Mango Allergy Is Really A Thing

These last two weeks have been a learning experience for sure! I am now the new owner of an Epi-pen since I have found out my new allergy is to mango. I try to be adventurous with new things and it backfires!

I usually stick to the normal fruit groups when buying produce: bananas, apples, oranges, etc. So when I went to the grocery store and saw that there was a sale on mango fruit I thought I'd give them a try. I had only tried them once before and thought they weren't the best, but maybe I had bought one that wasn't ripe and then I had no idea how to even the cut the thing open. So I bought three the first time. I let them ripen a little on the counter for a day or so and then I opened one up and it was delicious! I even cut some up and gave them to my 9 month old daughter and she loved them too! I was happy to let her try new things and see what she  likes and dislikes...she likes more things than not! I was cutting the fruit up and sharing with my daughter and then I would cut the fruit up in the skin and eat it off the skin. That's where my mistake came into effect. After eating the first three mango I went back to the store and bought four more. I would cut some up for my daughter and then I'd eat the rest off the skin. After the 3rd day I noticed a sore starting in the corner of my mouth. I didn't really think much of it because I had eaten a Flavor-Ice Popsicle and thought that I had cut the side of my mouth with the plastic. But then the sore started spreading and spreading and swelling! My entire upper lip was gigantic! I have larger lips and my brothers always made fun of me for it, but this was a whole new kind of lip! I tried to medicate by myself for a day with cold sore medicine thinking that maybe I had one of those, but then I had never had a cold sore before this so I couldn't really tell myself that was it.

By Saturday it was bad when I woke up at 4:30 A.M., so I took a Benadryl to see if that would help and then I started scouring the internet to find an Urgent Care place that opened up early. I finally found one and the doctor there took one look and said it was cold sores. I told her I had never had a cold sore before and she gave me the whole story that a lot of people have them and it's not a big deal...well, it felt like a big deal to me and my lip was even bigger! I told her it looked like poison ivy rash, but she threw that idea out the door and I even told her I had eaten mango which was newly added into my diet. Well, she sent me on my way with a prescription for the anti-viral medication, Valtrex (very expensive medicine, too!), and said everything should start to look better quick. I spent my first Mother's Day cooped up in my house because I was too embarrassed to go to church looking like a Large Mouth Bass (the loving words from my husband mind you!) By Monday morning, the swelling had not gone down. I started googling everything I could think of then it came to mind that maybe it was an allergic reaction. I started looking up mango rashes since that was the only new thing I had eaten recently. Low and behold, the first thing that popped up on my phone was how a mango rash can look like poison ivy! I knew I didn't have cold sores. I looked up everything on this and found that it was more common than not.

My upper lip was effected the most, but then it also spread to my bottom lip!

Apparently, the skin of a mango contains the same chemical as a poison ivy, Urushiol. It causes the same rash and irritation . People who easily get poison ivy will most likely get a rash from coming into contact with mango skin, but some can still eat the meat of the fruit if someone else prepares it for them. My big mistake was cutting the fruit up in the skin and eating it off the skin so my lips were coming into contact with it. I then proceeded to throw the last mango away using metal tongs....

Once I discovered this I quit taking the cold sore medicine and quickly started on lots of Benadryl. It started helping, but it seemed to be taking a long time. By Thursday, the rash was still there so I decided it was time to finally see my real doctor, who laughed at me and told me to stop being so adventurous with foods. He asked if I had an Epi-pen, which I did not even though I am pretty positive I have a shellfish allergy, he then made sure I got one of those and put me on a steroid to help with the rash and hives that had started on the side of my face and neck.

My lips are back to their normal size now. I just wish that the Urgent Care doctor would have taken more time to listen to me and not just assume that I had a terrible case of cold-sores. Now I hope that all who read this feel a little more educated on the fact that a fruit that seems harmless can cause this weird rash! And you're all welcome that I went through this so you might not have to now!

Looking Back at 2014!

2015 is off and running and I can't believe that it is almost February. It's hard to think how fast time is flying by and the fact that our little girl is already 6 months old!

Let's take a look back at 2014!

In January, we announced that we were expecting! Estimated due date was July 10.

In February, Ryan and I took our little trip to New York to be on The Katie Couric Show. Ryan is still sad about missing the Louisville Farm Show...good thing we are going this year!

Hanging out in the green room at Katie Couric.

Had to take this!

(If you haven't seen our minute on The Katie Couric Show, make sure to visit my earlier post all about the trip!)


In March, Ryan and I marked something off our Bucket List: We finally saw George Strait in concert! It was an awesome and I think this is where Sadie gets her love for country music 'cause I sure could feel her dancing the night away!

In April, we purchased our "new-to-us" vehicle so we could easily tote around our little bundle of joy and Ryan ran in the Farmer 5K at Purdue where he won a medal for his age group!

Fishing on Bruce Lake.

In May, I did a lot of cleaning. Ryan and I also went fishing a few times....I tried not to capsize the boat with my rotund baby figure!

Notes, or love threats, that Ryan would come home to see!

At the end of June, there was a huge storm that took the barn down....it was a sad day and even more sad when it caught on fire.








Now comes July! Ryan and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary! We spent the day fishing and then went to dinner and a movie. Always a great time when I'm able to spend the day with my hubby!

I was due July 10 and thought that if I went to the county fair I could help things move along by walking and walking and walking. I ended up being induced July 14 and we had our sweet little baby girl the next day, July 15. Sadie Mae was born 9 lb. 4 oz. and 20.5 inches long at 4:18pm. She has been a beautiful little blessing and we could not have asked for a more healthy, smiley and happy baby.

Daddy was wrapped around her finger from the beginning!

At the end of July, Ryan and I decided we needed a small vacation so we packed our little family up and headed to Moline, IL for a long weekend where we visited the John Deere Pavilion and a few other things.















In August, I prepped myself for going back to work. So this month I practically cried every single time I thought about leaving Sadie....it was not a good month!

At the beginning of September I returned to work at the local High School as a Special Needs Aide. I loved being able to work with kids again, but I absolutely missed being with Sadie. I felt like I was missing everything she was doing. This was also very stressful. Making sure I woke up in time to get myself ready, have all bags/lunches packed, get Sadie nursed and dressed for the day, drop her off, head to work, pump at least twice a day, pick Sadie up after school, try and do some laundry, and attempt at making dinner. This was stressing me out to the point of I wasn't able to make enough breast milk and I didn't like not being able to do this. There was also A LOT of crying this month too! (I'm usually not this emotional...I'm blaming it on the post-pregnancy hormones!)

Sadie loved the tractor rides.

In October and November, Ryan worked extra hours at night helping farm. So many of our nights were "family nights" spent riding in a tractor if he was in a field close to home. We also hosted Thanksgiving at our house for Ryan's family! It was so much fun...I missed being able to cook for a large group. And everything was fantastic if I might add!

We enjoyed many beautiful sunsets.

December came, and after several discussions between Ryan and I, we decided that it would be more beneficial to our family if I stayed home with Sadie. I ended the school year and have been home with Sadie for over a month and I am loving it! I love waking up to Sadie talking in her crib and then her smiling when I go to get her. The fact that I don't have to wake up at 4 am for work and get ready, but instead I can wake up and nurse Sadie and then go back to sleep before Ryan leaves. I love that I can make sure we have a healthy meal every night. And my favorite is playing with Sadie and watching her grow knowing that I am the one that t taught her these things...and it's not too bad being able to wear yoga pants all day!

Sadie's 1st Christmas Tree....Next year there will be a real one!

Well, what a year! It was fun looking back and remembering all the things we did and everything that happened....I forgot about a few of them already! Now, here's to the New Year of 2015! Let's see if I can keep up with all of my resolutions!