Many New Food Allergies At Once?

[klk9100]

Hello, I am new here and looking to see if any other celiac's have had a similar experience. 

 

About 2 months ago after taking an Aleve, I had an allergic reaction where my mouth felt like it was on fire, I started itching, etc. I Took some benedryl and the issue somewhat subsided, however, I still have a sore throat and trouble swallowing. Have also developed neuro-type symptoms (tingling, pins and needles) in arms, legs, hands, and feet. Muscle pain is also bad and I feel weak as if i have the flu. i did have chest pain, but that has subsided.

 

I have been to my primary care physician 3 times, and after ensuring it wasn't a blod clot, she referred me to an ENT. The ENT stuck something down my throat where he could see that I had mild relfux, and which prompted him to test for food allergies. Up to this point I didn't have any food allergies, only gluten intolerance. 

 

The allergy tests came back positive for about 20 different foods, including all of the grains I am used to eating as a celiac (corn, soy, rice,) and the celiac grains came back positive too (bakers yeast, wheat, rye,barley, oats). Also, lots of nuts, fruits and vegetables came back positive (hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, apples, peaches, bananas, kiwi, pineapple, white potatoes, etc.

 

The doctor was surprised that so many things came back positive, and is having me do skin-prick testing for inhalant allergies soon because he believes that often there is an underlying allergy that causes multiple other issues. I have remained gluten-free, so I'm not sure that celiac would be causing all of this. I have been celiac for 10 years and have never experienced anything like this.

 

I am starting to think that there might be something else underlying that could be causing all of this as well. I am frustrated because my diet is so severely limited at this point, and because I feel like I am reacting to foods not on my allergy list, and am not getting any better despite removing those foods.

 

Any thoughts and ideas are appreciated.! 

[1desperateladysaved]

Concentrate on some new foods.  I discovered problems with 49 of 60 foods that I ate regularly.  Now I avoid them all and am thinking it is doing good.  You can look up new meats, vegetables and fruits in Wicopedia or something.  I found that many  of the vegetables listed I had never heard of.  Now, all I have to do is find them at the store!  I have found some, planted others in my garden, and am searching odd grocery stores I find for others.

 

Proteins I have tried:  elk, lamb, trout, yak, bison (any you tested negative for)  I have eggs and pork.

Vegetables that are working:  swiss chard, spinach, kale (yum kale chips!) collard greens, kohlrabi, turnips

Fruits I tolerate:  Bananas, strawberries grown without  wheat mulch.  kiwi,

Other:  coconut milk, hemp seeds  (if You have any nuts, you can make bread with the flour)

 

Many natural health caregivers that I have read information from or talk with in person   figure that celiac damages your gut. (Leaky Gut) Substances that should stay in the GI tract escape it and the body learns to treat them as foreign invaders.  Once the body decides to make antibodies to that food, it sounds the alarm each time  contact is made with it. 

 

You likely will feel so much better when you avoid allergens that your life will get easier rather than harder.  Mine does, but I still am adjusting.

 

Dee

[sweetsailing]

Ugghh...I am right there with you.  I thought I was going to be good with gluten free and at first I felt great eating gluten free and then at about 6 - 7 months of being gluten free, I seem to have triggered multiple food allergies.  I don't know that I have figured them all out yet.  However, I know I am reacting to bananas (can't eat raw or cooked), tomatoes (seem to be able to eat cooked but not raw), avacodos, cucumbers, peppers (raw).

 

I just made some yummy zucchini bread (gluten free of course) and the recipe called for 1 mashed banana.  First time I tried to eat a cooked banana after I know I was reacting to raw bananas.  One bite is all it took for my mouth and throat to start burning.  Now I have a whole yummy loaf of zucchini bread that I can't eat    

[icelandgirl]

Does anyone know why this happens? I'm fairly sure that I am having issues with different things now too. It's annoying number one because I continue to feel bad and number two because I feel like I'm running out of things to eat!

For me I get GI symptoms...bloating or D. So far I did 2 weeks without dairy and soy...didn't really notice a difference. But had some tea where an ingredient was soy lecithin and got a massive headache. And soy is in everything. I also had a dinner that was a little heavy on balsamic vinegar and wounded up with a runny nose and itchy mouth and nose. It was weird. So...I'm avoiding those things...but I'm still having some GI issues...wondering what I will have to give up next.

[klk9100]

I went to the allergist today and the confirmed I have horrible inhalant allergies too. They said that this could be causing the food allergies? I itch whenever i eat anything just about. doesn't matter what it is. I can only eat meat without itching. Anyways… got rx'd for singular, zyrtec otc, and an inhaler with a steroid in it. these should supposedly help my seasonal allergies calm down so that i can tolerate some of my lesser food allergies, maybe. These are all Ige-type allergies. 

 

i feel sorry for everyone else who has this issue too. What the heck are we supposed to eat! I almost am starting to feel like I took "just being celiac" for granted. (heh). 

 

I'm starting to look into leaky gut, as i have considered that i might have an issue with that for a while. Also looking into salicylate intolerance to see if that has anything to do with it. I will post if i find out anything useful. I was hoping someone would have figured out what causes this :( 

[Celiac Ninja]

Ditto only fast forward several years. I'm allergic to nearly everything, according to a naturopath, I plan on getting a poke test for allergies on my back. I'm sure that will entertain the nurses as I swell up and look like the hunchback of Notre dome.

 

I'm right there with ya for the layering of allergies and symptoms. It's as if my whole cellular structure has revolted. I'm putting a tiny bit of progesterone cream on each day now since I've hit menopausal symptoms again. Not an enjoyable rollercoaster. :S

 

So I'll keep praying for healing, answers, peace, etc. De-stress as much as you can each day. It seems stress for me triggers a lot of the allergic reactions, as if my immune system has PTSD.

[sweetsailing]

Iceland girl - As far as I have been able to research and determine it sounds like most celiacs have leaky gut issues caused by the celiac disease.  Others without celiac disease can get leaky gut too, like small instestine bacterial overgrowth.  When you have a leaky gut, large molecules are able to pass through the gut that ordinarily would not be able to.  The body sees these molecules as foriegn and mounts an immune response to these foriegn molecules.  Unfortunately for us, these foreign molecules are things like bananas, tomatoes, fruits, vegetables, advil, etc.  Basically anything we put in our mouths would be fair game. 

 

It is a real bummer however because you don't know what to eat any more. 

[klk9100]

i am starting to consider leaky gut … i guess this is apparently the cause of histamine issues and ultimately most allergy issues. although my diet is already pretty severe i guess i will attempt to go on a leaky gut diet for a while just to see if my symptoms improve….(and take the allergy meds prescribed)  UGH! I always thought "leaky gut" would present with gastro issues. but i guess it doesn't have to! I thought after i had a handle on celiac for 10 yrs that I would be done with all of this stuff( and wouldn't be susceptible to a leaky gut…))…HERE WE GO AGAIN!

[klk9100]

** update**

went through ski allergy testing. the results came back somewhat different than the blood test. i am starting a new elimination diet to see if i can find the allergen(s). I'm putting money on corn. Does anyone know if celiacs are more likely to have other food allergies to certain things specifically??

[StephanieL]

Just so you are aware the both skin and blood testing by an allergist have a 50% false positive rate.

[BlessedMommy]

Yep, it's my understanding that it's best not to test for an allergy unless you've had a clear reaction to that particular food. The false positives can lead to lots of unnecessary dietary restriction.

[klk9100]

well. i guess the issue is i am having some sort of reaction in that my throat is constantly sore and that I'm having reflux. and treating the reflux with nexium didn't work -- its still there. apparently food allergies can cause reflux which is why they went ahead and tested me, except that, it brought back a long list of potential culprits. the dr did tell me that the chance of being allergic to foods based on the back scratch test is anywhere from 1-7 to 1-2. but there are 20 foods in the "4" category alone, meaning, the largest wheels on my back. there are an additional 44 that caused a "1" or "2" reaction. meaning less likely to be allergic to them, but still could be. The severity of any allergy is not read by these numbers, just the likelihood of being allergic. 

 

The doctor told me to eliminate the set that i was most likely to be allergic to first- which was all of the "4"s. THats the first 20 foods. Because these didn't come back on the blood test which was done by the first dr- i was actually eating a lot of the foods including chicken, beef, peas, corn, etc. i actually do think i may be starting to feel better after just cutting these foods out for a day. the funny thing is, i was eating SO much of these foods, just a few months ago. It really makes me a believer in "leaky gut". It seems like the leaky gut likely caused by my celiac led for particles of the foods i ate a lot of to slip into my body. I think them my body started getting sensitized to these foods, and maybe started causing reaction with some of them. 

 

Anyway, the detective work continues today. Nexium contains a corn filler, and i was taking that every day. The doctor told me to stop. 

It makes me wonder if corn is one of the main issues, and if there would be a difference in sensitization between corn fed beef/chicken and 100% grass fed. Just some food for thought…. (HA)!

[Rosiesallergies]

Klk9100,

Your story sounds very similar to my daughter's allergy issues. Have them test you for latex. You listed many of the same foods that she is allergic to. Reactions seemed nearly constant and we could never find a likely suspect food. Once we removed all traces of latex from her environment, she's doing much better.

Good luck!

[1desperateladysaved]

50 % false positives is pretty sad.  I am now seeing skin rashes, burning/itching skin and diarrhea  with foods I once thought could have false positive on IgG food antibody tests.  Even my family can see these rashes.

 

Dee

[StephanieL]

IgG testing isn't for allergies. IgE is for allergies and has the 50% false positive rate.  

[BlessedMommy]

So really the only purpose of allergy tests is to confirm a known reaction to a food?

[StephanieL]

So really the only purpose of allergy tests is to confirm a known reaction to a food?

Yes.  Blanket testing is not recommended by the major allergy associations. The only 100% is a known reaction.

[greenbeanie]

I'm joining this discussion quite late...but original poster, have you considered whether you might be reacting to sulfites? I had tons of increasingly-bad classic allergy symptoms after going gluten free, and it took me months to figure out that the problem was sulfites. I react strongly to naturally-occurring sulfites that are in fermented foods (vinegar, aged cheese and yogurt, even some probiotic blends), as well as sulfites that are actually added as preservatives. Even when I was eating nothing at all with preservatives on the ingredients list, I kept having symptoms. My tongue swelled, I had immediate coughing and throat itching after eating almost anything, etc. It was quite scary. My allergist tested me for dozens of things, but she did not test for sulfites because there's no standardized blood or skin test for it. I have lots of pollen allergies, and also an IgE latex allergy that causes problems with some cross-reacting fruits too, but it turned out that none of that was the major cause of the food allergy symptoms. I've taken Allegra daily for years, and that's helped more than any other antihistimine, but the problem still kept worsening until I finally figured out the cause.

In my case, the reason the allergies worsened so much after going gluten free was that so many gluten free breads and other products contain potato starch flour and/or corn starch. I am fine with real potatoes and corn, but the flours and starches are often sulfited to prevent browning. Since this is a "manufacturing process" rather than an actual ingredient, my understanding is that sulfites don't need to be listed as an ingredient in these cases (at least in the U.S.). Sulfites are also used in processing some tomato and vegetable products (to prevent the equipment from rusting, I believe). You'd never know this from labels alone. And pectin, gelatin, lemon juice from concentrate, and many other products contain hidden sulfites. It was a total revelation when I finally figured this out. Wheat flour is sometimes bleached with sulfites too, but I almost never ate white bread before, so when I suddenly started eating more (gluten-free) bread my daily intake of sulfites increased a lot. That is why my allergy symptoms worsened all of a sudden, even though all my other symptoms were improving.

Maybe this is not your issue at all, but it's worth exploring if you can't figure out another cause. If you can drink wine and eat sulfited dried fruit with no problem, then sulfites probably aren't your issue. But I've always gotten sick from those too, so this solved many mysteries for me.

[klk9100]

hi, greenbeanie!

I have considered sulfites, but haven't seriously had time to figure out whether they could be causing issues. As you might have seen above, I am working through a pretty intense elimination diet. But, i don't seem to be getting any better. so, its a thought. 

 

I too, (until the past few months) ate tons of gluten-free Bread (mostly Udi's) and gluten-free processed foods. Also ate lots of chocolate, and the occasional glass of wine. 

 

Right now, I am pretty much only eating ground turkey and organic applesauce. Some pork too. My concentration is on avoiding the following foods primarily, for the next two weeks and to see about an improvement. My allergy symptoms now are basically just trouble with swallowing and a sore throat. I have not been diagnosed with EoE yet, but it runs in my family, and I anticipate a diagnosis when i see my gastroenterologist in October.

 

Scratch test level 4 foods-

CORN

OATS

OYSTERS

BASS FISH

BEEF 

CHICKEN

ASPARAGUS

BROCCOLI

GREEN PEPPER 

PEAS#

LIMA BEANS

NAVY BEANS

CANTELOUPE  

CHERRY  

COCONUT

PINEAPPLE

BAKERS YEAST

SESAME SEED

HOPS

PECANS

 

Corn is the hardest to avoid for sure. I thought maybe my symptoms were persisting because i was not avoiding corn well enough. IN the past couple of days,  i have had reactions to: Potato Chips with only sea salt, potatoes, and safflower oil. Also to Enjoy Life Coco Loco bars. (They have chocolate.) 

 

Do you think it may be sulfites? 

Would a sulfite allergy cause foods high in sulfites to show up on an IGE test? I tested negative for chocolate, etc. 

 

Thanks for your help!

[cyclinglady]

Have you read the threads on Mast Cell Activation Syndrome? It is a thought........

[klk9100]

hi, cyclinglady!

 

i did a little research on it. had another reaction to chocolate tonight, that was supposed to be corn free. its lindt baking chocolate 70% or something like that.  (chocolate did not show up on my scratch tests.) am thinking about histamine intolerance, specifically. 

 

i don't want to deviate from my corn-free (and free of the 1000000000 other possible allergies) diet for the next two weeks,( to see if i get better), but, i do want to experiment with histamines to see if high- histamine foods set me off. Also want to experiment with sulfites. 

 

I do have severe seasonal allergies, especially right now, but normally do not have trouble with asthma unless i am exercising or it is very very cold outside. from what i've read on sulfites, looks like asthma is a huge contributing factor. i'm not sure if my exercised induced asthma would necessarily count. 

 

i am thinking there are probably some true allergies on the food allergy scratch test results, and also some negative ones. I would like to be able to find the true ones, and eliminate them, and see if i feel better. That being said, I kind of don't think that will be the end of the story. I did get results back on  CBC, ANA and Metabolic Profile blood tests. All were normal. I have been eliminating 95% of the positive scratch test results for over a week now, and am still reacting. The couple things i had not completely eliminated, i have eliminated as of yesterday (salmon and potatoes- both scores of 1/4 on the scratch tests). the only other thing i have not completely eliminated from the scratch tests is the corn. i have really tried to though. I know that the turkey i eat is probably sometimes corn- fed, or, the packaging is made of corn derivatives. Also, i think the USDA requires the animals to be sprayed with some sort of corn-spray to prevent decay or something like that, so unless your in contact with a local organic farmer, it is very hard to get 100% corn free meat. 

 

Im going to give the full elimination diet 2 weeks, and REALLY REALLY try hard not to get contaminated. If by the end of the two weeks I am still feeling crummy, I will believe that my issue is likely something else. Idea's on how to test out histamine sensitivity while adhering to the elimination diet would be helpful! That way I can still kind of gage any reactions to histamine. i've read that histamine intolerance can be caused by leaky gut. as can food allergies. which doesn't surprise me since i was foolishly flippant many times about cross-contamination^^^. I guess i figured if i didn't have GI symptoms my gut was in good health.

 

It really stinks, my birthday is this week and I would very much like a date night out away from my sweet 1 year old! I guess we will be cooking at home. Maybe I will have something figured out by next month and we can celebrate later…. 

 

 

In positive news, the strange neuropathic feelings I was having have decreased significantly since i have been starting the elimination diet. I think that means I've cut out something my body did not like. The worst bout of those feelings I had after eating McDonald's french fries… ( I know, not very gluten-free friendly, and not very friendly…period). I literally could not move my arms the right way and couldn't feel much of one of them. Not sure what part of those fries caused such a serious reaction. I guess it could be gluten ataxia or something like that, but to be honest, I'm not a well-behaved celiac and have had more gluten than that in numerous instances with out much trouble…I've never been super sensitive to cross-contamination issues, the way some are.

 

 

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I am looking into each of them.

[greenbeanie]

French fries are usually very high in sulfites, and sulfites are also often added to mashed potatoes at restaurants and other potato products (to prevent browning). Fruit salad at restaurants often has lemon juice from concentrate on it for the same reason, and the lemon juice concentrate is very high in sulfites. I haven't had fries since going gluten free, but they always used to make me cough, feel sick, and get an immediate runny nose - like within two minutes of the first bite. Since there are lots of unhealthy things in fast food fries, that wasn't as surprising as when fruit salad caused a similar reaction (but less severe and not quite as immediate). I was always so puzzled by that because I could eat the exact same fresh fruits at home with no problem. Same thing with mashed potatoes - homemade was totally fine, and at some restaurants they were fine too, but at others they made me really sick. I had no idea that many restaurants added preservatives to the potatoes after they were cooked. All of these "mysteries" were cleared up once I figured out the problem. I do not have asthma either, though they thought I did for a while as a kid because I often gasped for breath at night. I turns out that this was during a time when we often ate dried fruit for dessert! (Everything is always clearer in retrospect...)

Here's a useful link that lists common places that sulfites are found - many of them are places you wouldn't expect at all, and the sulfites can be hidden when they're used in the manufacturing process rather then being added as actual ingredients on the ingredients list. I read somewhere else that pork is naturally high in sulfites, though it's not on the list in this brochure. I rarely eat it myself, so I haven't really investigated that.

Open Original Shared Link

My allergist said there's no test for sulfite sensitivity, other than a food challenge. It's very clear in my case, so we didn't do a formal one. I have heard of others doing skin prick tests with sulfite powder in water, but my doctor didn't feel comfortable trying that because the amount is not standardized and the reaction could be unpredictable. I don't believe that a sulfite problem would cause foods high in sulfur (which is a different form than sulfite, and also different than sulfate) to show up on an IgE test, but I'm not sure. In any case, it took me years to figure out what was causing the acute allergy symptoms after eating, but once I became aware of where sulfites are found it became really obvious within days. And although it means I can't tolerate lots of different foods, it actually expanded my options a little bit because it turns out that I can eat fresh homemade potatoes and corn on the cob with no problem, as long as I avoid all frozen, processed, and restaurant potato products and chips, and anything made with cornmeal, corn starch, and corn syrup (easier said than done, as you know!).

It sounds like you already know this, but gluten cc could also be worsening any other problems, even if you don't feel like you have a clear and immediate reaction from it. I never would have figured out my sulfite problem until I was very strictly gluten free - there was just too much going on before that, and I was getting sick over and over again from so many things even though I rarely ate bread and only had tiny amounts of gluten most days (before I knew it was a problem). Small amounts were enough to keep my body totally messed up, and I don't even have a clear celiac diagnosis. Once all that had calmed down and everything else was improving, it became much easier to tell what was going on with other foods, though it still took me months and months of tongue swelling before I figured out the cause. I'm sure that would have been the case if it was histimines or something else rather than sulfites causing my problems too - there's just no way I ever would have figured out what was going on while any gluten at all was in my diet, even cc.

Good luck!

[klk9100]

French fries are usually very high in sulfites, and sulfites are also often added to mashed potatoes at restaurants and other potato products (to prevent browning). Fruit salad at restaurants often has lemon juice from concentrate on it for the same reason, and the lemon juice concentrate is very high in sulfites. I haven't had fries since going gluten free, but they always used to make me cough, feel sick, and get an immediate runny nose - like within two minutes of the first bite. Since there are lots of unhealthy things in fast food fries, that wasn't as surprising as when fruit salad caused a similar reaction (but less severe and not quite as immediate). I was always so puzzled by that because I could eat the exact same fresh fruits at home with no problem. Same thing with mashed potatoes - homemade was totally fine, and at some restaurants they were fine too, but at others they made me really sick. I had no idea that many restaurants added preservatives to the potatoes after they were cooked. All of these "mysteries" were cleared up once I figured out the problem. I do not have asthma either, though they thought I did for a while as a kid because I often gasped for breath at night. I turns out that this was during a time when we often ate dried fruit for dessert! (Everything is always clearer in retrospect...)

Here's a useful link that lists common places that sulfites are found - many of them are places you wouldn't expect at all, and the sulfites can be hidden when they're used in the manufacturing process rather then being added as actual ingredients on the ingredients list. I read somewhere else that pork is naturally high in sulfites, though it's not on the list in this brochure. I rarely eat it myself, so I haven't really investigated that.

Open Original Shared Link

My allergist said there's no test for sulfite sensitivity, other than a food challenge. It's very clear in my case, so we didn't do a formal one. I have heard of others doing skin prick tests with sulfite powder in water, but my doctor didn't feel comfortable trying that because the amount is not standardized and the reaction could be unpredictable. I don't believe that a sulfite problem would cause foods high in sulfur (which is a different form than sulfite, and also different than sulfate) to show up on an IgE test, but I'm not sure. In any case, it took me years to figure out what was causing the acute allergy symptoms after eating, but once I became aware of where sulfites are found it became really obvious within days. And although it means I can't tolerate lots of different foods, it actually expanded my options a little bit because it turns out that I can eat fresh homemade potatoes and corn on the cob with no problem, as long as I avoid all frozen, processed, and restaurant potato products and chips, and anything made with cornmeal, corn starch, and corn syrup (easier said than done, as you know!).

It sounds like you already know this, but gluten cc could also be worsening any other problems, even if you don't feel like you have a clear and immediate reaction from it. I never would have figured out my sulfite problem until I was very strictly gluten free - there was just too much going on before that, and I was getting sick over and over again from so many things even though I rarely ate bread and only had tiny amounts of gluten most days (before I knew it was a problem). Small amounts were enough to keep my body totally messed up, and I don't even have a clear celiac diagnosis. Once all that had calmed down and everything else was improving, it became much easier to tell what was going on with other foods, though it still took me months and months of tongue swelling before I figured out the cause. I'm sure that would have been the case if it was histimines or something else rather than sulfites causing my problems too - there's just no way I ever would have figured out what was going on while any gluten at all was in my diet, even cc.

Good luck!

Greenbeanie, 

Thanks for the link!

I was able to look through it all this morning. 

 

I am having plain coffee (something from archer farms-target) and i can feel some tightening in my throat. thats pretty typical for me, and I'm not sure if its the coffee itself, the corn that ultimately gets put on the coffee in the manufacturing process, or some sort of chemical in the coffee, that I'm reacting to. 

 

Since I saw your post, i decided to try the Stretch Island fruit leather strawberry strips. The only potential allergen in them for me was lemon juice concentrate, which came back level 1/4 on my scratch test. Curiosity got the best of me, and i figured i would do it anyways.  I figured something like this might contain some sulfites. the ingredients were something like , apple puree concentrate, strawberry puree concentrate, pear puree concentrate, and lemon joule concentrate. My mouth itched, just a little, but pretty immediately. 

 

I bought some potatoes at a farmers market locally yesterday. They are a level 1/4  potential allergy on my scratch test, but something like this should, in theory be free of sulfites. Since today is already a loss on my strict elimination diet, i may try to cook some of them this afternoon at home. If I tolerate them, I will further suspect a sulfite issue. Since I had trouble with bagged potato chips with only sea salt and safflower oil, then, tolerating regular potatoes may be a clue. 

 

I will update as to how it goes. Thanks for cluing me in to the sulfites. I had read about them, but much of the literature focuses on asthma and wine, and since I don't have much asthma or drink much at all (maybe one time every quarter) I might not have never noticed this as a potential issue. You've actually got me wondering if my mom has a sulfite issue. She has EoE which she stubbornly refuses to treat, even though she knows she has it. 3 of her siblings also have it, and one of them is a doctor. I have watched her get up from the dinner table many times (while drinking wine) gagging…. 

[klk9100]

Greenbeanie, 

Thanks for the link!

I was able to look through it all this morning. 

 

I am having plain coffee (something from archer farms-target) and i can feel some tightening in my throat. thats pretty typical for me, and I'm not sure if its the coffee itself, the corn that ultimately gets put on the coffee in the manufacturing process, or some sort of chemical in the coffee, that I'm reacting to. 

 

Since I saw your post, i decided to try the Stretch Island fruit leather strawberry strips. The only potential allergen in them for me was lemon juice concentrate, which came back level 1/4 on my scratch test. Curiosity got the best of me, and i figured i would do it anyways.  I figured something like this might contain some sulfites. the ingredients were something like , apple puree concentrate, strawberry puree concentrate, pear puree concentrate, and lemon joule concentrate. My mouth itched, just a little, but pretty immediately. 

 

I bought some potatoes at a farmers market locally yesterday. They are a level 1/4  potential allergy on my scratch test, but something like this should, in theory be free of sulfites. Since today is already a loss on my strict elimination diet, i may try to cook some of them this afternoon at home. If I tolerate them, I will further suspect a sulfite issue. Since I had trouble with bagged potato chips with only sea salt and safflower oil, then, tolerating regular potatoes may be a clue. 

 

I will update as to how it goes. Thanks for cluing me in to the sulfites. I had read about them, but much of the literature focuses on asthma and wine, and since I don't have much asthma or drink much at all (maybe one time every quarter) I might not have never noticed this as a potential issue. You've actually got me wondering if my mom has a sulfite issue. She has EoE which she stubbornly refuses to treat, even though she knows she has it. 3 of her siblings also have it, and one of them is a doctor. I have watched her get up from the dinner table many times (while drinking wine) gagging…. 

ps.  i don't want you to think I'm careless about the food allergies. i just don't see how any progress can be made without a little experimentation. My new allergist, (the best one around here) said he thinks I'm at low risk for anaphylaxis because nearly all of my symptoms are oral.  I have not had an anaphylactic episode, knock on wood, and the closest i came was when i took the Aleve and had the reaction that started all of this nonsense. I have had some random skin itching. There are no visible marks on my skin as far as I can tell though- just the random itching. It was really bad the night I ate the potato chips….. 

 

i do have an Auvi-Q (epipen) , prescribed my the first allergist who had me convinced that i could react to any airborne particle at any minute. i keep that on hand, just in case, and i pray that i don't have to use it. 

 

after i figure out what in the world is going on, i am going to try to do the pale autoimmune protocol and see if i can get my gut to heal. i will be way more strict about gluten (i already am, since these issues came up). 

[klk9100]

My potato experiment wasn't exactly conclusive, as, I had pork with dinner last night. I will redo the potato experiment on a different night without pork.

 

I have get terrible all day, although i have avoided all of the allergies on my list 100%. This morning i made corn-free( hard to find) bacon, and had motte applesauce. My throat itched with the applesauce but then got sore with the bacon. It remained sore the rest of the day. When I had strawberries at lunch my throat seemed worse too. Idk why other than they are a high histamine food. I will try ground turkey as the only meat for the rest of the week and get rid of pork for a while, in case the sulphites in pork cause issues. Once the two weeks is up I will re-evaluate. I think I will try to stick with blueberries too , since i reacted to applesauce and strawberries today. 

 

I've been drinking the whole foods bottled water, anyone know about the sulfite content of that?? 

I'm hoping nothing, but i think i head somewhere that bottled water can contain sulfites.