I think I'm allergic to seafood

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SomeCatholicGuy

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DISCLAIMER: I’m not asking for any medical advice, which I know is against forum rules.

I found out over the holidays that I may be allergic to seafood. I had lots of shrimp and crabs (and fish) when I went back to visit my folks. I soon started to itch all over, and a week later started to develop respiratory symptoms. I had no idea I could be allergic to seafood, because I have had seafood throughout my life, and I was fine. It’s not conclusive yet, but based on my own research, and by the process of elimination, I’m pretty sure that that’s what it is.

As you can see, as a Catholic, this is a big problem! With Lent coming up, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I usually give up meat for all of Lent, and subsist on a combination of vegetarian things and seafood (mostly fish sticks), among other things. Now that I’m very possibly allergic to seafood, what can I do? This really sucks, as I love seafood.

Help!
 
I am sorry to read that you may be allergic to seafood. You say that you ate a lot of shrimp, crabs and fish and that is what appeared to cause your symptoms. But you may not be allergic to all - just one.

anyway, assuming you are allergic to all seafood, what do you do for Lent? Tofu, cheese and eggs. Also, different types of beans.

The hardest part is the fact that you love seafood. So do I and I would do whatever it takes to narrow down the focus on what causes the allergy. I could handle being allergic to one or two types of seafood - if I could not eat shrimp, I could eat crab, lobster, mussels, etc. etc. Do some more investigating. You may still be able to eat some seafood.
 
SomeCatholicGuy said:
DISCLAIMER: I’m not asking for any medical advice, which I know is against forum rules.

I found out over the holidays that I may be allergic to seafood. I had lots of shrimp and crabs (and fish) when I went back to visit my folks. I soon started to itch all over, and a week later started to develop respiratory symptoms. I had no idea I could be allergic to seafood, because I have had seafood throughout my life, and I was fine. It’s not conclusive yet, but based on my own research, and by the process of elimination, I’m pretty sure that that’s what it is.

As you can see, as a Catholic, this is a big problem! With Lent coming up, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I usually give up meat for all of Lent, and subsist on a combination of vegetarian things and seafood (mostly fish sticks), among other things. Now that I’m very possibly allergic to seafood, what can I do? This really sucks, as I love seafood.

Help!
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Is it all seafood or just shell fish? My husband is allergic to shellfish, he gets violently ill! You will need to find out incase you need medical care, there are meds. made with shell fish in them. We have to always tell dr.s about my husband allergy,esp. when he had knee surgery. He can eat fish, just can’t eat shell fish. A friend of ours is so allergic to it that her throat will begin to close if she is near the pot that shrimp is cooking in.
Also, start reading labels! We almost had a scare one Christmas when my brother brought a cheese ball that had shrimp in it. I just happened to read the label before my husband ate it. Could have been bad. Ask in restaurants too, incase they use the same pans to cook more than one dish!
 
So sorry! Shellfish allergy is pretty common, from what I’ve heard. My daughter gets ill (stomach symptoms) from scallops, and only scallops-not shrimp or crab! An aunt of hers is the same way.

Try to find out exactly what causes the allergy; fish might be just fine.
 
First off, be really careful!!! Seafood allergies will kill you!

You are, however, in luck because there is a wide variety of food that is not meat and is not seafood.

These recipes are courtesy of our friends in the Eastern Churches. They have fasts that make ours seem like child’s play, and their Great Lent really plays the part of a gastromical desert. No meat, no seafood, no dairy, no oils!!!
armenianchurch.net/worship/lent/recipe2.html
http://www.armenianchurch.net/worship/lent/recipe5.html (Or just make the pilaf!)
http://www.armenianchurch.net/worship/lent/recipe6.html
greek-recipe.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article274

Veggies can combine to make proteins, truly a good thing. If you eat good old New Orleans red beans n rice (without the sausage), you have two complex carbs that combine to make a protein. Isn’t that fab?

Cheese and eggs are also your friends. You can’t whip yourself up some scrambled eggs and cheese? How about scrambling eggs with a little onion and green pepper, then putting on mozzarella cheese and stuffing it into a piece of baguette bread? It’s very popular here in Chicago around Lent, called eggs n peppers.

There is also:
  • Spaghetti with sauce, no meat and no seafood.
  • Peanut butter and jelly.
  • Cheese pizza.
  • Cheese quesadilla.
  • Quiche with no meat or seafood (“onion pie”).
  • A nice salad with hard boiled eggs and plenty of cheese.
  • Tomato soup and a grilled cheese or two.
  • Bean burrito from Taco Bell.
  • Vegetarian vegetable soup.
    I know a woman who sacrificed udring Lent (and for her wedding) by eating a can of canned veggies for all of Lent. So it can be done.
 
kage_ar said:
That must’ve been one BIG can, to sustain her for 6 weeks and all… 😃
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LOL. :rotfl:

What she really did: Everyday, there she was, eating a can of some sort of Aldi veggies. She’s open it, heat em in a dish, and eat em. But yes, it was a different can of veg very day.:o

I was also innacurate on the combining to make a protein. It’s two carbs, such as beans n rice, or grains n something else.

And I forgot veggie lasagna! How could I do that? :eek: What is Lent without Stouffer’s veggie lasagna!

So that’s ten foods for Lent without meat or seafood. There are six weeks of Lent, so that’s six Fridays, plus Ash Wednesday. The man should be good to go!
 
OutinChgoburbs said:
And I forgot veggie lasagna! How could I do that? :eek: What is Lent without Stouffer’s veggie lasagna!

So that’s ten foods for Lent without meat or seafood. There are six weeks of Lent, so that’s six Fridays, plus Ash Wednesday. The man should be good to go!
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You also missed…

Boiled egg gravy on toast

Pita and Hummus

Baked taters, mashed taters, taters!
 
His profile says he’s 28. Think he can fry an egg, or do taters? Ooo, if he can do taters, he can do collcahon for lunch and potato piergois for supper! If we keep this up, he’s going to gain at least 10 pounds from observing the Lenten fast!!!😃

I hope you can at least fry an egg, SomeCatholicGuy! Otherwise, have some good woman take you to the frozen food section and point out all the heat n eat food that doesn’t have meat or seafood in it.
 
Not funny, y’all. I’m here in south Louisiana. I can eat shrimp, crawfish, oysters, etc. I can’t eat blue crabs (and, I’m not about to try any other type of crab). I took the first episode of anaphylactic shock as an abberation. I can assure you that the second episode almost sent me to the emergency room. It is indeed a most frightening experience to start breaking out into hives and then feel your throat contrict.

I have eaten crabs all of my life. It came as a complete shock to me to have such a reaction in mid-life. Seafood gumbo - a staple of Fridays when I was a kid. No can do today.
 
Not trying to be funny, exactly. Trying to give him some choices other than seafood. And cheer him up, of course.

And I adore a good linguini with clam sauce! I can’t do it any more. Can’t do clams. I was on vacation over 14 years ago in Virginia at an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet and the clams nearly killed me and the vacation.

I can have dolmades, though, and hummus (my fav is red roasted pepper) and fallafel and kufta and red beans n rice and veggie lasagna and cheese quesadilla and…

…See? It’s what he **can **have!
 
You’ve got to be kidding me right? I’ve been allergic to shellfish & seafood all my life & have never had a problem with meat abstinence on Fridays during Lent.

I hate to sound unsympathetic but I guess I am. The whole point of the Friday sacrifice is to separate yourself from the pleasure of eating food–i.e. offering it up to Jesus.

It’s not going to kill you to eat vegetarian pasta on Friday’s during Lent. In fact it is quite good, it’s not as if the Catholic Church has ordered everyone to eat gruel on Fridays.

And come on–it’s just six days out of 365 days of the year.
 
OutinChgoburbs said:
His profile says he’s 28. Think he can fry an egg, or do taters? Ooo, if he can do taters, he can do collcahon for lunch and potato piergois for supper! If we keep this up, he’s going to gain at least 10 pounds from observing the Lenten fast!!!😃

I hope you can at least fry an egg, SomeCatholicGuy! Otherwise, have some good woman take you to the frozen food section and point out all the heat n eat food that doesn’t have meat or seafood in it.
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I can send MY teenaged son over to teach him to cook eggs (and taters…)
 
I second (third? fourth?) the beans suggestion. Normally we have a meatless Friday throughout the year and during Lent I add in a second meatless day with beans-only-Tuesday as my personal sacrifice. I have two favorite recipes that I use during Lent.

Taco Style Lentils and Rice (serves 6-8 or more)

1 lb lentils
2 1/2 cups white rice
4-6 tbs bulk taco seasoning, depending on how spice you want it
Various taco toppings (diced tomatoes, onions, black olives, sour cream, taco blend cheese, salsa, jalapenos)

Rinse lentils in a collander and add to a large pot that you have a lid for. Add 6 cups water, rice, and taco seasoning. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Stir before serving and top with your choice of taco toppings.

Italian Pintos (serves 6-8 or more and freezes well, can also have cooked bulk or italian sausage added if meatlessness isn’t necessary)

1 lb pinto beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 large can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2-3 tbs minced garlic
1-2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs bulk dried italian herbs (mixture of marjoram, oregano, basil)
4 cups cooked rice
Mozzerella cheese

Add beans to 6 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp salt. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Beans should be done but still firm. Add tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and herbs. Continue simmering for 20-30 minutes to allow flavors to mix, beans should be soft at this point but not mushy. Put beans in a bowl over the cooked rice, topping with cheese. Allow cheese to melt and serve.
 
My story is the opposite. I spent most of my life, since a bad reaction to a seafood dinner at age 8, thinking I was allergic to seafood. In my 40’s, I was finally tested and found I was not allergic to any of it. I’ve been happily eating crabs, shrimp, clam chowder, fish, etc., ever since.

It can happen that a single shrimp has a boatload of histamine in it just randomly, which would cause a person who is not normally allergic to seafood to have a reaction. That’s what I theorize happened to me - I had the scary anaphylactic reaction, too.

So GET TESTED!!

In the meantime, eat eggs, cheese, veggie pizza, veggie lasagna, broccoli quiche, beans & rice, baked potatoes with broccoli & cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, chili made with soy crumbles instead of beef, and whatever else you might find in the Moosewood cookbook. There’s plenty to eat without being a true “mackerel-snapper!”

Betsy
 
Welcome to the club! I’m putting my money on shell fish, not all fish.

When DH and I were dating, we would take his grandmother to her favorite seafood restaurant a few times a year. We all would order big platters of shrimp.

The first time we did it, I felt fine, went home, and without warning, vomited. Ok…fluke? Start of stomach bug (although I did not even feel nauseaus?).

The second time, I felt fine, went home, and without warning, vomited. Hmmmmm.

The third time (OK, so I’m a slow learner), I felt fine, went home, and without warning, vomited.

Lightbulb went on!!! No more shrimp, no more problem!

Fast forward about 10 years and my DH and I took our kids to dinner. Our oldest DS wanted to order shrimp (he was about 7 or 8 at the time). He was sitting there eating them so nicely when, without warning, he vomited right at the dinner table in the middle of the nice restaurant.:eek: . He looked so confused, and said he didn’t even feel sick.

My youngest 2 have never had shrimp.

Suspect the shrimp!!!
 
Catholic90 said:
Welcome to the club! I’m putting my money on shell fish, not all fish.

When DH and I were dating, we would take his grandmother to her favorite seafood restaurant a few times a year. We all would order big platters of shrimp.

The first time we did it, I felt fine, went home, and without warning, vomited. Ok…fluke? Start of stomach bug (although I did not even feel nauseaus?).

The second time, I felt fine, went home, and without warning, vomited. Hmmmmm.

The third time (OK, so I’m a slow learner), I felt fine, went home, and without warning, vomited.

Lightbulb went on!!! No more shrimp, no more problem!

Fast forward about 10 years and my DH and I took our kids to dinner. Our oldest DS wanted to order shrimp (he was about 7 or 8 at the time). He was sitting there eating them so nicely when, without warning, he vomited right at the dinner table in the middle of the nice restaurant.:eek: . He looked so confused, and said he didn’t even feel sick.

My youngest 2 have never had shrimp.

Suspect the shrimp!!!
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My poor husband thought he had food poisoning after his cousins wedding, they served crab cakes. Poor guy didn’t even make it into the house, puked all over the driveway! He was terribly ill, the whole next day too.
Fast forward a year or so, he’s at a dinner for work, they have shrimp, you guessed it, sick as a dog!
We really watch, because it can be very serious. Not something you want to mess around with.
 
Get tested!!

Don’t wait, get to a doctor and get tested. My mother nearly died from a reaction to food. When I started getting queasy every time I ate turkey, the doctor said: “What are you waiting for?? Anaphylactic shock??”
Turns out, I am, indeed, allergic to turkey…
There are alll kinds of wonderful foods out there. Don’t take a chance on your life; get to a doctor!!!
 
Thank you all for your replies! I think it might just be shrimp and/or crabs. Maybe a particular type of shrimp/crabs. I had king crab legs; I’m not sure what type of shrimp it was, but it’s bigger than the supermarket variety that I usually have. Since I’ve come back, the itching has subsided somewhat. Shrimp is still part of my diet, so as long as it doesn’t get worse, I think I’m willing to endure a little itching for seafood!
 
SomeCatholicGuy said:
Thank you all for your replies! I think it might just be shrimp and/or crabs. Maybe a particular type of shrimp/crabs. I had king crab legs; I’m not sure what type of shrimp it was, but it’s bigger than the supermarket variety that I usually have. Since I’ve come back, the itching has subsided somewhat. Shrimp is still part of my diet, so as long as it doesn’t get worse, I think I’m willing to endure a little itching for seafood!
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No, no, no. Shrimp is shrimp. Crab is crab. And if you’re having a “little itching” now, and keep eating the food, you may eventually develop a full-blown food allergy, and possibly go into anaphylactic shock.

Here’s my story–I always had “allergies”. We had cats, and I got a “little sniffly” when they got too close, got too much fur on me, et cetera. I also sneezed a bit when I was around dust.

Fast forward a couple of years, and I ended up in the ER, covered in hives, needing epinephrine to keep my throat from closing up.

Same story with wheat. I always had stomach problems, and shrugged it off, until I made the connection that I’d get sick after eating gluten. Now if i get a little gluten in my diet accidentally, I feel a little ill, but I know if i ignored it and kept eating gluten, I’d get REALLY sick.

Allergic reactions are your body’s way of telling you, “This is poison to us. Please avoid.” The more you ignore an allergy, and don’t avoid the allergen, you build up the immune response, and eventually your body can’t take it anymore and shuts down.

PLEASE get tested. Please. Or at least avoid the food for now, until you can get tested.

Even if you’re allergic to shellfish (shrimp and crab) that does not mean you’re allergic to other fish, so your diet does not have to be limited and boring during Lent. There are also many other foods you can eat, as others have pointed out.
 
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