both above and below--this environment isn't really conducive to running. I suppose I could still do it but why risk the fall? Walking cautiously will do. Spring will come and bring more pleasant outside temperatures. For now, I will continue my endless research into things that I don't yet know. When life gives you endless snow days, it also gives you endless opportunities to learn something new!