First, let me point out that we eat a LOT of shellfish in this house. Typical weekly menu is:
Monday: Clams or Mussels
Tuesday: Fresh Fish (Tuna, Salmon, some white fish)
Wednesday: Pasta
Thursday: Shrimp
Friday: Pizza
On Saturday or Sunday, we might have shrimp again. You see, the kids love all these shellfish, and they're a good source of protein. Plus, the clams or mussels are super easy and cook fast, and the shrimp are super flexible, so it takes a little of the boredom factor away.
Last November, Helen was super ill at night, going through almost her entire pajama wardrobe. Although I am super careful with mussels, I figured I must have accidentally served her a bad one. Lesson learned.
Then, at the turn of the year, she ate roughly 25 - 30 clams (ridiculous, I know - she LOVES them), and was a puking machine later that night. I wrote this off as over-eating and rich food. I puke when I overeat, so it didn't seem that strange to me.
In March, Helen ate a ridiculous amount of crab legs loaded with butter, and she had a repeat performance of her previous two illnesses. Notice a pattern here? I didn't.
Finally, this month, Helen ate a ton of mussels (cooked by Ed, this time), and it was a full-on disaster, so I decided Helen had become allergic to shellfish.
A couple of days later, Ed gave Helen shrimp for lunch, and that night, it happened again. On this particular night, I was ill, and went to bed early. Apparently around 11:00 Connor had an itchy leg, and Ed told Connor he could slip with him in the guest room. At midnight, Helen joined their little party. She snuggled up next to Ed, and promptly threw up all over him.
I slept through it. My sister declared that Ed had officially become the mom in this house. For one night, it was awesome.
Now we were totally convinced Helen was allergic to shellfish, and I spent the better part of three days flipping the universe the bird because I have told many, many people, that I cannot parent to an allergy. And, this particular allergy is devastating because when I draw a Venn diagram of the foods Connor likes and the foods Helen can eat with a shellfish allergy, the intersection is salmon and french fries. That does not bode well for this house.
Finally, I took Helen to see the doctor. After relating all of my excellent detective work to the nurse, she said "Dr. B. will be in to talk to you about your shellfish free life" but then Dr. B. came in and reminded me once again why I adore him. His response to all my data? "This could be mere coincidence."
I took Helen down to the lab for a blood test, and we got the results back today.
Negative.
Which means she does not have an allergy to shellfish, but now I want to know - what the heck caused all that puking? And do I really want to test this out by feeding Helen shellfish again?
Elaine
Well, each time she threw up you say she ate loads of the stuff. So maybe the coincidence is that she overindulged and you just need to give her a ration of shellfish? Or maybe have her eat two small servings with a break in the middle?
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't you need to really chew shellfish well to help your digestion? Maybe it'll help if you cut Helen's servings into small pieces and practice with her chewing each bite five times before she can have the next one.
Ooh - those are good ideas. It certainly is a really strong coincidence. I was thinking about what else she eats with the shellfish - perhaps some sort of a starch to mix with the shellfish in her stomach ?
ReplyDeleteVickie - when she threw up with the shrimp the final time, she didn't have that much. She also didn't puke that much, but it makes me inclined to think it's not just a quantity thing, like I initially thought. Also, she can down a couple of lobster tails loaded with butter (and has done so on a few occasions, prior to me deciding she had an allergy) with no ill effects.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the importance of chewing shellfish.
TSM - starch rotates. French fries with mussels and clams, rice with shrimp, but I'm going to start taking note of everything she eats when she eats shellfish, just in case this happens again.
I figure because it's a protein, it needs more than a couple of chews...I know if I swallow my meat without chewing properly I don't feel great afterward.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I feel your pain about a potential Venn diagram in a shellfish-free zone. I don't know how I became the mother that cooks her kids one thing and herself and their father another, but that's what life is like here. (We're trying to eat healthier, so no pizza for us--not that Benjie likes the kids' flatbread from Trader Joe's much; he's allergic to shrimp, so he can't eat their shrimp fried rice; the kids don't like steak the way I make it....)
ReplyDeleteDo you also get your stuff fresh and trust your source?