Allergy Testing This Week. What Should I Ask For?

[ilikepie]

I told my doctor that I keep becoming allergic to new foods, as well as feel incredibly sick for days and days when I eat any type of sugar, unless it's a whole, fresh piece of fruit. I also can't tolerate ANY chemicals, ingested or on my skin, including non-organic food. He referred me to an allergist, who I am seeing this Tuesday.

They sent me a form in the mail to fill out, with questions like "what season are your allergies the worst?" and "Do your eyes water and does your nose run?" I think only one of the questions even applies to me.

I'm not sure what to ask for when I have my appointment. They are planning to do a skin prick test on me. If they prick me with gluten, that will effectively gluten me, correct? I don't care that they see or don't see that I have problems with my already known allergens. I feel like this test might be a complete waste of my time, but it's also something I HAVE to do in order to get another referral to someone who could potentially help me, after this doctor fails to diagnose my problems.

I would like to get the most out of this appointment if I can. Like I said, I don't know what questions to ask, or what kind of tests I could ask for or bring up might be helpful for me.

Most of the time, if I don't have a specific test in mind, the doctors just turn me away because they don't want to find out for themselves what tests could give us answers.

[Evangeline]

Hm, I had allergy testing for $700 and they found nothing. Meanwhile, I was sensitive (NOT ALLERGIC) to over 30 foods because of Celiac Disease.

Doctors fail to educate their patients that a mere 3% of the population has allergies. Patients usually don't need a skin prick test or RAST test to tell them whether or not they get hives, a swollen throat, sneezing, watery eyes, puffy face after eating a certain food. However, over 20% of the population has food sensitivities - which is not an allergy. Symptoms of food sensitivities can be sleepiness, depression, anxiety, diarrhea, cramps (four hours later), vomiting, mood changes or feeling worse. If you have a food sensitivity, it will not be caught by an allergy test. I used NowLEAP's MRT test ($500) and it accurately caught about 14 of my food sensitivities (yes, I have a LOT). I had no idea that I was sensitive to broccoli, kale, carrots, but once I removed those foods from my diet, I did feel better. www.NowLEAP.com

It is also very common for Celiacs to not be able to tolerate any sugar but natural sugar. This holds true for me as well and it might be due to a cross-reactivity.

I, too, am becoming allergic to new foods on a daily basis. And yes I cannot tolerate any chemicals on my skin. They seem to be coming faster and faster as if I have not solved my case of leaky gut at all. I am now having reactions to all but 5 foods (ice berg lettuce, squash, nuts (but not seeds!) and some fruit). You might want to look into the Gluten Free Society's idea that 45% of Celiacs are truly gluten sensitive, not just gliadin sensitive. Gluten is found in corn (55% by weight) and rice (5% by weight). There have been two studies revealing that corn causes intestinal damage to Celiacs just as much as wheat gluten. When I removed ALL traces of corn from my diet for one month, I was able to eat nuts again (that had been impossible for over 4 years). I have heard that other Celiacs who are grain-free can eventually eat the foods to which they were sensitive. Also, when I was eating corn and rice, my skin sensitivities were beginning to drive me insane: My own jeans caused my legs to have hives, I would get hives in the bathtub (suddenly a sensitivity to soap??), hives to socks! AHH!

If you decide to remove corn, remember that it is in everything: Citric acid, xanthan gum, ascorbic acid, vitamins and supplements, even iodized salt. If you are really desperate, you may want to try a grain-free diet for 2 months and see if your health and sensitivities improve. Best of luck .

[jenngolightly]

I told my doctor that I keep becoming allergic to new foods, as well as feel incredibly sick for days and days when I eat any type of sugar, unless it's a whole, fresh piece of fruit. I also can't tolerate ANY chemicals, ingested or on my skin, including non-organic food. He referred me to an allergist, who I am seeing this Tuesday.

They sent me a form in the mail to fill out, with questions like "what season are your allergies the worst?" and "Do your eyes water and does your nose run?" I think only one of the questions even applies to me.

I'm not sure what to ask for when I have my appointment. They are planning to do a skin prick test on me. If they prick me with gluten, that will effectively gluten me, correct? I don't care that they see or don't see that I have problems with my already known allergens. I feel like this test might be a complete waste of my time, but it's also something I HAVE to do in order to get another referral to someone who could potentially help me, after this doctor fails to diagnose my problems.

I would like to get the most out of this appointment if I can. Like I said, I don't know what questions to ask, or what kind of tests I could ask for or bring up might be helpful for me.

Most of the time, if I don't have a specific test in mind, the doctors just turn me away because they don't want to find out for themselves what tests could give us answers.

My allergy testing was a complete waste of time and money. It was obvious that I was allergic to certain foods-I had very allergic responses when I ate them. The testing was surely just to support those allergies, right? Then why do them? It cost thousands of dollars!

And guess what? The skin pricks came back with all false negatives. It showed I was allergic to nothing - not even the control prick of histamine which EVERYONE is allergic to. So they did the backup blood tests and said, "Yah, well, since you showed false negatives on the skin pricks, this probably won't show anything either." Thousands of dollars later, false negatives again. I was stupid. I knew my allergies, so why did I go through those dumb tests? Maybe I'd feel differently if they had confirmed my allergies. But hell, my celiac tests all came back with false-negatives, too. Geesh, even my pregnancy test was negative and out popped a baby 8 months later. I guess my body just doesn't like tests.

If you have Celiac, tell them and they won't prick you with gluten. They aren't there to confirm your gluten issues, you're looking for other things.

[Evangeline]

My allergy testing was a complete waste of time and money. It was obvious that I was allergic to certain foods-I had very allergic responses when I ate them. The testing was surely just to support those allergies, right? Then why do them? It cost thousands of dollars!

And guess what? The skin pricks came back with all false negatives. It showed I was allergic to nothing - not even the control prick of histamine which EVERYONE is allergic to. So they did the backup blood tests and said, "Yah, well, since you showed false negatives on the skin pricks, this probably won't show anything either." Thousands of dollars later, false negatives again. I was stupid. I knew my allergies, so why did I go through those dumb tests? Maybe I'd feel differently if they had confirmed my allergies. But hell, my celiac tests all came back with false-negatives, too. Geesh, even my pregnancy test was negative and out popped a baby 8 months later. I guess my body just doesn't like tests.

If you have Celiac, tell them and they won't prick you with gluten. They aren't there to confirm your gluten issues, you're looking for other things.

You must be one of those people who have undetectable or absent antibodies? I've heard that 1 in 500 people are this way. You are absent of IgG or IgA or something so all tests will be negative. I forget the proper name for it - I'm sure someone on this forum was know what I'm talking about.

[jenngolightly]

You must be one of those people who have undetectable or absent antibodies? I've heard that 1 in 500 people are this way. You are absent of IgG or IgA or something so all tests will be negative. I forget the proper name for it - I'm sure someone on this forum was know what I'm talking about.

Interesting - I'll have to follow up on that. Thanks for the info.

[Evangeline]

Interesting - I'll have to follow up on that. Thanks for the info.

Actually I JUST read that absent antibodies is a one of the many symptoms of Celiac Disease, LOL.

"IgA Deficiency"

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[jenngolightly]

Actually I JUST read that absent antibodies is a one of the many symptoms of Celiac Disease, LOL.

"IgA Deficiency"

Open Original Shared Link

I just dug up my old IgA and IgG tests from when I was first tested for Celiac in 2007. They caused false negatives and I never knew why, but your posts now explain it clearly.

My IgA level was 3 and IgG was 0. That's pretty deficient. I'm not sure if that warrants a trip to the doctor... I'm a little shaken up now.