Plastic Reaction #5

I don't usually heat things up in plastic ... not because I'm smart but because it's just not my style. Today I had leftover rosemary chicken and nuked it for about a minute.

Sick. Nausea, indigestion, headache, foggy head ... general surliness.

So I did some poking. The container proudly displays the plastic number 5 on the bottom. Here's what I discovered: (blogspot links are still broken: http://ecovillagegreen.com/2009/04/what-do-the-plastic-recycling-numbers-mean/ ) ... polypropylene. Now, it's not clear that corn is definitely used in the manufacture of this... but a quick google search clarified that corn fibers can be used as a reinforcing agent in polypropylene composites as well as a corn resin that can be applied to act as a moisture and oxygen barrier.

In summary, American gluttony and wastefulness strikes again. I have a sense of doom that corn allergy sufferers are on the short list for evolutionary failure. Moral of the story, don't microwave plastic ... which shouldn't be news to any of us, don't eat/drink ANYTHING warm or hot out of a plastic container, better yet, don't eat/drink ANYTHING out of a plastic container no matter its temperature.

I'm tired of this.

Kettle Chips - Salt and Black Pepper - NOT CORN FREE!!!

You will see my post here: http://cornless.blogspot.com/2009/06/kettle-chips-salt-and-black-pepper.html praising the Kettle company for allowing me one little glimmer of culinary happiness in an otherwise 'snackless' world. Salt and Black Pepper chips are nuggets of bliss - unfortunately, despite what lovely Janet has to say about the subject .. these chips do indeed have corn, likely in the form of citric acid or yeast extract.

I am sad, and pissed off and sick, sick, sick. Nausea, headache, weak, etc. Same old same old.

Suk!

Kettle Chips - Salt and Black Pepper - CORNY!!!

UPDATED 06.28.09 - THESE DO HAVE CORN. SUK! I'm nauseous, headachy and drunk feeling. The ingredients clearly indicate citric acid and yeast extract ... but I didn't listen to my gut, i trusted Janet (below). Dammit Janet!

These are my favorite! a little hearty tang of soy sauce, smidge of salt .. perfect. Alas, with the corn allergy I'm scared and haven't tried them. Then today, out of the blue, Dottie (an angel from above) posted the item below in the Delphi Avoiding Corn Forum:

My husband won a contest, for guessing how many bags of potato chips can fit into a VW bug--so he gets a year's supply of free chips!! When I was on the phone to the company rep today about that, I mentioned to her how I was allergic to corn and how helpful her company had been to me a few years ago in answering my questions. (Most of their products do contain it.) Right away she said, "Oh, so you can't have maltodextrin or ctiric acid in anything, " and I was so impressed that she knew that right off the top of her head. She went on to say that the plain unsalted, the lightly salted, and the salt and black pepper chips are definitely corn-free, and all the other flavors are not, unfortunately. I also can use their peanut butter, which is delicious. If you want more info, this very nice and helpful woman's name is Janet Wilson and her contact info is:
Janet Wilson
Consumer Affairs
Kettle Foods
503-586-1507
jwilson@kettlefoods.com

--Dottie

It may not be clear to you how much I love these chips - or this forum. God bless Dottie!

Reaction(s) Again...

Kashi - Autumn Wheat. I've eaten this every day for lunch since Monday (that's four days in case you don't want to look it up). Today: nausea, drop in blood sugar, thick tongue, tight throat, weepiness, weakness and lethargy. Kashi website says that they won't divulge the items included in the 'natural flavor' heading of their ingredients as it is proprietary. Screw you Kashi! You know what's proprietary and not available for your sad ass ... my MONEY!

Also, I had literally a smidge of honey on Sunday when it got on my finger after opening a honey stick for one of the kids ... hives. no shit.

corned by half and half ... scary one

I got sloppy and they didn't have my normal horizon half and half in the store (damn walmart). I bought C.F. Burger half and half, I also consumed three large cups of coffee within the first hour of rising. A half an hour after my blood pressure dropped and I mean dropped. I laid down for about three hours but I was nervous. That's probably the worst reaction yet.

I was nauseous too, but it really took a major back seat to the blood pressure and foggy head. After I got up from my three hour nap, I drove to the grocery to get a few things for the week. I took my bp there and it was 98/55 .. which is a little lower than my normal 100/60. It sucked.

12 hours later I'm still nauseous off and on, but my head feels normal thank goodness. Today made me wonder if I would really know when I needed an EpiPen. How do you know? It was scary and stupid.

New Reactions ... Interesting Change

Saturday - ate a handful of frozen cranberries ... felt nauseous within about 15 minutes, passed quickly, nothing serious. Hmmmm

Sunday - had two kettle chips that I thought would be okay ... felt nauseous within about 15 minutes, passed quickly, nothing serious. Hmmmmm, again.

Monday - Tofu (see below)

Tuesday - 1/4 cup Ezekiel 4:9 Almond cereal, fucking delish in yogurt ... tongue swelling, mild foggy head, passed in about 2 hours. Nausea in the evening when I ate anything. Hmmm, more reaction than the others.

Tuesday - trip to movie theater. Didn't eat anything, throat was scratchy and sore when I left.

Wednesday morning - general nausea, itchy face, scratchy throat - and I haven't done anything wrong yet!

It does seem like the reactions get progressively worse if I take in small quantities consistently, which makes sense. The residual reactions are pretty clear as well based on how I feel today. I'm not really interested in playing with this stuff anymore, it sucks and even small reactions make me nervous.

The popcorn breathing was interesting. I brought my EpiPens just in case, I'm a bit dramatic that way, but was glad I didn't need them.

Ingredient Lists

It's not hard. Read the ingredients and NEVER ASSUME. Tofu got me last night, I didn't check the ingredients, there was corn starch. *sigh*

Good news though. The symptoms are more manageable and I notice them even with smaller quantities. Essentially, I don't eat enough to build up a huge reaction. I didn't eat much of the tofu, thank goodness. But at mom's this weekend I had some contaminated cranberries. I ate five or so then walked away ... testing them. Within 20 minutes I was mildly nauseous. Score!

Kroger Pasta - cornless.
Premium Selections (Kroger) - Organic Potato Chips with Sea Salt - cornless.
Kroger cheese - confirmed to have corn by kroger themselves (bastards!!).

Bulk Peanuts - salted

I love peanuts in the shell and they should be fine, but these were bought in bulk and were salted. Maybe that's the problem... Swollen tongue, foggy head, nausea, lethargy and weakness. Same old same old. I can't buy snacks for shit.

Navigating social pressure

I fell into the trap of my being more concerned about other people's feeling than my own health. Offered an item that 'appeared' to be corn free. Friend offering clarified that it didn't list anything that looked like corn. Sure it had cheese cultures in it, enzymes and what not. Sure it was packaged in India ... and of course all of the ingredients would be listed right?

I've learned my lesson. I'm two days past the event in question and just now getting past the swollen ankles (which I just realized was connected to the allergic reaction) and the itchy scalp.

Time for me to grow a backbone, I'm just going to have to be okay with hurting feelings to spare my own.

Corned mystery...

Please note the first line of my last post. I'm an idiot (you're an idiot!).

So I had tuna last night, modified tuna salad ... no mayonnaise, i'm not that corn illiterate... right? So tuna is one of the things I might be allergic to. Had to test it, chose Kroger brand tuna (Light Tuna, water, vegetable broth (carrot, celery, and soy bean) and salt.)

ingredients:
tuna (above)
acorn squash
red bell pepper
flax seeds
sea salt
sweet relish

I believe I've corned myself. I'm having a reaction, it could be the tuna (from corn in the can they don't mention or an actual tuna allergy), it could be sweet relish because you know what, I DIDN'T EVEN READ THE GODDAMN CAN! I can't believe it. It never occurred to me that sweet relish should be read, I just tossed it in.

mother of god

welcome back to nausea, tight itchy throat, foggy head, feverish feeling ... I ate it last night with no issue except some mild indigestion (I assumed it was from eating so much of that yeast bread with it). Had it again for lunch today and my stomach started reacting within about 15 minutes.

like clockwork, this allergy stuff.

Ridonkulous

This is ridonkulous.

Kids get corn dogs and mac&cheese for dinner, i'm a cool mom ... even if I have to eat my homemade crackers, hummus and fruit, i'll let my kids indulge in a little preprocessed, prepackaged junk food night.

My throat is swollen. how's that? you say. Yup, swollen throat. I handled the corn dogs, sure. I cut one up for the littlest, of course. I didn't ingest it, but my throat is definitely swollen. Not unbearable, but tight. This is unbelievable!

I still miss corndogs.

Epi-Pen and Medical Alert Bracelets

I had an appointment with my GI specialist yesterday and he felt that my corn allergy could explain ALL of my gastrointestinal issues. He recommended that I continue with the corn free diet for another six weeks and if my symptoms persist despite my confidence in my 'cornlessness' that I should come back for some testing.

That's a relief. I called my allergist today to request a script for an Epi-Pen. I'll likely never need it, but my reaction to a few things has been pretty severe low blood pressure ... i didn't realize that low blood pressure was anaphylactic shock. I also bit the bullet and ordered my medical alert bracelet.

Apparently taking this thing seriously is expensive! But I'm coming to terms with it bit by bit.

I miss corn dogs.

Testing Diet Pepsi

Started drinking at 3pm, drank 32 ounces in an hour. After 20 minutes my head went foggy and my face started to tingle, nausea set in about 35 minutes after start ... mind you, i'm still drinking away. I'm committed to this experiment and damn have I missed Diet Pepsi. Now I'm a full hour out, having trouble typing without making errors, head is really foggy and my throat is tight.

citric acid or aspertame? does it really matter?

Ooh, weird. My fingers are swollen too, I think that might account for the typing errors. This is so crazy it's almost fascinating. It's almost 7pm and my throat is still tight but not frightening anymore, nausea has passed and I'm on to abdominal pain. I just ate some meatloaf in hopes that I can dilute my reaction with safe food. I likely continue to be foolish, but at least I'm still eating... right? .... right?

Eating Out Failure #1 - Village Deli

Chili salad, it seemed relatively safe. Lettuce and chili and hot sauce. I was nervous but it was the only thing on the menu that looked like it could even possibly be safe.

I'm so nauseous and sad and tired. I have to just accept it and work with it instead of pretending it's not real or not that serious. Granted, it's not going to kill me, but it's ridiculous to take these kinds of chances. I would have been better off sipping my water and eating later at home.

Symptoms are extreme nausea, lethargy, irritability, foggy head and lump in throat. My face itches but it has been since Friday afternoon so I can't say that's related for sure.

General Update #2

I'm getting there. Man corn is just in alot of stuff. Frankly, it's become clear that I have to stick with a handful of 'safe' foods until I get myself stable. Once stabilized, I can test foods carefully and methodically to determine what I can and can't eat. A list of my current 'safe foods' has been posted to the left, I may have left some things off, but for now that will get me started.

Yesterday I had no reactions and today only a mild reaction to some cheese. I was feeling pretty good this morning and think I have identified the general 'schedule' of my symptoms. See below for a draft of how I think this goes. It will be interesting to see if this holds true after the cheese incident.

START: Ingestion of offending item
15 - 30 mins later: first symptom (nausea, swollen throat, swollen tongue, headache)
2 hours - 3 hours later: abdominal pain
Day 2: constipation and lots of gas
Day 3: itchy scalp and face
Day 4: all clear

Cheese

Whole day went well, up until this afternoon when I had approximately 1 oz. of Kroger Monterey Jack cheese. 15 minutes later I had a reaction that I honestly would not have noticed two weeks ago. My throat swelled a bit, I started slurring my words and felt like my tongue was swollen. Head got a little foggy (this is not foggy like the pita bread, just a little drunk feeling) and a mild stomachache.

ingredients are: "pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (for color)."

response from Delphi member: "I'm afraid pretty much every ingredient in there could have corn! Milk from corn-fed cows, the cultures and enzymes derived from or grown on corn, and I believe that annato could have corn too. Oh, and then there's the lovely fact that corn starch is used on some cheeses to keep them from sticking to the packaging. Cheese is an iffy business."

Add cheese to the list of foods that I shouldn't gamble with. Good news is, no reactions yesterday, and only this one today - I'm getting the hang of this.

Bananas?

I bought bananas on Friday, I don't know what brand (they were chiquita and very ripe) ... they were a little more yellow than normal but were clearly bananas. Bananas don't have corn right, fresh fruit, here I come!

Now, I still had two bananas left over from the last bunch and I'm AR about eating them in order, oldest to newest, so didn't pop one of the new ones off until this morning. I had swope (yum), banana and coffee (heavy whipping cream and raw sugar... all safe). 19 minutes later I was nauseous. Strange no?

Went to work, did my thing and suffered with the nausea and foggy headedness that had kicked in. Got hungry about 11 am and had my traditional late morning mini-meal of a banana and a bit of bread. Imagine my surprise when I got sicker!

Did you know that they gas some bananas? Uh huh, some sort of corn bullshit gas designed by satan to make my life HELL! I'll have facts for you at a later date, right now I'm mad and sick. *shakes fist at sky*

Okay, I'm back to add more information. It's ethylene gas that is used to ripen bananas ... the idea to avoid them is 1) aim for organic always, some say chiquita is okay ... please see my experience above and 2) buy green bananas (clearly not ripened). It also appears that this method can be used for avocados (avoid the 'ripe today' stickers), mangos, pineapple and tomatoes.... I have no idea how you could tell the last three, I guess you look for organic and pray?

Noooooo .... Starbuck's Sumatra!

I was so smart, brought a plastic bottle of my own half and half, used sugar in the raw just like at home. It shouldn't have been an issue, except that the coffee was different.

I'm so sad and frustrated. I can't do anything right, I can't eat any of the stuff I used to. I gave up smoking because of this shit, gave up coffee and learned to like tea, found out i'm allergic to tea so went back to coffee ... now this crap with the coffee. I could cry. I want to cry.

My head hurts like hell, i'm nauseous still (drank it at 11am, but it was a venti!), my stomach hurts ... and worst of all, I can't sleep because of all the caffeine so I can't even sleep it off. I feel awful and I'm embarrassed that I keep doing this to myself.

update: I've sent Starbucks an email asking them if there is anything at their shop I can drink. I'm doubtful, their website is pretty non-committal about allergens. doesn't appear they want to even touch the subject. Sad for them, I used to spend something like $4 a DAY there. the recession is my fault.

General Update #1

It's been over a week now and I've had three reactions, two to the great pita bread from Kroger (god I was hard headed about accepting that one) and apparently the perfectly delicious sunflower/flax/prune bread I made. Now, buying in bulk was likely really dumb, but it takes time to accept all the limitations of this.

All of that being said, huge changes in my body all the way around:

• abdominal pain and nausea limited to just those three occasions as opposed to daily and constant.
• raccoon eyes seem to be fading.
• down about four lbs (mostly water as my ankles seem thinner at night).
• having regular bowel movements.
• not hungry all the time.

The last one has really surprised me. I find myself eating very very well and ALOT less. Makes corn seem like some enchanted devil food that you keep eating and only makes you hungrier. This is the first time in a LONG time I have felt really satisfied after eating, not hugely full, just satisfied. It's something.

I may have the kids tested too, the oldest is very hyperactive, particularly when ingesting any kind of candy ... makes you wonder, eh?