Pre-test Strategy

[munchkinette]

I'm going to the allergist in a few days. I'm pretty sure I have another food allergy/intolerance/both, but I'm not sure which one. I've already stopped my allergy meds in preparation for the skin tests. I know those are based on the exposure at the time of the test, not a build up over time.

So what should I do to prepare for the blood tests? I suspect that my problem is either dairy, soy, or corn, so I haven't had those this week. Should I eat a bunch of those things a few days before my tests in order to get better results? Last time I had negative gluten blood tests and positive skin tests because I'd already been on the diet. I don't want to get false negatives again because of the diet.

[Ursa Major]

The problem with dairy, soy and corn is, that usually those are intolerances, and the adverse effects aren't immediately apparent. If you have a delayed reaction, it will not show up on allergy testing.

Those tests are usually pretty good for environmental allergies, though.

So, what I am saying is, that even if you have a problem with those foods, the test results may not show your intolerances.

Enterolab is a good option for finding out about soy and dairy. Or an elimination diet, which is free, but takes a while.

[sneezydiva]

A little late for the reply, but from what I understand about the blood tests, they actually mix standardized protiens of the foods with a sample of your blood to see if it reacts. So not eaing/eating the foods won't make a difference.

[munchkinette]

Dang it. ALL 10 of my food allergy (IGE) tests came back negative! (Dairy, egg, soy, corn, peanut, beef, tuna, salmon, chicken, rice - He basically tested 90% of what I eat every day.)

Now what? My wheat IGE test was negative too, but obviously the gluten free diet helped me immensely. How do I start an elimination diet when there are so many possibilities?

My additional problem can't all be environmental, can it? I feel like I've done so much to help that already- cleaning, changing bedding, etc. He gave me some much stronger allergy meds this week, and they've helped a ton. (namely a Symbacort inhaler)