A Massachusetts woman says she's “allergic to everything” and lives a diet of oatmeal and hypoallergenic baby formula, but she still makes the most of it and has a fun holiday season. He said he was able to do so.
Caroline Clay, 24, told news agency SWNS that she had her first allergic reaction to ice cream in September 2017 and went into anaphylactic shock.
She soon had a similar reaction to bread and pizza, and then had a severe reaction after eating rice and beans, spending 12 days in intensive care.
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Initially, doctors hoped the symptoms would go away.
“In the fall [of 2017]”When I was having repeated episodes of shock, my allergist and EMT doctor thought my reaction would only last a few months,” she told SWNS.
Caroline Clay spent 12 days in intensive care after suffering a severe allergic reaction to beans and rice. (SWNS)
Doctors gave her antihistamines and referred her to a specialist, she said.
The reaction persisted, and she said she was “really disappointed.”
“Every day I thought I was going to go to the hospital. My throat was so tight, itchy and wheezing,” she said.
After nearly a year of tests, Clay was diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), a rare chronic disease, in May 2018. MCAS causes repeated severe allergic reaction symptoms, she told SWNS.
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Receiving the diagnosis was emotional, she said, but also “validation.”
“I'm a very bitter, dry person, but both I and my mother Julie, 59, were crying,” she said. “It's finally proven that someone is saying, 'This is a chronic disease and we need to treat it as such.'”
Caroline Clay, 24, of Massachusetts, has a rare condition that makes only two types of food safe for her to eat. (SWNS)
She felt a mixture of relief and relief that her condition had a name, but also the thought, “Oh my God, I'm going to be living with this for the rest of my life.” I was fighting.
Six years after her diagnosis, there are only two things she can eat. Oatmeal and special infant milk.
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“My diet is almost limited to Elecare and oatmeal,” she said, referring to a particular brand of hypoallergenic infant formula.
“I have to eat this three times a day, but I only eat three times a day because I have to self-medicate beforehand,” she said, adding, “It's really hard.”
It took doctors 10 months to diagnose Clay with MCAS, a condition that causes severe allergic reactions to food. (St. Petersburg)
In addition, Clay takes numerous medications, including daily, weekly, and semi-annual medications.
Despite his dietary restrictions and limited diet, Clay tries to function as normally as possible, including holidays.
“But I'm not neglecting myself,” she told SWNS, adding that she has dinner with her family in the evenings.
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“I go out to eat, but I bring my own food, and I bring my water bottle with me on nights out,” she said, adding that she is “always the designated driver” and ” “We can give people the information they need,” he added about what happened the night before.
“It became one of my favorites,” Clay told SWNS. “I tell my friends I’m second-hand and drunk.”
“I go out to eat, but I bring my own food. And I bring a water bottle on nights out.”
Clay will host Thanksgiving and Christmas at his home to accommodate his health.
“For the first few years after I was diagnosed, I didn't want to eat in front of anyone,” she said.
“It's certainly difficult because food is at the heart of the holiday season, but there are many elements that make us feel part of the Christmas ritual.”
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Caroline Clay (second from left) and her siblings. She told news agency SWNS that she feels more involved at Christmas because it's less about food than Thanksgiving. (SWNS)
Now, Clay is hopeful that he can expand his diet beyond oatmeal and infant formula.
“I've been on the oatmeal diet for five years now, and it's been tough,” she told SWNS. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t struggling because I’m struggling.
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“I'm currently meeting with an MCAS therapist to try different foods,” she said. But so far she has tried eating chicken, lamb, sweet potatoes and broccoli, but nothing has helped.
“I'm going to try single foods one by one and find out exactly what it is if I have a reaction,” she said.
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