Allergy To Wheat Is That A Gluten Allergy ?

[talula2]

I was diagnosed with a mild wheat allergy a year ago, that has become terrible now and I can't eat any without the body swelling , fluid retention 7 months pregnant look with the mood to match and it lasts for days, after I have eaten something containing gluten it takes me a week to recover. It is getting worse now. I also have some type of depression that follows for a few days, I feel low afterwards. A few months back I ate wheat to see where I was and I am still recovering from it now. I have been bloated for 8 weeks and moody as well as swollen knees and sore joints after going to my dr. he suspected celiac seeing as I already had problems tolerating wheat. I was diagnosed with malabsorption syndrome as I couldn't eat carbs or meat, chicken or fish I had a hard time digesting any of that. He ran numerous blood tests and checked for everything but all the blood work came back just fantastic healthy as a teenager. The celiac test ttg and iga went of to the Mayo clinic. After results were back dr said I was negative on a range of 0 to 10 I was a 6. He told me not to kill myself with my diet anymore and eat what I want and get on with my life. I have been searching for answers for 5 years now. So these symptoms sound all to familliar with most of you here on these boards. I am thinking I will just continue along gluten free for now as I am feeling slight improvements slowly. I am afraid to eat anything at all really as I had such an awful past 4 weeks with my digestion. I am keeping a clean diet of mostly fruits and veg as it seems that is all my body can handle right now. I know my allergy to wheat is slight but does that mean I am allergic to all gluten...rye, barley and what not?

[lovegrov]

Can you eat rice or corn? Both have gluten, but not the same family as wheat. As far as barley and rye, I couldn't say for sure.

richard

[gfb1]

I was diagnosed with a mild wheat allergy a year ago,

[snip]

I know my allergy to wheat is slight but does that mean I am allergic to all gluten...rye, barley and what not?

in general, IgE-mediated allergies (the type that you get 'pricked' with an allergen in the dr's office and they look for a bump/rash/redness) are not necessarily gluten-related.

many of these types of allergies are actually mediated by a group of compounds called 'lectins', which are complex combinations of proteins and starch (i.e., strings of sugar molecules). lectins are very good at eliciting an antigenic response from our bodies.

the form of gluten found in wheat, rye and barley are very similar and contain the 'gliadin' sequence of amino acids, a glutamine- and proline-rich sequence with a large degree of similarity among this family of grasses.

other grasses are considered to have 'gluten', but this is a confusion of common terms with technical nomenclature. for example, corn and rice are commonly said to have 'gluten' (e.g., corn gluten) -- but, biochemically speaking the correct term is corn zein. this is a 'prolamin' (or protein storage molecule) found in plant seeds. Gluten is a type of prolamin; but, so is zein. they are related, but biochemically of different sequence. certainly different enough that celiacs can safely consume corn zein.

for the biochemists out there there are some very nice papers comparing the evolutionary relationships of plants using prolamin sequences....

(yes, in addition to my other faults, i am an unrepentent geek)

[The Fluffy Assassin]

He told me not to kill myself with my diet anymore and eat what I want and get on with my life.

Not necessarily. Mayo Clinic (speak of the devil) says persons allergic to wheat may be allergic to any of four proteins in wheat, one of which is gluten: Open Original Shared Link Of course, two pages back they call celiac disease an allergic response (which it isn't, it's an autoimmune disorder) so even the Mayo Clinic staff isn't infallible.

What kind of doctor is this? Gastroenterologist? Allergist? Any kind of specialist? He sounds a little clueless. You did make clear to him how much pain and misery you were in from eating these things, right? The advice everybody gives here is to keep a food diary and try to track down exactly what is causing you pain. Going gluten free is certainly a start; you might also want to look into the eight most common allergens: dairy, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, tree nut, peanut and egg. Meat shouldn't be a problem per se, but I say that though I suspect that I myself am sensitive to pork.

Best of luck, and sorry you're going through all this. Hope this helped a little but if not, stick around a bit; most everybody here is more knowledgeable than me.

[Mother of Jibril]

You say you have a "mild" allergy to wheat... what makes it mild?

When my son started eating solid foods (when he was six months old) he developed problems with eczema and diarrhea... I tracked the problem down to corn. Took corn out of his diet (and mine)... problem solved I thought it was just an intolerance. He tested negative on RAST (a blood test that checks for IgE allergies), but last week I took him to a pediatric allergist and he tested positive for corn via skin prick. I could hardly believe it! (We were there because of a peanut allergy). The doctor said we were smart to avoid corn since the positive test corresponded with our previous observations.

From what I've read, tests are not the best way to tell if your allergy is "mild" or "severe." What matters is how you feel. One person could have a class 3 RAST and never go into anaphylaxis; another person could have a class 1 RAST and have terrible reactions to the same allergen. That's why your history and observations are so important. So... if you feel terrible, then I'd say you have a pretty bad allergy!! IMO, you need to stick with whatever diet makes you feel the best... don't let anyone dismiss your observations.

[Suprmom]

I totally agree with Mother of Jibril. Similar story with my ds but he IS ALLERGIC to all gluten grains, possibly to gluten itself.

Are you IG-E mediated allergic to wheat, diagnosed by either a blood test or a skin prick test? I will assume yes. You can see an allergist experienced with FA's to ask for a more complete testing. If it is only FA's and not celiac or anything else than truly avoiding the allergens should clear you up quickly. Something to keep in mind is that IGE allergy could react by touch not just ingestion. That means you should learn all the different names for wheat and look at your soaps, shampoo, conditioner, cleaners, etc. These don't have to follow the FALCPA laws. Also my ds reacts to some food that is considered safe for celiacs because it measures under a certain amount (20ppm). He avoids all x-cont.!!! If they can't guarantee that it did not have any chance of contamination then he doesn't eat it. The only way to know for sure is to call and ask specific questions. Companies don't have to lable for x-cont. only for actual ingredients. I know other wheat allergic individuals who don't have to be so strict buy if your still struggling you may want to consider it. Also check some of those other foods for x-cont. DS can't eat most pre-packaged food and we have only found 3 brands of chicken (due to added chicken broth and breaded products in the same factory) that are safe for him. It is a possiblility your other issues could be a matter of finding a "safe" brand. Lundberg brand rice might be a good place to start. Good luck figuring this out.

[talula2]

Thank you all so much for the respone and advice, greatly appreciated. I have had the testing done by an allergist and I tested positive for the cliassics. Dairy he said was very highly allergic as well as soy, but wheat was the one that showed only a slight response but it was there, that is the reason for the mild allergy diganoses. He told me to avois overt dairy, if I eat it it has to be cooked ( I seriously can't eat any of it). No soy and wheat can be eaten but not in excess. So after that I just kept going along eating how he said then after the birth of my baby ( hard pregnancy and c-section) I have never been the same. I can't touch any of it at all. When I went through everything to be told I had post partum depression and possible IBS.....Continue to eat the same and I would be fine. After another year of feeling tired, depressed, swollen and bloated I went to another dr. stopped eating wheat and switched over to oats and rye. Felt much better for a while then everything came back again but worse, it seemed like I couldn't eat anything at all after eating gluten. I am now keeping a food diary and I did a detox cleansing diet for two weeks because seriously I just couldn't eat solid food without it causing me great discomfort. I had become so emotional that mu husband didn't know what to do. Then when I went to the new dr, he said he was almost convinced that I had celiac and had instestinal damage and that is why I was having a hard time digesting foods. I was relieved because I felt as though that was what I had as well. I came off all gluten, even all carbs because I just couldn't digest them and had veg, protein, nuts and fruit and have to say I felt much better it took a few weeks and the first two weeks were hell but now I feel so much better. Well now after the test came back negative and all other tests were fine his conclusion was not to take away the oats and rye continue to eat them that gluten was not mu issue. My test in the allergist office was gliadin that I was positive to in the form of wheat, but I did not test positive for oats. Is gliadin not a form of gluten or am I wrong? Now I am left hanging again, I believe that I have celiac disease or some for of gluten issues because I get the same feeling when I ingest either or and sugar throws me completely off as well. I also get these horrible craving afters I have eating anyhing gluten that I just can't stop eating it. I will continue along going gluten free and see where that takes me. I know for sure that something is hitting me hard because here I am 8 days into my cleanseing diet of fresh fruit and veggies and I feel better than I have in years, now I have to start adding back the foods to see the where lies my problems...Wish me luck. I see both specialist ( GI and allergist ) in Sept. Thank you for all you rsupport here and advice.

[Mother of Jibril]

Just a quick note...

Celiac disease is actually an autoimmune disorder, not an allergy... and pregnancy is a classic trigger for autoimmune disorders. It was for me (BTW... it's totally possible to have an allergy to wheat and/or the other gluten grains AND have celiac disease).

Were you eating gluten when you had the celiac panel done? What test(s) were included? Have you ever had an endoscopy? Basically, what your doctor is proposing is a gluten challenge... but how badly do you want an official diagnosis? You could just assume you have celiac disease and stay gluten-free. Personal experience is just as important (if not more important) as any test.

[gfb1]

My test in the allergist office was gliadin that I was positive to in the form of wheat, but I did not test positive for oats. Is gliadin not a form of gluten or am I wrong?

gluten is a protein molecule, made up of a long sequence of amino acids (like beads on a string). gliadin is a shorter sequence/string of amino acids found WITHIN the gluten sequence.

the gliadin sequence is found in all the grasses of a particular family; including wheat, barley, spelt and RYE (as well as a few other grasses, many considered weeds and not normally in our food chain).

most, but probably not all, celiacs have an immune response to the gliadin sequence; whether this is due to an immunogenetic predisposition (all the 'genes' that people discuss) or due to intestinal damage and the gliadin 'leaks' into the bloodstream (causing the reaction). it is not unusual for celiacs to produce a positive result on the 'prick test' -- since they have already had an immune reaction to gluten/gliadin in their bodies.

i suppose the short answer is; if you are eating RYE you are eating gluten.

oats are not in that family and are considered safe -- however, depending on source, oats can be contaminated with gluten due to processing equipment (etc). we've had some problems with a very popular brand of oats; but, there's an irish, steelcut brand that has always been safe (for us).

[ang1e0251]

I think you should just listen to what your body says it can tolerate and stop listening to the dr's advice on your diet. You know what to avoid to feel good. Go forward with that.

No one has mentioned vitamin supplements but sublingual B12 and magnesium also D were extremely helpful to me .

[talula2]

Thank you again for your response. I have started to take supplements Vit c as well as calcium and vit D, only thing is in my blood work my vitB12 levels came back high??? Dr said very unusual and left it at that said I didn't need any additional vit B12. Has anyone experienced higer leves of Vit B 12? With gluten issues? I also had wbc in my stool analysis only slightly but he siad just some inflamation for the allergic response to wheat??? Anone experience this as well?

[Suprmom]

Sorry, but I think your doctors have given you really horrible advice. I have never heard of a dairy allergic person being told by a doctor that cooked dairy would be ok. SOME egg allergic can eat cooked eggs so maybe he was assuming it could apply to other FA's? Uneducated! I am not at all surprised that you react to that. And unless you had an In office food challenge you should not be advised to eat a food you test positive to. You are absolutely correct that gliadin is IN gluten. So if you tested positive to gliadin you should consider yourself allergic to gluten!!! But again you might want the skin and blood test to make sure. If your feeling better off gluten I think that says enough. If your avoiding wheat it is comparitively easy to avoid the rest. If it were me I would keep looking for a different allergist. Open Original Shared Link has a good search engine for allergist by specialty. You can learn ALOT by looking around there site. Although if you leave the patient area you might want to keep a dictionary handy. www.foodallergy.org has a lot of good info too. And you can have FA's and be celiac but then again it could just be the FA's. DS is suspected celiac and it is so frustrating not being able to know for sure because of the FA's.

[talula2]

Yes I certainally think you are right I am in need of a new allergist and I do have an appointment with a new one in Sept. After the Rast testing an the skin prick test I was even more confused....all the rast testing came back negative to any allergy what so ever but the skin testing he said was more than obvious so for a long while I was in denial that I even had FA"s to begin with. Yes he said with only being allergic to the whey in dairy that the process of cooking it makes it easier on the body so hence the recommendation of eating it cooked came out but I have never seen that or heard of anyone eating dairy once it is cooked??? I sure can't. Same with the wheat he said don't eat in excess and said I would have to find my tolerance level. Now I think tolerance level if I have to find a level tha works befor I become poisioned what the hell is the point of even eating it at all knowing it will eventually cause me problems. I just hope now that I get my eating on trackbecause I keep developing other food problems monthly it seems since I have been watching my gluten. Dark chocolate was my saving grace and no bananas either, chicken and tuna as well seem to bother me. Is this normal to develope more FA's after all this. What am I going to be able to eat???

[TotalKnowledge]

Can you eat rice or corn? Both have gluten, but not the same family as wheat. As far as barley and rye, I couldn't say for sure.

richard

I do not believe either rice or corn contain gluten, unless it has been added or is cross contaminated.

[talula2]

For some reason my body doesn't digest carbs that well, even sweet potato and squash give me problems with bloating and followed by water retention. I am guessing this is due to the intestinal damage caused by my wheat allergy? I did a south beach diet some years back and it was at that point that I discovered that something might be up with my body and wheat as ell as dairy. I do have to say I did very well on that diet and need to go back to it for sure it really worked well and I had occasional bloating but not too bad. I often blamed my problems on doing that diet to begin with but now I know differernt that if the problem was there and I took it away the chances of ever getting it back into my diet were slim so now this is the case. I don't do a heavy protein but I stick to the more veggies and a bit of fruit and mostly chick peas and beans and a bit of animal protein as well as nuts. I seem to so well. I think this is how I should eat!

[Suprmom]

This is just a thought but maybe your digestive tract is just a little (or lot) off. Could be from celiac or something else. My story is kinda complicated but I've been thinking for the last few months I'm gluten intolerant but when I saw the GI doc he thinks I'm actually sensitive to the quality of food. We eat very low carb and healthy at home. The grains we eat are whole. When I go out it is usually loaded with unheathy fats and carbs. He says my body just rejects it. I'm not convinced this is really what is going on with me but I guess it's possible since we don't eat wheat at home and I do eat carb heavier when out. He also told me that probiotics could really help. I have heard alot about them including that it is good for FA individuals. Our pediatrician had us put DS on them. Might be worth a try.

[talula2]

I do agree with the probiotics., I have been taking them now for about a year as well as digestive enzymes. I reat really well most of the time and I have become so afraid of carbs that even when out I don't eat them it is always a salad or steak. I honestly feel like I can't eat anythig. When I do have carbs say like oats or even a startchy veg I start to crave more cards like there is no tomorrowand of course I eat more but never empty carbs as I phsyciall just can't the outcome is horrible. Even still with in a few hours I am water retentive and put on 3 or 4 pounds right away in water. It only takes a few days for my body to release it though but it is quite mind boggeling. My dr said I have malabsorption for the wheat allergy and that in time it will possibly get better. I honestly feeli like I am going insane the most of the time as there is not too much I have left to eat.....