It’s Monday morning, and all you want to do is sleep in. You know you can’t, so as you trudge through your morning routine, you head to the kitchen for your little helper. Whether your beverage of choice is coffee, pop or an energy drink, they all provide you with that helpful perk of energy to get you through the day, caffeine.
Now, Imagine not having your morning cup of coffee. No afternoon Pepsi. No rum and Coke on a Friday night. Could you get through the day without your daily dose of caffeine?
I have never tasted Red Bull, or sipped a hot coffee concoction from my local Starbucks. I am allergic to caffeine.
Diagnosing My Allergy to Caffeine
After hundreds of dollars in allergy testing and medical bills for treatments, days without eating solid foods and the inability to speak clearly, I finally figured it out. A customized blood test can determine if you are allergic to caffeine.
As a child, I had my fair share of Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper. In high school I took caffeine pills after late night concerts to get me through the day. They never effected me the way they do now.
In my mid-twenties, I developed my allergy to caffeine without even knowing it. One morning I woke up with a canker sore in my mouth. I didn’t think anything of it until it began to multiply into a debilitating problem. With in a few short days my entire mouth was lined with them. My cheeks, lips, tongue and the roof of my mouth were covered in ulcers.
My only method of eating was to carefully insert a straw into my mouth and drink nutritional shakes such as Ensure, Boost or Slim Fast while numbing the pain with Vicodin. After 34 days of doctor visits, weight loss and unimaginable pain, a doctor prescribed something to start making the sores go away; steroids.
I was nervous about taking a medication with such a taboo appeal, but I was willing to try anything. I had no idea what I was reacting to, but whatever it was, it had to stop. I had to eat normal food again.
Once the steroids healed my mouth, which took about two weeks, I started self-testing possible allergies. I ate a lot of pasta, maybe it was the acidic tomato sauce? No. I loved orange juice, and maybe it didn’t love me. No. I love take-out Chinese food, and maybe it was all that MSG. Nope. Finally I gave up coffee, and tea, and pop. The break-outs started to be fewer and less severe.
Living With My Allergy
Now, I read labels on everything from gum, to health drinks and even granola bars that claim to give you energy. That little boost of energy is usually a secret little ingredient called caffeine. I even avoid ordering non-caffeinated beverages at restaurants, because most of the beverages flow through the same set of tubes with the push of a button. The caffeine laden residue of the Pepsi served before my Sprite, will make me have a break-out.
Although I can’t indulge in a white chocolate mocha latte, or have an afternoon Mountain Dew to get me through the day, I’m ok with it. I’d rather be healthy, than energized by chemicals.
