Food Allergies Other Than Gluten

[Dedrasmom]

Hi everyone, just looking for people on this board who may suffer from other food allergies besides those associated with Celiac. My daughter has had multiple symptoms over the past year and has seen a gastro doc. She has had two biopsies for celiac, both negative so he now thinks she may be allergic to some other food and is sending her to an allergist. Is this the route most people take to figure out food allergies?? Seems expensive. Looks like she could just do a process of elimination of the most common foods that cause problems and figure it out herself.

Just wondering if that isn't what the allergist will do anyway. just process of elimination. Her budget is tight right now so just curious if those who have sufffered from other food allergies would reccomend going to the allergist or trying to figure out herself

Thanks for any help. Belinda in NC

[Mother of Jibril]

What kind of symptoms has your daughter been having? If the reaction is severe... especially if it interferes with her breathing... then it's totally appropriate to see an allergist. If her reaction is not severe or if it's a delayed reaction (a food intolerance is different from a food allergy), then you'll get much better information by trying an elimination diet.

My daughter, for example, is sensitive to gluten. It makes her constipated. She also has an allergy to pumpkin seeds, which gives her a rash and makes her ears turn bright red. We didn't do any tests; I just avoid giving her these foods (especially the pumpkin seeds).

[coldnight]

I'm not positive, but the allergist I went to did skin tests. The only thing I was allergic to in those skin tests was Hops. But, I don't think that really equates to food allergies. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong... but for instance, they don't just put gluten on your skin and see if you react, because that isn't where the reaction takes place. I think the gut immune system is not an identical copy of the skin's immune system. I'm not sure about how it works, but I'm not sure there is a correlation.

--EDIT--

Yes, motherofjibril said it better, if it's like an allergy that affects her breathing or something, I think those they can detect. But a food sensitivity or something, they probably won't.... again, correct me if I am wrong.

[Mother of Jibril]

Exactly... food allergies are IgE reactions that cause you body to create histamines. Food intolerances are IgA or IgG reactions that cause your body to produce antigens.

Both are dangerous! It's just a lot more difficult to test for food intolerances.

[Dedrasmom]

Exactly... food allergies are IgE reactions that cause you body to create histamines. Food intolerances are IgA or IgG reactions that cause your body to produce antigens.

Both are dangerous! It's just a lot more difficult to test for food intolerances.

Thanks for the response. My daughters symptoms are. Occasional very bad diarrhea (she has pretty much figured out that this is in response to eating the typical foods that cause IBS, red meat, coffee etc.) She has gone to the gastro doc mostly because of problems feeling like she is choking sometimes or can't swallow right. most recentlly she had an endoscopy because it got so bad one morning it scared her. turned out to have candida (yeast) in her esophagis. She also has bad gas. The doc told her this morning that it thought it sounded like lactose intolerance or maybe corn.

I notice you mention corn allergy. How did you discover that?

Well, thanks ladies for your responses. I guess it wouldn't hurt for her to go to the allergist at least once to see what they say.

[SGWhiskers]

Before my doc discovered celiac, she ran blood tests for the big 8 allergens. I tested positive for milk and eggs. I had made it to 30 without noticing symptoms. I went off milk and eggs for 2 years and noticed only minor changes. Then I started eating them again with only very minor changes. A year later, my Celiac was finally diagnosed, and I eliminated gluten. 3 weeks later I quit the milk and eggs again and felt even better. My personal experience has been that in the presence of gluten, it is difficult to notice mild food allergies. In the absence of gluten, the food allergies were more of an issue. I've also read that milk/casein allergies can flatten villi in much the same way as gluten. For me, it isn't worth the risk of delaying recovery.

In my case, a rotation diet would not have detected my food allergies. THe symptoms were too minor. My blood test for the big 8 was with my regular doc, but was $$$ and not covered by my insurance.