Alpha-gal

[NoDakRat]

Holy crap buddy. Do you think you picked it up in Vinton County? Also remember our middle of the night Benadryl hunt at the cabin after you broke out in hives and we thought it was the clothes you had in a trash bag getting the bags scented powder on them. Wonder if that was it too

I think that was my first reaction to this shit.

 

[5Cent]

Man, I was hoping this was more of a FYI, not an actual gonna know of someone(s) type situation. The symptoms are so common that's what made me start looking into it more before sharing.

I love seafood, a lot, but the thought of switching to no steaks, cheeseburgers, venison is enough to bring a man to his knees.

Thank you for shedding some light on your personal experience with it NDR, I know I learned something from it.

 

[Dustinb80]

Damn that really sucks. Thanks for sharing and enlightening us.

 

[NoDakRat]

Man, I was hoping this was more of a FYI, not an actual gonna know of someone(s) type situation. The symptoms are so common that's what made me start looking into it more before sharing.

I love seafood, a lot, but the thought of switching to no steaks, cheeseburgers, venison is enough to bring a man to his knees.

Thank you for shedding some light on your personal experience with it NDR, I know I learned something from it.

You're welcome. I was pretty damn grumpy about it for a while. I think what I miss the most are the flavors of the food. Nothing tastes like bacon or a good medium rare (emphasis on the rare side) steak. That's for damn sure. Most everything else I can mimic with turkey/chicken. A buddy of mine even made a turkey taste more like a ham than a turkey last weekend. But he has a gift for that sort of thing so I get a lot of recipes from him.

 

[triple_duece]

Where’s the best place to buy the stuff? Online or over the counter store?

Feed stores, tractor supply for gallons to cut/mix is the cheapest. Can also be found in ready to use at academy and Walmart. If your going in the outdoors it’s almost a must for me. No more ticks, chiggers or mosquitoes. Any other bug won’t crawl on you either.

 

[cotty16]

Dang... that's awful!!!

 

[Chass]

You're welcome. I was pretty damn grumpy about it for a while. I think what I miss the most are the flavors of the food. Nothing tastes like bacon or a good medium rare (emphasis on the rare side) steak. That's for damn sure. Most everything else I can mimic with turkey/chicken. A buddy of mine even made a turkey taste more like a ham than a turkey last weekend. But he has a gift for that sort of thing so I get a lot of recipes from him.

Do you have a reaction when cleaning/cutting game up or raw meat as well?

 

[NoDakRat]

Do you have a reaction when cleaning/cutting game up or raw meat as well?

Nope. At least not yet. As far as I know, it only happens after the digestive system breaks down the meat and the 'guilty' protein is absorbed into the body.

 

[giles]

I can tell you first hand that it does suck. I was diagnosed with it 4 years ago. They say that it can go away if you catch it soon enough and take the necessary precautions. Apparently, I didn’t get diagnosed soon enough. It’s not the easiest thing to catch. Every one of my reactions was between midnight and 3AM. And you don’t always have a reaction. My reactions don’t happen until roughly 6 hours after I’ve ingested mammalian meat (anything that has fur and four legs). What didn’t make sense was that I only had reactions after dinner/supper and I was eating beef/pork/venison at all times of the day. The allergist still can’t figure that one out.

After my first reaction, it was a year before I had another one. And another year before I had the next one. They always happened in the fall and while I was in deer camp. I was in the ER getting Benadryl via IV 4 times (twice while in deer camp and twice right after getting home from deer camp) before I was actually diagnosed. My reactions were always hives on the back of my head/neck and around my waist. The last two reactions I started feeling it my lips and that’s not a good thing. The first couple reactions I had I thought it was a bug bite. It made sense because I was in deer camp. A couple of benadryl seemed to take care of it in a few hours. But after that the reactions seemed to be more intense, thus the ER visits. Diagnosis isn’t quick and easy like a traditional allergy prick test. You have to be tested for the allergy specifically and it requires giving blood. My first blood test showed an IgE level of around 70 which translated to a 5 on the RAST scale. In plain english, it translates to “Holy fuck don’t ever come close to that again…EVER!”. Normal (no allergy) on the RAST scale is .35. Yep, my level was 200 times normal. My allergist has been in the business for several decades and I was the highest rating he’d ever seen. Apparently I was quite the topic of conversation in his circle of colleagues. I just got tested again last month and it came back with a 7ish IgE level which is still a 3 on the RAST scale. I think this shit is pretty much locked in for life.

My last full steak meal was in April of 2018. I took 2 allegra before the meal and 2 more after the meal. Before I went to bed I took a benadryl and another one in the middle of the night. I still broke out in hives but not quite as bad and it never made it to my lips. This shit is not something to mess with. I carry an EPI but have never had to use it. I’ve never had a reaction due to my fish/fowl being cooked on the same grill as a beef/pork/venison. I have a theory on why I didn’t have reactions before midnight and plan on testing it in the next couple months (hopefully with some freshly killed venison). If it pans out, my steak and potato will turn into steak and eggs and mother nature can go fuck herself.


Now, here’s some advice, take it or leave it.

1. I haven’t pulled a tick out of my skin in decades. Chiggers, however, kick my ass. If I don’t get the bastards taken care of the day they get on me, it takes months for my bites to heal. I believe i was bitten by the tick in the larvae/nymph stage where they act a lot like a Chigger. They climb up your pants and attach to your leg much like a chigger. Premethrin is the best stuff I’ve found so far. If you are going to be in the outdoors, USE IT!!


2. If you don’t normally have reactions to something and then all of a sudden do have a reaction, don’t ignore it like I did. Take notes of your last twelve hours so you have something to reference. What you ate and drank. Where you were. What you touched. Anything you can remember. If/when it happens again, you’ll have something to compare it to. Also, go to an allergist and get tested. Even after it happens the first time. I know one instance isn’t a trend, but with this crap it may be the only chance you have to get in front if it.

Are you still around here? For a couple of years now I’ve had random rashes and it wasn’t until you posted that I had put any thought into it. I’ve noticed that they show up now after I eat red meat.

 

[Tipmoose]

Are you still around here? For a couple of years now I’ve had random rashes and it wasn’t until you posted that I had put any thought into it. I’ve noticed that they show up now after I eat red meat.

Have you tried penicillin?

 

[giles]

Lol, I normally just drink until I don’t care

 

[NoDakRat]

Yep, still here. Always lurking. For the first three years, I only had reactions in November...at deer camp. If you suspect it, ask your doctor to request bloodwork for it. It’s the only way to find it.

 

[NoDakRat]

If your family practice doctor looks at you with the deer in the headlights look, just ask for a referral to allergist or find your own. I had to print out a 4 page article to get my regular doctor to understand what it was.

 

[giles]

Awesome man, thanks. My first reactions were on hot days after a BBQ. Lately, it has been happening every time I eat deer. I had a pretty drastic diet change the last few months and cut way back on red meat. “Catching it early” is what stuck out in my head. I’m hoping it’s just a seasoning that we use and not this!

 

[NoDakRat]

I thought that along with other possible things to be allergic to. Wish I had gotten tested earlier. Might have had a chance of it going away. Now, I think I’m stuck with it. Go get tested!! It can’t hurt (unless you’re afraid of needles)...

 

[giles]

Nope, needles don’t bother me. Ever try talking the va into anything? That’s the part that sucks in this process.

 

[NoDakRat]

I haven’t dealt with the VA yet (although my wife has been pushing me to get that ball rolling). Have you had to go to the ER because of it? If you have to, have them run the test. The ERs I’ve been to have been pretty good about asking the right questions with regards to this crap. Two of those trips were to the hospital in Chillicothe. I’ll find the specific things you need to be tested for and post them here for anyone that might need them in the future.

 

[NoDakRat]

These are the two things my allergist requests on my blood tests. I can't imagine any doctor would ignore/deny the request to order a simple blood test that could change the rest of your life. If they do, I'd be jumping their shit and reminding them who they work for. You might be able to request your own lab tests through compunet (would need to call and verify). If you can't find a doctor that will request the tests, let me know and I'll ask my allergist if he'd assist. This is still a fairly new and under-documented allergy so I'd like to think the more information they can get on it the better.

GALACTOSE ALPHA 1,3 GALACTOSE IGE

IGE, TOTAL SERUM

 

[giles]

Your are the man, thank you! You live around chill? That’s the VA I go to. I’m west of it a little ways. You can PM me if this is getting to personal for ya on the open net. I don’t much care because half these guys have been to my house

 

[NoDakRat]

You're most welcome. I live in Waynesville, home of that f'in sauerkraut festival. Worst weekend of the year!!! If it was too personal, I wouldn't have responded to the thread at all. After going through this, I think every outdoorsman/woman should have as much information about it as possible. It really can disrupt not just your lifestyle, but your entire family's. It's a huge change in what goes on in the kitchen. I hope your reactions are to something other than the meat. But the test is simple so I'd recommend it to anyone who spends a fair amount of time outside and has reactions that don't make any sense. The thing to remember is the reactions aren't immediate. It takes 3-6 hours after you've eaten the meat for the reaction to happen. When the body is actually breaking down the meat for absorption into the body. I think that's what really throws people off when they do have a reaction. The timing just doesn't make any sense.