My Wheat Allergy - the nitty gritty details...
Here's everything I know about this wheat allergy thing...
General symptoms that occur after encountering wheat, rye, barley, corn, cornstarch, rice, kamut (but NOT spelt or oats):
- Itchy and slightly swollen mouth: If I’m really paying attention, this is my first indication that there might be something in what I’m eating that is a potential problem. I have noticed it with oatcakes that contained wheat, but not with oatcakes that are wheat-free.
- Eczema rashes: mostly on my forearms and elbows but also on my ankles, behind my arm pits, and occasionally on my shoulders.
- Hives (I think) or at least small chicken-pox like spots that are red, itchy, and have some fluid in them that appear on my arms and legs.
- Achy back, knees, fingers and left ankle (previously sprained)
- Extreme tiredness to the point that a 12 stair climb is exhausting, when it usually is a quick run without any sense of tiredness (I quite enjoyed running up the escalators and stairs in the Paris metro system)
- Asthma troubles requiring Ventolin inhalation to calm them down
- Sinus congestion and inability to smell
- Water retention which I observe by the elastic on my socks digging into my ankles only on days that I have encountered wheat (or one of the other grains).
- Migraine headaches: I have had these about once every four to six weeks, lasting approximately 1-4 days, and have happened twice within 24 hours of encountering wheat)
- Wheat cravings for approximately 48 hours after encountering wheat
- Increased hunger for approximately 48 hours after encountering wheat
- Mood swings: feeling miserable and unhappy, kind of like a depression
Timeline of the symptoms (as identified during eight months of self-observation)
1) Within 2 hours breaking out in itchy spots and inflammation of eczema spots
2) Within 4 hours sinuses become congested and mild asthma troubles
3) Within 6-18 hours extreme tiredness, achy limbs and back, migraine headaches (has occurred three times), mood swings, irritability (probably because I try so hard to avoid the problem substances and then encounter them by accident, ruining a perfectly good day)
4) Immediately to 48 hours after, cravings for pasta, bread, pizza, increased hunger, and a general sense of being “dirty” inside
Specific Examples
1) We made chicken souvlaki at home, on a bed of lettuce, using a store-bought tzatziki sauce. After getting itchy spots and clueing in, I found that the tzatziki sauce contained no wheat, but rather corn-starch. Several other items containing corn starch have also been a problem (salad dressing, pizza sauce, yoghurt, sour cream)
2) I made a chicken skewer marinade with orange juice, olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic salt, and onion powder. The chicken skewers were cooked on a grill, and within two hours of eating the chicken skewers, I had the full-blown wheat response (described above).
3) Thinking corn to be “safe,” a friend and I took some popcorn as road trip food on our way to BC earlier this Summer. I didn’t notice any itchy spots, but the next day I was extremely tired and had asthma problems.
4) We had some licorice candies at home, and eating approximately two of them a day for a few days caused minor asthma and sinus problems. I ate approximately 8 one evening a few days later, and had a full-blown reaction (see above) the next day. The only possible culprit was the candies, and the last ingredient on the list was indeed wheat flour.
5) I had a low-flour cream cheese-based brownie at a BBQ, and came down with the first migraine since March within 24 hours of it.
Possible Personal History Connections:
- I know that I have a rather instantaneous allergy to Brazil nuts (itchy ears, swelling mouth and throat, asthma complications) that is usually taken care of by a fast-acting antihistamine. I have read that having one food allergy often means that there are more food allergies.
- When I was little, family friends commented on the fact that I really loved pasta and could eat a great deal of it before being full.
- My mom says that when I was really little, I was a normal body size until I ate bread, and then started to gain weight very quickly once introduced to it.
- My asthma seems to originate from a time that I was at a week-long camp in the Alberta foothills near Cochrane, and I believe we ate a lot of bread that week (it’s a cheap thing to feed kids).
- The eczema spots increased and didn’t go away shortly after arriving in France (and after I discovered the local bakery). I first thought it was related to the laundry detergent I was using, but buying hypo-sensitive stuff and using very little softener, it didn’t go away. It could have been an environmental fungus or something (the region I lived in was rather damp), but then anti-histamines would have helped, which they didn’t.
- The situation got worse over Christmas, when I was visiting family in Belgium. While there, bread-based meals were standard fare two or three times a day, and with highly-refined white flour.
- January 2009 was particularly difficult, as some Thesis-related trauma from two years ago resurfaced. I was comfort eating (a large bowl of plain pasta for dinner or baguette and cheese for dinner), was constantly very tired, depressed, very lethargic, and was gaining a lot of weight (approximately 4kg in 4 weeks).
- I have tried a low-carb Atkins diet a few times, with varying success (often losing between 5-12kg over six months), but progress always stalled once I started to reintroduce carbohydrates in the form of a single slice of bread. I did not realize this at the time, and simply “gave up” on the diet after it failed to produce further results.
- While in Paris, I was walking approximately 30km a week, including a daily trek of 100 stair case climb through a forest up and down twice a day (morning, down to the cafeteria and back, evening back to the train), zipping through the Paris metro system, and walking everywhere in the city. I was eating no more and no worse than anyone else in the group, and very rarely had any pop, sweets, or chips at home. I did not snack between meals, and meals were always healthy and well-balanced. With all this exercise and healthy eating (but not to the exclusion of wheat as I did not know about this nor the extent of its influence), I was gaining weight. This does not make sense to me at all.
Interesting things to note:
- Rice seems to cause slightly different symptoms in that I don’t get itchy spots, but the eczema spots get red, swollen, and sore. It doesn’t happen with all rices either. For example, rice that I boiled at home was a problem but rice prepared (steamed?) at a Chinese restaurant was not a problem.
- Taking an anti-histamine as soon as the problem is identified reduces some of the visible symptoms (achiness, asthma, sinus congestion, lethargy). Water retention and bloating still occur though.
- Spelt bread and flour does not cause any problems whatsoever. According to some friends who have been diagnosed with a wheat allergy, as well as upon recommendation of several web sites and health food stores, spelt is a safe food for people with a wheat allergy.
- Oats and oat-based products (wheat-free oatcakes, oat-based granola) do not cause me any problems.
- If I have wheat or any of the other problematic grains for several days in a row, the visible symptoms decrease, and I feel ok enough to keep going. Past history of weight-loss problems suggest that the not-so-visible symptoms still persist.
- The allergic response is usually proportional to the amount of problem grain ingested. Trace amounts do not have nearly as great an impact as, say, a slice of bread, but they still do cause all the general symptoms.
- If I manage to stay allergen free, a 7 or 8km walk doesn’t phase me a bit. Neither does salsa dancing, or running up long flights of stairs. A single flight of stairs is exhausting if the problem grains have been encountered.
General symptoms that occur after encountering wheat, rye, barley, corn, cornstarch, rice, kamut (but NOT spelt or oats):
- Itchy and slightly swollen mouth: If I’m really paying attention, this is my first indication that there might be something in what I’m eating that is a potential problem. I have noticed it with oatcakes that contained wheat, but not with oatcakes that are wheat-free.
- Eczema rashes: mostly on my forearms and elbows but also on my ankles, behind my arm pits, and occasionally on my shoulders.
- Hives (I think) or at least small chicken-pox like spots that are red, itchy, and have some fluid in them that appear on my arms and legs.
- Achy back, knees, fingers and left ankle (previously sprained)
- Extreme tiredness to the point that a 12 stair climb is exhausting, when it usually is a quick run without any sense of tiredness (I quite enjoyed running up the escalators and stairs in the Paris metro system)
- Asthma troubles requiring Ventolin inhalation to calm them down
- Sinus congestion and inability to smell
- Water retention which I observe by the elastic on my socks digging into my ankles only on days that I have encountered wheat (or one of the other grains).
- Migraine headaches: I have had these about once every four to six weeks, lasting approximately 1-4 days, and have happened twice within 24 hours of encountering wheat)
- Wheat cravings for approximately 48 hours after encountering wheat
- Increased hunger for approximately 48 hours after encountering wheat
- Mood swings: feeling miserable and unhappy, kind of like a depression
Timeline of the symptoms (as identified during eight months of self-observation)
1) Within 2 hours breaking out in itchy spots and inflammation of eczema spots
2) Within 4 hours sinuses become congested and mild asthma troubles
3) Within 6-18 hours extreme tiredness, achy limbs and back, migraine headaches (has occurred three times), mood swings, irritability (probably because I try so hard to avoid the problem substances and then encounter them by accident, ruining a perfectly good day)
4) Immediately to 48 hours after, cravings for pasta, bread, pizza, increased hunger, and a general sense of being “dirty” inside
Specific Examples
1) We made chicken souvlaki at home, on a bed of lettuce, using a store-bought tzatziki sauce. After getting itchy spots and clueing in, I found that the tzatziki sauce contained no wheat, but rather corn-starch. Several other items containing corn starch have also been a problem (salad dressing, pizza sauce, yoghurt, sour cream)
2) I made a chicken skewer marinade with orange juice, olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic salt, and onion powder. The chicken skewers were cooked on a grill, and within two hours of eating the chicken skewers, I had the full-blown wheat response (described above).
3) Thinking corn to be “safe,” a friend and I took some popcorn as road trip food on our way to BC earlier this Summer. I didn’t notice any itchy spots, but the next day I was extremely tired and had asthma problems.
4) We had some licorice candies at home, and eating approximately two of them a day for a few days caused minor asthma and sinus problems. I ate approximately 8 one evening a few days later, and had a full-blown reaction (see above) the next day. The only possible culprit was the candies, and the last ingredient on the list was indeed wheat flour.
5) I had a low-flour cream cheese-based brownie at a BBQ, and came down with the first migraine since March within 24 hours of it.
Possible Personal History Connections:
- I know that I have a rather instantaneous allergy to Brazil nuts (itchy ears, swelling mouth and throat, asthma complications) that is usually taken care of by a fast-acting antihistamine. I have read that having one food allergy often means that there are more food allergies.
- When I was little, family friends commented on the fact that I really loved pasta and could eat a great deal of it before being full.
- My mom says that when I was really little, I was a normal body size until I ate bread, and then started to gain weight very quickly once introduced to it.
- My asthma seems to originate from a time that I was at a week-long camp in the Alberta foothills near Cochrane, and I believe we ate a lot of bread that week (it’s a cheap thing to feed kids).
- The eczema spots increased and didn’t go away shortly after arriving in France (and after I discovered the local bakery). I first thought it was related to the laundry detergent I was using, but buying hypo-sensitive stuff and using very little softener, it didn’t go away. It could have been an environmental fungus or something (the region I lived in was rather damp), but then anti-histamines would have helped, which they didn’t.
- The situation got worse over Christmas, when I was visiting family in Belgium. While there, bread-based meals were standard fare two or three times a day, and with highly-refined white flour.
- January 2009 was particularly difficult, as some Thesis-related trauma from two years ago resurfaced. I was comfort eating (a large bowl of plain pasta for dinner or baguette and cheese for dinner), was constantly very tired, depressed, very lethargic, and was gaining a lot of weight (approximately 4kg in 4 weeks).
- I have tried a low-carb Atkins diet a few times, with varying success (often losing between 5-12kg over six months), but progress always stalled once I started to reintroduce carbohydrates in the form of a single slice of bread. I did not realize this at the time, and simply “gave up” on the diet after it failed to produce further results.
- While in Paris, I was walking approximately 30km a week, including a daily trek of 100 stair case climb through a forest up and down twice a day (morning, down to the cafeteria and back, evening back to the train), zipping through the Paris metro system, and walking everywhere in the city. I was eating no more and no worse than anyone else in the group, and very rarely had any pop, sweets, or chips at home. I did not snack between meals, and meals were always healthy and well-balanced. With all this exercise and healthy eating (but not to the exclusion of wheat as I did not know about this nor the extent of its influence), I was gaining weight. This does not make sense to me at all.
Interesting things to note:
- Rice seems to cause slightly different symptoms in that I don’t get itchy spots, but the eczema spots get red, swollen, and sore. It doesn’t happen with all rices either. For example, rice that I boiled at home was a problem but rice prepared (steamed?) at a Chinese restaurant was not a problem.
- Taking an anti-histamine as soon as the problem is identified reduces some of the visible symptoms (achiness, asthma, sinus congestion, lethargy). Water retention and bloating still occur though.
- Spelt bread and flour does not cause any problems whatsoever. According to some friends who have been diagnosed with a wheat allergy, as well as upon recommendation of several web sites and health food stores, spelt is a safe food for people with a wheat allergy.
- Oats and oat-based products (wheat-free oatcakes, oat-based granola) do not cause me any problems.
- If I have wheat or any of the other problematic grains for several days in a row, the visible symptoms decrease, and I feel ok enough to keep going. Past history of weight-loss problems suggest that the not-so-visible symptoms still persist.
- The allergic response is usually proportional to the amount of problem grain ingested. Trace amounts do not have nearly as great an impact as, say, a slice of bread, but they still do cause all the general symptoms.
- If I manage to stay allergen free, a 7 or 8km walk doesn’t phase me a bit. Neither does salsa dancing, or running up long flights of stairs. A single flight of stairs is exhausting if the problem grains have been encountered.