I was at the school cafeteria trading lunches with my friends, and my friend gave me what looked like a normal pretzel, but it was a peanut butter pretzel. I took a bite only to realize that it was a peanut butter pretzel! I had an allergic reaction. Fortunately, the nurse had an EpiPen, but things could have gone bad fast if she didn’t.
Now, if I eat a peanut butter pretzel, at worst I wouldn’t like it. When my mom told me that the people at Colorado Allergy & Asthma wanted me to start by eating a little peanut powder in chocolate pudding, I was imagining myself getting hives but then my mom said that if I persevered and worked hard, then I might be able to become immune to peanuts.
I started at 3 milligrams and slowly I worked my way up to 3 grams of peanuts (AROUND 3 1/2 PEANUTS!). A few weeks ago, I switched over from peanut powder to real peanuts from a real store. I know that this might seem like not a big deal but this was the first time I had purposely eaten regular peanuts that regular people eat without even having an allergic reaction. Over time my allergic reactions became less and less frequent. I used to worry even when I saw “MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUTS” on candy bars. Now, most of the time I don’t even have to check!
Now you might be wondering if I like the taste of peanuts, but in my opinion, peanuts are still not great. I have tried Reese’s Pieces, which were honestly great. When I started the program I was taking the peanut protein powder in yogurt and syrup and it was better, but still not tasty. Yes, I was building immunity but I had to work for it.
I am so glad I did this. It has changed me for the rest of my life, I won’t have to worry anymore about accidentally eating peanut candy anymore and having an allergic reaction because I have the power over the peanut.
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