Thankfully living with Milk allergy?

In an odd turn of events, I presented with an anaphylactic reaction to milk in early oct.

 I was eating a piece of wheat bread with a slice of cheese on top and all of a sudden my throat began to close ( a symptom of milk allergy) and I was scared.   Being 30 and never having experience any sort of food allergies this was perplexing ( not to mention scary & terrifying event.)

General MD’s will tell you that it’s not uncommon to present with a milk allergy but I don’t believe. I think it’s an underling cause that creates milk allergies ( to be discussed later.)

Regardless, a month later and a few trips to ER ( it took awhile to figure out that it was the milk causing the allergy) I’m ready to move forward.

 With Epi-pen in hand I am learning to explore the world with Milk allergy and dairy free living.

 Step one: I have to learn what is dairy free living and how to I do it.

 The interesting thing is that milk or milk by products are in EVERTHING… Chicken from the grocery has  it, chips, chocolate, anything prepacked . It makes it difficult for someone with Milk allergies to eat out or buy prepackaged foods.

The first thing I did was lol- to research chocolate! I mean less face it everyone woman needs a source of chocolate.  I’ve sampled a few but my favorite is Amanda’s own. http://www.amandasown.com/

Those people are great! They absolutely have no milk products in their facility ( I asked, repeatedly)

 Step 2:  Figuring how to avoid cross contamination.   

In my house, we have a 3 yr old, my husband and grandma.  So that means lots of mac n’ cheese, bottles of milk, half & half for the coffee and cheese on every piece of meat that my husband touches, which makes the kitchen a danger zone for someone with Milk Allergies.

The first thing I did was explain to each of them how just a little bit of milk sends Mom straight to the ER.   Once I washed my hands with a milk and rose soap, ate some carrots with my just washed hands and had an reaction- so this milk allergy is serious for me.

We eventually worked out a system of color coding plates and utensils that and I wear gloves when I touch or fix food for my family. 

Step 3:  Learning how to eat dairy free. What Can I eat now with dairy allergy?

Because we live in rural South Texas there are no super cool whole foods or trader joes’ or even local health food stores so I hit the net looking for recipes.

Really living without butter is not as bad as it seems, olive oil works great.

I even made my own Rice milk !  ( not difficult as it seems.)  

Living & eating with an acute Milk allergy is tough for certain, but I have a wide selection of fruits, vegetables & lean meats.   

To be continued….

milk allergy, milk allergy symptoms, what can i eat with a dairy allergy

Posted in Food Allergies by Melody B