Fear of being suddenly allergic to foods

[AnxiousMomTx]

Does anyone else on here struggle with this? I am struggling to eat enough everyday to slow down my weight loss. I wasn't afraid to eat before and have no known food allergies........after I started having panic attacks that include tingling, chest tightness, and the sensation of throat constriction I have started to fear foods I normally would eat with no problem. I know I need to get over this or I could die. I'm currently working on exposure therapy, but it's making my life hell. I eat and then panic for 2 hours until I'm sure my throat won't close up or I won't lose the ability to breathe.....then I go through it all over again an hour or so later at the next miny meal. Anyone have any advice?

[twiztid.jessi]

i struggle with the same thing i went from 193 pounds to 116 pounds unfortunatly i havent yet figured out how 2 control it and make myself eat it seems like no one around me understands they always say things like just make urself eat just eat and u will see and blah blah blah well its just not that easy i really just wanted 2 let u know that ur def not alone for the longest time i didnt even tell anyone my problem because i felt like i was the only one in the world dealing with it and although u know its crazy 2 think like that u just cant help it feel free 2 add me (or whatever u do on here im new i dont completly have this site figured out yet lol) if u need someone 2 talk 2 im here

[mollymalloy]

Hi
I also suffer from this now going on about 1 year or more. I did loose a lot in the beginning but gradually stared to eat more foods, but I still have trouble eating a lot of things though and it is so hard to function. I stopped making some meals because of the ingredients. Recently I did eat a banana and have eaten one most days. I still have not had a major break through. And we're going to the US on holiday for one month staying with friend all over the place and have been dreading about what food they'll serve us.

I did read about on lady how got help from a therapist by confronting her fear in front of him/her, one of her fears was eating nuts, first they had to speak about it, caused her to panic. Then He produced a nut for her to look at, another panic attack. Then he asked her to eat it, yet another panic attack. She did eat it nothing happened apart from a panic attack, waited in the waiting room for an hour just to make sure. Then ate a nut every hour that day.

This is not fun to live with and I wish I could confront my fears but I don't like the feeling of fear and panic and thus stay away food that cause fear.

I hope that you can get the help you need.

[anthrokid]

This is actually so much more common than people think. I suffered with this for about 2 and a half years, and I understand what you are going through. I lost so much weight because I was absolutely terrified that I would suddenly be allergic to anything I ate and would die. I actually do suffer from some severe allergies. I found seeing a psychiatrist to be a great help, and I also have an epipen and antihistamine tablets in my bag at all times. It's likely that I will never need to use the epipen, but it makes me feel much safer to know it's there.

The best advice I can give you is that an actual anaphylactic attack feels nothing like a panic attack. Having suffered from both, I can tell the difference. And I can tell you that anaphylaxis usually occurs very quickly. Within 10 minutes usually. So if you are still standing within 10 minutes of eating a food, I'd say eat a little more. And if you're still standing after half an hour, that could be classified as a 'safe' food. This is how I got back into eating.

And when I do get panicky, and I still do sometimes, and I'm not sure if I'm allergic to something or whether it is just me being silly, I have an antihistamine tablet, which is pretty effective for slower onset allergies.