New allergy(?) in adulthood
Recently I’ve had five episodes where I have sudden onset of a seemingly allergic reaction - I get a cough, sore throat congestion in my throat/chest, and a very itchy neck. I’ve been trying to isolate what is causing it. The first two times it happened I had done my nails at home using dip powder, so I assumed it was that and stopped doing them. But it’s happened three times since. The latest was Easter about 30 minutes after eating brunch. I thought it was a potential wheat allergy because I had eaten wheat the other times I had this reaction. My doctor ordered food allergy testing and all of the foods tested came back normal while the overall test was abnormal. My total IgE level was 127, which is just outside the normal range. I have no idea what to think now as I have zero experiences with anything other than the occasional seasonal allergy flare up. I ended up in the ER the morning after Easter because I had been having frequent heart palpitations for 10 days (burden 20-25%) and woke up in the middle of the night feeling terrible - nauseous, back pain, racing heart, knee pain, and cold sweats. Given my cardiac history I wanted to ensure I didn’t have or wasn’t in the process of having a heart attack. I wasn’t, which is fantastic. My blood work at the hospital was mostly normal, but my lymphocytes were low (232).
My question is this: has anyone experienced something similar? Is 127 IgE “high” enough for a food allergy to something else that wasn’t tested? Could my level just be slightly high due to something else? Any anecdotal evidence or wisdom would be appreciated. My PCP is going to refer me to an allergist, but in the meantime I’m left wondering what the heck is going on. My sister thought maybe it could be MCAS, but that’s a huge can of worms so I’m hoping there’s a super simple answer for this that someone else has experience with.
Thank you!