Possible To Make Yourself More Intolerant With Elimination Diet?

[Greeneyes4950]

I began on an elimination diet this summer, in a effort to clear up my stomach problems.

It went well, for quite some time. I was eatting gluten/casein/soy/egg/yeast free.

Then i cheated.

I ate a spicy chicken sandwich and a frosty with m+m's.

And within 30-45 minutes, began breaking out with hives -- on my face, arms, ears, stomach, and legs. And it felt like my throat was closing up.

I took benedryl. While i apparently shouldn't take, since i could barely stand up without feeling so dizzy i almost fell over.

But the thing was, i had eatten this before my elimination diet started before, and the hives never happened. I know i have a problem with soy. but - did my elimination diet make the soy problem even worse?

[Ridgewalker]

I began on an elimination diet this summer, in a effort to clear up my stomach problems.

It went well, for quite some time. I was eatting gluten/casein/soy/egg/yeast free.

Then i cheated.

I ate a spicy chicken sandwich and a frosty with m+m's.

And within 30-45 minutes, began breaking out with hives -- on my face, arms, ears, stomach, and legs. And it felt like my throat was closing up.

I took benedryl. While i apparently shouldn't take, since i could barely stand up without feeling so dizzy i almost fell over.

But the thing was, i had eatten this before my elimination diet started before, and the hives never happened. I know i have a problem with soy. but - did my elimination diet make the soy problem even worse?

In everything I've read, and everything I've witnessed and experienced-- Yes, eliminating a substance you're intolerant to can/will make your reaction to it worse if you're exposed to it again.

I know some people get hives when exposed to something their intolerant to, but the throat closing up is extremely troubling! That sounds like an anaphylactic allergic reaction, doesn't it??? I don't know a ton about it, but if it were me, I'd go to an allergist and get some testing done. You might need to carry an Epipen!

[michelleL]

I don't think an elimination diet makes things worse. I've been on many elimination diets, and when I can't tolerate something, I can't take a molecule of it. I've been on elimination diets for a bit longer than a year (I want to say 1 1/2 years) and then try to re-introduce foods. The only thing I noticed is that I would react a little bit, with blisters/slight rash that would improve as my body got more "used" to the new food. (It's kind of like when a baby is being introduced to new foods and gets a diaper rash... wonder if there's a similarity there.)

[missy'smom]

I was told when I was young that I have a milk allergy, although it was ignored by my parents , leaving some doubt. I seem to be able to get away with eating some, or the consequences are such that I have put up with them in the past. I do react to some dairy in various ways but have never had the kind of reaction that you described UNTIL I went gluten-free and once when I had eaten some icecream at a restaurant I came home and started to feel like you described. It hasn't happened since.

I suspect you have an allergy, you may have had it before and didn't react severely enough to notice it.

My theory is that our immune systems are so stressed out from all the stuff that ye throw at it that sometimes it just says, ENOUGH!

[Mom23boys]

I don't believe the elimination diet makes you more sensitive. I believe because you have had a period of "feeling better" you notice it before. Also you body it not spread itself thin attacking many invaders so all its resources focus on attacking the one making the reaction more.

Your reaction does not sound like a sensitivity. I would get to an allergist ASAP! I am an epi carrier and what you described is an anaphylactic reaction. Your body has to be exposed to the substance before you have a bad reaction. You may have eaten it 100 times before but your body decided to attack it at 101. Nothing made it worse. It was just the timing for your body. It is like a bucket under a dripping faucet. The bucket can catch the drips for minutes, hours, maybe even days but then there is that 1 drop of water that causes it to spill. This reaction was your "spilling" point.

[missy'smom]

I don't believe the elimination diet makes you more sensitive. I believe because you have had a period of "feeling better" you notice it before. Also you body it not spread itself thin attacking many invaders so all its resources focus on attacking the one making the reaction more.

Your reaction does not sound like a sensitivity. I would get to an allergist ASAP! I am an epi carrier and what you described is an anaphylactic reaction. Your body has to be exposed to the substance before you have a bad reaction. You may have eaten it 100 times before but your body decided to attack it at 101. Nothing made it worse. It was just the timing for your body. It is like a bucket under a dripping faucet. The bucket can catch the drips for minutes, hours, maybe even days but then there is that 1 drop of water that causes it to spill. This reaction was your "spilling" point.

Well put.

[Juliebove]

Yep. I am allergic to dairy, eggs and almonds. I don't know that I've had any almonds and I am so severely allergic to eggs that I will not eat a food that I have any doubt about. But three times now I have gotten restaurant food with dairy in it. Twice was a shred of cheese and more recently it was sour cream. I made sure not to eat any of the food that was touching the dairy and yet I had a severe reaction to it. BP dropped rapidly and I felt totally weak. No fun at all!

[Greeneyes4950]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

The odd thing is that that is only the second time in my life that i have broken out in hives.

The first time happened when i was quite young, about 5-6 yrs old.

According to my family, they believed it was due to some strawberry ice cream i had eaten that day, and i was kept away from strawberries.

Well when i got older, i ate strawberries with no problem. Everyone figured i had simply "grown out" of it.

My enterolab gluten sensitivity stool and gene panel results should be ready in 1-2 more weeks. it included free milk sensitivity test. I became very lactose intolerant about 2 yrs ago, so i'll be surprised to find out the result in regards to all that.

A part of me would like to say..well maybe it's the ice cream...but i've eaten ice cream without breaking out in hives. My guess is that it was the soy, probably that the chicken was fried in, since it's a corn/soy mix i think, and the soy in the chocolate.

When i see my doctor, i will definately tell her about what happened though. I also plan on being tested through enterolab for the egg/yeast/soy sensitivity.