Just over a year ago, the inside of my left ear began itching. It drove me nuts! I couldn't scratch the inside of my ear, and it felt like an insect had crawled into my ear and was dancing away in there. For weeks I couldn't figure out what was causing it as the itching came and went at seemingly random intervals. Even scarier were the episodes of fainting: a slow fading into a sleep-like state where every attempt at muscle movement was a herculean effort. It felt like my whole body was unable to move; even my lip muscles were so unresponsive it was hard to talk, let alone move my arms and legs or get to a standing position. I would basically pass out and sleep for hours, usually on my couch. It was getting kind of scary.
Then, one evening I was rushing to work at a theatre (it's kind of an on-call job) and grabbed a fast-food value meal on my way in. I wolfed down the fried chicken pieces, the fries and the cola, knowing that I'd need a caffeine fix to get through the evening show. I was there to follow one of the regular workers who was taking the following day off, and I needed to learn his job with great attention to detail.
Only a few minutes after I finished eating, my ear began to itch. I was so used to it by then, that I almost didn't notice at first, but as the evening progressed I found it harder and harder to pay attention to the things I was meant to be learning...my ear began to itch so badly that I just couldn't focus on anything else. Fortunately, I did have a great set of notes and several people looking out for me the next day, so that I managed to get through both shows without any real mistakes (but I almost messed up a complicated quick change because I was holding the costume the wrong way, until someone helped me turn it around).
That night when I finally got home, I went straight to my computer to look up my symptoms. I had noticed a red rim around my lips in the mirror, and the itch, THAT ITCH! What was I allergic to? I knew I had been allergic to soy as a baby, but that allergy had subsided in my late toddler years. A few years earlier I reacted to an overload of soy in my diet while breast feeding...both I and my younger child developed eczema rashes from the calcium supplements & soy milk I was consuming. My whole family is lactose intolerant and both my kids were unable to digest even traces of Lactaid milk in my breast milk. I'd hated rice milk with my first baby, so I decided to risk the soy milk this time around, since I hadn't reacted to it the few times I'd tried it.
So, Soy was the place to start, and right away I knew I'd hit the mark.
Now the question was: What could I eat? What was safe? What wasn't? I'd been avoiding Soy milk and other obvious sources of soy since the eczema rash, but I'd been able to tolerate soy in small amounts until now. How much would I be able to tolerate before having a reaction now?
The information on the web was not nearly as comprehensive and well-organized as I would have liked. One website claimed this, another refuted the same theory. I knew right away that this wasn't going to be easy. I also realized that if I was now having anaphylactic symptoms, that someday my younger child could also be facing the same future if I didn't change the family's eating habits.
Suddenly we couldn't eat bread. Breakfast cereals seemed to be completely off-limits. Even unsalted butter and canned tuna were on the Don't Eat List. Soda, fast food, and even many fruit juices were just gone from my life.
Over the past year, while working on my first year of graduate school, I have had to relearn how and what to eat. My family's eating habits have been challenged, especially because of sensory issues and members with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Eating at a restaurant or even at a friend's party is virtually impossible (though many of my friends and family members are educating themselves and have been amazingly supportive and accommodating).
Unfortunately, this learning curve has had me focusing on what I was eating, but not the proper proportions and time constraints have made it all too easy to ignore some of the healthier options I should have been sticking to. I have gained back 25 of the 30lbs I lost while on Weight Watchers two years ago. So now, I am back on Weight Watchers, this time determined to lose 50lbs total, and to learn to make this happen without the soy-laden convenience/packaged/diet foods that I am convinced caused me to plateau last time at only -30lbs.
I mean to use this blog to document my personal research into Soy, and it's prevalence in our food supply. I also hope to clear up some of the confusion contradictory sources have created. Lastly, I truly hope to increase awareness for this allergy which I believe is possibly the most difficult allergy to live with, once anaphylactic responses have begun.
I welcome responses to this blog, asking only that they are made in a respectful tone. I don't claim to know everything or be a medical professional, so I fully expect to post at least a few things that are wrong or outdated at some point. Anyone with more correct or up-to-date sources is welcomed to share, and I will edit or retract as appropriate.
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
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