In a nutshell...

Growing up, we had the best backyard, filled with adventure (including a willow tree which made for some great swinging vines for this former tom boy), a wonderful garden and almond and walnut trees.  I loved getting to pick the almonds and walnuts - but I was happy to pass on eating them.  I would from time to time, have an almond or two, but the walnuts - no thanks!  I think it broke my mom's heart - she loves tree nuts... but I was so against them, I would turn down any food with walnuts (including brownies).  I mean really, who wants to eat something that makes your mouth tingle like that?!?  WHAT?  They don't make most people's mouths tingle?

See I didn't know that a tingling mouth was not a normal reaction to walnuts... I thought it was just one of those weird foods, like a not-so-ripe persimmon.  I never knew what it was like to eat walnuts without that feeling in my mouth so how could I know that was a problem?  I just learned to avoid them and pecans... I never could understand why people like pecan pie (I think that's a gift from God that I never, ever wanted to eat a pecan or pecan pie...).  Yeah - so, it turns out I'm allergic to tree nuts (ya think).  Now when I tell people about my tingly mouth sensation, I get one of two responses 1) *laughter* and the look that says "Are you kidding me?  Of course they don't make your mouth tingle!" OR 2) "What?  That's not normal?" which is usually followed by a barrage of questions such as "but they do kind of make your tongue feel bigger in your mouth, right?" to which I want to scream "NO! That's a very serious reaction - if your tongue can swell in your mouth, it can swell in your throat and cut off your air supply!!!"  But just like me, for most people the symptom doesn't seem odd because it's the way their body has always reacted to it.  Unfortunately though, tree nut allergies can turn on you in an instant... you can go from having symptoms that you hardly notice to anaphylactic shock in one exposure!

I have personally walked down an frustrating road with tree nuts... a few years ago, while camping, I was snacking on some trail mix and I noticed the almonds began to cause my throat to itch (something that I know is an allergic response because it happens to me when I eat melon, which I'm also allergic to)...so I ate the other bits but not the almonds.  Not long after, the cashews started to make my throat itch... and then, the raisins that had been in the same trail mix did... At this point, I finally admitted I probably had a nut allergy and should talk to my doctor about it.  Buuuttt... you see... I'm a little [understatement] stubborn so a few weeks later, when I knew the throat itchiness was long gone, while at home, where I knew it was "safe", I tried a pistachio to see if I was allergic - I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS METHOD FOR TESTING ALLERGIES... ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I KNOW NOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN.  Right after putting it in my mouth, I told my husband, just in case anything serious happened to me... needless to say, I wouldn't be surprised if he lost all respect for me in that moment, as he went into partial panic mode.  Yup.  I had a reaction, albeit mild...at this point I realized that I had too many tree nuts on my list of airway reactions to ever eat a tree nut again.

Fast forward a year... one day on my way to church, I stopped by a coffee shop and picked up my favorite scone.  I hurried out the door and headed down the road - without looking at what I'd ended up with, I took a bite and noticed it wasn't my normal scone... but then I bit into something crunchy... honestly, my thought was "Oh Crap! That had better not be a nut!".  Yup.  Turns out it was a pecan... which I now know is the one nut I am absolutely most allergic to.  I started carrying an epi-pen that week and became very aware of every food I put in my mouth.  Since then I've only had one other reaction, which I can only attribute to contamination (a food that touched the surface a nut product was on), and I can tell you first hand that an epi-pen is worth every penny (and they are expensive) as it saved me!  I now avoid any foods made on the shared equipment which means goodbye Godiva :(, granola bars, baked goods at Christmas and even many cereals.  I also avoid eating at any restaurant that can't tell me what's in their food (but that should be common sense to begin with... if they can't [or won't] tell you what's in it... you probably shouldn't put it in your body... regardless of any allergies). I carry my epi-pen with me everywhere, along with benadryl and 2 inhalers (yes 2), and I know that should I accidentally ingest a tree nut - I've done everything I can to make sure I get to see my kids the following morning.

So why do I write this?  Who really cares about me and my tree nut allergy?  Well this time, for once, it isn't about me.  As I write this, I'm picturing the faces of the people who have been surprised to hear what nut allergy symptoms are like.  I'm writing this with the hopes that my story can help someone else know that it's important to go to the doctor and talk about your reactions to foods and other common allergens (I've also had reactions to coconut, melon, and medicine) - it's not a sign of weakness... it's being proactive to save your own life.

If you have any type of reaction to common allergens (peanuts, peas, tree nuts, latex & stings or bites from bugs) - even if you believe it's not life threatening... please, please, please talk to your doctor.  If you're not sure how to describe what you're getting at, try taking the survey at http://www.myallergysurvey.com/.