Previously I wrote about going wheat, egg and MSG-free for both my then 9yr old dd and myself. Although it helped a lot and she herself noticed that she felt better, she was not willing to give up her wheat. And to be honest, neither was I, especially since it made cooking so very difficult. So we went back to our normal diet.
Bad Flare Up
However about 2 months back, she had it really bad. And nothing worked. Not the antihistamines, not the steroid creams. She was feeling and looking really miserable. By then, her face was affected as well.
So upon a recommendation by our chiropractor, we saw a holistic doctor, who upon seeing her condition, immediately said that she should take the IgG test. Now there are various types of tests in the market and none of them are 100% accurate. There are as many false positives as well as false negatives. But I must say that the skin patch test is the least accurate in my experience. Same with the skin prick test 🙁
IgG Testing
The IgG test requires very little blood – nurse pricks finger and squeezes out enough blood to cover 3 small strips of paper. It is then mailed to a lab in Australia and the results would be mailed back in 3 – 4 weeks’ time. The good thing about the test is that one can choose to test Asian or Western foods.
The results that met me were bad 🙁
What is She Allergic To?!
According to the test, she is highly allergic to:
- dairy (casein, cow’s milk, whey, yoghurt)
- garlic
- gluten, wheat
- mung bean
- soy
- oats
- chicken
- egg
She’s moderately allergic to:
- cashew nut
- codfish
- goose
- oyster
- peanut
- red bean
- rice
- sea bass
- sea perch
- tuna
SIGH…
To say that thinking up of a menu plan that eliminated all these items is difficult is really understating it! So my trusty 2 week menu plan had to be re-worked.
The Detox Effect
But you know what’s the absolute worst part of eliminating all these allergens from our system? The detox effect. Where you feel awful before you feel better. We’re still in the awful stage 🙁 And from what I have read even when one is seemingly over the hump and feeling better, one can suddenly start feeling worse again as more toxins get eliminated. Shudder!
Doubts
Now this is where the mind comes into play. Are you sure it is working? Are you sure all this is worth it? What if the test is wrong? What it you are doing all this work and suffering for nothing? What if after weeks of eliminating these foods from our diet, the rashes are still here?
The I-Don’t-Knows
Well, I don’t know.
I don’t know if it is correct.
I don’t know if it will work.
I don’t know if it is worth it, and
I don’t know if after weeks of elimination our rashes will disappear.
But I do know that I don’t want her or me taking drugs and this is our best bet (physically). I do know for sure that she is allergic to wheat but when I took her off wheat and dairy only she was still itching. Which meant that there were more allergens in her body that needed to be eliminated.
So this is where we are. End of Week 1 with an intense, horrible, drive-you-crazy itch the past 2 days.
Supplements
Meanwhile, other things that are being done at the same time is to feed her Borage and Flaxseed Oil, coconut oil, Evening Primrose Oil, vitamin C, digestive enzymes and probiotics. She’s bathing in Physiogel. I wash her at least once a day with potassium permanganate (her sores are infected from incessant scratching) and then I oil her with coconut-cum-tea tree oil. I try very hard not to use Elomet (steroid) that was prescribed to us the last time we saw a doctor at the National Skin Centre (who btw does not believe in food allergens or any skin tests). But on very itchy days, I do use it sparingly. I also try not to give her antihistamines since her body is obviously trying to purge itself. Oh, and Witch Hazel has been a great help in soothing the itch. Yes, it stings when applied to broken skin but after that, the relief is shiok! 🙂
What Are We Eating?
Oh – and so what do we eat? Pork, beef, vegetables, potatoes, rice (as my mom would say, “We are Chinese, you know? :D) And everyone is put on the same diet coz I am so not cooking 2 different menus a day. Only for breakfast do the rest get their wheat, dairy and egg fix. Dd and I usually just drink a green smoothie (in my Blendtec) or I cook gluten-free premix pancakes.
And why I am also putting myself on the same diet? Plagued by eczema since young in on-off bouts, I am having an on bout now 🙁 So I figured that I might as well keep dd company and do a detox myself. This may sound warped but I am really glad that I am doing this with dd coz then I fully understand how she feels. You know, those who do not suffer from eczema or never have had to avoid allergenic foods are the ones offering the most well-intentioned but totally unusable advice 🙁 And the number of products they keep telling us to try!
Decreased Post-nasal Drip and Brain Fog
I must say that one immediate benefit I have experienced is decreased post nasal drip when I lie down to sleep. Usually I would be coughing and needing to clear my throat a good 5 minutes or so the moment I lie down to sleep due to the post nasal drip irritating my throat. So even tho I am taking some milk in my coffee in the morning the nasal congestion has been reduced tremendously. And I don’t feel that foggy headed nowadays with the removal of wheat.
Like I told my husband, we may all actually benefit from going wheat, egg, soy and dairy-free. I think we are overdosing on these items way too much in our regular diet. Why do I say that? Try looking for wheat free foods and you’ll suddenly realise that your range of choice diminishes drastically. And the only alternative is to cook everything from scratch yourself, to be very, very sure of the ingredients that go into your meal. So there is a silver lining in all these developments – we are eating healthier.
15 Comments on So What Are We Allergic To?!
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WOW. Weaning from our usual diet is hard – I know!! (((hugs)))
This is incredible to read! Cos I too feel foggy after I eat wheat 🙁 I couldn’t believe it and still can’t but the book THe body ecology diet says that we don’t have an enzyme to digest something and so the fermentation in the gut produces something that is like alcohol or something and then we get a hangover like effect.. (don’t really get it but something like that). Anyway I would like to share with you that after many months gluten free, I can even eat msg with minimal effects and even milk (so cutting out wheat has reduced the reaction to the other foods… the theory here is that wheat damages the lining of the gut and this lets in large food molecules that should not go into the blood and it reacts and you become allergice to it. if you start to heal, you become better with the other offenders). Anyway, I also drank kefir, bentonite clay and reduced grain all round (think salads or greens blended in the blendtec). Pp can’t understand why I have to be so strange and ‘healthy’ but they just can’t see that its not worth it to me to eat the forbidden food and suffer for it (though I still do sometimes). Best of all, after a 3 month mourning period where I asked God why I couldn’t enjoy the bad food like everyone else, I have since accepted it and enjoy the food that I cook from scratch! 🙂 All the best!
Cool! How long did you have to stay gluten free before you could take the other forbidden foods without flaring up? I am hoping to give my dd a timeframe to look forward to 🙂 So far I’ve been telling her to hold out till October coz that’s when my nieces and nephew have big birthday bash PLUS we’ll be travelling 🙁 I doubt 2mths of abstaining is enough but hopefully it will at least not cause too bad a reaction. Then we’ll go back to our restricted diet once home.
Oh my goodness Serene! I need to keep more up to date. I hope the rash goes away TODAY! And I’m wondering why I’m hearing so much about food allergies. What is going on?! Will pray for you right now! Praying for healing from the itches and wisdom…
It seems that smoothies are in – by your list – so that can take care of breakfast. The other meals are certainly more difficult though…..
Blessings Serene!
eunice:O)
Thanks Eunice! Yes smoothies are our breakfast staple now 🙂 But it does not have enough calories I am afraid. We get hungry real fast! 🙁 I need to bulk up more. Any ideas on what to add in?
Here are my gluten free breakfasts… hope that helps…
1. green bean soup – soak the beans 3 hours, then change the water. I then put it in the crock pot before bed and set the timer for it to start at 4am… when I get up at 7am, I just add sugar (a bit lah) and coconut milk and its done. If you want sago, it needs to cook another 20 min at least
2. pumpkin soup – i guess the thermomix that angie has would do this nicely but i don’t so I cut up the pumpkin and onion the night beofre and in the morning I just pop in these and tomatoes and boil 20 min, put in a hand blender with salt, coconut milk, tumeric and cumin powder and you have soup… its not too filling though (you can replace pumpkin with carrot, sweet potatoes etc)
3. cold storage half price salads topped with olive oil, salt, lemon juice, raisins, sunflower seeds.. whatever… sometimes, last night’s dinner goes in as well (the meat that is.. it give it the saltiness and adds some bulk)
4. chopped up jicama, beetroot, cucumbers with olive oil, salt, lemon juice, nuts and raisins…
5. steamed sweet potatoes
6. steamed yam – this takes a while so I might do it the night before… then mash it with goat milk and salt.. its very yummy and filling
7. steamed pumpkin
8. nature’s path cereal (but i have found this heaty for us and we get ulcers :-()
9. cut fruit with goat milk or rice milk and nuts
10. oats topped with banana and sunflower seeds and goat milk
11. rice flour muffins… its 150 g rice flour 75 g oat flour, 2 eggs, 175 ml milk/water, 1 tbs baking powder and add grated carrot, raisins and sunflower seeds…. you can replace the oat flour with say buckwheat flour but it may be more grainy and crumbly
some of the options like 9. and 5. make us hungry real fast (cos of the sugar high followed by the low) so we have a small snack of camel nuts 2 hours before lunch…
Hey Lynda! Thanks for typing it all out but at 1st glance many are off limits for us – no tomatoes, green beans (mung), oats, eggs 🙁 And I’m reducing rice intake as well. We already do steamed sweet potatoes and pumpkin but for lunch 🙂
What is jicama btw? Sounds exotic 🙂
Hi Serene, oh dear … hmm… Jicama is actually what you might call turnip and is used in popiah… it can be eaten raw and is sweet juicy and crunchy 🙂 It is a brown turnip shaped root…
Ah! Ok! Thanks!
Hi serene,
I chanced upon your blog through other fellow sahm’s blog and i am always very amazed at how u handle all the kids & more on your own. It’s really through God’s grace & I wana affirm u that it’s a blessing reading your blog entries.
My gal just turned 1 year old this month and I’m not sure does she has eczema or whatever you call it. I am those pp who has no skin problems or allergic to food thus am very ignorant abt this whole thingy. My gal tends to scratch the flexor aspects of joints and may even caused them to bleed. I always wonder why but after reading your blog entry, I would like to ask you for the contact of the holistic doctor that you saw. Am wondering is her itch due to the food she eats. As she’s still young, I am slowly introducing new food so it may be easier to stop any food that she could be allergic to but I’ve no clue presently. Hmm… Headache.
Thank you.
Yikes! It does sound like eczema 🙁 I am not sure if she is too young to be tested. But you can call up and ask. The clinic name is Integrated Medicine Clinic. 8 Biomedical Grove #01-04. Neuros the Biopolis. 6333 8618. Dr Ian Lee. The most common food allergens are wheat, dairy, eggs, corn and soy. Yep – they’re in EVERYTHING!
Thanks. =)
Hello, I came across your blog from a friend because I had mentioned to her that my son (5 months old) has slight eczema and some allergic reactions to certain foods. Apparently my son and I are weak on nuts and he is on casein (dairy). Though not serious, I don’t want to risk him going into anaphylactic shock in the future. So I am taking him to see a Naturopath, who practices NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques – you can check out http://www.naet.com). Basically what this guy does is test you for your reaction to allergens and “treats” you by massaging your accupressure points. It’s good because there are drugs involved and very holistic. And hopefully in future we don’t have to avoid or worry that we ingest these foods by accident.
My niece was severely allergic to dairy and would break out in a bad rash (meaning she could only take a special type of formula where the proteins are pre broken down and then move on to soy formula). Then my sis took her to see this guy and now her reactions are only localised.
Perhaps you want to try it out, but do have an open mind cos it can seem “hocus pocus”. 🙂 The clinic is located at 8 Biomedical Grove
#01-01/02 Neuros @ The Biopolis Tel: 6464 2087, and I see Adrian Lalani.
Hi Gigi. Thanks for your recommendations. I am already seeing Dr Ian Lee from the same clinic! I just fixed a follow-up appointment this Tuesday and will see what he says. A friend also recommended the dietician from the same clinic! So, we’ll see what happens.
Edited – oops! I just realised it ISN’T the same clinic but next door! 😛
Oh I was wondering how come I’ve never seen your doc before. 🙂 And I meant to say that there are NO drugs involved in NAET treatments. Good luck to you! 🙂