I don't typically respond to the messages that go around.  I usually read
them and try to pull in any new information that I can, but I finally am
going to put in my "two cents".

I keep reading about challenges and such and I have to say, that for me, it
is not worth it.  I am one of those individuals at the far end of the
spectrum where just the smallest amount and I mean small will give me a
horrible reaction.  I have the typical intestinal problems, but when you
pray to God to take you now because of the pain, it is bad.  I typically
also get a fever, cold sweats, etc.  So when it comes to trying new things
or ideas I always tell people, "you know this affliction isn't too bad when
you consider all of the things I might have gotten".  Any of you who do take
a "challenge" are much braver than I.  I just don't have the stomach for it
(pun intended, of course!)

Thanks again for all the good dialogue.  It is very beneficial to read about
the ideas, but to also know that I am not the only one out there with these
problems.

BTW, my wife is not too happy with me since our 9 yr. old daughter has the
same problem.  So far, the other three kids (14, 12 and 6) show no signs of
the problem.

Keep writing!

Jim 

-----Original Message-----
From: Milk/Casein/Lactose-Free List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Mark Feblowitz
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: allergy vs intolerance

Understanding the degree of reactivity to an allergen is the most 
important reason to consider a follow-on challenge. The trouble is, 
you can't really tell whether a  challenge will trigger worse symptoms.

It's best to challenge in a safe environment - at or near a facility 
that can handle a severe reaction in a timely manner.

My oldest is hair-trigger reactive to a few foods and less reactive 
to others. For some foods, his doctors won't even consider a 
challenge - too risky. For other foods, they might consider a 
challenge, but only as an in-patient with an IV already inserted.

Talk to your allergist about the best strategy for you.

As far as the celiac goes, there's healing (a good thing) and there's 
the prospect that such healing will alter the body's reactivity to 
gluten (not likely, IMO). I'm thinking that celiac is for life 
(unless a treatment/cure is discovered), and that your GI tract will 
always react to gluten. It may be that, once healed from prior 
badness, it might take a bit of time to achieve the prior level 
of  damage. But why do that to yourself?

As an anecdotal sample size of 1, my wife had none of the regular GI 
symptoms of celiac. She just gradually got life-threateningly anemic. 
Now that her body has had much time to "recover," any exposure to 
gluten triggers an immediate GI response for her. So I'm thinking 
that the healing only applies to the damage, but not to the body's
reactivity.

Anybody know of any research to support or counter my intuition on this?

Mark



At 12:28 PM 6/27/2007, you wrote:
>On Jun 27, 2007, at 11:49 AM, Alex Oren wrote:
>
>I have no plans on adding dairy to our diets, but it would be good to
>know that I don't have to be hyper-vigilant about what the children eat.
>
>I had undiagnosed celiac disease for around 30 years, plus a small
>intestinal bacterial overgrowth for heaven only knows how many
>years.  This messed up my GI tract and gave me a myriad of food
>allergies and intolerances.
>Our children were diagnosed at age 4 with celiac disease so their
>bodies weren't abused by food for too long.  we're wondering if a
>gluten free diet for a number of years won't allow their bodies to
>heal enough to be able to tolerate the odd bit of dairy.