I Had Allergy Testing Today And I Have Questions

[cahill]

I saw an allergist today. He talked to me ,,briefly and then ordered some blood work. I felt rushed in and out .... anyway,,,,,

He said

1.. blood test are more accurate then skin testing for allergys

2.. even though I am not currently eating the foods I am being tested for, it will still show up in the blood test if I am allergic

What do you guys think, does he know what he is talking about ??or is this just another doc blowing smoke ??.....

[GlutenFreeManna]

I don't know but I'm interested in everyone's responses. I go to see and allergist next week.

[cahill]

I was not sure the doc was even listening to me until I started telling him about the elimination diet I have been doing ,He actually turned and looked at me then , and the nurse said to me " good for you" I like nurses more and more doctors I am not to sure about any more

[GlutenFreeManna]

I was not sure the doc was even listening to me until I started telling him about the elimination diet I have been doing ,He actually turned and looked at me then , and the nurse said to me " good for you" I like nurses more and more doctors I am not to sure about any more

I'm just curious, are any of your reactions anaphylactic or hives-producing or are they more like intolerances like gluten? I have the reaction where my tongue swells up or my throat closes when I eat shellfish, pork, and now just recently dairy. I break out in hives from mushrooms and lotions with wheat germ oil in them. I'm really looking forward to my appointment with the allergist to see what they say. I hope mine is not as dissappointing. I just recently found a dr that is good about listening to me. She doesn't know much about celiac/gluten intolerance but she at least encouraged me to continue to avoid it (and all my suspected allergy foods) if it makes me sick. So don't give up lookign for a good dr that will listen. They are out there but they are hard to find!

[cahill]

I'm just curious, are any of your reactions anaphylactic or hives-producing or are they more like intolerances like gluten? I have the reaction where my tongue swells up or my throat closes when I eat shellfish, pork, and now just recently dairy. I break out in hives from mushrooms and lotions with wheat germ oil in them. I'm really looking forward to my appointment with the allergist to see what they say. I hope mine is not as dissappointing. I just recently found a dr that is good about listening to me. She doesn't know much about celiac/gluten intolerance but she at least encouraged me to continue to avoid it (and all my suspected allergy foods) if it makes me sick. So don't give up lookign for a good dr that will listen. They are out there but they are hard to find!

The reason I decided to go to an allergist is because when I added eggs and almonds back , I had reactions that concerned me.

With eggs, my lips swelled as soon as I put them in my mouth and my nose started itching.

With almonds my throat got all scratchy and tight, I felt like someone was sitting on my chest .

What is very,very scary is I had been eating both on a daily bases not 8 weeks before .

There were others but those two concern me most .

As to a good doc,,,Maybe they are out there some where,,,I just haven't found one yet

[Roda]

DS2 had both skin testing and the blood (RAST) testing and everything was negative. We tested DS2 for wasp allergy and it was negative on blood work, but then he told me even though it was negative doesn't mean he isn't allergic. It's so confusing.. Anyway all I know, and he agrees with me, is that each time he was stung by a yellow jacket his reaction was worse. It still was classified as a local reaction, but next time it may not be. He is going to get us a rx for an epi pen just in case. So all that really probably did was confuse you more. DS1 has only had skin testing done and you can see an immediate reaction on his skin to what he is allergic to. The spots swell up like hives and are really itchy for him. He is back to doing two allergy shot twice a week again. Then our allergest told me that everything could be negative and yet you still could have an intolerence to something. He is the one who is telling me that both my kids need to be gluten free. At least at this point one is and the other, I suspect will be by summer after hubby and I agree on the route we are taking.

PS. Maybe why we love him so much is the fact he is a nurse practitoiner. He is so down to earth. He does consult with a top notch allergist in his group so we have that backing too.

[GlutenFreeManna]

The reason I decided to go to an allergist is because when I added eggs and almonds back , I had reactions that concerned me.

With eggs, my lips swelled as soon as I put them in my mouth and my nose started itching.

With almonds my throat got all scratchy and tight, I felt like someone was sitting on my chest .

What is very,very scary is I had been eating both on a daily bases not 8 weeks before .

There were others but those two concern me most .

As to a good doc,,,Maybe they are out there some where,,,I just haven't found one yet

That is scary and I can relate! With dairy I suspected lactose intolerance so I avoided it for six months along with gltune then I added it back ina nd seemed to be fine with it. Then one night I ate a yogurt and couldn't breath--my tongue was swellign up and I thought I was going to have to go to the ER. I managed to get a benedryl down and it helped before my throat closed all the way, but boy was that scary! The week after that I had a little butter by accident and my lips tingled and my tongue got puffy. I also had been eating cheese and milk all my life without these severe reactions before.

[cahill]

DS2 had both skin testing and the blood (RAST) testing and everything was negative. We tested DS2 for wasp allergy and it was negative on blood work, but then he told me even though it was negative doesn't mean he isn't allergic. It's so confusing.. Anyway all I know, and he agrees with me, is that each time he was stung by a yellow jacket his reaction was worse. It still was classified as a local reaction, but next time it may not be. He is going to get us a rx for an epi pen just in case. So all that really probably did was confuse you more. DS1 has only had skin testing done and you can see an immediate reaction on his skin to what he is allergic to. The spots swell up like hives and are really itchy for him. He is back to doing two allergy shot twice a week again. Then our allergest told me that everything could be negative and yet you still could have an intolerence to something. He is the one who is telling me that both my kids need to be gluten free. At least at this point one is and the other, I suspect will be by summer after hubby and I agree on the route we are taking.

PS. Maybe why we love him so much is the fact he is a nurse practitoiner. He is so down to earth. He does consult with a top notch allergist in his group so we have that backing too.

The intolerances I can deal with .It is the possible anaphylactic reactions that I am concerned about.Once I eliminate that possibility ,hopefully , I can concentrate on healing my gut and eventually eliminating most of the intolerances.

If we can at least eliminate the possibility of an anaphylactic reaction the 1 1/2 hour drive ,each way, to see the allergist will be worth it.

But to be honest guys, I am about done with doctors .I had the appointment with the allergist yesterday. I have an appointment with a new endocrinologist today , I am hoping that goes better than yesterday . Then gastroenterologists in about 2 weeks .I had to INSIST my PCP give me those referrals .I am just waiting until all my appointments are completed to fire my current PCP. I am not sure I can find a PCP that is more knowable but at least I hope I can find one that is not harmful and will listen to me

[mushroom]

I guess you will find out from the test results how much smoke the guy is blowing Having had anaphylactic-type responses to eggs and almonds, if you test not reactive to them then pretty much you can say he was puffing because you definitely should not with those reactions be eating those things. Although, given your story I would guess those results will be positive. I really know very little about allergy testing, have only had skin testing myself and found it a little bit helpful. At least it did pinpoint that I had a "slight" problem with corn and soy. I have never had an anaphylactic response to anything, although my husband has, to raw fish, and to hornets/wasps. He has had a desensitization series for insect stings and carries an Epi-Pen. It is not something to mess around with because it can kill you. With the raw fish, the allergist (a good one) told him that it was a problem of food being absorbed at the wrong level in the intestine which makes a lot of sense now that we know about leaky gut, and now we find out that my husband is a celiac. So if you can heal your presumed leaky gut maybe your reactions to these foods will go away, once they get absorbed in the proper state of digestion.

I will be interested to hear of your results. My husband, incidentally, had skinprick testing, not blood testing.

[cahill]

I guess you will find out from the test results how much smoke the guy is blowing Having had anaphylactic-type responses to eggs and almonds, if you test not reactive to them then pretty much you can say he was puffing because you definitely should not with those reactions be eating those things. Although, given your story I would guess those results will be positive. I really know very little about allergy testing, have only had skin testing myself and found it a little bit helpful. At least it did pinpoint that I had a "slight" problem with corn and soy. I have never had an anaphylactic response to anything, although my husband has, to raw fish, and to hornets/wasps. He has had a desensitization series for insect stings and carries an Epi-Pen. It is not something to mess around with because it can kill you. With the raw fish, the allergist (a good one) told him that it was a problem of food being absorbed at the wrong level in the intestine which makes a lot of sense now that we know about leaky gut, and now we find out that my husband is a celiac. So if you can heal your presumed leaky gut maybe your reactions to these foods will go away, once they get absorbed in the proper state of digestion.

I will be interested to hear of your results. My husband, incidentally, had skinprick testing, not blood testing.

I guess we will see when the results come in meanwhile I am just going to concentrate on healing my gut and stay way from eggs and almonds