Discovering My Nickel Allergy
IHateNickel Posted on Friday, June 1, 2012 at 11:48AM These past few weeks, I’ve been sharing the story of how I discovered that I was allergic to nickel. I found out the hard way that I have a nickel allergy after I decided to get braces as an adult. Neither I nor any of my doctors believed that it was my braces causing my illness. I was very sick, for a very long time, before I found the cause. For more than two years, I suffered with pain, nausea, rashes, and fatigue. I had biopsies; I had my appendix removed; I had exploratory surgery. My life fell apart, my days were a battle to fend off pain and fatigue, and I had a standing prescription for pain medications. It truly was, to be cliché, a nightmare, and the culprit, all along, was nickel.
During the time that we believed my issues were being caused endometriosis; I experimented with several diet changes that were supposed to provide some relief. I did find that certain foods made my symptoms worse, but I now suspect that my immune system was just so fried at that point, that it would react to almost anything. I tried a vegan diet, a gluten free diet, an organic diet, and a soy free diet. I was willing to try any fad or follow any lead that might provide relief. I continued to keep daily journals of my pain, symptoms, food, and doctor visits, hoping to find a clue to anything that would make my life easier. Nothing, it seemed, was really making a difference.
About eight or nine months in, however, I did start to feel some relief. The tricky part, though, is I had no idea what was responsible for this new found relief? During this time, I was better - not healed, not perfect, but better. I was less fatigued, and I could sometimes go days without taking any pain medications. Days!! It was a welcome, wonderful, amazing feeling. Relief was nothing short of a miracle. But WHY?
The final clue came when I went to the orthodontist for a teeth cleaning. My braces had been in long enough by now that I had entered a maintenance phase. This meant that at my orthodontics visits, my dentist did not need to change anything or adjust my wires. I would go in once a month for a check-up, he would look at my teeth, and send me on my way without doing anything. My teeth were now straight, but the braces would need to stay in until my teeth were accustomed to their new position.
On a Friday afternoon, for the first time in months, the dentist removed all the wires on my braces. After cleaning my teeth, fresh, new wires were installed and adjusted. By Sunday afternoon, I was bed-ridden and horribly sick again. It was the worst pain I had recorded in my journal in almost six months. I cried all day - I had been getting better! I had honestly thought that I had overcome the pain and misery and could lead a normal life, only to be blindsided by pain again, and beaten back down. I cried, because this is what I thought my life had become - a journal of good days and bad days, and only the hope that the good days could sometimes out-number the bad.
I don’t remember how long it took us to make the connection. My husband said it first, “it’s the braces making you sick”. What had changed? Only the orthodontics appointment. I started pouring through my journals, and there it was in black and white. When the orthodontist did nothing to my braces, after a time, I felt better. When the orthodontist touched my braces – adjusted the wires or added new wires – I got sicker.
I called my doctor and my dentist immediately. At the appointment, my current doctor (one of the doctors who did a wonderful job taking care of me), told me he found the whole idea very unlikely, but that the only way to test it would be to remove the braces. My dentist thought I was a complete lunatic. He didn’t say that out loud, of course, but I could tell he thought I was a little off my rocker. He agreed to remove my braces, though, to appease me. He also said it was highly unlikely that the braces were causing my issues, but since my teeth were mostly set, I could switch to plastic trays instead of metal braces for the last few months of my treatment.
My braces came off on March 4th. Within a week, I was visibly, physically better. Within three weeks, I was completely “cured”. No pain at all. No fatigue. I gained ten pounds in those first three weeks (I had lost thirty pounds during the illness).
I had never in my life been able to wear cheap earrings because they would make my ears bleed. I had never given this much thought before, because I wasn’t that into jewelry. I owned a few pairs of gold earrings for special occasions and that was that. With a little research; however, we discovered that the wires used with braces are often a 50/50 titanium-nickel alloy. The most common item in earrings that causes an allergic reaction like mine is nickel. And with that, it all fell into place.
The dentist laughed when I came in to get fitted for the new plastic trays. He exclaimed, “You’ve gained weight!”, and then got a little embarrassed when he realized what he had said. He immediately marked my chart to avoid all nickel products.
That is how I discovered my nickel allergy - with over two years of pain and misery and bad, bad stuff. However, even with the great amount of evidence, this was still only an assumption. I wanted and needed a definitive diagnosis. Next stop: the allergy department, to get officially tested.
Reader Comments (7)
Thanks for posting this , im wondering if i have allergy from my braces because im allergic to nickel ++ and i have had rash on my lips reoccuring for more than a year now ,im going to have them removed next months and really hope everything bad will disappear. Im so frustrated living like this
I got adult braces just over a month ago, and feel sick to my stomach every day. I'm wondering if it could be the braces too. I have never been allergic to anything.
Thank you for posting this! My daughter, a high school junior, got braces in January. She is an athlete, a rower, who works out 6 days a week. A straight A student. It didn't dawn on me until Mid February that something was wrong beyond being tired from working out and staying up with homework. I realized that she had gained weight when she was trying to loose weight... very odd for her activity level and truly healthy diet. Her rowing performance had really dropped and the coaches thought she was depressed and had lost her drive. They moved her to a less prominent position in the boat. I took her for some blood tests on Feb 28th. The very next week Her fatigue became extreme. I was so concerned that I badgered the doctors office for the results of that blood test! Over the phone the nurse said her blood sugar was a little high.... I took her in and the doctor (a good doctor) said her tests were normal-blood sugar and all- and told her to exercise more and eat less.... giving little attention to her fatigue. Her symptoms grew. She suffered headaches and bouts of nausea every day, oddly she continued to gain weight. Her fatigue made it difficult to get out of bed. She made her first C (or maybe D - grades still pending). She missed a lot of school. She made it to the first rowing race of the season but missed the next two. Homework went undone because she couldn't think, sit up without the nausea, get out of bed... rotating reasons. I had taken her to 2 more doctors and an acupuncturist who gave her herbs and a sound therapy treatment. More tests were run... nothing gave answers. Her periods stopped. Somewhere in the back of my head I'd made the connection that she'd been "off" ever since she got braces, but really sick for the last 4-6 weeks. I couldn't wrap my head around braces being the cause (thinking tightness on teeth etc...) until Yesterday when I finally interupted my now typical internet searches for symptoms, problems and solutions, to do a new search for terms: "Braces Fatigue Nausea" - bam there it was - allergy to nickel.
Moments later we found your post and that really cinched it for me! It all fit. She got new, thicker wires on March 4th - that's exactly when her symptoms went through the roof!
I know that's what is wrong with her. I called the on-call doctor for the orthodontist who put me off until Monday morning.... but I just may remove those damn wires myself today. She's got life threatening allergies to nuts, also allergies to dust, pet dander, etc etc. it all fits. THANK YOU for sharing your story! and please know that it has made a big difference for us - possibly saving her from 2 years of pain. Hopefully she can recover quickly - and regain her spot and chance for collegiate rowing scholarship etc etc... I feel more empowered now (with a cause) to talk again to teachers and get extensions, etc. Sooo frustrating that people have been looking at her like it was a choice or all in her head or something!
My daughter had a similar experience. About six weeks after beginning orthodontics she became very sick: daily headaches, stomachaches, constipations/ diarrea, sudden rashes, burning on back/ears, chest pain, total body shaking episodes, great fatigue. anaphylactic reaction to mango. Symptoms were escalating and she then later also developed hip pain, face pain, electric shock sensations in her face, dizzyness etc. The situation excalated and escalated to point where she couldn't go outside without developing a rash and then breahting difficulties. Removal of orthodontics resulted in disappearance of most symptoms. A few months after this she was diagnosed with scoliosis and wore a brace. It's now several years later and at 15 yrs old she still has a remaining symptom that has gotten worse over the years and is unbearable. She gets a horrible feeling in her throat, she describes as a "thick" feeling. It comes daily, after eating, from afternoon onwards and will last the remainder of the day. Now for over a year she also gets loud throat gurgling noises before the sensation begins, and these sounds will last the whole time she has the sensation. This throat sensation began when her symptoms first began after orthodontics years ago. This was finally, recently diagnosed as low esophageal motility and hypersensitivity of gut nerve cells caused from inflammation. But there is no treatment. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Just wondering how you made out with the allergist. My daughter is 11 and had her braces at the very end of September. She started complaining of upset stomach within a couple weeks and then we ended up in the hospital for a whole week while she had extreme abdominal pain and weakness couple with nasea. We asked them if it could be the braces as that was the the only thing that changed and they too brushed it off stating it would show in her mouth if she was allergic or having a reaction to them. she has had multiple tests all coming up fine. she has missed a ton of school as well. her pediatrician also made me take her to be evaluated for anxiety and low and behold that too was negative.. well needless to say we have been struggling ever since until just before christmas when my husband and i had the dentist remove the nickel-titanium wires.....and suprise she is feeling much better. we too are heading to the allergist in a couple weeks. just wondering if you went there and what they discovered???
thanks for posting, this incredible important to know., like an enlightenment. Now, I understand my boys.
Hello ...thankyou for posting this .my son has been a very sick boy this last year nausea
stomach problems pain in the middle og his intesteins ..we have taken every test
possible even gone so long as internal checks ... I have always wondered if
it had to do with his braces as this all started within weeks if not same week he
started his treatment ...but his dentest says he has never heard of any problems
with braces like this .. now after reading around the net I am sure this is the cause
luckely he is due to get them off im the nest month or so ... people need to be aware of this
...