Newly developed Tree Nut, Peanut, and Shellfish Allergies - HELP!

[harningtj]

I thought dealing with my sister's shellfish allergy last time was overwhelming. However, just this month she had a VERY bad reaction and ended up going by ambulance to the ER.

She doesn't have insurance so she can't afford allergy testing but she was eating pistachios at the time. To be safe she is avoiding all tree nuts and hasn't had a reaction since. She has also been avoiding peanut butter but I think she plans to try that out soon (something about having two reactions close together makes the next one worse?)

Anyway, I know there is TONS of information out there but I am completely and totally overwhelmed. Anyone want to point me to the most helpful resource?

Restaurants you have successfully dined at with these types of allergies? Restaurants to avoid? Things that I might miss because they aren't obvious to a newbie? Again, we have no medical advice at this point because my sis can't afford to go to the doc so we are doing the best we can on our own until she gets insurance and can go!

From our last trip, I know we will avoid Columbia Harbour House because they said they can't guarantee fries and chicken wasn't fried in the same oil as shellfish.

Restaurants we are hoping to dine at:
Crystal Palace - breakfast
Pepper Market
1900 Park Faire - dinner
Hoop de Doo
Liberty Tree Tavern - dinner
Tony's Town Square
Flame Tree BBQ
Pizzafari
Biergarten
Be our guest - Dinner
earl of Sandwich
Sunshine Seasons
Pecos Bill

Thanks in advance!!

 

[disfan07]

I thought dealing with my sister's shellfish allergy last time was overwhelming. However, just this month she had a VERY bad reaction and ended up going by ambulance to the ER.

She doesn't have insurance so she can't afford allergy testing but she was eating pistachios at the time. To be safe she is avoiding all tree nuts and hasn't had a reaction since. She has also been avoiding peanut butter but I think she plans to try that out soon (something about having two reactions close together makes the next one worse?)

Anyway, I know there is TONS of information out there but I am completely and totally overwhelmed. Anyone want to point me to the most helpful resource?

Restaurants you have successfully dined at with these types of allergies? Restaurants to avoid? Things that I might miss because they aren't obvious to a newbie? Again, we have no medical advice at this point because my sis can't afford to go to the doc so we are doing the best we can on our own until she gets insurance and can go!

From our last trip, I know we will avoid Columbia Harbour House because they said they can't guarantee fries and chicken wasn't fried in the same oil as shellfish.

Restaurants we are hoping to dine at:
Crystal Palace - breakfast
Pepper Market
1900 Park Faire - dinner
Hoop de Doo
Liberty Tree Tavern - dinner
Tony's Town Square
Flame Tree BBQ
Pizzafari
Biergarten
Be our guest - Dinner
earl of Sandwich
Sunshine Seasons
Pecos Bill

Thanks in advance!!

Are there any free clinics or sliding scale clinics she can go to? Does she have an epi pen? She NEEDS to have an epi pen with her. Did the ER give her one? Or does she already have one?

Severe allergies is something I do not mess with and I would figure out some way to get to a doctor at least for an epi pen prescription. (I know some doctors will prescribe them based on personal history even without testing)

That being said....I have had anaphylactic reactions to shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs. I am also allergic to wheat, oats, soy, coconut, sesame and dairy.

We did not eat at any EPCOT restaurant besides sunshine seasons. We were just too apprehensive to try the world showcase restaurants with that many allergies.

But we ate at:
Sunshine seasons- they were fabulous. The grill section is amazing. They made me salmon and grilled chicken with fries and green beans. So good.
Electric umbrella- I ate allergy chicken tenders and fries
1900 park fare- the chef was fabulous. I was even able to have dessert here
Crystal palace- fabulous (ate there twice)
The plaza (ate there twice)
POP century food court- absolutely wonderful
50s prime time- wonderful
Sci Fi- wonderful
Columbia harbor house-they gave me baked fries there that were allergy safe so maybe that has changed since your last visit
Cosmic rays
Studio catering company

Every single place we ate we're very accommodating and wonderful. All places should be able to accommodate those allergies. They are Pretty common and pretty easy to accommodate in my experiences. All you have to do is when you make your ADRs is to note the allergies on the reservations. The chef will come out to talk to you at the restaurants. At the counter service just let them know you have an allergy and you will speak to a manager or chef. They have ingredients books at the counter service places.

However, if she is avoiding all nuts, snacks are going to be more limiting. A lot of the snacks carry may contain or made in the same facility warnings. Since she has not been to a doctor, she of course does not know how careful she needs to be because of nuts but if she is avoiding all possible traces, the snacks are going to be the most limiting.

With your list of desired meals though, I think she should be fine with eating.

 

[harningtj]

Thanks for the quick reply!

She has been looking into how to get an epi pen. We are actually hoping to have 3 to bring to Disney (one for her to carry, one for me to carry, and one for my Mom). She should get insurance before our trip to Disney (she is soon to graduate college), so hopefully by then we will have a better idea. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't picking restaurants that would be hard to make adjustments for her allergies.

Hopefully we will find that its not nearly as bad as it seemed this last time (she panicked, understandably, and we feel that may have made things worse)... I do see the Divvies snacks are "safe" but man even pretzels are a no-go at this point! :-/

Do you think its possible to "eat around the world" at QS locations with just the treenut/peanut and shellfish allergies?

 

[disfan07]

Thanks for the quick reply!

She has been looking into how to get an epi pen. We are actually hoping to have 3 to bring to Disney (one for her to carry, one for me to carry, and one for my Mom). She should get insurance before our trip to Disney (she is soon to graduate college), so hopefully by then we will have a better idea. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't picking restaurants that would be hard to make adjustments for her allergies.

Hopefully we will find that its not nearly as bad as it seemed this last time (she panicked, understandably, and we feel that may have made things worse)... I do see the Divvies snacks are "safe" but man even pretzels are a no-go at this point! :-/

Do you think its possible to "eat around the world" at QS locations with just the treenut/peanut and shellfish allergies?

She doesn't have insurance through her school? That's interesting because where I go to school we are required to have health insurance (if not privately, through the schools insurance). She should go to her student health center to find out about an epi pen. They come in twin packs. Without insurance they are a little over $200 for a twin pack.

The pretzels should be fine unless they've changed in the past few years. In 2010 I was only allergic to peanuts, eggs, tree nuts and shellfish and I ate pretzels everyday.

They no longer carry divvies at WDW. I think they stopped sometime last year.

We did eat in world showcase back in 2010 wit just peanut, tree nut, egg and shellfish allergy and it was fine. But we only ate at the CS in morocco and the TS in Italy.

I found the back in 2010 the shellfish, peanut and tree nut were easy for them to accommodate. The egg made it more difficult but still manageable.

 

[stargazertechie]

I agree that she needs testing ASAP. I am highly reactive to cashews and pine nuts, but no cross-reactivity with other tree nuts.

Beyond the tree nuts, many folks with a TN allergy have issues with mangos, which is especially important for your sister to note as pistachios and mangos are in the same "nut" family.

ETA: we did spirit of aloha this week, and they were great for accommodating several allergies. I normally don't work with special dining- I live on the edge (haha) but we had a family on one side with PN, milk, and dairy allergies, and on the other side a family with celiac, TN, PN allergies

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I agree with stargazertechie she should get tested. Why chance going to Disney and having a reaction and spending your vacation in the ER or having to spend the night at the hospital. Not to mention it is a life threatening situation. There will be people on the flight too who will be eating either nuts or prezels so you better inform the airline of her allergies.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

make surento list on ressie and remind at checkin for table serve. as to speak manger and lookat book at counter serve.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Ok, I know this sounds mean, but as a parent of a food allergy child, there is no way I would be spending money to go to WDW if I could not afford to have my child (ok, young adult) tested and get her an epi pen NOW! Not tomorrow or next week but now. You need to know exactly what she is allergic to and to have a epi-pen with her 24/7. Reality is, that she could die before the first responders get there if she is not able to self administer. DO NOT let her try peanut butter if there is any concern that she may be allergic.

WDW is wonderful but you have to know exactly what you are dealing with for them to keep you safe. TS is much easier than CS. CS has a ingredients list book and you can request a manager to come and talk with you. TS a chief will come talk to you before they will bring any food out. Eating around the world may be tough as it takes much longer to check and get your food at a CS with a food allergy. We avoid all Asian with our PA child.

I hate to come across as using a scare tactic, but food allergies are very serious and can be life threatening! Prayers for solutions for you all!

 

[harningtj]

Thanks for all the input!

A few clarifications:
- my sister is 30 years old, not going to traditional college which is why she doesn't have insurance, her employer's coverage is cost prohibitive and only covers preventative type things

- she WILL have insurance before we go to Disney (Jan 2014), we are just trying to plan way in advance. (That's me - I am type A, we've actually been planning since our trip in 2010!) She is working to get an epi-pen through the "low cost" clinic.

- we most definitely would NOT risk taking her without knowing what her allergies might be and their severity!

- we will NOT be flying - thank goodness!