I Need Some Input About Allergy Testing, Please

[cahill]

I have been doing an elimination diet,along way I have discovered a couple of what I believe to be true foods allergys. I have some concern about what I believe to be an allergy to eggs.

I have an appointment with my doctor in 2 weeks,,I live in a small rural community and there are not many choices as far as doctors are concerned . This is the same doctor who last summer decided to test(blood work) me for celiacs and when I said ""but doc I have been gluten free for almost a year"" she said "" OH that will not matter, it will still show up .The test came back(( her words)) "probably not celiacs"" I STILL have not received a copy of those test results ..

My heath insurance is not the greatest and I end up paying quite a bit out of pocket

anyway,,,, to my questions;; At this point would asking for a referral to an allergist be worth it ??? If so , are there blood test I should ask for, or is it all skin testing for food allergys??Are there blood tests for allergys my reg. doc can order??

Thanks guys

[cahill]

Well I see her next Thursday,, I am still not sure what to do,,,

[cahill]

.

[jenngolightly]

I have been doing an elimination diet,along way I have discovered a couple of what I believe to be true foods allergys. I have some concern about what I believe to be an allergy to eggs.

I have an appointment with my doctor in 2 weeks,,I live in a small rural community and there are not many choices as far as doctors are concerned . This is the same doctor who last summer decided to test(blood work) me for celiacs and when I said ""but doc I have been gluten free for almost a year"" she said "" OH that will not matter, it will still show up .The test came back(( her words)) "probably not celiacs"" I STILL have not received a copy of those test results ..

My heath insurance is not the greatest and I end up paying quite a bit out of pocket

anyway,,,, to my questions;; At this point would asking for a referral to an allergist be worth it ??? If so , are there blood test I should ask for, or is it all skin testing for food allergys??Are there blood tests for allergys my reg. doc can order??

Thanks guys

Allergy testing is expensive! Think thousands of dollars. I think my bill ran to 7,000 or more for both prick and blood tests. I don't know if a regular doctor can do prick tests.

I got tested and came back with false negatives. But that's super-rare... I live in a major city and went to a big hospital to get the tests- my doctor said he'd only seen false negatives once before. Your tests would most likely come back with positive results (they would verify that either you are or aren't allergic). But do you really need them? If you have problems with eggs, don't eat them. I'm allergic to nuts and I didn't need the tests to verify that. I have an epipen that I carry around because I'm allergic and my doctor has the allergy written in my medical files.

[snifter]

I'm interested in seeing an allergist too! I'm still learning to listen to my body and sometimes I just don't know if I have an allergy or what! I just don't know!!! It can be so frustratiing because you just want some answers! I think I will benefit from some tests

[Cinderella10]

I'm glad I saw an allergist. I could tell that there were things I was eating that were not going well for me, but I was getting really frustrated trying to figure out what. I would never have suspected most of the things on my list, though I did suspect corn. It was a great starting place.

[irisheyes13]

You could get tested through Enterolab for egg intolerance via stool testing. You would not need a doctor to order the test. I believe for only egg test the cost is $ 99 plus shipping to send the specimen back via ups.

[jasmine75]

In my opinion, put your money into blood testing versus the skin tests. I had the skin tests done and everything came back negative. Then I was tested for wheat/gluten through blood and came back with severe sensitivity. I can tell I also have other allergies and I will be tested for those. My doctor said the skin tests are used more for anaphylactic shock, closing and itching of the throat type allergies such as strong peanut allergies. If you've been eating these foods, then you aren't reacting that way. Definitely go for blood I say.

[Evangeline]

I dont think you need an allergy test. You need a sensitivity or intolerance test. Only 3% of the population has allergies, versus 20% of the population that has intolerances/sensitivities.

www.EnteroLab.com does sensitivity testing for gluten, soy, yeast, eggs and dairy. $99 per food.

www.NowLEAP.com does sensitivity testing for 250 different foods for $500. From their test, I found about 80% of my sensitivities and their elimination diet tips have helped me pinpoint my other sensitivities.

[cahill]

In my opinion, put your money into blood testing versus the skin tests. I had the skin tests done and everything came back negative. Then I was tested for wheat/gluten through blood and came back with severe sensitivity. I can tell I also have other allergies and I will be tested for those. My doctor said the skin tests are used more for anaphylactic shock, closing and itching of the throat type allergies such as strong peanut allergies. If you've been eating these foods, then you aren't reacting that way. Definitely go for blood I say.

if you are not eating something,,, for me,eggs,wheat,soy,dairy,ect,,,, will it still show up in the blood test the allergist does ??

[Bella001]

if you are not eating something,,, for me,eggs,wheat,soy,dairy,ect,,,, will it still show up in the blood test the allergist does ??

I was told by an allergist that it may not. She said she had tested blood for people and results were neg. Later she did the skin test and they had a severe reaction. I think if you never eat it or never have, you don't have the antibodies in your blood to show up on a blood test...just my thoughts. I know this is true for me. I had the peanut blood test and it was neg. I can tell you if I eat a peanut or peanut butter my throat swells, I can hardly swallow, heart races, and sometimes hives...

[hnybny91]

if you are not eating something,,, for me,eggs,wheat,soy,dairy,ect,,,, will it still show up in the blood test the allergist does ??

For me wheat and gluten still showed up even though I had not eaten gluten in 2 1/2 months when I was tested. Oysters showed up to and I have never eaten an oyster in my life that I am aware of. I was told that they take the serum portion of your blood and add a little bit to each food to see if your body produces the antibodies against the food. Out of 154 foods, I came back sensitive to 36 of them and another 50 that I had some reaction to but not enough to be classified a sensitivity.

[knf]

I just posted more details in the other allergy testing thread. But, I paid out of pocket for an extensive food panel by blood work. Best few hundred bucks I have spent in a long time! When combined with a modified elimination diet, it has guided me as I add foods back in and avoid others completely. I know enough about the pros/cons of these tests to take the results with a lot of caution, but for me it is an invaluable guide.

[cahill]

I just posted more details in the other allergy testing thread. But, I paid out of pocket for an extensive food panel by blood work. Best few hundred bucks I have spent in a long time! When combined with a modified elimination diet, it has guided me as I add foods back in and avoid others completely. I know enough about the pros/cons of these tests to take the results with a lot of caution, but for me it is an invaluable guide.

I just read the other thread and respond. Your post was very helpful

Thank you