Could This Be A Wheat Allergy Too?

[Guest BERNESES]

I went gluten-free back in February and enjoyed a few months of improved health but it seems like things have gone downhill since. I have either become micro-sensitive or...

What has got me wondering if it's an additional wheat allergy is that my primary care doctor gave me Phenergan for nausea (it's an anti-nausea drug but it also has an ANTI-HISTAMINE). The phenergan seems to work on my nausea and increases my appetite, but it also takes away the freezing cold feeling I have when glutened.

I'm also wondering a bout something else. My husband and I have both noticed that I feel better when we go away for the weekend. In the last month I have spent a night in a hotel, a weekend at my sister's, a night at my in-law's and a night at an inn. On all these occasions, I have felt better, slept better, had more of an appetite. My husbnad and I are really starting to worry that it's something in our house. Here are the possibilities:

1. Our cats- I just started changing them over to a gluten-free cat food and a different litter. I handle all the feeding and cleaning.

2. Mold- the building we live in is an old Victorian.

3. Pigeons- our landlord feeds abouit thirty of them and they are constantly around.

I don't doubt at all that I have a gluten intolerance but I'm wondering if there is something else to this that is making me so sensitive and so sick. Help! Beverly

[KaitiUSA]

You should get testing on yourself for those kinds of allergens and get your house tested for mold,etc. I think that it is a possibility that something else can be contributing to your problems....especially since you feel better when you are away..there must be something that is irritating you.

A wheat allergy is also possible...I have a severe wheat allergy in addition to celiac.

[Rachel--24]

I would look into the mold possibility for sure. That could really be bringing your immune system down and could have triggered the gluten intolerance and it could also contribute to candida overgrowth.

[Guest BERNESES]

so, how do I go about this? Is it the RAST test for food allergies? What about mold? Do I have my apartment tested by a professional?

[Carriefaith]

If you are reacting to something and you are 100% sure it is not gluten, then you could have an allergy or intolerance to something else. The fact that you feel better at other places makes me wonder if you are reacting to dust, dust mites, fungus, cat hair, or even the type of pollen in your area. I suggest that you get an extensive allergy test done. This should rule some things out.

It is possible to have a wheat allergy and celiac disease. I have both celiac disease and a wheat allergy and I find that having both makes a wheat contamination even worse. If you are allergic to wheat, it will come back positive on the allergy test.

[Carriefaith]

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so, how do I go about this? Is it the RAST test for food allergies? What about mold? Do I have my apartment tested by a professional?

I got an allergy skin prick test on my back. This tested for a wide variey of things, everything from, animal hair, food, fungus, dust, and pollen.

[drewsant]

I had the skin prick test on my back as well, and it revealed a lot of allergies I had that I wasn't aware of, but looking back, makes a lot of sense of what was going on. I knew there had to be something else going on other than Celiac because the only time I wasn't sick was when I was literally just eating fruits and vegetables. I found out I'm allergic to wheat, soy (good luck finding ANYTHING without either one of these things) chicken, fish and tree nuts. Along with the dust mites, pollens, cats/dogs, trees, molds, etc. I was tested for 80 allergens, and had reactions to 25 of them. I would guess you have at least a bad environmental allergy. I wake up every morning coughing, sneezing and stuffed up head--now I know why--dustmites and my dog that sleeps with me.

[Kasey'sMom]

I've had skin testing and Id's, and it showed many inhalent allergies and a few food allergies. These tests are very accurate for inhalent allergies.

My dd has had skin testing and RAST testing. She is allergic to mold and grass as well. After seeing the allergist, her ped. recommended doing the RAST test for foods in addition to the skin testing. I was very glad we did, because the RAST test showed an allergy to egg that hadn't shown up on the skin testing. Since Spring, we've both had the YORK Igg ELISA to help identify delayed food intolerances/triggers.

Seems to be that the accuracy for the skin testing and the RAST testing depends on which Dr. your talking to. In my dd's case it was helpful for her to have both tests!!

[Guest BERNESES]

thanks Everyone- I am not 100% sure it's not gluten as I am weaning my cats off a food that contained gluten BUT I definitely feel like it's something in the apartment. I'm seeing a naturopath who specializes in Celiac's (she has it herself) and she runs additional testing through Great Smokies. I am also going to contact my primary care and ask about allergy testing and the RAST. I appreciate all your input- it's been one heck of a year!

[Carriefaith]

I hope you find the source of your problem Good luck with the tests.