Wheat/dairy intolerance?

[Pixie]

Okay, you seem to have more answers than the Docs. Can you tell us whats wrong or is the fact that you have the answers all in your head.
So far you've said alot without saying anything.
We'd all like an explanation not more random gobbledygook. we've had speculation and denial for years and comments like your'se sound too much like a continuation. I'd speculate that this sort of medical problem is much more widespread than realised as so many people want to know whats wrong with them but get denial, pchycological b/s, or weird hippy explanations instead of help. These days I'm more inclined to listen to the hippies as at least they acknowledge that it exists.
If I sound a little emotional it's because this unexplained, uncatorgorised illness has wrecked my life, including my ability to ride.So yes I get upset when people start by slagging of the victims.

Never listen to hippies,they's only good for killin'

However,if avoiding something makes you feel better who cares if it's real or a psychological effect?

[Pixie]

Women drinking soya products (all of which contain traces of GM, by the way) need to be wary of the oestrogen levels in soy, which can manifest itself by zitty complexions.

They are only mock oestrogens.

Men drinking soya products (all of which contain traces of GM, by the way) need to be wary of the oestrogen levels in soy, which can manifest itself by the development of titties.

[BuFfY]

Last year they tested me for a gluten intolerance. Thank GOD the tests came out fine. Unfortunatley I am salicylate sensitive. For a few months I was reduced to plain rice, plain meat, water, iceburg lettuce. After 10 days I was able to add in one thing every few days.
Needless to say, I gave up on that all after awhile. I couldn't eat out, I couldn't have easy food, I had to read EVERY packet because there is never ever ever any mention of salicylates in any shops and now I basically eat what I feel like eating, but I generally have to avoid fruit and vegetables because they are the worst for me.

[Virago]

...Being concerned about food safety and suitability is very much a developed western middle-class indulgence. Many of the humans on this planet have no idea where their next meal is coming from, and consequently have no interest whatsoever in things like food allergies, cholesterol or whether products are organically grown by unionised Inuits.

My daughter has encountered a fair amount of scornful dismissal of her allergies, during five years or so of increasing misery. Few people understand the lifestyle difficulties that such allergies cause.

She is currently in Auckland, where she will spend the next three months undergoing treatment for her allergies. Not easy for a (very emotionally young) 21 year old to be away from her family, fiance and friends for that time, but it has to be done. The treatment is costing thousands - guess who is paying...?

As a child, she had a few food allergies that went undiagnosed for some time. In her mid-teens, the allergies worsened. Around that time, she did the teen-girl thing of trying vegetarianism - it didn't last long - it turned out she is allergic to almost everything except red meat...

Test and trials at the Auckland Allergy Clinic have revealed that many of her food allergies could be secondary to her extreme hayfever. Recent studies have shown that treating the primary allergy can result in the marked reduction of wide-ranging food allergies. Her worst allergies (beans, legumes) will likely remain, but it is hoped that the desensitisation process will reduce or eliminate many of the others.

Due to the severity of her condition, we could find no-one south of Auckland willing to treat her, as the treatment carries significant risk of severe anaphylaxis. We can only hope (for her sake) that it works...

In the meantime, if anyone else has family or a friend with worsening food allergies, do they also have chronic hayfever...? If so, get it checked out.

[Big Dog]

Way off what I'd normally expect to find on KB but I have a similar poll running on another forum I belong to and am getting some surprising results.

It seems that eateries increasingly are offering a "gluten free" option on their menus which didn't seem to be the case even 10 years ago. I'm possibly more aware of this as I have learned to live with such dietary 'intolerances' over the past few years but I am curious to find out how many others in the general population have similarly compromised dietary choices.

As with my other poll I will give a multiple choice option to cater for more than one 'vote' per household.

I am not intolerant of any food. All foods should be treated as equals.
I like most.

Okay so I can be a little vitriolic about tripe, But that has to do with it feeling like I am heaving up my bowels in the reslulting vomit not because of any particular predjudice.

[BuFfY]

My daughter has encountered a fair amount of scornful dismissal of her allergies, during five years or so of increasing misery. Few people understand the lifestyle difficulties that such allergies cause.

She is currently in Auckland, where she will spend the next three months undergoing treatment for her allergies. Not easy for a (very emotionally young) 21 year old to be away from her family, fiance and friends for that time, but it has to be done. The treatment is costing thousands - guess who is paying...?

As a child, she had a few food allergies that went undiagnosed for some time. In her mid-teens, the allergies worsened. Around that time, she did the teen-girl thing of trying vegetarianism - it didn't last long - it turned out she is allergic to almost everything except red meat...

Test and trials at the Auckland Allergy Clinic have revealed that many of her food allergies could be secondary to her extreme hayfever. Recent studies have shown that treating the primary allergy can result in the marked reduction of wide-ranging food allergies. Her worst allergies (beans, legumes) will likely remain, but it is hoped that the desensitisation process will reduce or eliminate many of the others.

Due to the severity of her condition, we could find no-one south of Auckland willing to treat her, as the treatment carries significant risk of severe anaphylaxis. We can only hope (for her sake) that it works...

In the meantime, if anyone else has family or a friend with worsening food allergies, do they have chronic hayfever...? Get it checked out.

Other than red meat, what does your daughter eat? And what sort of testing are they doing on her? When they discovered my salicylate sensitivity (it can't be tested using blood or anything) they put me on the elimination diet. The food was boring and depressing but I felt so much better.

[Naki Rat]

......

Test and trials at the Auckland Allergy Clinic have revealed that many of her food allergies could be secondary to her extreme hayfever. Recent studies have shown that treating the primary allergy can result in the marked reduction of wide-ranging food allergies. Her worst allergies (beans, legumes) will likely remain, but it is hoped that the desensitisation process will reduce or eliminate many of the others.

......

Problem is that the primary problem (e.g. hay fever) is constantly causing the body's defences to be in a state of high alert so that otherwise minor allergens then stimulate a far greater reaction than would otherwise be the case. It's all pretty technical but revolves around histamine levels driving allergic responses, and vice versa.

[Virago]

Other than red meat, what does your daughter eat?...

She can eat some fruits and vegetables, provided they are well cooked - nothing raw. Imagine life without being able to eat a piece of fruit... Dairy only in very small doses. Rice is okay.

All seafood is out. A mild reaction to chicken.

Her reactions usually involve a skin rash, swelling (particularly the throat), and vomiting. Going to a restaurant invariably involves leaving early, and lots of roadside stops after...

Her worst allergy is beans (navy beans, kidney beans) - just being in the same room can cause a very noticable reaction. Consuming any will result in immediate anaphylaxis. She carries an "Epi-pen" - a one-shot adrenalin hypodermic - at all times.

...And what sort of testing are they doing on her?...

The main testing involves a "skin-prick" process. Rows of dots are put along the inner arm skin (about 20 or so on each arm). A drop of liquid containing a minute amount of varying allergen is placed on each dot, and then pricked through into the skin. The size of the resulting rash determines the extent of the allergy. Most of Amy's rashes overlapped each other...

The treatment involves being injected each week with specially concocted vials containing the allergens specific to her. The dose is increased over around twelve weeks, until she reaches a "maintenance" level. Injections will then probably continue for two or three years. The early stage is the most critical, and could result in quite severe anaphylactic shock unless carefully managed. Hence the reluctance of the doctors down here to take it on.

The process in called "desensitisation".

Problem is that the primary problem (e.g. hay fever) is constantly causing the body's defences to be in a state of high alert so that otherwise minor allergens then stimulate a far greater reaction than would otherwise be the case. It's all pretty technical but revolves around histamine levels driving allergic responses, and vice versa.

You're on to it. It's a never-ending vicious cycle. The misery caused is quite substantial.

Amy has been on alarmingly huge doses of anti-histamines, but the side-effects from the long-term use of those causes other health problems.

[Naki Rat]

.....

Amy has been on alarmingly huge doses of anti-histamines, but the side-effects from the long-term use of those causes other health problems.

Tends to happen when you [are forced] to treat the symptoms rather than the cause

[alanzs]

My daughter has encountered a fair amount of scornful dismissal of her allergies, during five years or so of increasing misery. Few people understand the lifestyle difficulties that such allergies cause.

She is currently in Auckland, where she will spend the next three months undergoing treatment for her allergies. Not easy for a (very emotionally young) 21 year old to be away from her family, fiance and friends for that time, but it has to be done. The treatment is costing thousands - guess who is paying...?

As a child, she had a few food allergies that went undiagnosed for some time. In her mid-teens, the allergies worsened. Around that time, she did the teen-girl thing of trying vegetarianism - it didn't last long - it turned out she is allergic to almost everything except red meat...

Test and trials at the Auckland Allergy Clinic have revealed that many of her food allergies could be secondary to her extreme hayfever. Recent studies have shown that treating the primary allergy can result in the marked reduction of wide-ranging food allergies. Her worst allergies (beans, legumes) will likely remain, but it is hoped that the desensitisation process will reduce or eliminate many of the others.

Due to the severity of her condition, we could find no-one south of Auckland willing to treat her, as the treatment carries significant risk of severe anaphylaxis. We can only hope (for her sake) that it works...

In the meantime, if anyone else has family or a friend with worsening food allergies, do they also have chronic hayfever...? If so, get it checked out.

Wishing your daughter all the best. My daughter has gone through some extremely severe allergy issues (Celiac and Lymes Disease), and still battles to this day, so know you are not alone.

[Hitcher]

Tends to happen when you [are forced] to treat the symptoms rather than the cause

I am reasonably sure that if doctors knew what the cause was, that they would treat it.

[Naki Rat]

That's the problem. As I alluded to in post #30, the medical fraternity tend to struggle with the multifaceted problems they are often faced with in patients that are seriously compromised by allergies. Circular cause and effects scenarios take a bit of understanding when one has been trained in predominantly single illness/cure treatment regimes

[Hitcher]

That's the problem. As I alluded to in post #30, the medical fraternity tend to struggle with the multifaceted problems they are often faced with in patients that are seriously compromised by allergies. Circular cause and effects scenarios take a bit of understanding when one has been trained in predominantly single illness/cure treatment regimes

Unfortunately that's as good as it gets until somebody figures out a way of making a correct diagnosis when there are multiple variables.

[Virago]

Unfortunately that's as good as it gets until somebody figures out a way of making a correct diagnosis when there are multiple variables.

Most definitely, under the public health system. We've had to go private (at our own cost) for diagnosis and treatment. Money talks...

The perception of "middle class indulgence" is just one of the public misconceptions. Many have suggested that parents create hyper-allergic children by raising them in an obsessively sterile home - those who have seen our home will have a good laugh about that one...

[Hitcher]

Many have suggested that parents create hyper-allergic children by raising them in an obsessively sterile home - those who have seen our home will have a good laugh about that one...

I have seen the theory about sterile homes contributing to eczema, but not to hyper-allergies. Either has no supporting science of which I am aware.