Reading labels sucks.

So, basically since I was very young...i have suffered from migraines. Debilitating, vomit inducing, blinded by the light migraines.... since I was about 6 or 7 years old. As a baby, i was also very "scent sensitive"...my mom remembers several incidents where someone would have perfume on and I would puke all over them. I knew as a kid to stay away from most fragrant things, as they made me light-headed or sick.

We never could quite pinpoint what caused the migraines...I had MRI's done to make sure nothing serious was going on...everything came back pretty much fine. No one ever looked further.

But I mean seriously, what could cause a migraine in a 6 year old?!

This year, after battling sore throat after sore throat, complete with ulcers on my tongue and tongue swelling....i found out I am allergic to cinnamon. This reaction is all new.... but, further investigation seems to make us think i have ALWAYS had this cinnamon sensitivity...and it has been my lifelong cause of constant, random headaches. Ever since I have eliminated it....I had felt so much incredibly better in general.

Tho it's still a learning process. Cinnamon is hidden in a LOT of products out there. Most times if i see "spices" listed in the ingredients..i avoid the product. But sometimes I take the chance, and lately...the consequences have been escalating.

Is this what normally happens with an allergy? The headaches from it are 10-fold now. I ate a piece of chocolate cake thingy the other day at work...and paid for it for 3 days with feeling just downright miserable. Last night, i naively lit a cinnamon/spice candle (one of my favorite scents). Oh my...no, no no. Not any more. Not worth the horrid night's sleep I got.

I just spent 10 minutes at the deli reading the labels on bagged potato chips...im a fan of flavor...and so many just generically list "spices". Grrr.

I really feel for those with life threatening allergies....cause if I "oops", i just feel sick for a few days, rather than risk not breathing. What a pain it can be!!!