Avoiding Reactions at Work

[caption id="attachment_490" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Don't feel pressured to put your life in danger. (Photo credit: Dreamstime.com Free)[/caption]

Recently, I've been asked to directly handle baking cookies for guests every evening shift I'm at work--cookies laden with wheat and soy. Luckily at the moment, someone else has been working with me each time and has offered to do the duty for me. I'm anxiously awaiting the day when I'll be personally held responsible to handle life threatening allergens just to keep guests happier in the lobby. I've made a decision not to handle the allergens, and am hoping my employer will understand that it's not worth risking my life.

While most people aren't asked to bake cookies at work, the problem of cross contamination in the workplace still lingers. Sharing areas in the company break room or lunch area can be hazardous as well as sharing common office equipment. I personally went through this at one of my jobs where I shared a desk and keyboard with a girl on the Vegan diet who often ate many soy heavy products. I am in no way holding her responsible for my reactions that led me to the ER from work, but merely not thinking about proper sanitation of shared equipment played a role on my part.

Here are some of my tips for staying safe from anaphylaxis or any other allergic reaction at work:

And this goes without saying: Always carry your epi-pen. You may want to alert others at work about where you keep your epi-pen so they may grab it for you in case of an emergency. I also always carry a box of Claritin and some Benadryl with me at all times.

What are your thoughts? Have you run into any tricky situations dealing with food allergies at work? Leave a comment below.

Earthquakes, thunderstorms, and the mystery culprit.

It seems my life has been a bit of a tornado lately, and I haven't had much time to post.  Well, actually it's been more like an earthquake...literally.  Last week, I thought I was just feeling woozy after a double whammy (gluten and soy attack in the same day), but apparently a 5.8 or 5.9 earthquake hit part of Virginia today and the aftershocks shook our brick apartment building here in Ann Arbor!  I was surprised to hear that someone as far as the Netherlands felt some shaking afterward too.  Glad I didn't have to add "earthquake-y feeling" to my soy reaction symptoms! That one would have the doctors even more puzzled...

This week, I'm finally starting to put a small bit of weight back on, as my body is healing and I'm beginning to absorb nutrients correctly again.  As I understand, soy can attack the villi of the small intestine in the same way that gluten can attack it in Celiac Disease.  I've been taking some extra vitamins to help the healing process and was thrilled when Nature's Bounty company responded to my inquiry regarding the use of soy in their letter vitamins.  They responded with full details about allergen standards and cleaning processes to assure me that no cross contamination was present.  Nature's Bounty was super helpful.  Be sure to read the labeling on each product though, since some of their non letter vitamins may contain soy, gluten, or other allergens.  I am currently taking the C-500 with Rosehips and the B-12 dissolving tablets without reactions.

I wish it was as easy to contact and receive response from every company as it was with Nature's Bounty.  I've had to stop writing this post three times already today to try and get my latest soy reaction in check.  You would probably have a difficult time guessing what the culprit was.  I couldn't figure it out myself for the last few weeks.

I'd been dealing with small to moderate soy reactions a few times this past week, but the worst showed itself yesterday and today.  Here's the scoop: I was using Meijer brand eggs in my allergen free Browine and Blondie mixes.  About 10-30 minutes after eating said sweets, moderate reactions bubbled up and I was in the Benadryl zone for the next 8 hours while my body attempted to rid itself of the offending food.  As I thought back, I realized that each time I had eaten Meijer brand chicken or eggs, I'd experienced soy symptoms.  Though I have not confirmed it with Meijer, I suspect that they are using soy feed in their chickens.  It's absolutely crazy the places you find this stuff.

Yesterday (obviously before today's realization), I ate two Brownies made using Meijer eggs and had quite an off night during the raging thunderstorm.  I took two Benadryl to control the reactions over the course of 8 hours, and still had to take another one before hitting the sack.  Upon waking, I was feeling much better and decided to treat myself to a Brownie for breakfast (C'mon, don't judge! ;) )  Shortly after, I felt a lump in my throat and the familiar stomach swelling.  And it was Benadryl to the rescue again, before things could get out of hand.  (On a side tangent, Benadryl is seriously awesome and works for me within 10 seconds.  I bite open the liquid-gels before I swallow them for faster absorption.  Whoever invented this stuff totally rocks...even though it rocks me to sleep).  Long story short, I had to stop writing this entry 4 times due to the reactions from Meijer eggs in my allergen free mix.  Moral of story and new mission: Find soy free eggs stat!  And chicken for that matter.  I'm wondering if anyone else has these problems, or if I'm just ultra sensitive. Let me know if you've reacted or what you think in the poll box, or leave a comment below.

[polldaddy poll=5485259]

As luck would have it, a new follower of my twitter page ( https://www.bethyglutenfree.twitter.com ) named @soyfreeeggs links to a site called http://www.soyfreeegg.com which has information regarding a completely soy free egg.  I have yet to order or try it out, but I plan to contact them within the next few weeks to see where their products are distributed.  I'm hoping anywhere in Michigan is on the list. But for now, I'm off to cook some herb encrusted broiled steaks while my boyfriend cooks his delicious Belarusian style fried potatoes. This hearty meal should help us both fight off this nasty cold we've had for a week...  I'll list the recipe for the steaks coming up in one the next few posts.

Next post:  Soy free, gluten free Makeup!! I finally found it!!

Stay well, let your light shine,

xoxo Bethany

P.s. Here's a few pictures from my cousin's beautiful wedding at Cranbrook House and Gardens in late July.  The meal I had was a gluten free quinoa dish that was absolutely fabulous.  The best part is, it was also soy free as I was sans reaction.



At the Cranbrook House and Gardens after dinner.