Mama to Many (TN) on 11/07/2019:

Life had been busy with kids and grandbabies and my mother in laws needs, so I haven’t had much time to post. I still read the latest posts most days though and love hearing what everyone is learning!

I am writing to just put out there a heads up about alpha gal syndrome, which is basically a meat/mammalian allergy caused by tick bites, often from the lone star tick. There is lots of info on the web, but the symptoms are random and it isn’t easily diagnosed. I think I have alpha gal syndrome based on some symptoms and some recent bloodwork.

Here’s my story:

I had eliminated dairy over the summer, suspecting it was the cause of my chronic sinus congestion. It did greatly reduce my congestion but I mentioned it to my primary doctor who offered to run some allergy testing to see if there was something else that might be a factor.
The results showed a beef allergy and dairy allergy among other things.

That’s when a lot of things started to make sense.

I was shocked at the beef allergy. I eat beef and beef broth and have never noticed any issue.
But the more I thought about it the more the dots connected.

Last spring I bought some collagen powder to add to my coffee. I thought it would help my hair and nails.

Three days in a row I added it to my morning coffee. Every afternoon I was having stomach cramps and diarrhea. I just figured collagen powder wasn’t all it was chalked up to and bought just gelatin powder. Same results. So I gave up.

All summer it seemed that my digestion wasn’t great. I was prone to cramps and diarrhea at random times, but I had no idea what caused it.

Now I realize it was meat. Beef broth. Gelatin. Sausage, bacon. Beans seasoned with pork. And on and on and on.

With Alpha Gal Syndrome, you can’t eat any kind of meat from any 4 legged animals. Chicken and fish are okay. Some people can and some cant have dairy products. Dairy has never agreed with me much, so I don’t know if Alpha Gal is the reason it bothers me currently or not.

I have been off all mammal products for a week and my digestion has been perfect. Not one cramp. No diarrhea. No bloating. My doctor is going to do bloodwork to confirm alpha gal next time I go in.

Alpha gal can cause an anaphylaxis reaction. And the reactions can be delayed from the time of exposure – 2-8 hours, so the connection is not easily made. It can also be in medications – heparin, gelatin based capsules, vaccines, etc.

I won’t try and do a complete education about Alpha Gal. There is plenty of info.
Just keep it on your radar for yourself and your loved ones!

That’s all for now!

~Mama to Many~