I grew up playing in the woods, camping, hunting with my daddy, riding bikes, playing outside and much more.  Yeah, I knew about ticks, but it wasn’t a fear of mine.  I would get one on me and have a parent pull it off and get rid of it.  Over the years, I have heard of Alpha-Gal Syndrome, so my fear of tick bites started to form but still I wasn’t afraid.  I was just more cautious and tried to make sure to check myself and my family when coming in from outside.  On April 5, 2022, I was bit by a Long Star tick, you know the one with the white dot on their back.  Also, the tick that carries Alpha-Gal. Thankfully, I knew about Alpha-Gal, but I was praying the tick that bit me wasn’t one that was carrying Alpha-Gal. Side note, not all Long Star ticks carry Alpha-Gal.  Although I was lucky enough (ha) to have been bitten by the one that was carrying it.  Symptoms started about two weeks after finding that lovely tick on me.  I wasn’t sure what was going on at first. See in 2020 I had to give up dairy due to stomach issues, so I thought my stomach was hurting so bad because I must have been eating to many things with dairy in them.  I tended to “cheat” from time to time and sneak dairy here and there!  I missed cheese what can I say!!! Well, Easter Sunday I was eating lunch with my family, and I started hurting extremely bad, still not putting two and two together.  We went back home to our camper after that weekend, and I cooked pork chops the next night.  I remember going to bed that night and my stomach hurting.  I took some medicine and ate some tums but still my stomach was burning, and I felt nausea.  I still didn’t think it was from the tick. Silly me!  The next night I made up some yummy hamburgers, with beef!  Side note, that was my last day eating red meat!  Within 2 hours, I was in extreme pain and vomiting.  After I stopped vomiting the pain went away and I broke out in hives all over my stomach and back.  I told Mike I was going the next day to have blood work done because I was pretty sure, but still secretly hoping and praying that I didn’t, I had Alpha-Gal.  He was pretty certain that’s what it was, but I told him not to speak it into being.  I DID NOT want to give up my red meat!!!!!! I LOVED bacon!

The next morning, I called the doctor and was able to be seen.  What an experience that was! Let’s just say know your body and advocate for yourself.  If I had never heard of Alpha-Gal and did my own research, I am afraid to think what would have happened if I ate red meat again. Anyways, they did the blook work and on May 5^th I received the call from the doctor confirming yes indeed I had Alpha-Gal.  By that point it had been a week since I had consumed any red meat.

But this allergy is so much more than just eating red meat. I did tons of research to the point that I scared myself to death and had to stop because I was starving and going crazy at the same time.  Everyone reacts different once they have Alpha-Gal.  Thank God I was not as reactive as some that I know that live daily with it.  Some people react to smelling red meat cook.  I didn’t get that bad!

I had a couple of people reach out to me, my mom being one about a treatment called SAAT.  I researched and found a place in Boone, N.C. that would perform the SAAT procedure.  It is an acupuncture procedure where they are trained to put 3 very small acupuncture needles in your ear, and you keep them in there for 3 weeks.  Yeah, that was a fun experience, haha! Anyways, at the end of the three weeks they test you again and tell you if you are in remission or not.  My main purpose for this was to go into remission so that I could cook red meat for my family, not react to fumes (the symptoms can get worse with time), not worry about the mammal by products in everything, and not have to worry so much about cross contamination. After the 3 weeks I was told I was in remission, ya!  But I still choose not to introduce red meat back into my life.  At least for right now.  I know some people probably think that is crazy, and that’s ok.  It is my choice and my life and honestly, I feel healthier not eating red meat.  Do I miss it? HECK yeah!  But the amount of time it is going to take to reintroduce it and the fear of having a reaction is just too much for me right now. So, I choose to only eat turkey, chicken and seafood along with all the veggies I want!

Even after being told, I am in remission I still watch everything I put into my body and read ingredients.  Why you may ask? Because remission isn’t a cure. Your body can decide at any moment to come out of remission especially if you are bitten by another Long Star tick that is also carrying Alpha- Gal. That’s right it isn’t a one and done! I used to love going to the grocery store and shopping.  Now it is a pain, I go and end up saying I hate this at the end of every trip.  It is getting easier living with Alpha-Gal and I am learning daily what I can eat and not having to stress so much.  But giving up red meat and dairy makes for a fun time when trying to menu plan.  Currently, I feel like I have certain recipes and they are in our weekly menu.  Gone are the days when I can go to a restaurant and order whatever I would like to eat.  I eat at Chick-fila (grilled nuggets and fries) and Mexican restaurants (veggie fajitas). We travel a lot, so now I must make sure I have food that is safe for me to eat.  If we stop along the way at a Fast-Food place that isn’t safe for me, I just bring something inside with me that I can eat!  I also make sure I have plenty of protein and snacks that I can eat when we are at events where the boys will eat off food trucks or food is provided for us.  Sometimes I get really sad because I just want to be able to go anywhere and order whatever I want to eat and not have to worry if I am going to have a reaction in 2-8 hours later.  Yep, you read that right with Alpha-Gal the reactions aren’t immediately they can be delayed up to 2-8 hours later!!!

So, while, some judge and think why even go through the remission process to not even eat red meat now, I don’t worry about that.  The SAAT treatment was a win win for me because I satisfied my main reasons for having it done!!  Again, it is my life, and this is the choice I have made for me.  I am so thankful that Mike and my boys are so supportive of this decision!  The boys know all about it and when I order something or pick up something at the grocery store that is new, they ask “Mom is that safe for you to eat?”  It is so important to educate yourself and your family members with what is going on in your life.

This is a wrap on my life so far with Alpha-Gal.  I am sure I have more to learn and like I said maybe eventually I will introduce red meat back into my diet but for now nope.  If you have any questions, please ask away.  I am still new to this and having to lean on individuals I know that have it and different support groups I am in.  We can learn together!