Salicylate Sensitivity--Help?

[Strawberry-Jam]

Okay, so. I am suspecting a salicylate sensitivity because it is the one thing I have not cut out thru elimination diet testing (I had tea every morning, olive oil with every meal) thus far. Also, I had a severe reaction to some tahini, I think, and unless it is specifically a sesame intolerance I can't think of what the other problem could be.

I want to test for it, so I have bought only foods that are on the low or negligible lists of sal. content. Brussels sprouts, white potatoes, peeled pears, cashews, sunflower seed butter, rice, meat, eggs, and so forth. I know I cannot have gluten, soy, or dairy, and am currently avoiding all maize and legumes as well until I feel better and can test them properly.

My questions follow: salicylate sensitivity is obviously different from coeliac in that trace amounts can't hurt you, since it is impossible to cut out completely. There is some kind of threshold. How do you find out what your threshold is? I have some carrots and parsnips here and read that they are on the "moderate" amounts of sal. list. I also have some mushrooms because I had a craving and they were on sale. How often can you have something in the "moderate" list and still be eating low sal? once every few days? once a week? Can you ever have something high in salicylates--if, for example, I wanted a cashew butter sandwich with strawberry jam (on gluten-free bread, of course), could I have one, as long as I ate really low sal for several weeks beforehand and/or afterwards?

Also, how long should I eat extremely low-sal before I should start feeling better, and how do you suggest I test for salicylate sensitivity once I do feel better, in case I feel better for another unrelated reason? Lots of olive oil for a few days? Tea and tahini again?

Any help or advice from salicylate-sensitivity sufferers would be much appreciated!

[AVR1962]

I am also sensative to salicylates. By going off I felt better in just a few days. Personally, I was having an itching reaction.....no bumps, just itchy everywhere. What I did may or may not work for you, I do not think I am as sensative as some. I eliminated the high sal group plus canned green olives (something I was eating a bit of), olive oil (again eating regularly), and coconut products (which I had been eating). All my itching went away so I tried cucumbers without skins and had no reaction. I have been able to eat pears with the skins. However, I am only trying one thing at a time, once a week. I did have a reaction to tomato juice so I will just stay away from all tomatoes. I like the organic canola oil even better than the olive oil I was using before so that has been replaced. I drink a mango tea which doesn't bother me but have not tried my peppermint tea since the elimination.

[Strawberry-Jam]

My reactions are primarily neurological: fatigue, headaches (esp. in the face & eyes), weird vision, insomnia, depression/crying spells. On top of that I have muscle aches in my biceps & calves, intermittent neck/shoulder pain, and gastro symptoms like gas (burping a lot, but some intestinal gas as well), soft stools, nausea, and very intense and impossible to get rid of acid reflux. (I will have reflux even during a day of fasting--eating NOTHING and drinking only water in small amounts at a time.) The reflux would get better and worse, but never go away.

I've had weird days where everything itches and it won't stop in the past, but not recently.

Unfortunately my list of symptoms is the symptoms for EVERY SINGLE FOOD INTOLERANCE. So it is hard to figure out which intolerances I actually have and which ones I don't.

Thanks for the input though... I have made a few mistakes recently with possible gluten and dairy CC so it may take longer than a few days to recover, but I am sticking to meat and rice for now. Might have eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

I am also having rooibos (redbush) tea, but have read that it is low-sal because it is naturally decaf and not technically a tea but just a bush that they make tea from.

[pricklypear1971]

It is enough for me to stay away from preservatives and food colors. I think coconut bothers me a bit.

I get stomach upset, used to get a DH flare, and neuro upset from them. Something in commercial bakery icing (filling) gives me the worst stomach cramps and D -the kind that makes you want to crawl in a hole and die.

[RollingAlong]

You might want to check out the salicylate sensitivity forum here:

Open Original Shared Link

They suggest some supplements and strategies that may be helpful.

[MarciaD]

You might also want to check out Open Original Shared Link

[AVR1962]

My reactions are primarily neurological: fatigue, headaches (esp. in the face & eyes), weird vision, insomnia, depression/crying spells. On top of that I have muscle aches in my biceps & calves, intermittent neck/shoulder pain, and gastro symptoms like gas (burping a lot, but some intestinal gas as well), soft stools, nausea, and very intense and impossible to get rid of acid reflux. (I will have reflux even during a day of fasting--eating NOTHING and drinking only water in small amounts at a time.) The reflux would get better and worse, but never go away.

I've had weird days where everything itches and it won't stop in the past, but not recently.

Unfortunately my list of symptoms is the symptoms for EVERY SINGLE FOOD INTOLERANCE. So it is hard to figure out which intolerances I actually have and which ones I don't.

Thanks for the input though... I have made a few mistakes recently with possible gluten and dairy CC so it may take longer than a few days to recover, but I am sticking to meat and rice for now. Might have eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

I am also having rooibos (redbush) tea, but have read that it is low-sal because it is naturally decaf and not technically a tea but just a bush that they make tea from.

This is all very confusing at first trying to figure which symptoms is linked to what, what is safe and what is not. I hear you loud and clear on that one. Here is a link that might help you relate the symptoms Open Original Shared Link jump down to the symptoms.

[Strawberry-Jam]

new symptoms?

when I took off my shirt today I found I had bled under the skin where my bra strap was. only on one arm, but it was a little alarming.

I have the urgency to pass water thing sometimes. I don't have all the symptoms but a cherrypicked list.

Anyone else have advice or experiences to share?