Food Allergy Support

Discussion Boards => Main Discussion Board => Topic started by: eragon on January 13, 2012, 07:44:08 AM

Title: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on January 13, 2012, 07:44:08 AM
allergic son is having now non stop allergic reactions without any cause. swollen lips, eyes, tight throat , tingling mouth and feeling sick, and now loose stools.

going to see allergy doc on wednesday, and they are suggesting that it may be a enzyme deficiency (sp? sorry!) related.

things are so complicated at the moment, and we he is so misrable, my poor boy.

does anyone have any info on this? 

we are all so stressed at the moment, and normal life is constantly halted with emergency calls from sch all the time!
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: AllergyMum on January 13, 2012, 08:38:46 AM
Sorry I don't have any information on this.

I do hope that the allergist has so information that can help. Any chance that he has a new allergy to something like soy or corn that is no lots of items.

Big hugs to you and your son during this difficult time
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: rebekahc on January 13, 2012, 09:53:56 AM
I haven't heard of an enzyme deficiency causing allergic reactions, but you might research eosinophilic enteropathy.  Here's one link I found...

http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/QnASelected.aspx?diseaseID=9142 (http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/QnASelected.aspx?diseaseID=9142)

So sorry your DS is suffering - I hope you find some answers soon!
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: lakeswimr on January 13, 2012, 01:09:52 PM
Haven't heard of that,  either.  Are you sure your child doesn't have a new food allergy?  New food allergies can develop at any age.  My son got 3 new ones in elementary school, two to things he used to eat frequently!  In a child with known food allergies I would suspect a new food allergy or some type of x-contam with known food allergens first. 

Do you have any pets--cats or dogs?  I get those symptoms from being around cats.  How about dust, mold, etc.  I get very bad off from dust, too.

Hope you figure this out soon.
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on January 15, 2012, 06:52:53 AM
this is not food related at all.
angiodema has been mentioned as well.
if this is  the case, some severe cases can randomly happen any time , for no visable reason, and symptoms can be mild to full blown.

we are all very worried, am keeping a diary, and his symptoms are constant now. despite all meds taken.

hanging on until wednesday.
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: GoingNuts on January 15, 2012, 07:39:44 AM
Eragon, I have no real suggestions, just (((hugs))) for you all.  Hang in there.

:console:
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: catelyn on January 15, 2012, 11:46:36 AM
I know you can have an IgA deficiency in celiac disease which can give you a false negative on testing.

Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: yellow on January 15, 2012, 04:31:11 PM
I hope the allergist has answers for you! I used to work with a woman who had what was probably angiodema. Scary stuff! She'd randomly start having allergic reactions at work.

Nothing to do with food, environment, etc.  Fortunately, her sister worked on my floor, so they would call down to our floor when here sis would start to react, she'd run upstairs and Epi her and one of us down on my floor would call the ambulance.

Really freaking scary though when it just started for no rhyme or reason.., and so unpredictable too.

Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: catelyn on January 15, 2012, 05:47:30 PM
Isn't angiodema just a medical term for facial swelling?
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: hopecha on January 15, 2012, 07:45:02 PM
Do you live in the south ? ( Tennessee, Va?, carolinas ) Or visited there ? 

My BIL developed Mammalian __ allergy from a tick.  ( type tick or chigger and beef or meat into the net)  The body devlops antibodies to the tick that attack a sugar on the meat molecule.  One charachteristic is that the hives and reaction happen hours after eating, not within minutes like with regular fA.  Also, it is hard to figure out.  The allergic person cannot eat any red meat including lamb. 

Just that my BIL was having puzzling daily hives.  He'd be sitting watching TV and start reacting.  Anyway, you might want to rule it out. Also, allergist may not have heard of it.  My BIL's didn't.  Had to show the articles to him.  Then he contacted the university studying it. 
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: aouda on January 16, 2012, 07:37:25 AM
I found this from "Oral tolerance, food allergy, and immunotherapy: Implications for future treatment" http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749%2808%2900424-7/fulltext (http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749%2808%2900424-7/fulltext) :

"Ingested dietary proteins are degraded and their conformational epitopes are destroyed by gastric acidity and luminal digestive enzymes, which often results in the destruction of immunogenic epitopes. In animal models, disrupting the process of digestion can disrupt tolerance and lead to hypersensitivity. Untreated BSA is immunogenic when administered to mice by means of ileal injection; however, administering a peptic digest of the protein in the same manner results in immune tolerance.18 Ingestion of proteins that are protected from both acid and enzymatic digestion can interrupt already established tolerance. Barone et al19 encapsulated the protein ovalbumin in water-soluble, low-pH acrylic microspheres to protect it from digestion. After feeding the encapsulated ovalbumin to mice previously tolerized to ovalbumin, total IgG anti-ovalbumin antibody and IgG1 titers were no higher than in water-fed control mice. Splenocyte proliferation was also increased in the mice who received encapsulated albumin. The mechanism behind this finding is not entirely clear; the microspheres may not only protect the protein from acid and enzymatic digestion, they may alter the site of protein entry into the digestive tract."

So, if the doctor has a particular enzyme deficiency in mind, the problem is something food-related in his view?  Good luck until Wed!
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: MandCmama on January 16, 2012, 08:40:40 AM
Quote from: catelyn on January 15, 2012, 05:47:30 PM
Isn't angiodema just a medical term for facial swelling?
It's actually any fluid accumulation beneath the skin ( hives are on the surface) 
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: lakeswimr on January 16, 2012, 09:54:16 AM
I see that this can happen in people who do not have food allergies but since your child does have food allergies I wonder why the doctors are ruling out food allergies as a cause.  New food allergies can pop up any time.  I know you said it is random but if your child developed a new allergy or something he is eating has been x-contamed with known allergens then that could also cause these same symptoms. 
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on January 16, 2012, 03:11:12 PM
has already had extensive tests, which is why the proff has started going down this sort of route.

symptoms all on and off  for a week so far,  and he feels dreadful.

keeping a record to take to docs on wednesday and am staying at home with him tomorrow, and missing uni.

he has missed SOOOO much school....

Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: lakeswimr on January 16, 2012, 06:13:15 PM
I hope I'm not being a bother but in case you haven't heard -- skin and blood tests are over 90% accurate for negative results but that still leaves close to 10% of allergic people who test falsely negative.  So, even if your child tests negative to all foods it could still be a food allergy reaction.  Are you working with an allergists?
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on January 17, 2012, 05:09:06 AM
yes, under a very good immunlogist .  am glad we are going on wednesday, things arent getting any better.  :-[
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: rebekahc on January 17, 2012, 11:06:10 AM
 :-[  Please keep us posted!
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: CMdeux on January 17, 2012, 11:56:33 AM
 :-[

eragon, I haven't known what to say-- please know that I am thinking about you and your DS.   :grouphug:
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on January 17, 2012, 04:50:12 PM
thank you everyone, we are all ready for tommorrow. have printed of list of his symptoms since last sunday, and have his blood test results from GP.

so fingers crossed we can get him well and get back to our normal allergy life.

He has needed lots of cuddles, which is tricky when your baby is taller than you, but still, shows how poorly a teen he is... :'(
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on January 18, 2012, 11:01:27 AM
okay. so we now know what it is likely to be, bad news its nasty when you google it!

herditory angio-oedema


so we are reeling with information, and getting son to take his new meds for a week until we go back to his immunologist.
more blood tests have been taken, and certainly his symptoms do fit.


its rare, one in  100,000 or something,  brain not fully functioning at the mo!

although there is plenty of family history of allergies, but not angio-oedema, it can still happen through a mutated gene. 

I am already suspecting that new emergency life saving meds will sit alongside his epi pens.

life is hard enough for any teen, but with this? its a big weight to carry.

Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: rebekahc on January 18, 2012, 11:10:10 AM
I'm so sorry!  :-[   :grouphug:
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: CMdeux on January 18, 2012, 06:09:49 PM
Oh, I'm sorry.   :grouphug:



It must be something of a relief to have a possible diagnosis to work with, however.  I hope that management is straightforward.   :smooch:

Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: catelyn on January 18, 2012, 06:14:13 PM
I've been thinking of you all day. 
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on January 20, 2012, 07:58:07 AM
son still feeling poorly, stomach problems from the condition, causes swelling and pain inside. so cant eat much in one sitting. 

sorting out school , and he may have to have a teacher from school come to our home. hopefully once he has this condition under control he can go back to school. however he may have to drop some of his subjects and just do exams on the core ones.

we can still only take one day at a time. I make sure there is a responsible adult at home  if i have to step out, even for a short time, and take my phone with me. Stress levels are still very, very high, as we get to grip with the realisation that he has such a rare condition, and that we may have a long way to go to get this under control, medically.
Then, of course , there are side effects from the meds.
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: my3guys on January 20, 2012, 08:06:41 AM
I'm sorry eragon.  I don't know anything about his diagnosis, but I hope it's manageable and he starts to feel better soon.  It sounds terrible. :(
Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: eragon on February 02, 2012, 02:19:06 PM
took son back to hos. going to get reffered onwards to someone even more senior, who sounds very good. current doc gonna phone and try and get an emergency appointment for him, so fingers crossed.

as a precaution did a ECG, which he failed so gonna repeat with gp.  (am sort of freaked out about this one...trying to chill.)

got home to find letter from school. am in too minds about it.

we have a lot swirling around in our heads.  son is terribly upset, but so brave, and calm about it. He is going to need lots of support, and is dealing with a load that a adult would find hard to deal with, let alone a quiet shy 15yr old.

Title: Re: enzyme deficiency showing allergic reactions?
Post by: GingerPye on February 02, 2012, 09:00:29 PM
oh my.  I'm so sorry for what your DS and all of you are dealing with.  Poor kid.  That sounds really tough.  Hope you can get in to the more senior doctor. 

:grouphug: