Update

[Booghead]

We have decided to put off the doctors appointment and more blood tests until the new year. (Insurance Reasons).

Not feeling any where near 100% lately. I never feel perfect but, I have been having more headaches and I easily slept 16 hours on Sat and Sun, because I was tired and because I had a horrible headache. Don't feel so hot always have a bit of a nausea feeling.

I haven't been on here much lately, I'm really suspecting a wheat allergy-because of the itchiness and rashes plus the stomach problems. I don't know if a Wheat allergy would mean I cant eat barley and rye? As of right now I am eating gluten and I don't have any adverse effects from a meal filled with gluten or a meal filled without. I am starting to suspect tomatoes as an allergy (which is too depressing to think about). I have been drinking milk again and like I said I always feel trashy so nothing new when I drink milk.

I will probably be seeing an endocrinologist and perhaps a doctor for food allergy and normal allergy testing (would this be a general practioner or someone else? just for the testing).

Would a wheat allergy be tested for? Does anyone know what they test for and how they test for it? I know they use a prick system when they do normal allergies but I'm not sure how they would test for food allergies. I don't really want to do an "elimination diet".

Thanks for all your help you guys. I really apperciate it.

[kareng]

I don't know much about allergy testing, but others do. Just wanted to say, I hope you got thru finals successfully and are able to enjoy your break.

[ravenwoodglass]

The person you want to see is an allergist. When you call for the appointment make sure you ask if they also deal in food allergies and intolerances. If they don't continue looking. It is likely the doctor will have you do an elimination diet after doing the skin prick test. The doctor will ask you detailed info on what you eat and them form a starting point for you. Elimination diets are boring but they can be very useful especially when doctor guided. Just follow his orders precisely. It was an elderly and very savvy allergist that is the reason I am alive today. Of all the specialists I saw over the years he was the only one who realized I was celiac. He did send me to a GI for confirmation and my GI had never even considered it a possibility since I am a sero-negative celiac and after the blood work came back negative dismissed it. Boy did that GI apologize, over and over and over.

You could also see a dermatologist in case the rashes are DH. They would biopsy an area next to the rash and look for the antibodies. If you have DH you have celiac.

[Booghead]

The "rashes" aren't visible for more then 15 minutes. They look like hives. I do have some areas where there is a red raised bump on my skin and those last for days, but are not itchy or tender.

The bumps are about half the size of a dime. I had one on my hand above my thumb, one on my toe knuckle and one right above my elbow. By the time they were going away they got very dry and looked like eczema. My dad and brother both have eczema, mine were much smaller then the ones they get, and like I said I only had a couple.

I've read symptoms of DH and I don't itch at night. I don't get big mosquito like bumps that itch. It is a possiblty that I have DH, ,but it is a bigger possiblty that I have severely dry skin, which causes the eczema. At this point I am using vaseline for hand lotion because they are so dry and cracked. It only takes about 20 minutes before all the vaseline is absorbed and I have to reapply it.

They dry skin is getting better, it doesn't hurt as much as it did last week when it felt like a sunburn.

Thanks for the replys. I hope to find a really good alergist, it is hard to find an elderly doctor because so many retire. But elderly doctors are the best because they have seen the most cases and real life examples. The new ones just tell me "the most common cause" they learned from their med school textbooks. By seeing the general care doctor (who is young >.<) I hope that at the very least he can give us some decent references to good endos and allegists.

[pricklypear1971]

Have you tried antihistimines? You can buy them OTC. If you respond then it's a good hint it's an allergy.

[Booghead]

I get the "bumps" I was talking about on the sides of my nose and all summer I take various antihistamines including: allegra, zertec (Spelling?), and Bendyrll. None seem to make the ones on the sides of my nose go away. I actually get almost no relief from "seasonal" allergie symptoms, i.e. runny nose, itchy red eyes, sneezing. I figure its still allergies because no one thinks its odd for me not to respond. My father has really bad allergies and he says nothing can change it, in fact he doesn't ever take antihistamines for them at all.

[pricklypear1971]

I get the "bumps" I was talking about on the sides of my nose and all summer I take various antihistamines including: allegra, zertec (Spelling?), and Bendyrll. None seem to make the ones on the sides of my nose go away. I actually get almost no relief from "seasonal" allergie symptoms, i.e. runny nose, itchy red eyes, sneezing. I figure its still allergies because no one thinks its odd for me not to respond. My father has really bad allergies and he says nothing can change it, in fact he doesn't ever take antihistamines for them at all.

Offhand, I don't know which classes those belong to; however, be aware there are class 1 and 2 antihistimines and you may respond to one and not the other. So look them up and make sure you've tried both.

And FYI my seasonal allergies were unresponsive until I stopped eating you-know- what.

[Booghead]

I just read about type 2 histamines on here. I will have to try some meds for it. Because all the ones I have used are not for type 2.