Allergy Tests Re-done

[num1habsfan]

I know that there is a lot of you on here who ended up developing multiple food allergies, but i just had the injection-type tests done on Monday and today, and the results are overwhelming...this was everything I tested positive for:

moulds/pollens/fungi/animal danders:

alternaria, cephalosporium, helminthosporium, hormodendrum, pollularia, house dust, aspergillus, dematiaceae, penicillium, cats, dogs

And now the food....

corn, wheat, milk, egg, potato, tomato, lettuce, beef, pork, orange, apple, oats, rice, yeast, soybean, fish, chicken

What do I do now that i'm allergic to gluten AND gluten-free?!

[ravenwoodglass]

I know that there is a lot of you on here who ended up developing multiple food allergies, but i just had the injection-type tests done on Monday and today, and the results are overwhelming...this was everything I tested positive for:

moulds/pollens/fungi/animal danders:

alternaria, cephalosporium, helminthosporium, hormodendrum, pollularia, house dust, aspergillus, dematiaceae, penicillium, cats, dogs

And now the food....

corn, wheat, milk, egg, potato, tomato, lettuce, beef, pork, orange, apple, oats, rice, yeast, soybean, fish, chicken

What do I do now that i'm allergic to gluten AND gluten-free?!

All you can do is to avoid those allergens. How strong were the reactions and are you still strictly and completely gluten free? Before I was diagnosed I showed reactions to 98 of the 99 substances that I was tested for. My allergist explained that my immune system was in hyperdrive and reacting to virtually everything. I had to be superstrict with the diet and avoid gluten in everything including topicals and in distilled form but after a few months most of my other allergies resolved. I don't know if this will be the case for you.

[missy'smom]

I wonder if a low carb/paleo diet might be a good fit for you right now. I basically live on meats, veg. and nuts, fats for the most part with only certain forms of dairy in small amounts and not all the time but my version is a little more restrictive than most. I really still have alot of variety in my meals. I hear that there are digestive supplements for the proteins that are good. I wonder if a rotation would help with some of the things. I did an interesting experiment recently with my body and unexpectedly stubled upon why some allergists recommend a roation diet for some allergens. I was OK the first couple days and then saw a change the third or fourth day- a sudden change in my blood sugar(it seems that my blood sugar issues are autoimmune), indicating a significant change in my body which I narrowed down to the dietary testing of the allergen. My outward symtoms were mild. I'm ok with a little as I said but during the experiment I was having a certain form that I haven't had in years and had it everyday or twice a day for quite a few days in a row. I have the opposite problem-that some things that I clearly have problems with are not showing up on the testing so far. Good luck to you in finding the right fit and balance for you. Focus on what you can have and what you can do with that.

[OptimisticMom42]

As with Ravenwoodglass, my allergies to other things are calming down now that I'm gluten free. I use to live on claritin-d. But have only use an antihistamine twice in since going gluten free in March. I'm hoping my allergy to dairy will resolve itself but I won't be trying it out for about hmmm maybe a year.

[Mother of Jibril]

In February I tested positive for allergies to celery, peanuts, almonds, dust mites, and four kinds of mold/fungus. I took all those foods out of my diet (even foods processed with mold like chocolate, black tea, soy sauce, citric acid, etc...) but it didn't help. In April I had another round of tests (new allergist)... both skin-prick and RAST... and found out that I don't have food allergies I put all of those foods back into my diet, no problem. From what I've read, a person with a true (IgE) allergy is usually allergic to no more than one or two substances... although sometimes you get cross-reactions like bananas and latex, fish and shellfish, almonds and other tree nuts, etc...

You might want to take antihistamines (as a couple of other posters suggested) and/or give the "low histamine" diet a try:

Open Original Shared Link

If you have a lot of histamine circulating in your body you can easily get false positives on allergy tests... too little (when you're taking antihistamines, for example) and you get false negatives. A lot of the foods on your list... fish, grains, dairy, tomatoes... have naturally high levels of histamine.

[num1habsfan]

I'm as strict as they come when it's gluten-free. I am so sensitive that literally 1 crumb will make me sick from glutening for about a week. So i am very, very picky and very, very careful.

I was off all forms of antihistamines for 6 weeks before having these tests done. To make sure that all of my daily medication was safe I even asked them one by one if it was okay to take them.

I can't try your diet, missy's mom - everything that you were able to tolerate I can't. The allergic also said I need to eliminate beef 100%. He asked all of the symptoms that I get when I eat most food so I explained what happens. He believes that my undiagnosed stomach issues for the past 3 1/2 years are what's triggering all of the food allergies. So i'm being scheduled for a CT scan. He says if I can get the stomach treated (which by describing my symptoms, he thinks it's Crohn's), then I should be able to tolerate some of these allergens.

The receptionist suggested that for now, I try rotating the allergens and eating them in small amounts...she said go 4 days before eating a certain food again. I'm going to have to get myself one of those day planners and start that today.

I'm supposed to be getting shots for both the inhalent and food allergens. Not cheap...$135, ugh.

All I'm left with now for food i'm not allergic to is beans, cucumbers, coloured peppers, and peas...

I had a copy of the allergy test results sent to my GI, so I can imagine what he'll think. Maybe our original suspicion of Refractory Sprue is correct just yet...

[tarnalberry]

All I'm left with now for food i'm not allergic to is beans, cucumbers, coloured peppers, and peas...

Not True!

(though I probably wouldn't have sweet peppers (red/yellow/green peppers), if you're allergic to both tomatoes and potatoes - they're in the same family)

And now the food....

corn, wheat, milk, egg, potato, tomato, lettuce, beef, pork, orange, apple, oats, rice, yeast, soybean, fish, chicken

that leaves you with things like -

"grains" - buckwheat, millet, quinoa, amaranth, and teff

vegetables - summer squash (zucchini, crook neck, etc.), winter squash (acorn, pumpkin, butternut, spaghetti squash, etc.), kale/chard (these are not lettuce), cabbage, onion, garlic, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, beets, peas (all kinds), asparagus

fruits - berries, apples, peaches/necatarines, banana, pear, cherries, apricots, plums, grapes, cucumbers

nuts/seeds - almonds (makes lots of dairy subs), hemp (seeds or milk), walnuts, cashews (also makes great dairy subs), etc.

legumes - so many bean varieties, lentils, peas

meats - this is a hard one, but what about turkey, lamb, venison, buffalo, and shellfish (separate from 'fish' on allergy tests)

[num1habsfan]

remember that I can't tolerate anything fatty (it triggers gallbladder attacks), heavy, or vegetables or fruits except for those 3 veggies that I mentioned above (the rest flare up the mystery IBD).

I will find out how they test for nut allergies, since they were not an option at these allergy tests. Pretty sure I have issues with them, too, seeing how i can only eat a very small amount before I get nauseated and severe cramps.

[Mother of Jibril]

You might want to think about approaching this in a different way...

I have a mast cell disorder that causes mild abdominal pain and nausea, even on a gluten-free, casein-free, corn-free diet. The only reason I know about this disorder is because I started having anaphylactic reactions (autoimmune) back in February... a blood test revealed that my immune system is making antibodies to my own mast cells. Otherwise, I probably would have gone on thinking I was intolerant/allergic to more and more foods

Since April I've been taking both H1 (Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra, etc...) and H2 (Pepcid, Zantac, Tagamet, etc...) antihistamines. It really helps with the abdominal pain. I'm also thinking about trying Gastrocrom (cromolyn sodium), which is a mast cell stabilizer... I'm going to ask my allergist about it next month. Sometimes I notice the Pepcid wearing off in the afternoon, but the abdominal pain stops when I take an extra dose. Generic antihistamines are cheap, very safe, and available over the counter. I had an endoscopy last month that showed NOTHING abnormal... no ulcers, no celiac (after 10 months on the gluten-free diet), no Chron's, no mastocytosis, no signs of inflammation or infection... perfectly, perfectly, normal. Except I still have the abdominal pain

Anyway... you might want to give H2 antihistamines a try before you go crazy on a starvation diet. My first allergist insisted that I had food allergies, but she was wrong

Just my two cents. What kind of antihistamines were you taking previously?

[Amyleigh0007]

All you can do is to avoid those allergens. How strong were the reactions and are you still strictly and completely gluten free? Before I was diagnosed I showed reactions to 98 of the 99 substances that I was tested for. My allergist explained that my immune system was in hyperdrive and reacting to virtually everything. I had to be superstrict with the diet and avoid gluten in everything including topicals and in distilled form but after a few months most of my other allergies resolved. I don't know if this will be the case for you.

My son's doctor said the same thing about his allergies. Since he was diagnosed with Celiac and allergies at the same time he said his immune system was on overload and most of the food allergies will resolve in time (how much time he didn't know). He is on a rotation diet. For example he will eat corn chips on Monday and not eat them again until Friday. We are less strict about the soy and egg whites but he doesn't eat eggs whole (no scrambled eggs, only egg in pancakes or cookies). He will never eat wheat since he has Celiac and he refuses to eat clam and walnuts. Since his food allergies are not the life threatening kind his doctor has okayed this diet and it works fine for us. Perhaps you can work out some kind of rotation diet so you can still have those foods but limited.