Day 11 (July 7, 2016) and Update

Traffic was bad today, but my dad and I made it to the appointment right on time. We went to a different location today because that was what was available. It being summer makes it eaisier to go in the middle of the week. I went up to 2 peanut M&Ms everyday. If I liked Reeses Pieces, then I could do 3 as an alternative to the peanut M&Ms. At the appointment, I spent my time reading my summer reading book and taking IQ tests. My goal was to determine if my IQ is higher than my dad's, which it is. (We both still fell into the same category so it wasn't a huge difference.)

I am glad to say no reactions have occurred and I am nearing my pit stop. Only a little more to go and I will be done with appointments for a while. I am also doing better with eating them at different times during the day. I'm experiencing less stomach aches when I choose to dose in the morning. I usually dose in the after dinner but that is just me.

Day 10 (June 17, 2016) and Peanut M&M Update

Today I went back to the doctors for my next mission, the peanut M&M. For prep, I sent a message out to every group chat I was a part of asking "Can anyone give me insight on what it(peanut M&M) tastes like?" My research did not get me far because most of the replies were about how they prefer pretzel m&ms. Friends, that is helpful. Fortunately, I was about to find out for myself.

The chocolate definitely made it more bearable and to me the peanut tastes kinda like an almond. I don't think I will ever want to eat a whole bag of peanut M&Ms. I still have to give myself a mental pep talk before I eat it. 

"McKenna, Yes you are are allergic to peanuts, yes that is a peanut, but no you will not die. You will be fine. That's it. Chew it. Chew it. Okay, see you'll be fine."

Also, look at the cute shirt my mom got me. #oitworks

TIme to head back for my up dose. See you next time.

Day 9 (March 18, 2016) and 1 Reese's Piece

Okay so long time no post... the good news is I'm not a bunch of posts behind. My big news is that I'm officially done with peanut flour as of March 18th and I'm eating 1 Reese's Piece a day.

Since March, I have been maintaining that dose while I get my life back in order. We knew there was a possibility we would have to do this because JUNIOR YEAR IS THE HARDEST YEAR EVER! (Looking forward to enjoying a relaxing summer now that I'm out of school) Anyway, I also have some bad news. I hate the taste of Reese's Pieces so dosing everyday is still not enjoyable. 

I will be heading back to the Allergist tomorrow so I can try a peanut M&M. I think I may like it better because chocolate makes everything taste better...Right? 

200 mg dose

200 mg or 2- 100 mg

I was right when I said these two weeks were going to be miserable. This time, the capsules decided to be stubborn and not open easily. There were a few mishaps where the powder spilled onto the counter. I am not pleased to say that I may have responded by rubbing my hand and licking it and maybe even licking the counter...gross! (Don't worry family, I always cleaned the counters after I licked them) Excited for what happens at the appointment tomorrow, but you will have to come back and see because I am not going to spoil the surprise.

Day 8 (March 4, 2016)

I went early this morning and we got there a few minutes early. We were able to run into Target to the starbucks. I was disappointed that they didn't have the ingredients to make a smoothie as I love drinking smoothies for breakfast.

At the appointment, I decided to be different and had it mixed in VANILLA pudding. Okay, it was miserable. I could barely get it down. We will see how the next two weeks will go. Wish me luck. 

At the appointment, I worked on reading Allegiant so I can finish it before the movie comes out.

Anyway, here is what 200mg looks like...I have to do 2-100s a day.

150 mg dose

This post will be short because not much has changed. Below is a reminder of what 150 or 3- 50mg capsules look like.

This time was hard because I had to open 3 capsules everyday and each one looks gross. I still have been putting it in a graham cracker Nutella sandwich.

Day 7 (February 19, 2016)

Today, I headed back to the allergist to bump up to 150ml. I decided since I had gotten used to eating it in Nutella, it would probably be best if I chose chocolate pudding over apple sauce. At my appointment, I worked on some math homework. That is all I had time to do because we needed to get back home in time for me to go to rehearsal. Okay, so I may have frittered(vocab word) away some of my time on the Kendall and Kylie game but it was necessary...my event was going to expire. 

Here is my dose, they didn't have any 150 mls prepared so I just have to take three 50mls a day.

on the way home, I had Chick-fil-a for the first time in over 13 years. 

Sorry that this went up so late...it is already almost time for the update and up dose. Whoops!?!

100 mg dose

It has officially been three weeks since my last up dose. Last Friday, when I should have been heading to my appointment, I was at home sick:( Luckily, we think it was just bad food from a restaurant and we didn't have to go down a dose. So far, we are staying on track.

Here was my current dose:

Before my tree nut challenge (see my last post):

I had to stick to my plain old applesauce. However there were a few days I put it on weird thing...I'm blanking on what they were but I know it happened. I also learned that cinnamon applesauce does indeed mask the taste and it is better to use less apple sauce and get it over.

After the challenge:

Now that I have been released to have tree nuts, I have been eating the flour with Nutella. I tried just a spoonful of Nutella but it was too rich. I now spread it on bread or my new favorite Nutella on a graham cracker.

I have also gone a little crazy with tree nut products. I eat pistachios almost everyday and am glad to be able to buy at least some granola bars.

Tree Nut Challenge

When I was diagnosed with a peanut allergy, they told me to stay away from all nuts because of cross contamination risks. For those of you who do not know, a peanut is actually not a nut. It is a legume like peas, soybeans, and lentils. When I looked up why it said 1) Peanuts are harvested when they are underground, nuts grow on trees 2)Most tree nuts have a single seed inside and a peanut has two.


While there are lots of different kinds of tree nuts, the ones that I will be challenging are pecan, pistachio, almond, hazelnut, cashew, Brazil nut, macadamia nut and walnut. Because it isn't something you can do often, I am going to give my first impression of each nut and rank them(1/8 is best).

1- Walnut

 It was powdery and gross. (8/8)

2- Cashew

It tasted salty and crunchy. (6/8)

3- Pecan

It was crunchy and sweet. (4/8)

4- Pistachio

It had two different tastes going on at the same time. (2/8)

5- Almond

It was the first one that I could identify by looking at it. It didn't taste a whole lot different from the other nuts. (5/8)

6- Brazil Nut

It was very large and hard to eat. (3/8)

7- Macadamia Nut

It was powdery and moist at the same time. I don't know how that is possible but it was. (7/8)

8- Nutella (Hazelnut)

It was rich, delicious, chocolaty goodness. (1/8)

They let my mom try Nutella too!

Okay so of course the nutella was the best. They said they like to use it as a treat because it is the one that everyone enjoys. Why not end on a high note? Luckily, I had no reactions proving I never really was allergic. This means I am allowed to have so many things I never could have. We made a quick swing by Target to get Starbucks and some milk chocolate M&Ms.

My first impression of M&Ms was that they taste like Canadian smarties. (If you are allergic to nuts and happen to be in Canada or have a friend in Canada, I strongly suggest Canadian Nestle Smarties...they are so yummy)

I decided to build a tower with all the cups medicine cups I got.

We didn't realize how long the appointment was going to be and had to order a pizza halfway through the appointment. The pizza was a very delicious and spicy barbecue chicken pizza. We ended up only finishing half of it and gave the rest to the nurses and other staff at the allergy center.

In other news, we asked when I would be cleared for places like chick-fil-a and he said I could already go. I immediately texted my friends, who were more excited then me, and we are planning a day we can go.

Day 6 (January 29, 2016)

Today, it was an early morning again. I don't know how I feel about having to make it to morning appointments. I was excited that this time my mom took me because she hasn't gone in a while. Anyway, we were supposed to go last week for this up dose but we got snowed into our house literally.(Darn, another week added to the total time til I am free.)

Anyway, the appointment went as usually. McKenna eats her applesauce. McKenna says the flour tastes nasty. McKenna asks the doctor how long until she moves to real food (btw, they said after 200mg.) McKenna tries to get some homework done. McKenna ends up shopping online (I'm really struggling to find a prom dress in my price range. And it's much more fun to look at dresses than read assigned books.) 

After the appointment was over, we had to wait in the lobby for my doses. They were busy trying to get people in who missed appointments. When we finally got my 100 mgs of peanut (guys that's .1 gram) we were ready to go. 

See you guys really soon because Friday, Febuary 5, 2016 something very exciting is happening.

50 mg dose

Tomorrow, it is time to head back to the allergist to up my dose. Actually, I was supposed to go last Friday but it decided to snow 30+ inches of snow and trap me in my house. At least I got a week off of school, ugh school, not ready to go back on Monday.

 Anyway, Here is a picture of the 50 mg...

This time, I did get a little more adventurous and mixed my dose with other apple products...apple crisp. I am getting really tired off applesauce and I may not be able to eat it after I finish the flour stage. I can't wait til I am "forced" to eat candy everyday. Not many people can say that in their life.

Day 5 (January 8, 2016)

Another early morning... missing school isn't that fun when you have to wake up earlier than usual. Anyway, my dad and I got on the road to get my new dose.

I am up to 50 mg. Knock on wood, I have not had any reactions at an up dose. Very uneventful.

After eating my apple sauce, I attempted to teach myself the chemistry lesson I was missing. Yay, chemical reactions! Then, I flipped through a magazine and played a game with my dad. 

Want to play? Okay, here you go. You are given $10 million dollars, you can buy anything you want but it has to start with the same letter as your name. As you can tell, my life would be great. I could have a mansion, a Maserati, manicures, macaroni, and much more. My dad's things were not so good. What would you get? 

I decided to spin around in my chair while my dad was in the restroom.

Then, we scheduled my next appointments and headed home. After picking up McDonald's for lunch, so much for the whole healthy New Years resolution thing, we got on the road and then realized we didn't get my peanut flour. Whoops! We turned around and quickly got it. 

On the ride home, I spent my time singing and sleeping. My two favorite "s" words.

THE BIGGEST NEWS...I have officially gotten over the trace amount and can eat anything that says may contain a trace amount.

25 mg dose

This is going to be a very short post due to winter break.

Here is the dosing size in picture form.

Okay, so I basically ate the flour in apple sauce this whole period of time for a couple of reasons. 

1. If I mix it really well in apple sauce, I can pretty much mask the taste
2. I went on vacation with a friend and it was easier to just pack some apple sauce (especially since I had to take it in the car a few times)

I did have a few symptoms this step. A few days, I got a stomach ache (which is common in OIT patients) On the first day of my trip, I got a hive on my jawline that I'm still not certain was from the peanut (I slept on the pillows at the condo and some laundry detergents cause a reaction on my sensitive skin).

The time blew by really quick and I can't believe how quickly the amount is growing. Before I know it, I will be free to eat whatever I want.

Day 4 (December 21, 2015)

We're back for the next appointment and once again I left early in the morning to make it in time. I'm up to 25mg...one step closer to the ultimate goal.

This wasn't a very exciting appointment, I went back to the room and ate my peanut flour in some applesauce. I still can't figure out how they get it completely mixed in so I can't taste it. This was an important dose increase because it is when many kids have their first reaction. Thus, I was trying hard to control my nerves. 

Since I'm on winter break, I was able to relax and just watch some YouTube videos (I wanted to watch Netflix but I couldn't get it to work). 

After it was done, they sent us home with my capsules and we were back in the car on the way to lunch and then home.