Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Alpha Gal Syndrome

Anyone have experience being diagnosed with AGS? I have an appointment with an allergist in a couple weeks. I’ve been experiencing weird rashes for the last 4 months. I’ve had intermittent symptoms in addition to the rashes. I doubt it’s AGS, but the issue seems to be exacerbated by eating red meat. My last red meat was last Friday and had a rash about 4 hours later. No rash since.

Anyone have experience they care to share?

Benben,

I am married to an alpha-gal. She loves to be in charge of almost everything. It seems she is always looking for something needing attention that requires more physical strength than she has. So, I guess I live with Alpha Gal Syndrome.

Friend in WA just went back to OK to visit her family. I learned her dad has it. Lone Star tick bite apparently can lead to it happening. Her father cannot eat red meat of any type. Apparently it is an allergic reaction to a protein in mammal flesh.

I told my wife when I found out about it that she might as well sign me up to be thrown overboard and buried at sea if I ever got it. I certainly hope you don't have it.

I don’t think I had any tick bites last fall but I suppose it’s possible; don’t know if we have lone star ticks on the Black Hills. It’s been a bad spring for ticks here, though. I guess I’ll know more I a few weeks.

Do you ever get over it?

I don't think I read that anywhere Jim.

Not sure they get up there. But close. Might be another species that can carry it though?

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1911661


The title of reference 3 there mentions studies in Ontario, Canada, so I'd guess they could perhaps survive in the Black Hills?

Considering the shortage of alpha males I suppose it makes sense. 😉

According to SDSU, the Lone Star tick is found in SD along with 3-4 other species.

I think the odds are good that this is an allergic reaction other than AGS. Hope so; not eating meat would suck.

Let's hope so Benben.

You sound proud to be a servant

My Dad had it. He couldn’t eat any mammal meat for the rest of his life. He took a few ambulance rides in anaphylactic shock until they got it figured out. He told me he was so sick of chicken he could hardly stand it. Poultry and fish are all the meat you can eat. Good luck, I hope you don’t test positive for it. It can wax and wane in intensity but it’s a lifetime thing.

Damn I’d hate to not be able to eat red meat

The National Deer Association (NDA) website has a brief but good article about alpha-gal allergy.

NO...

And is supposedly kinda rare (30k cases in USA).

With that said. I know two people with it and had myself tested last week (I already have Lyme).

It is a real mess... John cannot even eat chicken/eggs (bone meal feed from red meat animals)... and certain fish/fish parts (he says).

Good guy... damn shame to see.

Lyme has hurt me, but not like AG has hurt John.

Laura and I pull ticks almost daily... Standard routine is Neosporin on a Baidaid every 6 hours until the welp is gone... Permethrin spray on clothes. Dogs take meds.

Laura keeps some half-ass tick chart (which is only a fraction of actual)... just in case the ticks need to be tested or whatever.

I do not.

We are covered with Lone Stars... I do not recall that being the case years back (but maybe it was... who knows).

I am not a tin foil hat kinda guy, but if I found out tick spread was some CIA OP I would not call BS either. Weird times.

I had a weird seasonal allergy that I got severe rashes on the left side of my body. Always hit in spring. Doctors couldn't figure it out but a guy in DeSmit, SD did. Turned out it was my thyroid. PM me and I'll explain more.

Some of the articles I glanced at shows them expanding their range with warmer (overall) temperatures further north and east from their original ranges.

One mentioned reforestation, rebounding of large animal populations (deer, turkey, and eastern coyotes) on which the Lone Star tick feeds exclusively (their younger stages will apparently feed on smaller birds and such)..

Say what you will about CA ;), at least in this part I think we've had one or two ticks on us or the dogs in 6 years here. Those -10* to -25* F winter nights probably help to keep those southern ticks from getting here.

ya, at that point just shoot me

one more reason to stay in Alaska, we don't have stupid shyte like ticks, venomous snakes & spiders out here, I'd rather deal with brown/grizzly bears