Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Beth, allergy testing and acupuncture

No, I did not have to go to Colorado, don't worry!! My acupuncturist had the order form and we took that to my local lab, then they drew the blood and sent it to the lab in Colorado. To be honest, since I didn't have a lot of severe allergies, the information was only mildly helpful, but I found that I was mildly allergic to bananas, for example, and I have tried to avoid those. But it also said that I was mildly allergic to both soy and dairy, and I did try to reduce my intake of soy, but I could never totally eliminate that because I'd starve!! There is a program for a rotating diet that you can choose to follow which will theoretically reduce your allergic reactions, but I thought it was too complicated and stressful to take on. If you are really having trouble with triggers and what to eat, it would at least maybe give you some idea of what to avoid or make you relax if you have very few allergies. I would say it was worth it to give me the peace of mind that one avenue of problems was exhausted. If you are not currently consuming some of the foods, I think that's ok because any serious allergies will leave long-term antibodies that will always show up. If you do decide to take the test, though, it's a good idea to eat a variety of foods the week before.

Regarding acupuncture, I think I posted this link before but I can post it again: Acupuncture and if it doesn't work just go to acupuncture.com. The site has a lot of reliable information, as well as a link that allows you to search for acupuncturists by zip code. Mine is on there, so I think they should be pretty good. I agree that you shouldn't just look in the yellow pages, I had a bad experience with one acupuncturist at school who made me cry

BTW, I just started taking Heather's acacia fiber ~ 3 weeks ago and I am only taking 3/4 tsp/day (starting at 1 tsp a day gave me cramps and bloating) so I don't think it's hurting or helping me. I think I'm IBS-A, but I rarely have a problem with either C or D, just very gassy and bloating/pain. I used to be C more before I got IBS, and I rarely get D (but maybe a couple times in the past year, or if I drink caffeine or fruit juice) or C anymore. I think that is probably due to the diet.

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~Angela

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