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From:
Kelly Dube <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 25 Oct 1999 10:43:30 -0400
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I received many responses to my message "allergic to everything", thank you
all so much.  Many recommended NAET, seeing a naturopath, be tested for
parasites, or stress as a cause.  Here are some other responses..... - Kelly

******************

There are not many of us - meaning profoundly allergic celiacs- out their but
there are three in my family of four.  We are all probably suffering from the
strongly negative effects of 'Leaky Gut Syndrome' where your celiac damaged
intestinal wall is allowing large food particles into your blood stream and
the immune system is mistaking the particles for invading bacteria and
viruses.  We stay alive by eating fresh foods prepared by us, never any
prepared foods either commercial or by friends.

*************

My wife has had similar problems-what I have been able to learn is that these
supposed allergic reactions are the result of a weakened immune system rather
than allergic reactions as such.

***************

You sound exactly like me.  Seems like the more I restrict...the more I have
to restrict.....seems like when you get your body fairly free of junk...it
starts reacting to everything....I recall the story of some students who
lived in a rather pure(?) environment in Utah...they went to college and
reacted to everything...they had no tolerance for toxins..they had to try to
pollute their bodies so they could build up a tolerance.....I sometimes
wonder if that is happening to me.  A dietician at the Mayo Clinic told me
that if you withdraw a food...the body gets used to not needing it so when
you eat it again...you react....I can't make any sense of it....eating foods
that make me hurt and react doesn't make any sense either....

***************

I also  have celiac disease and allergic to everything, have almost died
a few times, gf now twenty one yrs. Went gf on an elemental diet you
might try one lactose ,and gf.

Last five yrs and now on tpn am finely doing ok.  I can't eat any food at
all, too much, permanent damage.  I have all the chemical allergies, plus all
you have too.  went 40 some yrs.  before knowing what was wrong, don't let
anyone tell you , you have a leaky gut syndrome.You probably have permanent
damage.  Until I went gf I had many intestional obstruction operations .  Try
Sustacal it's an elemental diet and no eating and see if that helps, you are
so stressed this is what happens when one doesn't get gf soon enough.

*****************

Iam allergic to corn and potato and on gf eating too for last 5 yrs.I think
my allergies would be worse if I hadnt gone to see DrGambee in
eugene,oregon.He has drops that desentize me to weeds,pollen etc just wat u
mentioned.His number is 541-686-2536 and you can talk to him personally

*****************

Have you contacted the department at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City
that is doing extensive research on food allergies?  I'll bet they could
offer you some good advice.

*******************

I am the same problems, have been seeing doctors since August. I was
diagnosed in 1993 for cd. Did well for years till this summer. I just got
back from musc in charleston, sc. They are checking for pancreas problems.
Had several tests done today and having a endoiscpe ultrasound next week.
What kind of symptons and what  do the doctors say? Do not give up, keep
trying.

********************

I was allergic to most of that before I went gluten-free. Interesting.
But, I don't eat any grains at all. Maybe that would help you, as people
vary in what foods bother their intestinal tracts. Milk and soy also damage
the lining of the intestine. And remember that you can have a porous gut
from foods without actually have damaged villi that can be seen by a gastro.
I also did the food rotation thing and that helped immensely also.

***********************

Your story sound a lot like mine.  I also have a wheat allergy and my
specialist suspects that I may have CD. I refused to have a biopsy on the
grounds that I've had anaphylactic reactions to many medications.  Two
years ago I was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease and have
gradually developed many allergies to food.  I am also allergic to pollen,
dust mites, animals and mould.  I often suffer from hives, diarrhoea and
cramps.  At the moment I'm on an elimination diet to exclude any new
allergies or intolerances I may have developed.  The diet  eliminates
natural chemicals  such as salicilates, amines, nitrates and MSG which
occur in varying abundance in many foods.  The challenge phase that follows
a very basic and strict diet should be able to discern which of these may
be a problem. This doesn't mean that the problem chemicals have to be (or
can be) eliminated completely but rather that the diet has to be modified
in such a way that only foodstuffs that contain very low or moderate
amounts of these chemicals are consumed.  Everyone has a different
threshold to these chemicals.  Certain cooking methods (e.g. frying)
concentrate natural chemicals.  Some fruit and vegetables have to be
avoided completely or have to peeled thickly to remove chemicals that
concentrate underneath the skin.  What I would suggest for you is to see a
specialist who can put you on one of these diets and allow you to
systematically eliminate foods/chemicals that may be a problem.

*******************

I am gluten intollerant and dairy, soy and mold, rag weed.  I'm currently
getting treatment for hypothyroidism.  Multiple food intolerances especially
dairy and wheat are mentioned as symptoms of Wilson syndrome,a thyroid
disorder, where the patient often has low body temperature yet normal thyroid
lab values.  There are about 60 various symptoms that could be involved.  If
interested you can check out info about this at www.wilsonsyndrome.com.  Also
there is a new book out by Ridha Arem,M.D.  called The Thyroid Solution, he
mentions celiac disease and how the thyroid is effected by many immune system
problems.

**********************

Undoubtedly you have a leaky gut.  Two things that you can do to heal
your gut is to take a good quality acidophilus, preferably one that you
have to keep refrigerated.  Start on the lowest dose and work your way
up slowly.  Then start on taking L'Glutamine, 500 mgs. 30 minutes before
a meal. Again get an L'Glutamine which is of good quality.  It will take
awhile, but these are two things that you can do imediately to start
healing the inflamation in your gut.

****************

It is much better to not eat animal products anyway. I think your body is
telling you something. beside the fact that eating animals is unhealthy, a
lot of wheat is in pesticide-packed processed foods. also, is there
anything else going on in your life that might need to be addressed? your
body is attacking itself. see a naturopath/holistic healer for help.

******************

Unfortuately I don't have any answers for you about what you are going
through, but I am curently going through a very similar set of
circumstances that are baffling me and the doctors I've seen. I've found
that pretty much anything I was eating over a couple of days I developed
allergic reactions to. This sensitivity seems to come and go, but is worst
right after going gf. I was tested for CD and my gliadin test was positive,
biopsy normal. I was relatively gf for 6 months prior to testing so I may
have messed up my testing, too.

*****************

If you haven't already I think you should find a good naturopath and work
with them. The AMA docs really give up on many things that I think a good
naturopath is willing to investigate more. Naturo's will deal with the
complex stuff which you must have. Get out there and fight for your quality
of life. I think it is a crime that your docs just told you hey you are
allegic to everything deal with it. I do think there are healthy ways to deal
with your situation. And you don't have to settle for being allergic to
"life".

******************

I can relate.  I, too, have myriads of intolerances.  So far, I'm not quite
as bad as you.  It's a real struggle just to exist!  On top of the food
problems, I also have a lot of trouble with my muscles.  I can't use my
arms for anything but the daily routines and now both knees are extremely
bad.  It seems as though my whole body is falling apart.  All I can say is
we just have to live one day at a time.  One thing I know, the doctors are
not at all sympathetic to us.

*********************

Here is a book that you may find helpful:  Out of This World:  A Journey of
Healing by Mary Swander.  Penguin Books.  The author who is now on the
creative writing faculty at Iowa State became allergic to almost everything
and wrote this book as a description of her experiences.  Mary lived with
Amish, eating only pure foods, introducing only one at a time back into her
diet and has apparently overcome many of the allergies.  The book may not
offer a solution for you.  But, as one who also suffers many allergies, I
found the book very interesting.

*********************

Your problem seems pretty serious!  Have you ever though you might have
candida?  Maybe the candida diet for a couple of weeks would help.  I've
also heard that acupuncture can really help with allergies and I think it
would be worth trying.

*******************

I would check out Eat Right for your Blood Type by Peter D'Adamo.  He says
immune system determined by blood type & body reacts to proteins in food just
it reacts to foods in pollens, viruses, etc. He has checked various foods
against blood types for reactions.  Intro has interesting info on immune
system function.  Sounds like yours is really "hot" & needs a rest.

*********************

It sounds as if you really need some vitamin supplementation to boost your
immune system and heal your intestines. There is a wonderful product called
Barley Green which is produced by the AIM Company, 3904,E Flamingo Ave.,
Nampa, ID, 83687-3100, phone 1-800-456-2462. Or check out their website at
www.theaimcompanies.com

*********************

My mom went through the allergic- to- everything stage after diagnosis, too.
Her doctor thought she had pancreatic cancer at first, but eventually figured
out she had a severe bacterial infection of the small intestine, causing
overgrowth and interfering with digestion.  Meanwhile, she got progressively
worse for nearly 2 years and lost over 30 pounds, getting down to 85 pounds.
A course of antibiotics fixes matters, so I hope you don't suffer as long as
she did.

Here is a reference that helped us:
"Slow initial responder ... The most common cause of a delayed response is
that the diet is not entirely gluten free. If a patient was not placed on a
lactose-free diet at the outset, this should be done until the patient
improves ... Residual nutritional deficiencies should be sought and
corrected, including the trace metals zinc and magnesium ... Finally, if
none of these factors seems to be operative, I give a trial of antibiotics
for presumed bacterial overgrowth. ... Some patients seem to turn the
corner with a 2-week course of antibiotic therapy for bacterial
overgrowth." He goes on to discuss less-common causes to investigate:
concomitant colonic disease, intestinal lymphoma, collagenous sprue,
pancreatic insufficiency, complications of diabetes, etc.

>From the book Difficult Decisions in Digestive Diseases, eds J Barkin
and A Rogers, 1994, Mosby Co., chapter 31 Intractable Celiac Sprue,
management, maintenance, and maladies, by Wilfred M. Weinstein.
Dr Weinstein is a gastroenterologist and professor at UCLA medical
school and is highly recommended by Elaine Monarch of the Celiac Disease
Foundation as an expert in difficult celiac recoveries.

************************

I have a membership to HEAL (Human Ecology Action League)  A membership fee
of $20/year includes a quarterly newsletter, "The Human Ecologist".  I don't
see a web site for it, but the address is:  Human Ecology Action League  PO
Box 49126  Atlanta, GA 30359-1126.  Some of the issues you discussed with
food allergies are covered in their newsletter.  They seem to cover numerous
types of allergies:  food, perfumes,pesticides,chemicals (including carpets),
electrical fields, paint, grass clippings, animals, fish, birds,  and so
forth.  How allergies affect health seems to be the main focus:  intestinal
problems, migraine headaches and food,   Perhaps this might be helpful.

*******************

Exactly a year ago, I was in the same condition you describe yourself to be
now.  I was allergic to so many foods, I found it extremely difficult to ever
get enough to eat.  In addition, I developed extreme chemical sensitivities.
It became impossible for me to go out in public.  I often had difficulty
breathing and I had constant hives and swelling all over my body.  I became
very proficient at using an epipen.  I finally found a doctor who thought he
could help me.  He put me on a gluten free diet, and had me clear my home
environment of as many chemicals as possible.  He also had me talk to a
nutritionist, who designed an individual diet just for me.  One of the things
I ran across was a book about adrenal disfunction.  Unfortunately, I can't
remember the name of the book, but I found it at my public library.  It
talked about how the adrenal glands become weak when they are stressed by
illness or environmental factors.  When this happens, almost all body
functions can be affected.

********************

Although we have different allergies our situation is extremely similar. I
started on a GF diet in April 97 after my then gastroenterologist said he
thought I had gluten intolerance (i.e. celiac) and suggested trying a GF
diet. Bad advice right? Like you, when I later found out that a biopsy was
needed I'd been GF for several months and it was negative, ditto for blood
tests. Went to a see an allergist who is a member of the American Accademy of
Environmental Medicine. Here is what he did.

1. Neutralization testing.
2. Candida yeast infection in the intestines.
3. Mercury sensitivity due to metal fillings leaking poisonous mercury.

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