After my last post, I began to really watch my food diary and pay attention to my reactions.  The result:

Not bad, right?  I was hesitant to post this picture because my camera is so kick ass that is shows all of the redness and my years of scars in detail (so much for my kick ass camera working in my favor!).  But, if you compare to the last picture, 100% better.  Unfortunately, it didn’t last.  Last week, right before Christmas (naturally!) I had a reaction – a BAD one – to I have no idea what.  I have been so careful not to eat gluten, corn or soy.  It is very likely that it is an OVERreaction due to holiday stress as well.  However, that aside, it is still ugly and painful.  This latest reaction was not very cystic at all and for that I am grateful, but there were many spots and they are taking a long time to fester, come to a head and heal.  So, it looks like I end yet another year with ugly face.  I’m feeling discouraged because when I removed corn and got the above results, I thought I had finally figured it all out.  At this point, I have a sneaking suspicion that I am allergic to a salad spice or some component of that spice that my parents use.  We eat with them on the nights I work and the last 2 weeks when we’ve been eating A LOT of salad, my reactions have been bad and are not getting better.  A few weeks ago, we hadn’t had salad for a while and everything was ok.  So – it is back to the drawing board……again.  Hopefully I will be able to post in 2012 with good news and a good face.  Until then friends, Happy New Year.  Be well.

FYI – If you are ever in the Hershey, PA area and have food allergies, please visit Piazza Sorrento or the Houlihan’s in Hershey.  I called beforehand and both of these restaurants and their chefs were AMAZING!  They went out of their way to accommodate me and made me some of the best (safe/allergy-free) food I’ve eaten outside of my home in a very long time!

Reaction from eating the plant family Pooideae

Ugly, cystic, red and painful…..the story of my life…..perhaps….until now.  In the past 20 years, I’ve tested many theories about my allergies/intolerances, done many elimination diets, tried many products and seen many doctors.   I already know that some of my intolerances don’t show up on allergy blood tests – tree nuts make my mouth swell up, but have never appeared; soy appears sometimes and not others.  But this week, I think I finally had the epiphany I’ve been looking for.  2 years ago was when I had my last allergy test done.  The only thing that came up was Kentucky Bluegrass – and it came up majorly high (which explained why when I went into my backyard barefoot, my feet itched for days).  This was the first allergy test ever done on me that wasn’t just straight foods.  So, I hit the internet (my blessing and my curse!) and found that many of the grasses are in the Pooideae family which also contains Kentucky Bluegrass.  This week, I also suffered some majorly itchy ear reactions when I ate rye and oats and I had some tummy troubles after eating pasta several days in a row (trust me, you don’t want the details on that).  In the past, my diets have been wheat free, but never gluten free or completely free of a certain family of grains.  The Pooideae family includes wheat, rye, barley, oat, spelt and triticeae.  Rice, Corn and Sugarcane fall into the large Poa family, but not the same subfamily.  Well, I will tell you, that in the last few days, I’ve only eaten rice and corn as my grains and my face is clearing up and starting to look normal.  I know what this means.  It means a very restrictive diet.  Been there, done that.  It is a pain in the neck, but if it means I’ll feel better and not look like I have the measles, I’m in.  Sign me up.  So, it is back to Whole Foods I go to read label after label.  And hopefully soon, I’ll be able to put up a Nice Face Picture rather than an Ugly Face Picture.  On a side note, I must thank someone above for the blessing of Janet Sartin makeup because without it, I don’t think I would ever leave my house.  They make skin care products for people with extremely sensitive skin and have been my saving grace/face for many years.

The diet Gods have been good to me this week.  Not only have I been extra careful in watching what I eat, I have found a new opportunity to get some more exercise into my routine.  I’m home 2 days a week when CheezWaster goes to pre-K.  It isn’t that far of a walk from our house.  So, weather permitting, the Destroyer and I will be walking CheezWaster to and from school on those days.  I even got in some extra walking this week by parking farther away from the park (not by choice, but by necessity).  Every little bit helps, as evidenced by the disappearance of Evil Pound #1 and Evil Pound #2 from my scale this week.  Let’s just hope I can keep them away!  They have been the bain of my diet existence for far too many months now!