My Alpha-Gal Story
I was bitten by a Lone Star tick in June 2014 while pregnant with my third child. The bite concerned me because it was extremely itchy, but I never developed a fever or rash. My OB at the time advised me to monitor it but didn’t seem overly concerned.
My son was born in October 2014, and I returned to work in February 2015. Starting a new job—part-time, but still a big adjustment—with three kids at home was quite the transition. Around that time, I began experiencing daily stomach pain. I chalked it up to stress, postpartum hormones, nursing, sleep deprivation—any excuse I could find. Eventually, that spring, I visited my family doctor. He ran a full panel of GI tests and bloodwork, but everything came back normal. I was told it was likely stress and was diagnosed with IBS.
Life went on. The stomach pain persisted, but I had no other major symptoms. I lost a lot of weight, which I attributed to nursing a chubby baby and constantly chasing my kids around.
In April 2016, I became pregnant with our fourth child. It was a healthy pregnancy, though I experienced a lot of aches and pains—which I brushed off as normal for a fifth pregnancy in my mid-30s. Our son was born in January 2017, healthy and thriving. I breastfed him, and again, I began losing weight rapidly. But this time, the stomach pain was even worse.
By May, I started keeping a food journal to figure out what might be triggering my symptoms. I’d had minor issues with dairy in the past, but a Lactaid pill usually solved it. This time, even with the pill, dairy was clearly a problem. I reduced my intake, and it helped somewhat.
Then, in August, my father died unexpectedly. My pain intensified—again, I blamed stress. I returned to my family doctor in November. She ran food allergy tests and recommended I try a Low FODMAP diet. A few days later, she called with the results: I had moderate allergies to dairy, beef, and pork. Her advice was simply to avoid those foods—no mention of Alpha-Gal. But my husband immediately said, “You have Alpha-Gal.” I didn’t believe it—I wasn’t having anaphylactic reactions, after all.
I joined a Low FODMAP support group on Facebook, but I still wasn’t getting relief. Even goat cheese made me sick. Then in April, someone in the group shared that she had similar symptoms and had been diagnosed with Alpha-Gal. I asked my doctor to order the Alpha-Gal test—and sure enough, I finally had my diagnosis.
Bio
Erin V. Sherry is an author, educator, mom of four, and passionate advocate for those living with Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS). After her diagnosis in 2018, she created her Instagram page, @AlphaGalGal as a way to share her journey and build community through storytelling, education, and humor.
Originally from Central Pennsylvania, she moved to Virginia in 2004 after graduating from Penn State to begin her teaching career—and over 20 years later, she's still here, building a life, a family, and a mission.
Erin is the author of Alpha-Gal Gal Takes on the World which isn’t just for kids with Alpha-Gal Syndrome—it’s for kids of all ages who want to understand, include, and stand up for others. Through the story of a brave girl navigating life with AGS, young readers learn empathy, awareness, and the power of kindness. It’s a fun, empowering way to show that everyone has their own challenges—and their own superpowers.
Through her work, Erin is on a mission to raise awareness and help others thrive with food allergies—one page, post, and conversation at a time.
