I had the IgE testing done several years back, and I honestly think all it did was provide a record of what sorts of things I'd eaten a lot of recently.
Cool Whip--the problem could be preservatives as much as milk.
The preservatives were suspect, it's true...but the other product that convinced me it was the "non-dairy" dairy products like sodium caseinate is the non-dairy creamer I used to use in my cocoa. Possibly similar preservatives, but most likely the milk product.
hmmm....milk allergies from my understanding are notoriously hard to test for - basically its not surprising you didn't show up as a positive - its hard to get a positive with those tests on milk in general.
Huh. I wonder why that is? I mean...it's a protein; allergies are reactions to proteins. It's easy to identify and my body has never had difficulty detecting it...
Well, that kind of thing is valuable if you haven't been able to narrow down the culprit, but I have: I'm pretty sure spinach is the mystery allergen that's been sneaking up on me the past few years.
What I need now is to figure out if I'm actually still allergic to the things I think I am, and if I'm really allergic to the things I think I'm not--hence, cautious testing.
But after reading some of the literature a few years ago around my own attacks I became convinced that most skin testing for food allergies was crap.
I will also note that there are easier versions of the food challenge than eating the food, which may result in nausea and other bad effects. Take a sample of the food you're concerned about and put it your lower lip and gum. That tissue is pretty sensitive and if it doesn't react after leaving the sample in place for a minute or two you can be reasonably confident you won't react to it. If it does react you'll know it pretty quickly and can just spit out whatever the offensive thing is.
Re: I'm not an experttisanaMay 14 2010, 02:00:25 UTC
This wasn't skin testing, though--all previous tests have been skin only, this was blood testing for antibodies. But yes, I think there might be some crap involved.
And I think the little bit in the mouth test might work, since I definitely get an itchy tongue from milk (though...not from spinach, so I dunno).
Yes skin testing for allergies isn't 100%. In fact, it's pretty poor if you ask me. Elimination diet/food challenge is the best way to do it, if you've got the time and ability to plan for it.
Also, since you've been so damned good at keeping dairy out of your diet, you probably have a very low reserve of antibodies to it. They have life spans too and what keeps up their production is continued aggravation from the offending antigen. So *maybe* you could do a spot of dairy here and there, but no Milk Chugs and continue to be your careful self. I would not even mention this to someone who wasn't as smart as you about your allergies.
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Cool Whip--the problem could be preservatives as much as milk.
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I mean...it's a protein; allergies are reactions to proteins. It's easy to identify and my body has never had difficulty detecting it...
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What I need now is to figure out if I'm actually still allergic to the things I think I am, and if I'm really allergic to the things I think I'm not--hence, cautious testing.
Reply
I will also note that there are easier versions of the food challenge than eating the food, which may result in nausea and other bad effects. Take a sample of the food you're concerned about and put it your lower lip and gum. That tissue is pretty sensitive and if it doesn't react after leaving the sample in place for a minute or two you can be reasonably confident you won't react to it. If it does react you'll know it pretty quickly and can just spit out whatever the offensive thing is.
Reply
And I think the little bit in the mouth test might work, since I definitely get an itchy tongue from milk (though...not from spinach, so I dunno).
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Also, since you've been so damned good at keeping dairy out of your diet, you probably have a very low reserve of antibodies to it. They have life spans too and what keeps up their production is continued aggravation from the offending antigen. So *maybe* you could do a spot of dairy here and there, but no Milk Chugs and continue to be your careful self. I would not even mention this to someone who wasn't as smart as you about your allergies.
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