<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thanks so much to all who e-mailed me on this subject.  I will put the
responses below and add any of my own comments about the response in
brackets.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of information out about this yet
according to my doctor, he had only a couple of fellow doctors who had dealt
with the oral serum and CD together.  It was their consensus that it was
O.K. to proceed as their patients had not had any problems with it. I see
the doctor next week and we will start the serum then.

Now for the summary.

Glycerin base is gluten free.

No problem for me a couple years ago when I took sublingual drops.

His GI doctor recently put him on a medication that treats allergies of the
gut - it is called GASTROCROM -- this medication has been a godsend for us.
[I have not looked into this, but I am going to speak to my doctor about it
when I go to my appointment]

I was just started on a medication called Gastrochrom, which is a liquid
that you mix with water and drink 1/2 hour before meals. It coats the
intestine, to decrease the inflammatory reaction that the food allergies
cause.  I can't tell you if it works, as I just started on it, but my Dr.
told me that he had a patient that used it and it was a miracle drug for
her!  [This gives us 2 responses for Gastrocrom]

I don't know anything about the oral allergy serum, but I would like to
share what worked for me and my allergies.  I used to have the most horrible
allergies before I started taking ProVexPlus from Melaleuca over three years
ago.  I was taking it as a circulation enhancer, as it contains grape seed
extract, citrus bioflavenoids, bilberry and gingko biloba.      I had read about
the anti-allergy effect these herbs have, but was not really expecting
anything along those lines.  I was amazed when I realized my usual February
allergies had not started and it was mid-March!  This has been the most
wonderful thing, not to have allergies anymore.  My worst allergic item is
mold, so I do occasionally have a tickly nose day when the spore levels are
extremely high.  I just take a few extra capsules and the symptoms are gone.
This has no side effects, other than healthy ones, and is pure, so no gluten
fillers in it. [I did look into this and have decided to try this in
addition to the oral serum.  These look like very good products that are
well absorbed by the body, something all us CDers need and they have a full
line of other products for cleaning that are better for the environment as
well a personal care items.  If you would be interested in contacting this
person about more information, please e-mail me privately and I will get you
in touch with her.  She is very knowledgeable about health and nutrition.]

Doris Rapp discusses RAST and oral treatments in her books (e.g. Is this
Your Child, Is this your Child's world) - you might even track her down at
the Practical Allergy Foundation (Buffalo) or the State Univ of NY at
Buffalo. We opted not to try the drops because the dr made it clear that
this was not a "cure" but that the dosage must be recalibrated often to stay
effective, and our son's reactions are so severe that we felt it would be
like playing Russian Roulette (this was for things like dairy reactions such
as severe migraines with episodic dyscontrol - he was not as interested in
treating environmental as food allergies, though now that we have a dog I
wonder if we should....[This book was mentioned again by another person who
was reading it at the time she wrote.  I plan to see if I can get a copy to
read for myself even though I am not a child, it might help with the food
allergies as the oral serum only helps with the grasses and trees.]

Two years ago another celiac, here in Ithaca, NY, let me know that she had
been cured of her sensitivity to gluten and all her other many, and severe,
allergies.  I was a doubter, but, as I anticipate eventually needing to live
in a retirement home and would have to eat food from their kitchen, I
decided to try the treatment that had changed her life so dramatically.  I
thought it might at least eliminate my sensitivities to sugar, milk
products, soy, potatoes, and a few other minor things.  The treatment is
called NAET - which stands for Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Treatment.
Dr. Nambudripad is a doctor of Oriental Medicine (she is from India), and
she is also a licensed acupuncturist, and a chiropractor.  The approach is
to discern what things one is allergic to by using applied kinesiology, then
treat with either acupressure or acupuncture.  There is a physician's
assistant, here in this little city, who was trained in this treatment, so I
made an appointment.  Six months later all of my allergies (pollens, foods,
car exhaust fumes, paint fumes, leather tanning fumes, mold spores, and
probably others that I have forgotten) were gone.  Amazingly, my sensitivity
to wheat, oats, barley, and rye were gone, too. NAET treatments are now
available in most major US cities.  There are some charlatans in the field,
so if one is going to go to a practitioner, it is necessary to check around
and visit the office, and not just take the first name on a Yellow Pages
list. There is a web site, WWW.NAET.COM that will tell you about the
treatment and will also give names of properly trained practitioners all
over the USA.  Those names are organized by state and city.  I have
recommended this treatment to more than ten people (including our older son)
and all have been cured.  I call it voodoo medicine and offer no rational,
Western, scientific explanation, but I think it is something you might want
to consider. There is no way that I will benefit from sharing this
information with you, but after reading your message on the morning CELIAC
DIGEST I decided to tell you of this amazing cure.  There are no pills, no
shots, and once one is cured of a specific allergy it should be a life-time
cure. [Since I did believe in alternative medicine I plan to do some
checking on this.  Our insurance has just added an alternative medicines
plan to their policy this year.  I think this is something to look into]

Take heart - I think you will find that your allergies will decrease each
year you remain gf. I have found this and I know Bette Hagman, 'The
Gluten-free Gourmet' has found this to be true.

RAST tests are very much out of date.  My first reaction to what you wrote
is get a second option.  Please you need a allergist that is up to date on
food allergies and not playing at being an allergist.  I was lead astray for
4 years and had an impossible diet and it cost me more than you can imagine.
Go to another doctor.  [In my case they are unable to do the allergy testing
where they put the needle just under you skin on your arms or back.  I had
this started once and I swelled up so bad that they had to stop in the
middle and take me to the emergency room and I spent the rest of the day
there.]

My testing reaction to grass was extreme, probably like yours.)  We started
out at 1 part per 10,000,000.  I would get an occasional reaction of itching
or throat swelling.  A couple of times I had to get the epinephrine shots.
For some reason since I have hit 1 part per 100,000 (last week), my
reactions have been less severe.  However, it took 2 years to get there!  He
never tried me on an oral med, because my throat could swell, but give it a
go!  [I ask my doctor about the throat swelling in the oral serum since for
this lady it did with the shots.  He has promised me that he will have the
serum very diluted to prevent this.  Still scares me though do to my
reaction just mentioned under the other writer's comments]