How a tick changed my life

I’ve always loved being outside.  It’s my sanctuary and where I feel the most peace.  But little did I know there was a tiny little critter lurking around outside that would radically change the way I would eat indefinitely.

Approximately five years ago I was eating a hamburger for supper, something I have probably done hundreds of times in my life, I got the kitchen all cleaned up and was talking to my daughter when I suddenly began to feel itchy, quickly followed by hives and  wheezing.  I was itching all over and had no clue what was causing it!  Having been plagued with allergies most of my life I took some Benadryl which is what seems to work the quickest for me and figured it would subside, which it finally did after about an hour or so.  Having never really solved the mystery of what caused the reaction I was enjoying a steak that my husband made for me on a special occasion a few weeks later.  About 2 hours after eating I began experiencing horrible stomach pains and then came the hives and itching once again.  It was really hard to tell what was causing these reactions because they seemed to come a couple of hours after I would eat and not quickly after I was exposed to any particular food.  Off and on I had similar reactions and I began to suspect it could be some sort of reaction to meat.  I thought possibly it could be something that was added to the meat that I was unaware of such as a preservative of some sort. I began to search out the cleanest meat I could possibly find and thought I would give some pastured, organic lamb a try.  I got some lamb sausage from a local farm and cooked it up for supper.  About an hour and a half later I was standing at the sink doing dishes and suddenly felt like I was going to faint.  Very rapidly after that my body went into an all out assault against something.  I broke out in hives and even the bottoms of my feet began to swell up.  My heart was pounding and my right hand seemed to go into some sort of uncontrollable shaking.  It was one of the scariest moments of my life!  My skin literally felt like it was crawling.  I started downing fast melt Benadryl somehow knowing that I shouldn’t really worry about overdose at this point because I was in imminent danger.  I continued to down the Benadryl and my husband took me to the ER where we waited to see if the Benadryl was going to kick in before entering.  After about 45 minutes it began to subside, later I was told that was anaphylactic shock and I should used an epi pen. What on earth was causing this?

After going home and turning to Mr. Google I came upon an article about an allergy to something called Alpha Galactose 1,3.  It is actually a sugar in meat, whereas most all allergies are to a protein, this is actually to a sugar.  This sugar is present in ALL mammal products.  The fattier the meat the more alpha Galactose 1,3 it contains.  Thus the most severe reaction to the fattier lamb sausage was now clear! The allergy is very new and is said to be caused by the Lone star tick.  The tick is believed to have fed on a deer and then by biting someone it can  cause the body to react to the sugar found in mammal meat as though it is an invader as well.  This is hard news for someone like myself who has always been a meat eater most of my life. I have since been to Vanderbilt Medical Center and been confirmed to have this allergy.  It is very new and there is much they still don’t understand or know about it.  They don’t know if the person would someday be able to consume meat once again if not bitten anymore or what other types of things it could be causing in the person’s body.  Unfortunately, it is becoming much more prevalent in the southeastern United States. I am thankfully able to consume those meats with “feathers and fins” as they don’t have the alpha galactose 1,3 sugar in them.  For this I am grateful!

I can’t stress enough to protect yourself from these ticks! Always check yourself immediately when coming in from high grass or overgrown areas.  Wear some sort of repellant and be very aware if you or a family member starts to exhibit these types of delayed reactions! It could be the difference between life and death.  I have to carry an epi pen with me everywhere I go because there is always a chance of cross contamination.  This adds a whole different experience for someone dealing with this condition when eating foods others have prepared. I hope by sharing my story this will help someone to be aware of this condition and be more vigilant about keeping these critters off of yourself and your family.

Here is another article explaining further about the allergy. This one is also a pretty good resource. If you or someone you know are displaying these symptoms you can get more info here and contact them for Alpha Gal literate doctors in your area.

If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with Alpha Gal this video has some easy to follow tips!