Pulse test for food reactions/ avoiding GI flus--
Hi. I'm new to this group. I began to suffer from IBS 25 years ago. Later, it was clear, I also developed chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and Lyme Disease (and I think they may all be related, but more on that in the future).
I just wanted to let you know about my experience reducing my food sensitivities and its role in reducing my IBS. If you have already tried to optimize your diet, I would just emphasize that there may well be more that you can do. About 95% or more of what people generally do in terms of allergy/sensitivity elimination diets and testing does very little for me, and is probably incomplete, in my opinion, as I have tried just about all of the recommended regimes and methods.
I am what you would call a near universal reactor. I become sensitive to almost everything over time--and these are often delayed reactions that take days to recover from and vary depending on how much you have been eating the food and reactions may become strongest 1 to 5 days after one stops eating the food. This situation makes it very difficult to figure out food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances with most of the usual methods.
What has made the most difference for me is a more thorough approach, in particular using the at-home pulse test (originated decades ago by the eminent immunologist, Dr. Arthur Coca) to arrive at a diet that minimizes my reactions. The short cut version of the test is a controlled test, which if done correctly, is objective and often gives very strong proof of the reaction. In the short cut test, you take your pulse 2 or 3 times to get a baseline pulse and then place the substance under your tongue and take your pulse again after 1 or 2 minutes and then spit the food out. The pulse should not change significantly above baseline if there is no sensitivity, and if the pulse increases, the amount of increase indicates the severity of the reaction. I often do the test lying down, when resting, but sitting is fine too. I would recommend reading the articles in Issue 5 and Issue 8 on the subject before trying it (http://members.aol.com/SynergyHN I don't recommend at home tests if you have anaphylactic or life-threatening reactions to food)
Before I learned a number of things that are not included in the vast majority of food sensitivity reduction approaches, I was continually losing weight (I was 30 lb underweight and had a skeletal appearance) and was confined to bed about 95% of the time. I wouldn't be surprised if over time I would have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease if things had kept up that way. I would also get long lasting debilitating stomach flus (later I found how to prevent those completely, see http://members.aol.com/SynergyHN/CFstrategy Cold and Flu Prevention Strategy on how to avoid GI flus , but the reason they were so long lasting had to do with the food reactions).
I still become sensitive easily to most things, but it used to be even worse. On the whole, though, by reducing the level of more potently reactive foods, my overall sensitivity levels have been reduced. I used to not even be able to use the capsules that they use for medications due to my high level of sensitivity.
You may be skeptical about this, but I would just suggest that you read the articles at http://members.aol.com/SynergyHN in Issue 5 and Issue 8 on food allergy/sensitivity.
And then perhaps do a few at-home pulse tests on foods you eat to try the test out, since the pulse tests are free and pretty easy to do.
One also needs to be aware about withdrawal reactions. It is sort of like stopping a drug, like caffeine, that you are addicted to. The first few days, you may have some symptoms increase, but that's a sign you will probably be feeling better once the withdrawal reaction is over (the immune system mechanism for this is discussed in Issue 8).
The best time to do the pulse test is 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours after stopping a food or supplement, since the withdrawal phase is the time that the short-cut pulse test is best able to pick up the milder reactions. However, if the reaction is strong, you can detect it with the short cut pulse test even when not in the withdrawal phase.
I hope someone finds this helpful. I used to be on lomotil and levsin and had trouble gaining weight. Now I can stay at whatever weight I choose and do not take any drugs for IBS. Sometimes food sensitivities cause one to crave the reactive food and can contribute to weight gain in many people.
Joyce Waterhouse, Ph.D.
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Detecting reactive foods using the at home pulse test/ preventing gi flus
