Finding the right specialist for you can be a process

My husband and I took his mother out to dinner after moving the kiddo into her dorm.

We selected a restaurant that fit what everyone was looking to possibly eat. I can not praise this restaurant enough for their measures to make my meal gluten-free.

My salmon sandwich

When I asked if they had any gluten-free options, they came out with a binder filled with all the recipes for everything on their menu to check to see if any ingredient had gluten.

They specially prepared my dish separate from others so that I would not have any reactions from the gluten. They did not put my plate on the tray with my husband's and mother-in-law's dishes to avoid cross-contamination.

They were delightful and entirely professional for those of us who have gluten allergies, intolerance, or celiac disease.

The hub's Fish tacos

I did enjoy a couple of bloody marys with my parmesan-crusted salmon.

The Mother-in-law's Cranberry chicken salad

On the ride home, my husband noticed that I was getting very red on my face and neck. So we pulled into a gas station for a potty break and to look in the mirror to see what he was telling me.

I was as red as a tomato and broken out in full-on hives. I wish I had gotten a picture of how horrible it looked when we were at the gas station to share with you. After getting home, I took a video to show my new GI doctor so we could figure out exactly what foods I am allergic to, seeing as the allergist I saw said I am not allergic to food.

Insert an extreme eye roll. Finding out the root cause of all of this is frustrating and disheartening. Especially when you go to a specialist, and they tell you nothing is wrong. Well, I am clearly allergic to something to break out in hives and have burning skin after ingesting certain foods.

The even more confusing part is that the meal I ordered was foods I had eaten prior with no reactions.

I am unsure if it was something they put in the bloody mary or the salmon meal. I am thinking of doing the EverlyWell test or something similar that my GI suggests so we can find out everything I absolutely need to cut out of my diet to feel my old self again.

I am hopeful that my new GI specialist will find out what is going on so we can work together to fix this as naturally as possible.

I want to know. What do you think?