Some things never change

[Maria]

In 1996, I "blacklisted" a certain fast food location in my area. I'd only used their drive-through twice, but both times they intentionally gave me the wrong items instead of telling me that they didn't have the stuff to make what I'd ordered. The final time they had their soda lines messed up, so they knowingly gave me a different drink, one that I'm allergic to. And since it was summer and I had no air conditioning, I discovered what they'd done right as I swallowed a good long drink of the stuff. It freaked me out so bad, that place was on my route to school/work for the next 8 years, but I never went there again.

Well, times change, and 16 years is at least two geologic eras in fast food time, right? The other day I was on my way to do my shift at the hospital with Mom when I realized I'd forgotten lunch, and that particular restaurant was the only option that didn't require a lot of backtracking, so I went for it. My bag had the right contents, and the drinks are now made by a machine tied to the ordering system. My receipt was right, the machine had made the drink right, and the button on the lid even matched. Awesome. And away I went.

Yeah, the drink? An hour later when I had time to sit down and eat, I discovered that they managed to hand me the only product they carry on the entire freaking menu, that I'm allergic to. Eh, maybe I'll try again in 2028.

[Draco]

...have you ever brought it to management's attention?

[LillFilly]

Maybe try making it clear when you order that it must be X item because you have a very serious allergy? Then they might double-check and make sure it's right. Possibly check before you leave the window too. Or go inside so you can see exactly what they're getting you, or pour your own fountain drink. It's sad they can't get a simple order right, but this might help with future headaches.

[Lurking Sockpuppet]

Just curious is it Dr. Pepper or Mr. Pibb? I am allergic to them. People think I am strange when I tell them that.

[Maria]

I actually react badly to Mr. Pibb but not Pepper (my preferred choice), go figure. I also am allergic to diet products with a particular sweetener, which isn't supposed to be possible, but you know, the hives say otherwise. People look at me weird, but I figure allergies are weird anyway - your body throws a hissy fit about some mostly-normal substance, for no good reason.

I did complain to management back in the day - that's how I found out the manager at that time had told the staff to give out the wrong product and he would just come up front and issue refunds if anybody complained. Now, though? Meh, I'm too busy to get worked up over bad luck. Takes 4 minutes to dash down to the cafeteria and pay twice as much for another one, and you know, life is complicated enough. Better to simply do what needs done, and choose to look at it as a frustrating moment that gave me an amusing story to share!

[BlaqueKatt]

I also am allergic to diet products with a particular sweetener, which isn't supposed to be possible

Any artificial sweetener gives me a migraine, and I'm highly allergic to aspartame....

[EricKei]

Wait, he TOLD them to give out the wrong items?! o_O Was he trying to dump overstock of unpopular items before they went bad or something?

Just curious, what is the magic ingredient in DP/PiBB (I still can't tell the difference between the two aside from pibb being stronger) that triggers allergies? Prunes? Or is that an urban legend?

[42_42_42]

I don't know why people say allergies to aspertame aren't possible. Allergies to *anything* are possible and that possibility increases dramatically when it's something you ingest.

My father was diagnosed with bursitis. He cut out the aspertame and no more bursitis.

Now, for me, aspertame is my one and only food/beverage migraine trigger. Except in chewing gum. I guess I don't get enough of it from gum to cause a problem.

[AccountingDrone]

I don't know why people say allergies to aspertame aren't possible. Allergies to *anything* are possible and that possibility increases dramatically when it's something you ingest.

My father was diagnosed with bursitis. He cut out the aspertame and no more bursitis.

Now, for me, aspertame is my one and only food/beverage migraine trigger. Except in chewing gum. I guess I don't get enough of it from gum to cause a problem.

I have been informed by various people over the years that high fructose corn syrup can't possibly cause migraines in me ... yet they do. *shrug* even my neurologist agrees that it is causing the few remaining migraines I get now. I guess the head of neurology at Yale is wrong and everybody else is right.

[mharbourgirl]

Any artificial sweetener gives me a migraine, and I'm highly allergic to aspartame....

Aspartame gives me migraines too, almost as quickly as red wine does. Most other artificial sweeteners give me intestinal upsets, so I avoid them like the plague. Even if they didn't react, they still taste horrible to me and I can't get the taste out of my mouth for hours. I know plenty of people who are allergic to some variety of artificial sweetener, it's hardly a novel discovery at this point.

[PepperElf]

Considering consuming the product could have injured you (food allergies can be deadly after all) it may be something worth bringing up with the manager or the corporation.

Although at the same time I'd also say... voting with your feet sounds like a safe option here. I mean you can still tell them how they fucked up but yeah if they're that careless why risk your health or life with them?

which isn't supposed to be possible,

When it comes to allergic reactions there is no such thing as "impossible". I had a coworker who was apparently allergic to her own DNA - she'd break out in hives randomly because of it.

So when it comes to say some new sugar that's impossible to be allergic to... I say that's just because they haven't collected enough data. It may not be a common allergy but there's going to be someone somewhere who's sensitive or allergic to it.

[Food Lady]

Yes, there's a girl somewhere who's allergic to water. She can drink milk or orange juice because the chemical makeup doesn't bother her. But if she drinks water it makes her sick and it produces hives if it touches her skin. She can't live in a humid climate, and if she's in the desert she has to be in air-conditioning so she doesn't sweat. Weird stuff happens. I'm fortunate; I am only allergic to pollen or whatever's in the air in spring/summer/winter, and it's a mild allergy. I don't even take meds every day.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Yes, there's a girl somewhere who's allergic to water. She can drink milk or orange juice because the chemical makeup doesn't bother her. But if she drinks water it makes her sick and it produces hives if it touches her skin. She can't live in a humid climate, and if she's in the desert she has to be in air-conditioning so she doesn't sweat. Weird stuff happens. I'm fortunate; I am only allergic to pollen or whatever's in the air in spring/summer/winter, and it's a mild allergy. I don't even take meds every day.

My ex-CW at the wholesale club, Tom the Ox (no relation to my buddy Tom), claimed he was allergic to ice. He hated winter weather and always had to bundle up and cover every exposed bit of skin because it would make his skin react badly if snow, ice, sleet, etc. got to him. He drank his drinks without ice too.

I used to give him so much grief that it was the cold he was having issues with, not the ice, because "Ice is water. You can't be allergic to water!"

Then I read some other story from someone on this site about someone who was allergic to ice, and felt a bit of a fool. How dare you make me look foolish. Fools, I'll destroy you all!

[ozcatbug]

I always laugh when someone insists that I can't be allergic to something because it is all natural. As far as I know I have no allergies to anything synthetic. No, my allergies are all natural.

I had one of those pushy salesmen at a shopping centre slap some hand cream on my hand as I walked past. When I asked him what was in it as I have some allergies, he insisted that it was all natural and so I couldn't be allergic. I insisted to know the ingredients, but one sniff told me everything I needed to know, lavender. I told him that he better have something to get the cream off my hands right now as I was allergic to lavender. He stammered that it was all natural so I couldn't be allergic, and I insisted that I was only allergic to natural products, of which lavender is one. By the time he got the cream off my hands they were already starting to get red and itchy, and I had already sneezed a couple of times when I sniffed the cream to work out the ingredients. I then told him that I was going to the chemist to get some antihistimines, which he would be reimbursing me for when I returned, and I might not put a complaint in about him. So I got my drugs (silly me, got a 30 day supply forgetting to ask for a smaller packet) and got my money.

I figured the sight of my red hands and him having to pay for my medication was enough to make him think about just slapping some product on an unsuspecting person walking by. I should have put a complaint in, but those stands were only at the shopping centre for a week at a time and I really couldn't be bothered chasing it up. Luckily my allergy to lavender is mild. Smelling it will make me sneeze and it only causes a local irritation if I touch it. Plus it gave the guy such a shock that something he was told was non-allergenic was actually causing an allergic reaction, he learned something, and may pass it on.

[Geek King]

Then I read some other story from someone on this site about someone who was allergic to ice, and felt a bit of a fool. How dare you make me look foolish. Fools, I'll destroy you all!

My father has cold urticaria and I may be develpoping a mild case. Fun stuff, living in Ohio.