One Bite Changed A Photographers Life

It started in August of 2024. I had a horrible gut GI flare-up that lasted a week. We could not figure out what was going on. I couldn't sit without feeling a ton of pressure like I had a lot gas buildup. It felt like I was in labor. We thought I was clogged up. I increased my fiber intake to help me go to the bathroom. I went 4 days without a bowel movement. I looked and felt 9 months pregnant. Turned out the fiber was making it worse. I had to do a liquid, water and apple juice only fast for a couple days in order to finally go. It was horrible.

Three weeks later...here comes another one. I wanted to scream and cry the pain was so bad. At least this time I knew to fast. I also added electrolytes to my water and a heat pad, and they helped a lot.

A few weeks later....another one. I went to see my doctor. She put me on the Low FODMAP Diet to try and figure out what was causing the flare-ups. She also did some blood tests but no real answers (no alpha-gal test done yet).

I tried the Low FODMAP Diet trying to eliminate foods I thought was causing the flareups. I was blaming things like potatoes, pasta, bread, lettuce, grapes, apples, and more but the flareups kept happening. (Turns out it was the cheese, alfredo, butter, ranch I put on the potatoes, pasta, bread, ect.)

There was one point I stopped putting collagen in my coffee which we had started doing in the spring of 2024 to help with our health. After quitting that...I went a full 6 weeks with no flareups. We thought that was the answer.

Nope...I ending up with another flare. By this time I had gotten to the point of feeling the flareups coming on and would start fasting immediately and they would last 2-5 days on average. They still felt like horrible labor pains though. Electrolytes and heat were the only things that helped.

The flare ups continued and began getting closer together. After 8 months, I started having flare ups weekly. I was losing a lot of weight and I wasn't very big to begin with. I lost 30lbs in 2 months. I was getting worried I may have cancer. I knew it was time for another Dr visit. We had a couple photography/vacation trips coming up I wanted to get through first. After the trips, I went to see my doctor in June 2025.

Some friends recommended I get tested for Alpha-Gal and H. pylori. I thought they were crazy. I didn't think I had any issues with meat or dairy but she agreed I needed to be tested. They took a lot of blood, 4 days of stool samples, and a urine sample.

Some tests were showing signs of Diverticulitis and my colonoscopy I had a year and half ago showed I do have that so she put me on medicine for that which my body did not respond to well at all. I'm very drug sensitive. There was also signs of ulcerative colitis.

Test results were coming in but no answers....finally a couple weeks later...more test results. Finally getting answers. Lots of red Abnormal results...then I saw the red Alpha Gal IgE test. To be normal, you had to be below a reading of .10 kU/L. mine was highlighted red at 1.28 kU/L (High)!!!  That was it....my life changed.

Not only did my life change...but so did my entire family. I knew of friends who had this disease, but I did not know the massive extent of it.

I immediately changed my diet. We can have birds and scales (I haven't been able to eat fish or seafood in years..makes me sick) but you still have to be extra careful. For example chicken...it has to be vegan fed because some farms will feed their chickens with food that contains meat or animal byproducts. Have to be careful with vegetables because they could have been fertilized with manure. Turkey...most processed turkey has some sort of meat byproduct like carrageenan.

I quickly learned I also have to watch for animal byproducts that exist in lots of foods. It's crazy! Natural flavoring often includes some sort of mammal product, gelatin (even medicine in capsules or with a gel coating), sugar (any sugar not natural is often filtered with mammal bone char!), tallow, whey, rosemary extract (unless plant based), various gums, and so much more.

What bothered me the most was not being able to have dairy. I could care less about the red meat, but dairy....I love milk, cheese, cottage cheese, lattes, cappuccino, chocolate, ice cream, and so much more. It was absolutely heart shattering.

Even after changing my diet, I kept getting flareups. Took a couple weeks to figure out it was all of my body products like shampoo, body and hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, deodorant, toothpaste, and more. Most of them include glycerin and other products derived from mammals. So off to the store we went, changing everything over to plant based vegan. Then we learned about leather! Yep...many with AGS can't touch leather. So I had to cover up our car seats. Finally the flareups stopped!!

Still on occasion I'll have a flareup and it's often from some byproducts I hadn't learned about yet or I am also fume reactive. This means I can not be anywhere near where beef is being cooked like a restaurant or mall for example. I even have to be careful at gas stations that cook hot food. There is so much still to learn. It has really affected my food photography services. I have had to limit those to chicken places or coffee shops.

It takes twice as long to go grocery shopping and we have to go to 3 different places weekly now because not one store carries everything that I have found yet. And..the grocery bill...it has doubled because we have to buy healthier food. I'm also having to cook more often. I have to really watch histamines which will grow on left overs, so I've learned to only cook what we will eat that day day or the next.

I feel like my life will never be normal again. It is on my mind 24 hours a day, I even dream about it sometimes. It's very depressing and very stressful. I can't stand to watch food commercials. It's hard to watch movies or shows where they show them eating. It's hard to watch family or friends eating. I can't go to any of my friends events where they are cooking or even community events because there is often food trucks cooking food.

I feel bad for my husband. He's a big meat eater and now I can't cook meat for him. If he wants a hamburger, he either has to go get it at a restaurant, or he has to prep and cook it outside on our grill. I can't touch it, or be near the fumes.

Another hard situation AGS has created is an allergy to our cats. We have two indoor cats and a couple of stray cats outdoors we feed. We have changed all their diets to seafood, turkey and chicken to help, but there is still high risk of cross contamination. I can't let them or any mammal including dogs to lick me. I have to wear gloves to feed them and I can't let them get into my face or cuddle with them.

AGS is very hard to live with and for most victims, it is a life long diagnosis. Some will go into remission on their own or through SAAT Acupuncture, or Electro Needling...but you usually will always test positive for it. Many of those treatments will only mask the symptoms and for many, it will come back so they have to do treatment again. Some have tried treatments and nothing worked for them. I have been looking into treatment options and will give one a try but I'm pretty nervous as my body doesn't respond well to medicine so I'm worried it could make me worse, which does happen to some.

I don't with this on anyone. If you have been diagnosed with AGS...just know you are not alone. I recommend joining a support group. There are several on Facebook or other SM sites. Look into local groups that get together. It's good to surround yourself with those who are also going through the same thing.

Even though I got this doing what I love, photography, I'm not giving that up. If you'd like to see some of my fine art photos, check out a couple of my websites. I will also do some more blogs about my Alpha gal journey to hopefully help others.

Fine Art America: https://5-jennifer-white.pixels.com

Pictorem: https://jenniferwhite.pictorem.com

Thank you and be blessed!