Only React To Some Products?

[Robb]

Hello all!

 

Please forgive me if this is not in the correct section or has been answered. I've had a look around but almost all the answers are black or white but my issue doesn't seem to fit. I seem to have a food sensitivity/allergy but I can't figure it out. The result seems to be gluten intolerance but the reaction isn't usually present when I eat wheat; it only appears when I eat certain products. I haven't been able to find a link between them either. Basically, I'm at a loss.

 

I can eat breads, pasta, soups, and cookies without any issues. I can eat strawberry pop tarts, but if I eat a chocolate pop tart I react. I can eat Betty Crocker cakes and Pogo's but if I eat one Aunt Jemima buttermilk pancake I react. Eating pasta is not a problem but I cannot eat KD. I have eaten white bread from the bakery without any problems but every once in a while I'll get it from a different bakery and react. I have noticed that I react less, or not at all, when the bread is toasted but that could just be in my head. Stove Top stuffing is out of the question, but home made is fine.

 

Forget going to McDonalds, I react to everything. Wendy's or Harvey's are no problem though. I react to one Chinese food restaurant but not another (both use MSG but I don't know how much). I like Guinness and have never reacted to it, but I don't drink other beers so I dunno. 

 

It's like a game of roulette... what will I react to and what won't I.

 

How I react is thankfully limited for the most part to my GI tract. I have gotten stuffy nosed but that was mainly from McD's or KD. Needless to say I don't eat either anymore. It all happens about 2-6 hours after I eat. My stomach will start rumbling and making all sorts of noises. From there it can vary but usually within an hour of the rumbling comes the bathroom. I end up with very loose, sometimes watery stool often with a yellow hue that I understand is bile. I'll continue to make trips to the bathroom over the next few hours until it is out of my system. I never have burning or pain but sometimes, as the case with KD or Stove Top stuffing, I have an overwhelming urge to get it out of my system ASAP if you know what I mean.

 

I never have joint pain, headache, or any other symptoms. Well, I souldn't say that as I do have a type of rash at my hairline that acts as dry scalp (flakey) and red but as I avoid these products it goes away. After the offending substance has left my system everything is back to 'normal' as well. I can keep eating all other forms of wheat and not have any problems. I have talked to my doctor about getting tested but was told he wouldn't do a blood test as it's not accurate and a biopsy wouldn't be appropriate. His suggestion was to just avoid what is causing the reaction. Problem is I have no idea what it could be as I'm doubting if it is wheat or not. Finding a new doctor is not possible either. Even though I'm in Canada and in a large city I'm also in an underserviced area. Basically, if you have a doctor keep them or you may not find another. Doctors are turning away patients and telling them to go to the hospital if they need treatment or 'call around'.

 

That said, I'm not looking for a diagnosis but rather some insight anyone may have. I read something about sulphates today, but I'll have to read more on that. If anyone has anything they could share or any ingredients I may want to look for I'd appreciate it.

 

Thanks!

 

(sorry for the long post)

[kareng]

Maybe it has nothing to do with gluten?  Maybe there is an ingredient in one brand that is not in another?   Like soy or a food coloring? 

[Robb]

I never even thought of food colouring, thanks!

 

The Aunt Jemima buttermilk pancake mix only lists "colour" as an ingredient.  I'll have to look more into that. I've only reacted to products containing wheat and there was no common ingredient that I could see in one that wasn't in the other so I was at a bit of a loss. Thanks again!

 

Any other suggestions or insights are more than welcome  

[nvsmom]

It could be gluten. I didn't react obviously every time I ate gluten. 

 

Food sensitivities are hard to figure out because the reaction can occur within minutes or days of eating the product.  To see if a food is at fault, you would need to be without that food for weeks before its symptoms have left you.  People who try the gluten-free diet often need to be gluten-free for more than 3 months before judging it's effectiveness.

[ravenwoodglass]

Have you had a celiac panel done? If not it would be a good idea to start there. 

[Robb]

I've tried the gluten-free diet for six weeks and nothing changed when I reintroduced gluten, until I ate something likely to make me react. I started thinking GMO's but then I wondered if it was over processed wheat products such as pillsbury crescent rolls (I can eat one, maybe two). I don't seem to have a problem with anything that doesn't contain wheat. I think that's why my doctor said he suspected gluten intolerance. Unfortunately he won't do a celiac panel, and no one is accepting new patients, so I'm stuck there.    

[1desperateladysaved]

Have you checked or considered High fructose corn syrup, or corn in general.  Allergies sometimes don't appear every contact.

 

Dee