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Not an allergy, but I had to cut back on coffee significantly because of GERD. It's probably better to give it up, but I simply can't.

When it was really bad I couldn't eat anything acidic (tomato included), spicy, or greasy foods. I really missed tomatoes and curry. It was a sad, sad time for a food-obsessed person.

I hope you'll be able to find the real allergen (hopefully not your favorite food!!)

@carol, I wish Benedryl worked. So far, the only thing that has any effect are the types of medications that you can't take long-term.

Bread. Wheat. GLUTEN.

One of my best friends discovered a little over a year ago that she has a gluten intolerance, and while she feels a heck of a lot better since she's become gluten, I'm pretty sure I'd starve to death and endure a very, very painful excruciating gluten-free (think of all the things with gluten..BROWNIES. COOKIES. CAKE. BREADDDDDDDD), death. So instead, I'd just cause myself serious tummy issues. Tummy issues, I can handle. Hunger pains, no.

Blue cheese is the one I can't give up and just have to eat in moderation and take a pill. I'm allergic to mold, mildew, grass and tree pollens, so allergies are a year round thing here. Believe me, I love my moldy blue cheese, but I don't like the hives or stinging sensation in my mouth when I've over indulged.
@db~have you tried Zyrtec?

we have a friend that cannot have anything gluten(Y) because of celiac. It makes cooking for him a challange, but something I actually look forward to. we all go camping 2 t 3 times a year plus assorted hunting trips, so being camp bytch, I have to comeup with tasty alternatives. I think its fun but getting to be more of a challange everytime. I'm allergic to dairy, not intolerant but actively allergic, to be able to eat cheese my favorite food in the world, I must consume 3 pills beforehand, well worth it!!!!!! I could give up many things but cheese NO

I have OAS (oral allergy syndrome - It's like hay fever in your mouth) and quite a few foods affect it. Mango, avocado, blue cheeses, the crusts of brie and so on. Mostly I pay it no mind. If it's something that makes me feel really itchy and mouthy hivey I just take a zyrtec an hour or so before eating.

That said, if my allergy went beyond the OAS or if the symptoms got worse, I'd give up whatever I had to give up. I'm pretty lactose intolerant. I can eat yogurts and cheeses and stuff, but regular milk will really affect me so I use lactaid in my cereal. If I couldn't get the lactaid, I wouldn't eat the cereal.

wheat and dairy, oh how i love thee, and no amount of scolding by my personal trainer about how people shouldn't eat them will change how i feel.

Dairy products. I'm approaching severely lactose intolerant, and I still, and then cope with the results. Why is cheese so tasty??

My wife's been told she's allergic to shrimp, crabs and lobster (she can have other seafood/shellfish). Despite this warning, she's notorious for eating shrimp, especially. This results in hives and itching for a week. She's not learned, yet.

Chocolate and peanut butter for sure... My dad is allergic to CHICKEN, I would be pretty upset if I developed an allergy to that.

It has always seemed to me that we crave the things we are allergic to. I am wheat and yeast intolerant just due to aging I think. If I will space out the offending foods and never ever eat them one day after another, I can manage to have a slice of pizza now and then and a cookie three days later. If I go on a binge, which I have been known to do, like today when there is a warm apple caramel cake on the counter, I take a couple of immodium and have a nap. Sometimes I have to go cold turkey for a couple of weeks to get back to near normal.

Even if it was a possible lethal allergy? Or are we not taking the question seriously? I just mean to say....

@lemons, in my case (and I'm the one who posed the question), neither of the current doctors is worried about lethal implications. It's not that type of reaction.

And we also tested for all sorts of other things that cause similar symptoms like leukemia and liver disease. All good. Except what the doctors agree is some kind of allergic reaction.

They disagree, however, on whether it's food or something else. One doc suspected a food source, the next doc said that food I'm eating is much less likely than things I'm coming in contact with. Which could be food, considering I'm the one that cooks, but in that case it would be the prep rather than the eating that's at fault. I could live with that. Or it could be something environmental that I have no control over.

At this point, both docs have said that it's unlikely we'll ever figure out what I'm allergic to, and the reactions could very well disappear just like they appeared.

Meanwhile, I was just idly thinking about foods and which ones I'd be willing to suffer (a little bit) for. I could give up coffee or chocolate, I think. Tomatoes or bread would be a lot harder.

Benadryl was invented just to protect me from too much shellfish.

Ever since I was a kid, food allergies have come and gone. Have always been lactose intolerant, but can eat cheese. I have some gluten reactions; I'm careful about eating bread and pasta and don't have much of a sweet tooth, so desserts aren't much of a temptation.

Sometimes, a hivey reaction to tomatoes from the garden (doesn't stop me however!) and as I said, shellfish in excess results in huge blotchy hives. Yea for Benadryl

I love the flavor of hot peppers on sandwiches, don't think I could give them up! I'm worried I'll jinx myself though and soon experience an onset of acid reflux (as it's definitely in the family).

Hillary
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