What you eat matters!

[maz.aust]

Hi everyone,

The things you do without thinking.  I would like to share a little story with you all and yes it is about me.

As you know I recently started back on my abx and Doxy is in the mix, now the last time Doxy was thrown into my abx mix I had a huge herx for a few weeks so this time was expecting the same.  This time round again I am herxing (or at least I thought I was) although over the past 4 or 5 days the pain levels were different from any herxes I have previously had, bordering on what I would call mini flares really.  Anyway, I started to think to try to pin down if there was any other reason this would be happening, couldn't think of anything.  My mind always took me back to the Doxy & herxing.

Yesterday avo in between going home and going out to work again my young grandson had some toast and wanted to share with me – he is only 4 – now even though I don't usually ever eat the spread he had on it, I had a bite.  My daughter had just walked into the room and saw me do it – this simple act started an amazing chain of events.

1     she yelled at me ''mum what are you doing”
2     young Oliver said 'I'm sharing with Grandma'
3     she looked at me and said 'but you don't eat that, you never eat that'
4     I replied it was only one bite and I was being nice to her son
5     she left the room and came back in with a piece of paper in her hand – it was my hand written diet regime I had been given back in Mar last year, she pointed to NO Peanuts ! 

Yes I had a bite of his toast, teaching him to share, and had been doing that for 4 or 5 days without thinking — yes I knew he had peanut butter on it, yes I knew I have never liked it & screwed up my face with the taste of it,  but I had forgotten that I wasn't supposed to eat peanuts at all.

So yes, I have been having mini flares thanks to sharing toast with my grandson.

(mental apologies to Doxy, it wasn't your fault after all)

 

Dec07: Diagnosed PRA, (CTD; Fibromyalgia; suspected Lyme):
Mar08: Diet to heal gut/bolster immune system (no gluten, dairy, sulphites or sugar)

Jan 2018: ABX Mon/Wed/Fri (started AP 2008)
1/2 x 150mg Roxithromycin(Biasig), 1/2 x 150mg Clarithromycin (Klacid),
1/2 x Fungillin, 1 x 250mg Cephalexin (Keflex)

All off days Probiotics

[Kim]

Cute. 🙂  I'd walk through poison ivy for my grandkids. 😀

kim

[tbird2340]

[user=40]Kim[/user] wrote:

Cute. 🙂  I'd walk through poison ivy for my grandkids. 😀

kim

:roll-laugh: I love your reply! My mom would do the same…

I was a huge food proponent (went gluten free, sugar free, dairy free for about 3 months).. I honestly can't say it made much of a difference (not saying that it didn't).. What it did do was make me lose about 15-20 lbs (that I didn't really need to lose)..

I became almost ill looking (felt fine though).. It was one of the hardest things in my life (not eating ANYTHING I wanted)..

I am now back to eating pretty much anything (and have since gained 25-30 lbs).. I almost want to force myself back on that diet just so I can lose my gut…

I have been pondering doing the ALCAT test but my insurance doesn't cover it and it is pretty darn expensive.. Here is a pretty interesting video related to that: http://www.abcactionnews.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=16508@wfts.dayport.com&navCatId=16

[sierrra]

On the last two days of my vacation last week, I gave in to gluten and dairy, including a horrid glop of pasty-creamy “wild rice soup” that every instinct responded to with “Don't eat that!” But I ate it, and for the next two days, suffered a significant flare. Most of my joints hurt, I walked with a limp one day, and a finger curled slightly and froze in that position with swelling. Today, after carefully getting the diet back on track, all of those symptoms are gone. Diet is huge for me.

Sierra

[tbird2340]

Has anyone done the ALCATS testing? If not, what testing have you done to see what you are sensitive too?

[louris]

I had IgG food sensitivity testing done through Immuno Laboratories (actually my doctor ordered it).

The LLMD I just got back from seeing a few weeks ago chuckled as he also uses the same outfit.

I'm a little torn on the worth of the testing.  It confirmed to me what I already knew; that I have a leaky gut and that the few foods that I consume often would show up.  The doctor that ordered the testing kind of just handed me the result and the fancy book that you receive that has food allergy information and that helps you plan a rotational diet.  I queried the LLMD about my results, most of which showed weak sensitivities (Immuno Labs reports +1, +2, +3, and +4 with the last being the most significant — I didn't have anything greater than a +2) and he said, no you are fine to continue eating those at +1 and with some discretion for the two +2 foods.  Whew!  Or else I don't know what I'd eat except the grass in the front yard.

Additionally, I found this article from a professor at Bastyr University (Seattle, WA) who discloses some skepticism about the IgG testing.  However, I think a lot of that skepticism is related to the labs and their testing methodology.  I dunno.  The whole thing might be a crap shoot.  Unfortunately I read this article after I had my testing done and dropped the cash.

http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/282.cfm

[tbird2340]

Is the IgG the same as the ALCAT? Via bloodwork?

https://www.alcat.com/index.php

[louris]

[user=851]tbird2340[/user] wrote:

Is the IgG the same as the ALCAT? Via bloodwork?

https://www.alcat.com/index.php

I don't know if it is the same or not.  I perceive that Immuno Labs is ELISA testing while the ALCAT is something different.  It's done via blood draw though.  Unfortunately I don't know much more than that.

I did some searching, after writing the above passage (my curiousity got the best of me) and found the following that may provide some further insight…

“This test is known as the Whole Health Food Sensitivity Panel by ALCAT and is performed by Cell Science Systems (CSS) in Deerfield Beach, Florida (800-872-5228 – http://www.ALCAT.com). This test utilizes whole blood, as opposed to serum alone. Rather than just checking for IgE and IgG antibodies related to certain food proteins, it actually analyses cellular changes that occur to leukocytes when they are exposed to challenge foods.”

The whole document: http://www.alcat.com/assets/File/Brady%20Case%20Study.pdf

That said, I can't help but wonder if the ALCAT might be able to provide more realistic results???

[Kim]

Tom,

I'll do it if you will. :roll-laugh:

I really have been meaning to do the food sensitivity test, but with all the others it just got pushed further down the list and I ran out of energy to research it, so thanks. 🙂  Every test that I've had in the longest time has revealed something that needed to be dealt with so I guess I'm making excuses for taking a little denial break.

Take care…..kim

[maz.aust]

I think what I am more amazed at is just how little of something can produce a real reaction … me and a little of the wrong brand margarine, what I would have called a really small amount of peanut butter, when I forgot & had a couple of tablespoons of Vitabrits.  I guess because I don't actually like peanuts and never eat them anyway, being warned off them wasn't something I consciously thought of.

I am happy to report my herxing is back to what I experience is normal levels, & believe me I will be more diligent about watching my foods in the future!

 

Dec07: Diagnosed PRA, (CTD; Fibromyalgia; suspected Lyme):
Mar08: Diet to heal gut/bolster immune system (no gluten, dairy, sulphites or sugar)

Jan 2018: ABX Mon/Wed/Fri (started AP 2008)
1/2 x 150mg Roxithromycin(Biasig), 1/2 x 150mg Clarithromycin (Klacid),
1/2 x Fungillin, 1 x 250mg Cephalexin (Keflex)

All off days Probiotics

[tbird2340]

Before I found AP and was looking for alternatives I found and read the book:In it the author (Barbara Allan) said that if she ate so much as sprinkles of salt (I believe that's what it was) she got a reaction..

I never did do the fast that the book says to do.. Dunno why, I guess I just thought I couldn't do it and chickened out.. Or maybe I didn't really believe it.. Don't know really..

Why does everything have to be so freaking expensive!? The cheapest ALCAT test is like $500.. $500!! Who has that kind of money just for a test! Why must they make them so expensive!? I mean, I guess they could cost that much but I just see them taking my blood and running it through a machine..

Sigh… End of rant.. 🙁

[maz.aust]

Hi tbird,

Just a suggestion.  Why don't you get a list of foods, ie glutten, dairy, peanuts, tomatoes, msg, or whatever it is — cut them all out for about a month then reintroduce them one at a time a week apart – that should tell you if something sparks a reaction or not.

When I started to reintroduce foods it sort of went like –

Mon, ate a couple of slices of bread;
Tue, ate a couple of slices of toast;
Wed, same as Tues,
Then waited a few days, if I had a reaction I stopped eating it but if nothing happened I put bread on my 'I can have' list . 
Then I took bread off and started with something else … by the end of about 6 wks I found out what I could eat and what I couldn't eat.

 

 

 

Dec07: Diagnosed PRA, (CTD; Fibromyalgia; suspected Lyme):
Mar08: Diet to heal gut/bolster immune system (no gluten, dairy, sulphites or sugar)

Jan 2018: ABX Mon/Wed/Fri (started AP 2008)
1/2 x 150mg Roxithromycin(Biasig), 1/2 x 150mg Clarithromycin (Klacid),
1/2 x Fungillin, 1 x 250mg Cephalexin (Keflex)

All off days Probiotics

[Lynne G.SD]

Hi Maz;
       The big problem I see is that very often we do not feel any worse because of what we eat.I am a true celiac,not just celiac syndrome, and have no problem at all eating anything with glutenI only develop a little water blister on my back the size of a pin head if I eat it a couple days in a row.
      The damage gluten did to my intestine was phenominal and it took 18 months gluten free to get the villi to stand up straight again .That damage is what caused all my food sensitivities.The list was as long as my arm and I had to stay off the offending foods for almost an other 2 years before introducing them again in very small doses.This spring I was able to have asperigus again.YEA!!!
     Every now and then I  cheat and have a cookie or something else that is rather small and has gluten.If I do it just once a month I am o.k. but if I so it a couple days in a row I get very tired and that terrible feeling of the SD resurecting hits me.My hands and forearms start to tingle and burn so no more gluten for an other few months.I am lucky that a good rest can stop it in it's tracs
ks.The doctor explained that the gluten gets the immune system back into fighting mode and then can't fight the SD so it starts to reactivate.The rest calms the immune system and then I feel better.It is like a circle.
                   Lynne

[maz.aust]

[user=31]Lynne G./SD[/user] wrote:

Hi Maz;
       The big problem I see is that very often we do not feel any worse because of what we eat.I am a true celiac,not just celiac syndrome, and have no problem at all eating anything with glutenI only develop a little water blister on my back the size of a pin head if I eat it a couple days in a row.
      The damage gluten did to my intestine was phenominal and it took 18 months gluten free to get the villi to stand up straight again .That damage is what caused all my food sensitivities.The list was as long as my arm and I had to stay off the offending foods for almost an other 2 years before introducing them again in very small doses.This spring I was able to have asperigus again.YEA!!!
     Every now and then I  cheat and have a cookie or something else that is rather small and has gluten.If I do it just once a month I am o.k. but if I so it a couple days in a row I get very tired and that terrible feeling of the SD resurecting hits me.My hands and forearms start to tingle and burn so no more gluten for an other few months.I am lucky that a good rest can stop it in it's tracs
ks.The doctor explained that the gluten gets the immune system back into fighting mode and then can't fight the SD so it starts to reactivate.The rest calms the immune system and then I feel better.It is like a circle.
                   Lynne

Yes sorry Lynne, 

Stupid me didn't even think when I wrote that – I apologise.  

 

Dec07: Diagnosed PRA, (CTD; Fibromyalgia; suspected Lyme):
Mar08: Diet to heal gut/bolster immune system (no gluten, dairy, sulphites or sugar)

Jan 2018: ABX Mon/Wed/Fri (started AP 2008)
1/2 x 150mg Roxithromycin(Biasig), 1/2 x 150mg Clarithromycin (Klacid),
1/2 x Fungillin, 1 x 250mg Cephalexin (Keflex)

All off days Probiotics

[Lynne G.SD]

Hi T Bird;
     I had the test done by U.S Biotek a few years ago.It cost me 62.00$ I will send you their address tomorrow.   Lynne

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