Soy Intolerance!

[Matt007b]

Well i've been sick for years, and after my 4th GI specialist he suggested with my chronic low potassium blood levels, and chronic white blood cells in my stool (negative colonoscopy/endo/celiac blood tests) that I was suffering from some kind of malabsorbtion issues...not sure what...so he said to go on a elimination diet.

So i've been on a food elimination diet for a good 3 weeks and have found out i'm VERY intolerant to soy. One drop of the stuff and I get severe nausea...anxiety..finally an answer!

So I took soy out for a good 3 weeks and counting but I still feel awful..so I'm now gluten free 12 days. Even though I tested negative i'm still going to try it for a few months since I don't have insurance. I do remember the doctor saying on my negative blood test "out of a scale one to six you're a two..so I don't think it's an issue" but i'm still going to try.

I'm still dealing with bad IBS-C...some minor anxiety..weak..tired..zero energy...i'm taking a gluten free multi-vitamin and just got some potassium to take..

But has anyone else had major issues to soy? How long did it take you to recover? I read somewhere that soy can damage the gut..not sure if that's true..I also suspect corn and i'm dairy/casein free as well just in case. Mostly my diet is veggies/fruits/meats...I went fructose free for a good month and that didn't work.

Thanks!

[mushroom]

Well i've been sick for years, and after my 4th GI specialist he suggested with my chronic low potassium blood levels, and chronic white blood cells in my stool (negative colonoscopy/endo/celiac blood tests) that I was suffering from some kind of malabsorbtion issues...not sure what...so he said to go on a elimination diet.

So i've been on a food elimination diet for a good 3 weeks and have found out i'm VERY intolerant to soy. One drop of the stuff and I get severe nausea...anxiety..finally an answer!

So I took soy out for a good 3 weeks and counting but I still feel awful..so I'm now gluten free 12 days. Even though I tested negative i'm still going to try it for a few months since I don't have insurance. I do remember the doctor saying on my negative blood test "out of a scale one to six you're a two..so I don't think it's an issue" but i'm still going to try.

I'm still dealing with bad IBS-C...some minor anxiety..weak..tired..zero energy...i'm taking a gluten free multi-vitamin and just got some potassium to take..

But has anyone else had major issues to soy? How long did it take you to recover? I read somewhere that soy can damage the gut..not sure if that's true..I also suspect corn and i'm dairy/casein free as well just in case. Mostly my diet is veggies/fruits/meats...I went fructose free for a good month and that didn't work.

Thanks!

Count me in for soy (even soy lecithin), corn, wheat, lactose, and throw in potato and citric acid too. How is it possible to be intolerant to so many things??? I do sympathise. It would be interesting if you could get a copy of your blood test results because doctors often do not read them correctly. My husband was told he was "borderline" celiac. That was before he broke out in dermatitis herpetiformis, which is definitely NOT borderline, it is full-blown. It's akin to being a little bit pregnant. I think it is a great idea to try gluten free and see if it helps.

If you are so tired and lethargic, have you had your nutrient levels tested, like iron, Vit.D, B12, folate, specifically, but other vitamins and minerals too besides the potassium? If your gut has not been working properly you are probably deficient in some of these.

Like you, I have had chronic urinary tract infections; I think it often goes with celiac disease. And even if you are not diagnosable under current criteria as a celiac, you could still be in the legions of us who are gluten intolerant and don't show up on the testing they currently have available. You can be just as sick, but with nothing to prove it.

Good luck on your dietary changes--I do hope they work for you.

[Matt007b]

Count me in for soy (even soy lecithin), corn, wheat, lactose, and throw in potato and citric acid too. How is it possible to be intolerant to so many things??? I do sympathise. It would be interesting if you could get a copy of your blood test results because doctors often do not read them correctly. My husband was told he was "borderline" celiac. That was before he broke out in dermatitis herpetiformis, which is definitely NOT borderline, it is full-blown. It's akin to being a little bit pregnant. I think it is a great idea to try gluten free and see if it helps.

If you are so tired and lethargic, have you had your nutrient levels tested, like iron, Vit.D, B12, folate, specifically, but other vitamins and minerals too besides the potassium? If your gut has not been working properly you are probably deficient in some of these.

Like you, I have had chronic urinary tract infections; I think it often goes with celiac disease. And even if you are not diagnosable under current criteria as a celiac, you could still be in the legions of us who are gluten intolerant and don't show up on the testing they currently have available. You can be just as sick, but with nothing to prove it.

Good luck on your dietary changes--I do hope they work for you.

Hey thanks for the response!

You know you gave me a good idea..i've been using citrucel since it's gluten free as far as I know..and I've had issues with acidic things in the past...I'm going to go citrus free as well. How in the world did you figure that out? That's a tough combination to break...I feel that my answers are just right around the corner it's just hard to figure out what the secret code is to break it...gluten/soy/citric acid? Soy/dairy/fructose?? I mean there's so many...

anyway what do you eat for breakfast? I've been doing rice chex with pacific foods rice milk, but I know it has traces of corn in it :S

well thanks I need it...been sick too long hope you are much better as well!

[mushroom]

Hey thanks for the response!

You know you gave me a good idea..i've been using citrucel since it's gluten free as far as I know..and I've had issues with acidic things in the past...I'm going to go citrus free as well. How in the world did you figure that out? That's a tough combination to break...I feel that my answers are just right around the corner it's just hard to figure out what the secret code is to break it...gluten/soy/citric acid? Soy/dairy/fructose?? I mean there's so many...

anyway what do you eat for breakfast? I've been doing rice chex with pacific foods rice milk, but I know it has traces of corn in it :S

well thanks I need it...been sick too long hope you are much better as well!

The citrus thing came on me later, with terrible itching. I stopped to think what, if anything, was different about my diet and realized that I had been drinking quite a bit of citrus juice (including with my Bacardi ) and it was citrus season here so had been scarfing mandarin oranges and using citrus as flavor to make up for lack of soy sauce, and the penny dropped....I hope to be able to go back to it later but haven't had any since May.

Why don't you try the elimination diet if you can't figure out what's causing your problems. Cut out all likely allergens, and then add them back in one at a time every two to three days. This is the quickest way of identifying the culprit(s). It means going back to meat/fish, veggies, rice to start with until your symptoms calm down, but you can progress through quite quickly in a couple of weeks. Keep a food and symptom diary too, don't trust your memory on your reactions.

I do yogurt with flaxseed oil mixed in for breakfast with some gluten/corn-free toasted muesli and sliced almonds on top, with kiwifruit, berries, or some other fruit with it. It is quite yummy.And yes, thank you, I am much, much better.

[Matt007b]

The citrus thing came on me later, with terrible itching. I stopped to think what, if anything, was different about my diet and realized that I had been drinking quite a bit of citrus juice (including with my Bacardi ) and it was citrus season here so had been scarfing mandarin oranges and using citrus as flavor to make up for lack of soy sauce, and the penny dropped....I hope to be able to go back to it later but haven't had any since May.

Why don't you try the elimination diet if you can't figure out what's causing your problems. Cut out all likely allergens, and then add them back in one at a time every two to three days. This is the quickest way of identifying the culprit(s). It means going back to meat/fish, veggies, rice to start with until your symptoms calm down, but you can progress through quite quickly in a couple of weeks. Keep a food and symptom diary too, don't trust your memory on your reactions.

I do yogurt with flaxseed oil mixed in for breakfast with some gluten/corn-free toasted muesli and sliced almonds on top, with kiwifruit, berries, or some other fruit with it. It is quite yummy.And yes, thank you, I am much, much better.

Good glad you're doing better! Yeah i'll go back on the elimination diet..I was dairy/soy/gluten/casein/corn free for a good 3 weeks but I can't seem to feel better, but now i'm wondering if it's either citrus or salicylate...I have had a bad reaction to asprine/soda/orange juice in the past so at first I thought it was fructose but now i'm dreading it might be one of those two (citrus/salicylate) so i'll go back on rice and meats..*sigh*...one day...one day i'll fly again..(it's been 4 years ugh!)

thanks for your breakfast ideas..that's the toughest thing is breakfast..right now i'm doing puffed rice with pacific rice milk or lactaid milk (I know not casein free but I just added that to my diet..I doubt I have issues with dairy..or even wheat...corn I think I have a problem..soy is a KILLER ugh.) so in a way it sounds a lot like your diet and problems. I'll keep fighting but thanks for the info! *sorry for the slow response*

[lisa25]

Count me in for soy (even soy lecithin), corn, wheat, lactose, and throw in potato and citric acid too. How is it possible to be intolerant to so many things??? I do sympathise. It would be interesting if you could get a copy of your blood test results because doctors often do not read them correctly. My husband was told he was "borderline" celiac. That was before he broke out in dermatitis herpetiformis, which is definitely NOT borderline, it is full-blown. It's akin to being a little bit pregnant. I think it is a great idea to try gluten free and see if it helps.

If you are so tired and lethargic, have you had your nutrient levels tested, like iron, Vit.D, B12, folate, specifically, but other vitamins and minerals too besides the potassium? If your gut has not been working properly you are probably deficient in some of these.

Like you, I have had chronic urinary tract infections; I think it often goes with celiac disease. And even if you are not diagnosable under current criteria as a celiac, you could still be in the legions of us who are gluten intolerant and don't show up on the testing they currently have available. You can be just as sick, but with nothing to prove it.

Good luck on your dietary changes--I do hope they work for you.

Soy makes me feel really terrible too. A soy cross-contamination gives me a headache that can't be phased by taking excedrine migraine. It also gives me symptoms of a urinary tract infection sometimes turning into one and other times not. I have also figured out that I get UTI sensations from acidic juices like orange, grapefruit and cranberry. For a while I was drinking tons of cranberry juice which is supposed to help with UTIs, but eventually I read somewhere that for some people it is one of the worst things for a UTI. I also drink Pacific Foods Brand rice milk because I have had soy cc issues with some of the other brands even if they don't list soy as an ingredient.

[Matt007b]

Soy makes me feel really terrible too. A soy cross-contamination gives me a headache that can't be phased by taking excedrine migraine. It also gives me symptoms of a urinary tract infection sometimes turning into one and other times not. I have also figured out that I get UTI sensations from acidic juices like orange, grapefruit and cranberry. For a while I was drinking tons of cranberry juice which is supposed to help with UTIs, but eventually I read somewhere that for some people it is one of the worst things for a UTI. I also drink Pacific Foods Brand rice milk because I have had soy cc issues with some of the other brands even if they don't list soy as an ingredient.

Thanks Lisa, yeah I also do pacific foods rice milk..seems pretty safe to me, but yeah soy does the same thing to me too, severe headache..migrane - like a dark cloud over my head for a good couple of days. Very bad and quick reaction.

I've been doing this elimination diet, and I started up some citrucel and felt worse. The only thing I can think of is citric acid *shrugs* or something in it that caused that because i'm just eating rice and beef/chicken with salt right now.. So i'll go citric acid/citrus free for a couple of weeks and we'll see if it's the final nail in the coffin in beating this! I've had bad reactions OJ/Soda so..makes sense..

anyway thanks everyone for your help, I thought most people intolerant to citric acid was like skin..breathing and such but i'm finding a few people who have IBS issues..stomach pain and such as well.

[Swimmr]

crapola, I can't delete it...

[woodnewt]

I had a goiter since I was a teenager, which doctors could not explain. Thyroid tests all came back normal, but within 6 months of stopping soy, the goiter is pretty much gone. Shame it wasn't discovered sooner.

So yes, I have issues with soy.