Quote from: rebekahc on November 18, 2013, 09:43:57 AM
Everyone has given pretty good info on the E95 test, naturopaths, etc. so I won't add to that, but I did want to let you know I have food allergies and psoriatic arthritis. I haven't found foods to effect my flares, but I do think taking Vit. D3 has really helped. I still have swollen fingers and toes/feet when I wake up and have trouble walking first thing in the morning, but I have much fewer joint flares. The Vit. D has also helped my IBS type symptoms.
Quote from: twinturbo on November 18, 2013, 09:23:30 AM
OP is owed a central amount of objectiveness regarding allergy testing. E95 is not a valid allergy test regardless of who, how or why administered. IgE is a legitimate test. When we want to hold strong to do no further harm we do need to keep in mind that not all reading this have had the years of experience of dealing with allergists and testing. There is ample room and time for the anecdotal but when it comes to comparisons with the junk science of pseudoallergies and treatments people have died.
Contextualization and differentiation is key at some points. This is one of them.
Quote from: twinturbo on November 17, 2013, 11:20:56 PM
I would not agree with previous statement broadly against board certified allergists administering, interpreting and diagnosing with IgE testing. It's an art for the experienced and many of their patients deal with objective symptoms of allergy at any time potentially resulting in anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis, and asthma. Many who hang their shingle out as a food allergist should not, and even then some are not up to date on best practices, and yet others under treat. But they are a far, far cry from a naturopath E95. IgE is one data point along with SPT, neither trump history or IOFC. Any of the board certified would be unlikely to tinker with something like diabetes, most won't even touch GI issues that are better off with a GI specialist. Even with asthma some go to a pulmo.
Most allergists are not cavalier, and as we face an initial establishment appointment we do so having already had a surprise anaphylactic episode. At that point IgE and SPT are used to confirm an allergen, and if that testing does not bear out a likely cause only then would the average allergist suggest performing an IOFC. Having a true allergy is bad enough. Living like you have one when you don't is worse, trumped only by having a real underlying medical issue misdiagnosed as an "allergy".
In the hands of a fool the best tests can be harmful, yes. But I would not say most allergists are fools, rather the distinction of an up-to-date food allergy and anaphylaxis expert is a newer breed resulting in the epidemic rise in rate of IgE-mediated allergy.
Quote from: poppy88 on November 17, 2013, 10:43:17 PM
Thank you very much. You are probably right. My naturopath has said a few things that have already made me feel like I don't want to see her again ("we will get you taking less insulin," etc. when she doesn't even know how much insulin I am on), and your response makes me feel even more confident in not seeing her anymore!
Quote from: poppy88 on November 17, 2013, 10:46:29 PM
I will look into some other forums for arthritis. I was hoping that you guys could help me with the e95 panel info, and it looks like the panel is basically just a bunch of crap, so I will try to figure out other diet methodsthank you
Quote from: jschwab on November 17, 2013, 10:38:58 PMQuote from: poppy88 on November 17, 2013, 10:25:18 PMQuote from: jschwab on November 17, 2013, 10:17:15 PM
I think elimination diets are great but, honestly, I think you can do far more for yourself going on your own observations than on a test like that. Did the naturopath have any other suggestions? I have heard of eliminating nightshades in relation to arthritis (eggplant, tomato, etc.). You could start by eliminating the common ones people have reported to have helped with the conditions you have and go from there. You don't really have anything to lose and it won't hurt to try.
She actually recommended a lot of nightshades for a diet plan she made me, so I was kind of surprised. I think she kind of just told me what she would tell any other patient and didn't give me advice for my specific medical conditions.
I think that is a little nuts of the naturopath. I just did a search around to see if nightshade avoidance was recommended for psoriatic arthritis and it popped up on every page. That doesn't mean it will work for you and isn't complete bunk, but you don't know until you try things out. Have you checked out support forums for your conditions? You will probably get the best advice from other people who have used diet to help manage it. Before I developed food allergies, I used diet to manage a few things I was dealing with and had success. This forum is meant more for people who experience anaphylaxis when consuming their allergens, so you probably won't get a lot of information to help you, unfortunately.
Quote from: CMdeux on November 17, 2013, 10:21:48 PM
E95 basic food panel
This has come up before.
That said, trying different dietary changes certainly might impact your health otherwise, and I can't see any reason why it would hurt to try a few things and see what works for you-- just know that your E95 panel, unfortunately, was probably a waste of time/money.
Glad that you aren't trying to manage your T1D with a naturopath!! However, that brings up a good point-- they are just as dangerous for the management of food allergy. It doesn't sound as though you have reason to suspect that you have any IgE-mediated (true) food allergies. That's good news. The bad news is that you're hooked up with a naturopath that thinks that s/he can diagnose/manage/treat food allergies.
Let's put it this way-- what would you recommend someone do if they encountered a naturopath that wanted to diagnose/treat T1D? Run, right? Well, that's pretty much how most people with life-threatening food allergies feel about naturopaths or other alternative medicine practitioners diagnosing or treating food allergies.
A careful food journal is probably a much more useful tool for finding patterns that might help you with any symptoms that are dietary in origin. There are a lot of things to explore there-- histamines, tannins, etc. I truly do wish you luck in finding something that works to make your life better-- but I am skeptical that your naturopath is going to be very helpful. Sorry.
Quote from: poppy88 on November 17, 2013, 10:25:18 PMQuote from: jschwab on November 17, 2013, 10:17:15 PM
I think elimination diets are great but, honestly, I think you can do far more for yourself going on your own observations than on a test like that. Did the naturopath have any other suggestions? I have heard of eliminating nightshades in relation to arthritis (eggplant, tomato, etc.). You could start by eliminating the common ones people have reported to have helped with the conditions you have and go from there. You don't really have anything to lose and it won't hurt to try.
She actually recommended a lot of nightshades for a diet plan she made me, so I was kind of surprised. I think she kind of just told me what she would tell any other patient and didn't give me advice for my specific medical conditions.
Quote from: CMdeux on November 17, 2013, 10:21:48 PM
E95 basic food panel
This has come up before.
Quote from: SilverLining on November 17, 2013, 10:20:08 PM
See a real doctor and get real allergy testing done.