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New Allergy Case to this Forum

post #1 of 20
6/8/10 at 10:24pm
Thread Starter 
Hi! I'm new to this forum, in fact, I've been lurking, but feel quite inadequate to speak about my allergies because you all sound so smart and technical. But what has finally brought me to post is that I need to have my allergies under control before TTC. DD just turned 2 and we swore we wouldn't have more children until my health was under control which it isn't. So, I'm looking for any type of advice or info. any of you well educated folks can provide me.

I am 32 and have a long history of Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was diagnosed when I was 12 but probably had it since I was an infant. I have a five year history (that we know of) of nasal polyps with surgery to remove them twice of which they always return immediately. I am allergic to just about every evironmental inhalant there is. I was tested twice and have been on allergy shots for over a year. As for foods, they keep changing, but I have had an immunobloodprint test done and also and newer blood test that showed a lot less allergies than I know I have just from doing my own elimination diet. The foods that are the worst are dairy, yeast, eggs, and wheat.

The major side effect from these allergies and the combined nasal polyps is post nasal drip which causes chronic coughing. I'm not talking about an annoying cough, I'm talking about a non-stop body racking cough that actually popped the cartlidge in my ribs while I was pregnant and makes me vomit because of the severity of it. The only way the Dr.'s have figured out to repress it is with hydrocodone. I have been on allergy medications, prednizone, I have used two different types of nebulizers with natural and medicine nebulized liquids, I have air purifiers all over our house and my diet has significantly changed without much results.

I am not willing to put another infant through the internal trauma of the coughing and I will not take hydrocodone while being pregnant. So what do I do? Any ideas?
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post #2 of 20
6/8/10 at 10:42pm
Have you tried eliminating the anti-inflammatory foods? dairy, gluten, soy, corn, and nightshades? I'm just wondering if that would help on the RA side...

Have you gone off all the foods that have shown up positive (not just the major ones) to see if that made a difference? Have you done any food intolerance testing to see if there are any of those? The reason I ask is that you can have both, and if you do have them and you reduce the load on your body by removing them from your diet, then possibly the inhaled ones won't be so bad.

There are also people that say homeopathy helps (I haven't tried it so I can't speak to it). And a lot of people with inhaled allergies swear by neti pots.
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post #3 of 20
6/8/10 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 
I only listed my very allergic foods, but yes I have eliminated all inflammatory foods. My RA is mostly under control with amino acid peptide injections. I have run the gamut of RA treatments over the years and this all natural approach has really been working the best with no side effects. That is one good thing in my favor! I only listed RA mostly as background info.

Yes, I have gone off of all the foods I tested positive for, however, it seemed my safe food list was very short and I was just making myself allergic to my safe foods because there wasn't enough room for rotation. So, my Dr. wanted me to go back to eating most of the foods on a rotation with the exception of dairy, eggs and yeast. That is where I am now.

I have used a neti pot in the past and it creates a very embarrassing and inconvenient problem of allowing my nose to drain all over anything at the most inopportune moments because of the pockets created in my sinuses from the surgery. In other words, my sinuses never drain properly. That was probably TMI! Sorry!
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post #4 of 20
6/9/10 at 4:23pm
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post #5 of 20
6/10/10 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 
I guess everyone is as at a loss about what to do for me as me and my Dr.'s are.
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post #6 of 20
6/10/10 at 6:58pm
Are you, or have you been, completely gluten free yet?
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post #7 of 20
6/10/10 at 8:09pm
I would consider adding gluten to your avoidance list as well...but gluten is just insidious to me--and implicated in so many things. If not the issue, it def exacerbates many conditions.

Have you seen any holistic practitioners? Perhaps a naturopath or osteo or homeopathic practitioner would be of help?

I think threads are slower in the summer...I've not been not as often. Also, give a shout out for your thread in June's chat! HTH!
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post #8 of 20
6/11/10 at 5:59am
Thread Starter 
Yes I am completely gluten free. My family Dr. is homeopathic but my ENT is not. However, luckily my ENT is very open-minded. Both Drs. are at a loss as to what to do next.

Thank you very much dannic for following along and suggesting the June chat! I'm really trying to get this under control.
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post #9 of 20
6/11/10 at 7:47am
Has the nasal problems gotten better with food elimination? Have you cut out dairy 100%?

I hear ya about not having more babies till getting better. I have lyme disease and passed it to my son. There is no way I am putting more kids through that no matter how soon I want more.
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post #10 of 20
6/11/10 at 12:20pm
Thread Starter 
Yes I have eliminated all dairy but nothing seems to have gotten better especially the nasal problem.

As an aside my Dr. had me get done a new test from NeuroSciences. It was called a cytokine test and the information it gives is wonderful but even my Dr. is having a tough time deciphering it and knowing what to do with it. Is anyone familiar with this test?
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post #11 of 20
6/11/10 at 2:23pm
I don't know if you have been following the conversation on Yasko genetics at all... she looks at genetic mutations on the methylation pathway. It sounds to me like your methylation is likely very out of whack (hence all the allergies, immune responses, etc).

She also believes RA is often chronic viral/bacterial infection in the joints, which was interesting for me, because my family has lots of RA. And chronic viral/bacterial could definitely be a cause of your nasal issues as well.

I searched her forum for you (you need to register to get access), and there are some genetics which tend to pop with cytokine imbalances and viral/bacterial loads, one in particular called SHMT+. She has a compounded supplement to address this gene mutation here.

So if you wanted to experiment some with the idea of mutations and methylation and genetics, you could try:

1) her SHMT+ supplement
2) basic methylation support - 3-5mg/day of hydroxy B12, intrinsic factor, 200mg mthfr folate (Yasko has a supp that takes care of these last two, 1/4 tab/day), and 200mg folinic acid (folapro is one source, there are others. If you want fancier methylation support, here is her supp for that (it's recommended for cytokine issues, fwiw). All you need in addition to that one is the 200mg folinic.

If you want to try these, go slow, and add the SHMT+ supp first.
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post #12 of 20
6/12/10 at 12:13pm
How is your vitamin D level? If I were you I would be taking 10,000 IU of D3 per day and then test in a month. You want high normal results like 80 or above on a scale from 10-100 on the 25 (OH) D test.

Do you take probiotics? Which kind? Lactobacillus that colonizes in the mucus membranes of the body protects against infection and allergies. Some strains are hardier and better at colonizing than others.

Do you take vitamin C bioflavonoids? There is such a thing as Vitamin P (this is what the bioflavonoids are called) Deficiency... when you get all your C from chemical ascorbic acid and not in whole food form. These are things like quercitin, tannins, rutins, etc. which are available as single supplements but I prefer to take the whole C complex. There is a long history of whole C helping respiratory and nasal allergies. I swear by it to keep my once lifelong since puberty severe hay fever away and I'm hugely less sensitive to dust and other enviro allergies.

Sadly our food is trucked all over the world, so vitamin C levels in healthy foods are greatly diminished from what they are "supposed" to be. See the recent natural vitamin C thread for options:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1230068
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post #13 of 20
6/12/10 at 12:18pm
Also if you do have a chronic viral infection, vitamin C will stop the cytokine storm.

You could also experiment with bowel tolerance leves of sodium ascorbate form of vitamin C, or a few vit. C IVs which also has a long history of "curing the incurable". But I prefer whole C for many reasons. I have seen it work by not having to take as much for it to be as effective, and you won't get the intestinal reactions. Plus the bioflavonoid issue.
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post #14 of 20
6/14/10 at 12:04am
Thread Starter 
I really appreciate all the input! I did sign up for the forum mamafish9 suggested but I'm having a tough time getting through it. It's extensive and complicated but I do thank you!

As for the other supplements. I will tell you what I am taking and maybe you can tell me what you think.

Probiotic- Klaire Labs-Vital 10- Lactobacillus acidophilus 1.85+billion CFUs
Bifidobacterium bifidum .70+billion CFUs
Proprietary Blend of : 2.45+billion CFUs
Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus
plantarum, Bifidobacterium
lactis, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus
bulgaricus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus
brevis, Streptococcus thermophilus

Vitamin C-Health Products Distributors-OPC-C - I take this at least once a day and when it a really bad allergy day I take this every 4 hr as per my Dr.
Vitamin C (from calcium, magnesium, and zinc ascorbates) 500 mg
Magnesium (from ascorbate) 23 mg
Calcium (from ascorbate) 23 mg
Zinc (from ascorbate) 1 mg
BioVin Grape Extract 25 mg

Zinc-Thorne Research-Zinc Citrate - I take one once a day
Zinc (as zinc citrate) 30 mg

Vitamin D-Thorne Research-D-5000 - I take one pill 2x per week. I was taking this daily but the last time my Vitamin D levels were checked they were above normal so the Dr. backed it off to my current dosage.
Vitamin D3 5000 IU

Along with these supplements I take a daily prenatal vitamin, and I take cod liver oil, borage seed oil, and something called Moxxor which is a fish oil from the green lipped mussel occasionally because I have a terrible time with bruising.
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post #15 of 20
6/14/10 at 12:42am
Thread Starter 
Right now I am having a horrible time with environmental allergies which always make the food allergies worse to the point that I don't eat much at all. I wanted to add that I believe I am coming down with bronchitis or pneumonia again which is a chronic issue anymore. My current treatment for that is colloidal silver in my nebulizer and it does seem help.
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post #16 of 20
6/14/10 at 12:34pm
Try sublingual B12, and see what effect that has for you (get a 1000-2000mg sublingual), take up to 3-4 a day, spread out, and let us know if you see any effects (you could see them as quickly as 30 minutes after taking the sublingual). That might suggest other ways we can help you.

I'd be taking a minimum of 2g a day of C as well (C helps lower histamine levels in the blood).
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post #17 of 20
6/15/10 at 2:19pm
Thread Starter 
Is there any indications you know of that B12 can make things worse? I closed up shortly after it dissolved and the coughing as been non-stop and I'm having a difficult time breathing.
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post #18 of 20
6/15/10 at 2:27pm
Geez, no , i"ve never heard of anything like that - what B12 did you take - any chance it had one of your allergens in it? Or peppermint flavor, or something like that you might be reacting to?
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post #19 of 20
6/15/10 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
The B-12 I used was what DH had been using so I just took some of his. It's called Tri-Vita and in contains B-6 5mg, Folate 400 mcg, B-12 1000 mcg, and Biotin 25 mcg. Additional ingredients are mannitol, sorbitol, alphaketoglutarate, starch glycolate, natural cherry flavor, silicon dioxide, and magnesium stearate.

Nothing looks like an obvious allergen to me but I am not very good at knowing all those ingredients even though I looked them up.

I willing to try another kind if you have a suggestion.
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post #20 of 20
6/15/10 at 3:45pm


Wow, it sounds like you're going through a lot! Good for you for trying to find the root of the issue and trying so many things to heal yourself. It is not easy navigating the medical world with allergies. So many conflicting theories, so many tests and eliminations, so many conflicting results...

I had to finally give up searching and I went for a homeopathic remedy. Not just acute remedies like you can look for at natural food stores, but a constitutional remedy that you get from a certified homeopath. You'll undergo a 2-3 hour interview and the homeopath will decide what remedy and dosage is right for you. I was extremely skeptical at first, but this has worked for my family twice now. Once for me with an undiagnosable digestive problem and once for my dd with her food allergies and eczema. We're talking crazy to cured in a matter of days. It blew me away. Both times. It will cost you about $200 plus the cost of the remedy (usually under $10). I balked at the price for the longest time because I didn't believe it could actually work. But work it did and after all the time, energy, and money I spent on other medicines, products, doctors, tests, etc. it's actually cheap and way less stressful.

I would say you're at the point where you might be ready to try homeopathy. I find that people have to reach the bottom before turning to alternatives like this and really giving them a chance.

Also, you might find some relief through acupuncture- I have a few family members that swear by it for pain and allergy relief. I recently found out that my health insurance even covers it!

Good luck!
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