Good News / Bad News

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bcam:
Hi

Found this site as I was searching food additives to once again try to figure out why I have hives. I am "sensitive" (shall we say, since my allergy test comes back negative) to: peanuts, soy, chick peas, green beans & green peas (all legumes). I seem to be very sensitive to oils (even though "they say" people usually aren't bothered by them) and lecithin (even though "they say" people usually aren't bothered ). The good news is that after removing just about everything from my diet, I noticed that I seem to get a bit better overnight, and today before I ate lunch I was feeling pretty good...then after eating lunch (yogurt and an apple), I totally broke out in hives. After researching, I'm guessing it was the Locust Bean Gum in the yogurt. Ugh...This is so frustrating. There's another food gone from my menu. Anyway, the good news is that I found the source of the problem (I think...LOL) and I'm ready to start all over again.

I'm looking forward to learning from this site and empathizing with others who go through this. Honestly, no one really knows what this is like unless you live through it. Thanks for listening.

TabiCat:
So sorry you are haveing trouble without any medical answers it must make it very difficult to figure out what is trigering the episoids.

May I ask was this testing done by a GP or an Alergist who specialiezes in food allergies. I you have not seen a specailist that maybe a good next step.

bcam:
It was an allergist who did my testing. I was referred to him by my internest. After going to several dermatologists (because it seemed everything I was experiencing was skin related - didn't realize how lousy I felt until I went off of the soy). All of the dermatologists felt it wasn't an allergy, just a skin condition. Finally, after years of this, my internest sent me to an allergist that he felt could help me figure it out, as my "skin condition" was just getting worse and worse. The allergist told me that the tests are not always reliable and even though it came back negative, it was still possible that it was the soy causing my problems. He put me on a strict no soy diet, no oil, no lecithin. As time went on, I realized I was also having a reaction to chick peas, green beans and peas...and I knew I had broken out in hives from peanuts, which through research brought me to the broader category of legumes. Even though it was difficult to eat this way, it worked like a charm. Over the next two years every problem cleared up and for the first time in years I felt normal again. I hadn't seen him in two years until this outbreak. I just couldn't get rid of the hives. After seeing him he sent me home to try (over the counter) Allegra and Zantac (which didn't really work too well for me - and I'm not sure that it doesn't contain soy) and told me to start all over again with my diet. As I scrutinized everything I was putting into my mouth I found several foods that either changed their ingredients and now contain soy or that I missed the first time around. Keeping up with ingredients is exhausting. I tend to slack a bit when I'm feeling good and scrutinize when I'm not.

It's the soy that gives me the most trouble, because even after two years of trying to avoid soy, it continues to be a learning experience. This whole experience has been quite a journey for me, as I had never had any issues until my fourties. I've gained so much knowledge from sites on line. It's how I discovered how many foods really have soy in them and how many other names it goes by. I have gained a lot of insight from hearing other people's experiences. Thanks for your interest...I'm looking forward to learning a lot from this site.

SilverLining:
Hi bcam, and welcome to the forum.

I also have adult on-set allergies. I was thirtyish when I developed them. I also tested negative when initially tested. When I first eliminated the foods that were causing my problems (peanuts and sesame seeds) I continued having reactions, though not as often. Turned out I was reacting to unlabeled cross contamination.

bcam:
It's been quite a ride trying to learn to eat a new way after all these years. I seems that with the soy, it creeps in by small amounts and your body seems to tolerate it and then one day it all falls apart. The hives come and then they don't go away until you're totally void of the stuff for weeks or longer. I tend to eat the same things everyday thinking they're safe...however, when you find out that one of your safe foods isn't safe it really turns the cart upside down. Someone told me to try Siggi's yogurt...it doesn't have and locust bean gum. The only ingredient that I don't total understand is the rennet, however, after now learning more about rennet than I wanted to know, it seems that it has nothing to do with soy or peanuts, so I'm going to give it a try. Unless someone knows of anything I'm not seeing. Thanks.