Food Allergies

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Ajs
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Food Allergies

Postby Ajs » Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:59 am

Hello all! I haven’t posted in a while. Still on the road to recovery since my FMT the end of August 2018. My question is regarding allergy testing for food sensitivities. I understand that after everything your body goes through in the treatment and post treatment of Cdiff many of us end up with food allergies and sensitivities that we did not have before. I am learning this the long and hard way. I understand that some people gain back their ability to eat certain foods after a given amount of time. My question is, how long should one wait before being tested for food allergies and sensitivities? My other question is who do most people see for that? My gastrologist only seems to be interested in prescribing pills. Anytime I mention candida or SIBO he brushes it off as if they weren’t even a real problem. I am now able to eat raw vegetables such as salad, grilled chicken, fish, venison with no problems. Still trying to figure out what breads are my triggers as well as sugar and dairy. You all have been a wonderful source of information and I greatly appreciate any advice or experiences in this area that any of you may have had. Thanks again!

sammyp
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby sammyp » Thu Feb 21, 2019 1:12 pm

So, the things you're wanting to have tested is not something most conventional medicine doctors will test for as there is some contention as to whether or not they are "real". You'll need to see a functional, integrative, or homoeopathic doctor to test for SIBO and candida overgrowth and door comprehensive allergy testing. Please note that many functional medicine doctors won't so food allergy testing as these are particularly accurate, especially if you're not eating the foods being tested for regularly. It's definitely not an exact science and most docs recommend the old fashion way which is food journaling to find your triggers. Just my two cents :)

Ajs
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby Ajs » Thu Feb 21, 2019 1:25 pm

I gotcha. That’s exactly the sort of answer I was looking for. I have been trying the process of illumination. It’s just funny, sometimes certain foods bother me and other times they don’t seem too. I really think if I drown a little shredded cheese out with a huge salad it doesn’t bother me. An occasional roll or piece of bread does it seem to bother me. It’s when I decide to have a bacon egg and cheese biscuit or something of that Sort that I get in trouble. Same with sugar. My body seems to crave it after a week or two of almost no sugar. Then I go on a sugar binge and really suffer the consequences!

I have an appointment with a ENT who is going to run an environmental allergy panel. He said it also includes some very basic food triggers. We will see what becomes of that. Thanks for the info and I will just continue to play it safe.

roy
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby roy » Thu Feb 21, 2019 1:27 pm

I agree with sammy.
Too many tests and you end up being overdiagnosed with all sorts of things that have no real meaning.
HALF A MILLION cases of c.diff yearly and hardly anyone goes for the tests your talking about.
They just miss out foods that dont seem to agree.

sammyp
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby sammyp » Thu Feb 21, 2019 2:10 pm

Haha so sorry I just went back and read my reply. I was half asleep and there are so many typos! I hope you got the gist

Ajs
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby Ajs » Thu Feb 21, 2019 2:25 pm

I totally got it all. Ha ha. Thanks. Also, thanks to Roy. Believe it or not I do agree with you. The last thing I want is a lot of unnecessary testing. That was one reason for my question. I just thought if there was a test that would make this elimination process quicker I would be interested in it. The ENT appointment is to establish a relationship with a Doctor Who understands my background with Cdiff. I have horrible sinus problems and always have. I have never been tested for triggers. Also I was scheduled for sinus surgery through a different doctor when I was diagnosed with Cdiff. I canceled the surgery because I was so weak at the time. I want to see what this new doctor thinks about surgery as a preventative measure of avoiding future sinus infections.

Ril
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby Ril » Thu Feb 21, 2019 2:42 pm

It took me a very long time to be able to eat a lot of foods because of severe PI IBS. There is no way I would have allergy testing. First of all they are not allergies...they are intolerances which is different. The best thing to do is slowly add foods one at a time so you know what you are reacting to. Raw fruits and veggies are the hardest to tolerate so it is odd that you are ok with them. Problems with dairy, sugar and fried food is common so add them slowly and carefully. You have to be patient while your gut recovers.

Ajs
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby Ajs » Thu Feb 21, 2019 2:56 pm

Thank you Ril. It is VERY odd indeed that I can tolerate the salads. Fruit I have to be careful because of the sugar. I also do understand that intolerances and allergies are much different. My symptoms are so strange I have just wondered which I was experiencing. My worst symptoms after eating the foods that bother me are extreme, debilitating fatigue. To the point where I have to lay down. My skin tingles and crawls. My nose stops up. I get dizzy. I do have stomach issues, but they are mild compared to these other crazy symptoms. My asthma also goes crazy. Did you experience any of this with food?

roy
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby roy » Thu Feb 21, 2019 3:33 pm

Only when I have a bottle of wine with it:-)

Ajs
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby Ajs » Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:00 pm

Roy, ha ha, it’s much like a teenage alcohol binge without the good time! :)

beth22
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby beth22 » Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:20 pm

Rita is right. I had allergy testing for food because I had a lot of intolerances. I had something like 60 needle pricks on my back and guess what? I did not have an allergy to one single food, but I could not eat many. Intolerances are different because your digestive tract is not able to break down those foods or the lining of the GI tract is inflammed, or whatever reason. If you have environmental allergies, then get tested for those. Sometimes when your histamine is very high, it can also affect your GI tract, but what you are describing sounds like PI-IBS or intolerances. But, I am surprised that your GI won't test for SIBO. There are motility specialists who are GIs that test for this, but it is a very common test - breath test. The first ones were not very good, but nowadays they are pretty accurate. You could call your local hospital and ask to speak to the GI department. My hospital has GI motility specialists and I have seen one for a few years off and on. I was tested for SIBO not long after FMT and it was sky high. It doesn't sound as if you have the same issues. You are eating many foods that others can't. I still can't eat salads, for example.

Ajs
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby Ajs » Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:47 pm

Thanks Beth22. I’m very thankful that I’m able to digest veggies and salad. Now I’m sure it doesn’t help my loose BM’s, but I don’t have the other strange reactions like the fatigue, etc. I am also taking a daily dose of supergreens by Body Ecology. It’s supposed to have lots of gut healing qualities. We shall see...

georgina
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Re: Food Allergies

Postby georgina » Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:28 am

Ajs
You could try adding digestive enzymes to your meals and see if you are able to get less discomfort when you want to indulge in something that may bother your gut. I tried several brands of digestive enzymes and found that the best ones for me were the kosher- Digest Basic from Enzymedica.I buy them from Amazon. The plain digestive enzymes are helping but If i take something that contains bromelain or papaine etc i would get discomfort.

Ajs
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Posts: 139
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2018 12:29 pm

Re: Food Allergies

Postby Ajs » Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:01 am

Thank you Georgina. I’ll look into that! Hope you are doing well!


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