Elisa Food Intolerance Test Results

[lovechild]

I just received my results from my food intolerance panels from Meridien Labs (testing for IgG4 and IgG antibodies). I am so thankful to have these results as now I can start on the road to recovery!

 

I ended up doing both food panels (which included spices) for a total of 196 allergens and most of my results were in the low range with a few main ones in the high to moderate range.

 

 

High (avoid): All dairy and casien, garlic, egg whites

 

Moderate (avoid for 6-12 months and then challenge): gluten, almond, egg yolks, alfalfa, grapefruit, kidney beans, chili powder, tumeric, navy bean, malt

 

Low (but in the high range of the category): vanilla, corn, white grape, water cress, water chesnut, kale, beef

 

I have been avoiding all gluten for the past almost 3 months and I felt amazing for the first 3 weeks after going off it and then I had a homemade pizza with cheese on it and got really sick and decided to go off all dairy for a while. I sort of knew that I had a problem with dairy as when eating it I was always stuffed up with sinus headaches, clearing throat constantly and sometimes diarrhea. 

 

As well, everytime I have eaten sunny side up eggs in the past I have gotten an itchy throat. I told my doctor about it so he did an blood based allergy test and it came back negative. I continued to eat eggs up until yesterday when I got my test results. I also noticed that every time I ate eggs I had brain fog and was extremely tired. Now I know that eggs don't agree with me!

 

Now as for almonds I eat them every single day as either almond milk, almond butter or as regular nuts. Last week I had some almond butter right before bed and as I was falling asleep I kept gasping for air in my sleep. I would wake up and my heart would be beating very fast which would make me scared to go to sleep. I didn't put two and two together at the time. No wonder I have been feeling really crappy lately! duh!

 

My doctor has said that I will be eating mostly meat, fruit, vegetables and nuts and seeds (except almonds). So far I am starving on this diet but I have been incorporating coconut oil and avocado to fill me up. 

 

We are off to Disneyland next week with the kids and I know they have lots of gluten free options but dairy free, egg free, garlic free and almond free is going to make it a little more challenging to eat. 

 

I know this is going to be challenging as gluten-free baking usually involves almond flour and now I also have to use rice milk, coconut milk, hemp milk etc. instead of almond milk. Garlic and egg seem to be in everything too unless you only make your food from scratch.

 

That said, I am still happy that I had this test because being sick sucks and hopefully in time I can feel back to my old self again. Yah!

 

Do you have any tips or experiences you can share with me about your own food intolerances and how you cope? Also, if you have taken the ELISA test, have you been able to reintroduce some of your moderate level foods?

 

Thanks!

 

[1desperateladysaved]

Lovechild:

 

Have you been checked for celiac disease?  Your response to the diet sounds profound.

 

Yes, I have experience with food antibody tests!  I have felt better since I eliminated all foods that I had low level intolerance of and am now slowly adding them back.  Your results sounded similar to mine in that most foods I was eating scored in the low category.  I found some new meats to have while I worked on staying away from others.  I tried bison, yak, lamb, alpaca and duck!  I kept fed even though none of them were my favorite!  Most vegetables were off limits, but I found sweet potatoes, bok choy, cucumbers, and more fruit to fill in a little.

 

Watch the label on rice milk.  Rice Dream uses barley enzymes in it and barley has gluten.  You can make your own in the blender.

 

I hope you have a nice trip.  I cook all of my food when I go away.  I use a 12 volt oven one can buy at a camper supply store. 

 

Sorry, for you to have to avoid almonds and eggs.  For me eggs were one food I eat daily, but had no antibodies to it.

 

If you want to swap any more results or get any more ideas, let me know.  I have been avoiding various foods and doing a rotational diet.  I know about these.

 

Heal up that gut,

 

D  ***

[lovechild]

Hi D,

 

I was tested for gluten about 3 years ago by my not so helpful family doctor. He said my results came back negative but I am pretty sure he was only testing for one antibody at the time, not a whole panel of tests. I also don't remember if I was eating a lot of gluten at the time either so that could have also given me a negative result.

 

For the past at least 6-7 years I have been sick and was getting progressively worse. I actually remember getting an endoscopy done for stomach issues about 15 years ago so my problems may have started way back when. After having my son 8 years ago I felt pretty good for the first year and then I started feeling exhausted to the point of sleeping 10 hours and waking up exhausted every day. No amount of sleep would make me feel better. Then the diarrhea and constipation issues started and I went from being a very petite 110 pound person to 130 pounds in the matter of a year. I was hardly eating anything. Mostly breads, veggies, fruit and a little bit of meat. I was only eating about 1300 calories per day and was not losing weight and my stomach was around 30" which for me is quite big. 

 

Over the last couple of years I repeatedly went to my doctor complaining of exhaustion, being bloated, bowel issues etc. and he just told me I likely had IBS and chronic fatigue syndrome. I was very anemic on and off (my ferritin went as low as 3) which he said was due to my heavy periods. Last September I woke up one morning with Bell's Palsy which freaked me out. Something was not quite right with me. I started keeping track of my symptoms and read about going gluten free. I tried a diet for a month but I was not very careful. I felt a little better. Then I went back to eating gluten. I went back to my doctor and told him that I felt somewhat better going off of gluten and would be retest me for Celiac disease. He told me flat out that he already tested me 3 years ago and since it was negative he would not test me again. He said I was welcome to go gluten free if I thought it would make me feel better. Nice huh?

 

Then and there I decided in April that I was going to go gluten free and be really strict this time. The first three weeks I felt like a new women. I had lost 8 pounds, my bloated stomach was almost gone, I was walking 16-20 blocks a day at lunch, my body aches almost all went away. It was wonderful! A couple of times in that period I got glutened when eating out and I got sick right away so I saw that gluten does have a negative impact on me for sure!

 

It has almost been 3 months and I am down to 117 pounds from 130 and my stomach went down in size from 30" to 26" inches. I don't see any bloating in my stomach anymore except for when I get glutened. 

 

Do I wish I was tested for celiac? Yes! but I am not willing to go through a gluten challenge to find out.

 

Sorry about the full life story.

 

Thanks for telling me about your intolerances. It would be hard to give up most vegetables as you have too.  I am still new to this whole diet change thing so I appreciate you telling me to ask away!

 

The rice milk I bought is made by Natura. Open Original Shared Link  It states it is gluten free right on the package. Now I read that rice milk may have arsenic in it! ugggg! I am left with hemp milk or coconut milk if I switch.

 

Thanks again,

[cyclinglady]

I had these tests over 15 years ago, long before I had the celiac disease diagnosis.  I went on a four day rotational diet and completely avoided the foods that I test most high: eggs, casein, whey, mushrooms, garlic and almonds.  I continued to use the moderate foods, but rotated them.  I was on this diet for over 8 months.  Now, I can eat most of these foods in moderation and not every single day, but I still have issues with garlic and dairy.  I can eat eggs in baked goods, but that's it. 

 

By the way, my husband's been gluten-free for over 12 years.  He's never been formally diagnosed and would never consider getting tested now.  He knows that gluten is bad for him!

 

Also, low ferritin levels and my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, were the two main reasons the Gastro tested me for celiac disease when I went in for a routine colonoscopy (over 50).  But the docs thought my anemia and low ferritin levels were due to heavy bleeding for the past three years, but when I went through menopause, I was still low in ferritin.   I did not have tummy issues (except when I indulged in something that I already knew I couldn't tolerate like milk.....)  Now, I'm dealing with not just anemia, but I fractured my back recently.  Going for a bone scan soon.  Thanks celiac disease!

[Renaye]

I also have intolerances to egg, peanuts and dairy.  I have not been diagnosed with celiac as the doctor did not get a positive biopsy.  My stomach problems (chronic) got worse and I added sjogren's disease to the list.  A naturopath did the food allergy panel on me after that and that is when I discovered the intolerances.  It is really difficult without eggs as it was a staple food when I went off of gluten. It is in most gluten-free breads.  I just don't eat any bread as it always makes me more constipated.  I rotate my meats and vegetables, but grains, dairy substitutes and seasonings are difficult to rotate.  I actually think I am losing soy as I had a reaction to soy ice cream and milk, but I eat the mayo and don't know what I would do without mayo!! 

 

I will look up some helpful websites and post them for you.

 

Renaye

[Renaye]

Resources that I thought were helpful:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link  - has good info on egg substitutions

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

Hope it helps - Renaye

[bartfull]

If you Google "Elisa intolerance test scam", you will find many sites debunking such "tests". Here's just one of them: Open Original Shared Link

 

If you want to find out which foods bother you, try an elimination diet. It takes time, but it is MUCH more reliable.

[stri8ed]

If you Google "Elisa intolerance test scam", you will find many sites debunking such "tests". Here's just one of them: Open Original Shared Link

 

If you want to find out which foods bother you, try an elimination diet. It takes time, but it is MUCH more reliable.

 

I have to agree with this. The IGG Elisa test will essentially tell you which foods you are most often eating, however this says nothing about whether or not your immune system is sensitized to a particular food. The only accurate way to tell, is by avoiding the food for a while, and then re-introducing it and observing reactions. That said, the foods you most often eat is a good starting point of food to test, since the more often you consume a food, the more likely you will get sensitized to it (provided you have a leaky gut). Also, if you have a leaky gut, a rotation diet is a must, as it will prevent new allergies from developing. The rotation diet also acts as an elimination diet, since you are effectively eliminating all foods for 4 days,