It's June 2010 already! Allergy Chat Thread - Page 2

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by JaneS

I've been eating primal (no grains, starchy veg or sugars) for the past 2 weeks, and reading about paleo/primal eating and insulin control a lot. It's been a true revelation, putting a lot of pieces together.

I've been having some serious hungry/cranky bear episodes over here this week. But I've also been eating WAY too much sugar- I've gotten addicted to candied ginger.

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Kathy, not sure on a safe one. I'd try the one I pointed CS at (available in lamb, pork, and beef versions, so is one of those safe for each of your family?), and then a straight pancreatin support (I'll leave you to figure out which ones have no trace corn or anything, I suck at that, but iherb has several listed). Shannon, which pancreatic enzyme did you end up taking? I don't know about trace stuff in Yasko's, and her office probably won't know either, sorry.

Ok- what's the difference between the pancreatic enzymes and the pancreatin support?? The ones I'm ordering are enzymes, right?

Originally Posted by deditus

Helps that I can get a grocery bag stuffed full of organic spinach at the farmers market for $2 now.

Whoa. I'm seriously jealous. I went to the first market of the season the other night and spent a huge amount of money on very little food.

Originally Posted by whoMe

Just checked my blood sugar after breakfast. I was expecting in the 115-130 range. It was 99

Originally Posted by whoMe

The other weird thing about all this? I'm still out of b complex - 3 days without it so far, and only a piddly amount of b's from the prenatal I have on hand for emergencies (and I'm only doing one of the three/day) and NO MAJOR SYMPTOMS!!! By all rights, I should be in a completely awful state right now. I think I must be either digesting waaaaay better, or else my gut bugs are in much better shape. Suddenly food feels like it actually has nutrients in it instead of just being fuel! And I just ordered 6 bottles of b complex

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Kathy, not sure on a safe one. I'd try the one I pointed CS at (available in lamb, pork, and beef versions, so is one of those safe for each of your family?), and then a straight pancreatin support (I'll leave you to figure out which ones have no trace corn or anything, I suck at that, but iherb has several listed). Shannon, which pancreatic enzyme did you end up taking? I don't know about trace stuff in Yasko's, and her office probably won't know either, sorry.

Okay, I should go back to the last thread, hold on....

From mamafish9 from the last thread....

Yasko uses three different things primarily for pancreatic support - her special enzyme blend, with lots of pancreatin. Then ground up pancreas - which I think is basically what the vitacost stuff would replace (it has pancreatic enzymes too, in the ground up pancreas, but likely lower concentrations - DS didn't have nearly the reaction to the ground up pancreas as he did to the enzymes). Then three, a list of supps to support the pancreas. Or you can cover off #2 and #3 in this compounded supp she puts together (linking to that so you can see the list of compounds she suggests - this is all related to a key mutation in the vitamin D receptor that impacts pancreatic function, and increases the need for vitamin D).

If you can take it, I'd start with an enzyme with straight up pancreatin for most direct impact on digestion - and then if that works, consider some broader pancreatic support on the theory that the pancreas does lots of things besides digesting, so general support is good if there is indicators of pancreatic weakness.

Best place to get an overview of her stuff is her Pathways to Recovery book, you can read most of it on google books.

Okay, so #1 above is a specific blend of digestive enzymes with lots of pancreatin ($20 = 17 days of an adult taking 2/meal, 6/day... most people start lower dosages, with kids it's a whole lot lower)

#2 is just ground up pancreas (some digestive enzymes in that, generally good/supportive for the pancreas?) (a product like this Nutricology pancreas supp is about $9/mo)

#3 is to help eventually not need #1 and #2?
(haven't looked at this list or costs yet at all)

Do I have that at all right?

[kjbrown92]

just ordered a pancreatic enzyme and some allergy-c capsules. Just when I told DH to stop putting stuff on the credit card. oops. I have a killer headache along with the back pain today. Gee, think I have a metal problem floating around?

[Theloose]

Looks about right, Tanya. FWIW, I've just done the enzymes, plus lots of greens (for the K) and lots of connective tissue/gelatin (for the glycine/serene). And am making Rosemary my new favorite herb. I think most of the benefit I'm seeing has to do with dumping my old gut bacteria more than anything else. I think it must have been eating my food/vitamins.

I'm debating bringing ds in to the doctors office for this round of bloody poop I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be helpful on the allergy/die off front, but they could confirm blood and check for any major stuff. And there'd be a record that I brought him in, for better or for worse.

[chlobo]

"Not like FM is a real dx of what is wrong too.
I'll be thinking about you all day! Let us know what happens. "

Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking. FM is a diagnosis when they can't figure out what's wrong with you. Sheesh.

Well, my blood has never looked better. In fact, there was one marker, albumin, which he said is a good indicator of overall health, that was near the top of the range. So in that respect, blood looks good. In fact, my blood looks better now than it has in the past few years. My iron level is up (as indicated by ferritin) and my vit d level is up to 42 (was at 11) so on its way up.

However, he did some sort of antibody test for lupus. He said normally they see ratios of 1:250 or so. Mine was 1:1250 or so. So he said it was pretty high. Personally, he said he didn't think I had lupus, based on his other findings and my complaints and how I looked.

However, he did say he wouldn't be surprised if I didn't have "pre-lupus" (or some other autoimmune disease) that just hadn't gotten to the full blown stage yet but he's not a rheumatologist so he's not an expert.

This is consistent with the doctor who sent me to him in the first place. He noted that although I have excellent cholesterol, that it has been going up for a few years and that rising good cholesterol is apparently an indicator of developing autoimmune disease. He had initially debated sending me to a hematologist or a rheumatologist. Guess he guessed wrong.

So, that's two strikes for me. Maybe we should start a pool as to which autoimmune disease I actually have. There's rheumatoid arthritis, MS and some other one that have been diagnosed in others in my family.

They took more blood, had me pee in a cup ( to check for kidney damage) and I now have a followup with a rheumatologist in 2.5 weeks.

[lil_miss_understood]

On the FM issue, Carren...
Doesn't Lyme often present with FM type symptoms?

Just phoned my pharmacy for my rx... Apparently they're having issues with how my dr wrote the rx. If there are issues like last time, I swear SOMEbody's head is going to roll. Funny thing about it, I said to my dr when she was writing the rx the way she did "That's going to cause issues." She said "Oh, I'll make sure they understand." That was TWO WEEKS ago and, according to the pharmacy, they've been calling them ever since with no one calling back.

eta: There must be some SERIOUS tension with the planets right now or something.

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

chlobo, you said you didn't get any effect - which enzymes were you taking for a couple of days, and how much?

I think I'm going to start a "guess at your genetics" thread, to talk about the Yasko stuff...

I have her special enzymes. I think I took them for a day & so did DD. My problem is this, I start taking something that might cause die off and then I freak out b/c DS is still nursing and we're trying to cure his adenoids & I don't want to screw them up further. So I stop taking them. So I think it wasn't a good trial. At least for me.

I need to wean. If only DS would cooperate and not make it heartwrenching for me.

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by deditus

Sounds good _ I tried to join her forum a long time ago and never got approved.

Anyone else doing Pat's green smoothie challenge? I had been forcing myself to do green smoothies for a few weeks prior, but this has spurred me to keep it up. I stopped making them because I couldn't handle how sweet they were anymore, so I just started using tons more greens. Really making a difference in my energy. Helps that I can get a grocery bag stuffed full of organic spinach at the farmers market for $2 now.

Do you have a link? Didn't know she had a challenge going. I"ve been pretty good at drinking 16oz a day.

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

On the FM issue, Carren...
Doesn't Lyme often present with FM type symptoms?

Probably. There are so many things that sound alike out there. However, he's not a lyme expert and all my lyme labs were negative or equivocal so he'll never admit I have lyme. I'm wondering if there is some kind of lyme-lupus connection


Just phoned my pharmacy for my rx... Apparently they're having issues with how my dr wrote the rx. If there are issues like last time, I swear SOMEbody's head is going to roll. Funny thing about it, I said to my dr when she was writing the rx the way she did "That's going to cause issues." She said "Oh, I'll make sure they understand." That was TWO WEEKS ago and, according to the pharmacy, they've been calling them ever since with no one calling back.

eta: There must be some SERIOUS tension with the planets right now or something.

Good lord. Can something go right please.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by chlobo

"Not like FM is a real dx of what is wrong too.
I'll be thinking about you all day! Let us know what happens. "

Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking. FM is a diagnosis when they can't figure out what's wrong with you. Sheesh.

Well, my blood has never looked better. In fact, there was one marker, albumin, which he said is a good indicator of overall health, that was near the top of the range. So in that respect, blood looks good. In fact, my blood looks better now than it has in the past few years. My iron level is up (as indicated by ferritin) and my vit d level is up to 42 (was at 11) so on its way up.

However, he did some sort of antibody test for lupus. He said normally they see ratios of 1:250 or so. Mine was 1:1250 or so. So he said it was pretty high. Personally, he said he didn't think I had lupus, based on his other findings and my complaints and how I looked.

However, he did say he wouldn't be surprised if I didn't have "pre-lupus" (or some other autoimmune disease) that just hadn't gotten to the full blown stage yet but he's not a rheumatologist so he's not an expert.

This is consistent with the doctor who sent me to him in the first place. He noted that although I have excellent cholesterol, that it has been going up for a few years and that rising good cholesterol is apparently an indicator of developing autoimmune disease. He had initially debated sending me to a hematologist or a rheumatologist. Guess he guessed wrong.

What's his definition of excellent? Was it low like mine (138)? And DH? 142? Improving would correlate to improving adrenals, wouldn't it?

So, that's two strikes for me. Maybe we should start a pool as to which autoimmune disease I actually have. There's rheumatoid arthritis, MS and some other one that have been diagnosed in others in my family.

They took more blood, had me pee in a cup ( to check for kidney damage) and I now have a followup with a rheumatologist in 2.5 weeks.

for good results from somewhere...

Were you starting to take some herbs for lyme? Or am I remembering wrong? (yeah, I need the DHA.. or something)

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

On the FM issue, Carren...
Doesn't Lyme often present with FM type symptoms?

I thought a bunch of interrelated stuff showed up as fibro, I know it's a version of mercury toxicity, but given your copper and lead, that seems similar enough to be involved. And Carren, someone else you're seeing agrees lyme is a problem for you, right? A friend here was talking with me a bit, she's got lyme, and it sure seems like it can do the same as a few metals... and if you have both, well, ugh.

eta: There must be some SERIOUS tension with the planets right now or something.

I keep trying to figure out the planets, it's all weird all summer, but it's a bit confusing for a beginner. I just hope, pray, nothing stressful or bad happens to DH.

As I read it--either it's a good time to use as an opportunity for growth, for springboarding into a better situation, or you can get b##tch slapped around a lot and we'll all be grateful for the autumn/winter). And I'm not sure how much control we have over which way it goes.

Originally Posted by chlobo

I need to wean. If only DS would cooperate and not make it heartwrenching for me.

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by chlobo

"Not like FM is a real dx of what is wrong too.
I'll be thinking about you all day! Let us know what happens. "

Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking. FM is a diagnosis when they can't figure out what's wrong with you. Sheesh.

However, he did some sort of antibody test for lupus. He said normally they see ratios of 1:250 or so. Mine was 1:1250 or so. So he said it was pretty high. Personally, he said he didn't think I had lupus, based on his other findings and my complaints and how I looked.

However, he did say he wouldn't be surprised if I didn't have "pre-lupus" (or some other autoimmune disease) that just hadn't gotten to the full blown stage yet but he's not a rheumatologist so he's not an expert.

So, that's two strikes for me. Maybe we should start a pool as to which autoimmune disease I actually have. There's rheumatoid arthritis, MS and some other one that have been diagnosed in others in my family.

Probably. There are so many things that sound alike out there. However, he's not a lyme expert and all my lyme labs were negative or equivocal so he'll never admit I have lyme. I'm wondering if there is some kind of lyme-lupus connection

My SIL was misdiagnosed with Lupus. Turned out she had lyme, and what's bad is that lupus is treated with steroids. Steroids make lyme worse. Now (12 years later) she's developed lupus. There goes my theory about gluten and autoimmune diseases. I was thinking they all developed because of gluten (I'm blaming it for everything).

Have they done coinfection tests on you - other tick-borne illnesses? it's possible you have one of the other ones, and not lyme, which is why it's coming back equivocal. My regular doctor today said that most of the diseases are related, symptom wise.

At least some things are looking good in your blood!

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

eta: There must be some SERIOUS tension with the planets right now or something.

That's what I'm thinking.

Tonight's dinner:
for me: steak that I'm burning on the grill right now and Georgia's Ian's potato letters (that were actually pretty good dipped in ketchup hot off the stove)
DD2: watermelon and some Ian's potato letters, and peas so far... I'm having trouble getting her to focus on eating
DS: beef, broccoli, sweet potato stew
DD1: hard boiled eggs on a bagel, baked white potato
What a pathetic bunch of food. There's no balance in that.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by whoMe

B6 for short term, pancreatic support for longer term?

I started with enzymes from designs for health, and when those ran out, got super digestive enzymes (or something like that) from twin labs. I just ordered more, plus their straight pancreatin for dd.

The other weird thing about all this? I'm still out of b complex - 3 days without it so far, and only a piddly amount of b's from the prenatal I have on hand for emergencies (and I'm only doing one of the three/day) and NO MAJOR SYMPTOMS!!! By all rights, I should be in a completely awful state right now. I think I must be either digesting waaaaay better, or else my gut bugs are in much better shape. Suddenly food feels like it actually has nutrients in it instead of just being fuel! And I just ordered 6 bottles of b complex

Hmm, interesting. Yasko uses very little B vitamins in her protocol compared to most autism stuff. I wondered if it was all in the ground up liver pills . But she has a bunch of autistic kids getting better on practically no B6, which other docs swear by.

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

To multiquote from another thread:
Go to the May thread and click on the multiquote button for each post you want to quote. Get back to the Allergies forum and go to the June thread. Click "Reply" then under the reply box it says "You have selected 6 posts that are not part of this thread. Quote these posts as well, or deselect these posts."
Click on "Quote these posts" and they show up in the reply box

Thank you!

Originally Posted by changingseasons

Ok- what's the difference between the pancreatic enzymes and the pancreatin support?? The ones I'm ordering are enzymes, right?

I think what you're getting is basically pancreatic extract. So lots of pancreatic enzymes, but not quite as concentrated as the straight pancreatin (which I think is just really isolated pancreatic enzymes). Since you can only do lamb, it's the best choice for you, LOL! Dr. Yasko's enzymes have pancreatin, and then a bit of other enzyme stuff, papaya, etc. But that's not where the power is, IMO, and just adds a bunch of other potential allergens.

Originally Posted by tanyalynn

Okay, so #1 above is a specific blend of digestive enzymes with lots of pancreatin ($20 = 17 days of an adult taking 2/meal, 6/day... most people start lower dosages, with kids it's a whole lot lower)

#2 is just ground up pancreas (some digestive enzymes in that, generally good/supportive for the pancreas?) (a product like this Nutricology pancreas supp is about $9/mo)

#3 is to help eventually not need #1 and #2?
(haven't looked at this list or costs yet at all)

Do I have that at all right?

Yes on #1 and #2. #3 is in addition to #1, but replaces #2.

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

just ordered a pancreatic enzyme and some allergy-c capsules. Just when I told DH to stop putting stuff on the credit card. oops. I have a killer headache along with the back pain today. Gee, think I have a metal problem floating around?

Yes on a metals problem, yay on ordering pancreatic enzymes - the next great MDC allergy forum great experiment .

Originally Posted by chlobo

[I]
However, he did say he wouldn't be surprised if I didn't have "pre-lupus" (or some other autoimmune disease) that just hadn't gotten to the full blown stage yet but he's not a rheumatologist so he's not an expert.

Do you have an all about me thread where I can read all your stuff in one place? I could look at it with the Yasko genetics stuff in my head, see if that makes anything jump out. But honestly, if you can swing it, you're exactly the kind of person who could probably benefit a lot from her genetics test (there's probably more than one thing going on).

Originally Posted by chlobo

I have her special enzymes. I think I took them for a day & so did DD. My problem is this, I start taking something that might cause die off and then I freak out b/c DS is still nursing and we're trying to cure his adenoids & I don't want to screw them up further. So I stop taking them. So I think it wasn't a good trial. At least for me.

I need to wean. If only DS would cooperate and not make it heartwrenching for me.

Maybe DS needs the pancreatic enzymes? Seriously, I think it was a big factor in weaning here. More on your DS - is he sick a lot? I looked on Yasko for you, and swollen adenoids are related to immune issues and/or viral/bacterial issues (strep is the most likely culprit). She has some herbal & supps recs, if you are still looking for non-surgical options, I'll go dig up what I can for you (knowing more about any other issues he has would be helpful, e.g. any anxiety/OCD type stuff - those are chronic strep symptoms as well).

[Theloose]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Hmm, interesting. Yasko uses very little B vitamins in her protocol compared to most autism stuff. I wondered if it was all in the ground up liver pills . But she has a bunch of autistic kids getting better on practically no B6, which other docs swear by.

And now that I'm on the pancreatin, I'm not needing nearly as many B vitamins. Food for thought.

[mamafish9]

Yup, Yasko is very big on supporting organs, and supporting to bypass mutations, and then lots of other symptoms tend to resolve themselves. I don't like how she handles metals, but for a lot of other things, I think it's a really good approach.

Anther small example, DS' vitamin C need has cut in half in the last month (he had to be on 2000mg a day or he got a stuffy nose). So vitamin C got the job done, but it was just a bandaid on one symptom of poor methylation - now that he is methylating better, he doesn't need the vitamin C to handle the histamines.

We'll be rerunning his pee tests this month, so I should have very clear evidence of what differences have come from her supps (we ran the tests in mid March just before starting anything from her program, and we'll do them again in mid June, 3 months later, and after him being on most of what I think he needs based on his genetics).

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Tonight's dinner:
for me: steak that I'm burning on the grill right now and Georgia's Ian's potato letters (that were actually pretty good dipped in ketchup hot off the stove)
DD2: watermelon and some Ian's potato letters, and peas so far... I'm having trouble getting her to focus on eating
DS: beef, broccoli, sweet potato stew
DD1: hard boiled eggs on a bagel, baked white potato
What a pathetic bunch of food. There's no balance in that.

Funny. I was thinking "Wow. I wish I could let go enough to be happy with feeding my family stuff that simple." (Then I read your last remark.) Of course, I was also thinking "4 different dinners again. How in heck does she DO that?!"

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by whoMe

And now that I'm on the pancreatin, I'm not needing nearly as many B vitamins. Food for thought.

You guys keep this up and I'll be ordering early.
My B vitamin requirements are RIDICULOUS.

And speaking of B vites. DS2 went for a nap. When he woke up, I gave him B6, Mag and Mo laced lemonade. And, of course, just because I used the capsules up yesterday in my weekly division of vitamins, my B6 arrived today and is apparently TABLETS. I thought I had ordered capsules specifically for ease of administering to DS2. Now I get to crush or scrape it. /sarcasm

Upside of the day: Despite the blueberry and coconut ice cream eating of this morning, DS2 has neither a burny-rash nor terrible acid poo-splosions. *knocking on wood*

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by tanyalynn

for good results from somewhere...

Were you starting to take some herbs for lyme? Or am I remembering wrong? (yeah, I need the DHA.. or something)

I have a lyme herbal remedy from my ND but I haven't started it yet. I haven't mentioned it here so you are probably thinkikng of someone else.

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

My SIL was misdiagnosed with Lupus. Turned out she had lyme, and what's bad is that lupus is treated with steroids. Steroids make lyme worse. Now (12 years later) she's developed lupus. There goes my theory about gluten and autoimmune diseases. I was thinking they all developed because of gluten (I'm blaming it for everything).

Have they done coinfection tests on you - other tick-borne illnesses? it's possible you have one of the other ones, and not lyme, which is why it's coming back equivocal. My regular doctor today said that most of the diseases are related, symptom wise.

I have had testing for co-infections and they were all negative. Both through the regular doctor and via igenex. But then again, my igenex test was equivocal so who know what it all means.

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Do you have an all about me thread where I can read all your stuff in one place? I could look at it with the Yasko genetics stuff in my head, see if that makes anything jump out. But honestly, if you can swing it, you're exactly the kind of person who could probably benefit a lot from her genetics test (there's probably more than one thing going on).

I do have an all about me thread. I'll try to resurrect it with the new information.


Maybe DS needs the pancreatic enzymes? Seriously, I think it was a big factor in weaning here. More on your DS - is he sick a lot? I looked on Yasko for you, and swollen adenoids are related to immune issues and/or viral/bacterial issues (strep is the most likely culprit). She has some herbal & supps recs, if you are still looking for non-surgical options, I'll go dig up what I can for you (knowing more about any other issues he has would be helpful, e.g. any anxiety/OCD type stuff - those are chronic strep symptoms as well).

I'm sure DS needs pancreatic enzymes. But they apparently taste horrible & he doesn't swallow pills nor will he take any mushy stuff regularly to slip it into. Not sure what to do about that.

He was sick a lot this past winter. And following the winter he just never "cleared up". Personality-wise he's a pretty mellow guy. When I think he's reacting he acts just like a whiny 2.5 year old would. Except there is the endless nursing and inability to be away from me. He started having a really bad case of separation anxiety sometime this winter. See, now I think he needs the test too.

I am aggressively pursuing non-surgical adenoid options. We currently see a craniopath (cst/chiropractor) who specializes in this sort of thing. We also just had allergen testing done (we need to remove eggs but were waiting til after my birthday) and he has a constitutional homeopathic remedy as well as some other homeopathic supports from the ND.

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

Funny. I was thinking "Wow. I wish I could let go enough to be happy with feeding my family stuff that simple." (Then I read your last remark.) Of course, I was also thinking "4 different dinners again. How in heck does she DO that?!"

Yeah, I have no idea how kathy does it. I force everyone to eat the same things.

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Yup, Yasko is very big on supporting organs, and supporting to bypass mutations, and then lots of other symptoms tend to resolve themselves. I don't like how she handles metals, but for a lot of other things, I think it's a really good approach.

Anther small example, DS' vitamin C need has cut in half in the last month (he had to be on 2000mg a day or he got a stuffy nose). So vitamin C got the job done, but it was just a bandaid on one symptom of poor methylation - now that he is methylating better, he doesn't need the vitamin C to handle the histamines.

We'll be rerunning his pee tests this month, so I should have very clear evidence of what differences have come from her supps (we ran the tests in mid March just before starting anything from her program, and we'll do them again in mid June, 3 months later, and after him being on most of what I think he needs based on his genetics).

Which pee test are you using for benchmarks?

[Theloose]

Originally Posted by JacquelineR

You guys keep this up and I'll be ordering early.
My B vitamin requirements are RIDICULOUS.

And speaking of B vites. DS2 went for a nap. When he woke up, I gave him B6, Mag and Mo laced lemonade. And, of course, just because I used the capsules up yesterday in my weekly division of vitamins, my B6 arrived today and is apparently TABLETS. I thought I had ordered capsules specifically for ease of administering to DS2. Now I get to crush or scrape it. /sarcasm

Upside of the day: Despite the blueberry and coconut ice cream eating of this morning, DS2 has neither a burny-rash nor terrible acid poo-splosions. *knocking on wood*

As were my b vite requirements. I'm still not really believing it, since it's all intangible mood stuff for me, but yeah. Definitely doing ok without the complex. Still taking separate folate, b5 and b6 though.

Careful on the tablets - mine were GROSS, and so I was excited about your capsules and even more excited when they turned out tasteless. And now dd's getting enough through milk and it doesn't matter anymore

for a happy bum!