Had allergy testing done...
#265560 - 05/25/06 12:54 PM
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jules
Reged: 06/17/03
Posts: 1140
Loc: Michigan
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Was tested for allergies via back 'scratch' test. Mind you, I do not exhibit any allergy symtoms (breaking out in hives, stuffy nose, congested sinuses, etc). I found that I was allergic to egg whites, milk, peas and hazelnuts. I'm going to eliminate those from my diet and see what happens.
This type of testing is what one would go through to stop the hypoallergenic reactions to eating certain foods. It's NOT the type of testing that I had read about in the False Fat Diet. My allergist said those types of tests were worthless.
Also, finding out that I'm allergic to these and eliminating them MAY not solve my IBS, but it could prove to be useful.
~jules <---- one step closer to figuring this damn thing out!
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~jules
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Re: update?
#315531 - 09/25/07 10:04 AM
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K2
Reged: 01/29/06
Posts: 1191
Loc: Canada
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Hi Jules,
Just wondering if the allergy testing and eliminating foods helped you at all? I'm doing allergy testing this week. I'm looking more to help my immune system by eliminating any foods that may be causing an allergic reaction, than to helping my IBS (although that would be nice). Did you have any success?
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Kat
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My son had an allergy test. He came up allergic to the enviromental/animals we thought. He also came up allergic to all the foods on the test. The funny thing is that he has never shown any reactions to any foods. We know that the test was NOT a false positive because of the safe gaurd they do on your back. (They scratch with an antihistamine in one spot.) The doctor said that the testing for the foods is inaccurate. We know that he is not allergic to any foods. I'm sure that the test was right. My husband wants a second opinion.
My point if I wasn't clear, doc says that food testing is inaccurate if you haven't had any clear reactions.
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Crohns, lactose intolerant
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Re: update?
#315542 - 09/25/07 07:39 PM
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K2
Reged: 01/29/06
Posts: 1191
Loc: Canada
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Thanks for the response. I'm actually doing a blood test, not the skin pricks. My ND said she found from her experience that the skin prick test had not been as accurate and the blood test was worth doing. I figure I'm only doing it once so I'll give it a shot. I'm planning on using the results as a starting point for an elimination diet.
Basically I want to:
Start off by removing foods that show up on the test. If nothing improves, I'll remove common allergic foods (soy, nuts, wheat, corn etc) and see if there's any improvement. Then I'll reintroduce foods to figure out what is really causing problems. Again, this isn't really for my IBS, but for other health problems I'm having.
I don't think any test like this can be taken as a definitive result. Based on research and studies it seems pretty wishy-washy if they actually work. I think an elimination diet would work best. Have you tried that with your son?
"We know that he is not allergic to any foods." I'm not sure it's so easy to tell. Obviously he has no severe allergy such as we hear about in the media, like a shellfish allergy or peanut allergy with a life threatening reaction. However, some moderate allergic reaction (which you won't notice right after eating) can cause prolonged symptoms and contribute to poor health. Basically anything that causes an immune system response, even if it's a small response, over time will wear you down a bit. If your son is healthy then I'd say don't bother eliminating foods. If he's having problems with his immune system or other allergies, then it may be worthwhile to explore further. I found this site to be helpful: Allergy Avoidance Diet
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Kat
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We haven't removed any foods from his diet. I will look at the website you suggested. Thanks
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Crohns, lactose intolerant
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Re: update?
#317187 - 10/23/07 10:23 AM
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jules
Reged: 06/17/03
Posts: 1140
Loc: Michigan
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Been a while since I've been here. Kat, how'd the allergy testing go?
I, once again, went completely IBS-free the second my daughter was born in February. Same thing happened when my son was born in July 05. I'm now back to work and symptoms are slowly creeping back into my life. I just found this post and am thinking about removing my list of allergens from my diet.
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~jules
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Re: Update
#317188 - 10/23/07 11:15 AM
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K2
Reged: 01/29/06
Posts: 1191
Loc: Canada
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The allergy testing didn't reveal much and I think I've done better by following an elimination diet. I did eliminate the foods which showed up on my test (eggs, corn, bananas, pineapple) and now I'm eating them maybe once a week, if I really want them (definitely bananas once a week, I love em). Hard to say if my health has improved as I just got over a bad cold. I think it'll take a few months at least to see if my immune system boosts up.
I did eliminate wheat and most grains from my diet even though they didn't show up on the allergy test. My naturopath had encouraged me to try different grains to see if maybe I was just not tolerating some. I hesitated to post about this since I know people have tried wheat free and found no success at all. I removed corn products, wheat, barley, and oats. I now have quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth (all pseudo-grains) on a daily bases as well as white rice most days. Incredibly I've had zero bloating since doing this and less loose BMs. At first I was skeptical that it was a fluke of good luck, but I've been through a lot of stress the past 2 weeks and I've been fine. I had a pain attack (no D) when I got dehydrated and stressed out one day, and it went away within 5 minutes of drinking water. This has never happened to me, anytime I have pain in my abdomen it ends in D. I will eventually try to re-incorporate some grains again but for now I'm just enjoying feeling good 
Let me know how it goes with removing the allergy-foods. I hope your symptoms don't come back too strong.
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Kat
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