Posted on 08/21/2010 9:18:48 PM PDT by Quix
Metmom has had allergies and food allergies her entire life. In the last few years they have gotten steadily and progressively worse. Foods have been dropping out of her diet until she reached the point she is at now and can only eat rice, chicken, lamb, and venison. Anything else causes her to react rather destructively, debilitatingly.
The problem is that the repeated continual exposure to the few remaining foods, could lead to a sensitivity to those as well, which has just happened to two foods she had been safely eating since October.
There are options for nutrition should she start to react to all foods, but they are used only in the most dire situations. She's concerned about reaching that point--and frankly has been feeling more than a little discouraged by all such.
She has undergone extensive medical testing which has all been inconclusive. Almost everything comes back normal or negative, and the few things that she does test positive for arent what causes her the most problems.
She is attempting to get into a regional medical center for more specialized medical evaluation to see if they can determine the cause and possible treatment, if any exists.
She has been prayed for and anointed numerous times over the years, however, she would appreciated continued prayer for complete healing.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND HER PLIGHT with as much empathy as you can. She's been through a 1,001 suggestions and tried a LOT of different things. She's been through the Henry Wright seminar and prayers extensively. I don't think she is quite up to handling any more suggestions currently. Those who've been through such can understand such a feeling. She just greatly would appreciate your understanding and PARTICULARLY YOUR CARING PRAYERS.
This summary is per my understanding and might be stated somewhat differently were she writing it herself. I believe she'd affirm the truth of what I've said but these are essentially my words.
THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR PRAYERS.
Observant Jews still eat sushi and sashimi in NY during Passover (sashimi has no rice, sushi is raw fish placed on blocks of rice). Obviously they can't put regular soy sauce on there so they use FAKE SOY SAUCE like LaChoy.
According to the company's own history on the net this product was developed so that Jewish people in San Francisco and Japan and Hongkong and Singapore could eat Sushi during Passover..
Which sounds quite reasonable all things considered.
Anyway it really doesn't taste the same but it's better than nothing and used in small quantities LaChoy and several other brands of fake soy sauce do the flavor job they are supposed to do with sushi.
We eat lots of sushi so this is a real issue around here.
You can "test" your allergy focus with this fake soy. There's no wheat or barley in it, so if it doesn't bother you it's the wheat or barley. if it does bother you it's the soy, but it's not the product of fermentation. That's a whole different problem and I don't know the chemistry well enough to understand it all.
I had some metal in my teeth left . . . I forget how many—half a dozen or so.
It has felt better with them all gone.
Thoughts and prayers for metmom.
I join with many in prayer for (((Metmom))).
Lord be with her!
does she get hives or diarrhea/abdominal pain.
What is her RAST test?
Usually for food allergies, you start eating white rice and chicken and canned or fresh green beans, then you add one food at a time.
Don’t forget the drinks...they often cause problems. Tea is usually okay.
Often the problem is related to the antibiotics given to the animals in meat, or the preservatives in the food or salad bar. I break out in hives if I eat at McDonald’s or at a salad bar, but here in the Philippines, we eat fresh food (including the cheaper “free range” chicken).
So if she got sick in the past with a food, she might be able to eat it now. A lot of times if a person gets sick with a food, every time they eat that food their mind makes them sick again. (They did a study with ice cream before chemotherapy, to see if it helped the nausea...it didn’t, but it did make people get nauseated every time they ate ice cream).
Canned foods might be better than fresh or even frozen, which often are sprayed to keep their color fresh.
Atarax/hydroxyzine often helps if it is allergy.
And sometimes a low dose of Sinequan at night helps those who are allergic and nothing else works. It’s an old anti depression pill rarely used nowadays because it is so sedating at depression doses (200 mg), but often 25 to 50 mg at night helps.
And sometimes compazine or thorazine helps nausea too.
I’ll keep her in my prayers.
Thanks tons Lady Doc. MetMom will have to answer your questions.
MM: Here’s some caring from Maggie Carta:
(Quix-please convey my good wishes to MetMom if she cannot get to FR)
MetMom-may you and those you love find healing and peace. May you also find strength and comfort through the prayers of all the FReepers and lurkers who are here.
Skin prick tests and RAST tests show almost no sensitivity to the foods I react to, which is all vegetables and most fruits. I get really bad eczema and itching, palpitations and burning of the mouth and throat. It is a very debilitating reaction, but not yet life threatening, although there were times I wasn’t sure.
These have gotten progressively worse with age.
I am trying to get evaluated for MCAD and my allergist has encouraged me to follow that route.
Thanks for the ping, Dolly.
I am so sorry to hear about this horrific health condition!
I agree in prayer with everyone else and pray for Metmom to be comforted and given strength through Christ, and pray for her complete healing.
I pray Lord, lay Your healing hand on her body and remove all the poisons/toxins from it and allow her to again enjoy what You have given us for nourishment. If she is not completely healed at once, I pray You will set people in her path that will direct her to someone—anyone—that may be able to help her. Father, I pray that you will give her the strength to fight whatever this is that is destroying her body—both physical and spiritual strength. You are the Great Physician, Lord, and if only she could touch the hem of Your robe, she would be healed. I pray for the comfort of her family as they watch her daily struggle. I pray for your mercy and thank you and praise You for Your Grace.
Lord, in Your Word You promise wherever two or more may gather in Your Name, You would be with them. We are here, Lord, and we are gathering in Your Name, before Your throne on behalf of our sister-in-Christ. We humbly, step out in faith, asking for your intercession for her, as you are the only intercessor. We know that you are faithful and true and would never leave or forsake our sister. We pray that this gives her strength and comfort everyday. We pray that she will be filled with the peace that passes all understanding. We ask all these things in the precious Name of Jesus, Amen.
Amen!
Prayers for MetMom and for her doctors to solve her eating problems.
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
THX TO ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND TO THOSE WHO RESPOND PUBLICLY AND OTHERWISE.
Am still awash in prepping for the first week of the new semester so I’m not able to respond as I’d prefer.
Blessings back on all who care and pray 10 times and more.
You really said it. Here I am trying to lose weight and have no problem eating any food at all. I want to thank God for the privilege. Meanwhile, prayers for MetMom for strength and healing. Definitely. May God be merciful and allow her to eat again without becoming ill.
O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit and relieve thy sick servant Metmom for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon her with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort her with a sense of thy goodness; preserve her from the temptations of the enemy; and give her patience under his affliction. In thy good time, restore her to health, and enable her to lead the residue of her life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally she may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God Bless. Prayers up.
I have Celiac disease (an inability to digest wheat, barley, rye, and a few other grains. Before I was diagnosed in 2008, I would have told you that barley was never really part of my diet, either. I'd have been very wrong, though.
Unfortunately, it's in so many different foods, it's hard to avoid. Barley malt is a flavoring used in an unbelievable number of foods, and barley (not to mention wheat) sometimes shows up as "dietary fiber", "malt", or "malt flavoring". Until very recently, Rice & Corn Chex had barley malt (they've since switched and are now gluten-free). Many, many other cereals still have barley malt, as do some chocolate candies. Its found in salad dressing, soups, etc. Some teas have barley (especially herbal teas, including some from Celestial Seasonings).
If you show a reaction to Barley, you might want to consider looking into a gluten-free diet and/or being tested for Celiac. I wasn't diagnosed until early 2008, even though I'd had symptoms for many years.
People with long-term, untreated Celiac and other dietary intolerances often develop more symptoms and more intolerances/allergies as time goes by. They begin to react to other substances (for Celiacs, common ones are corn and milk).
If you have been previously tested, it might be worth looking up which test you have had. Some tests are more accurate than others.
I had over a decade of accelerating food sensitivity, pain, rashes, digestive problems, and even easily broken bones (from being unable to process calcium) before a doctor took one look at me and told me what everyone else had missed for years.
You're in my thoughts and prayers.
Met Mom,
Sorry to hear this. Good luck!
Prayers up!
My testing for celiac in its various forms has all been within the last six months.
And it’s vegetables and fruits which make me break out and react badly.
This cannot be repeated often enough. I'd apparently had Celiac for years (undiagnosed). I had plenty of symptoms, but they were constant and more generalized. After I was diagnosed, I began eating gluten-free and within a month or two, I was so sensitive that accidentally eating anything with gluten would lay me out on the floor writhing in pain within 45 minutes or so.
As someone who has always baked and cooked from scratch, I would have never thought I'd be in this situation. We've consulted with our doctors (mine, my husband's, and the children's), and have been told that the children need to continue to eat some wheat gluten until/unless they develop symptoms.
It is been noted that some people have the gene, even though they never seem to develop the illness. One theory being advanced now is that people with dormant Celiac genes somehow manage to "switch" them on if they stop eating gluten.
Some doctors now think that the low-carb diets so popular several years ago may have "switched on" the genes in some people, which may in turn the increased number of Celiac cases being seen now. Here is a brief mention of the phenomenon: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1774636/
So, for the most part, we eat GF, but we make a point of allowing the kids to have "regular" bread", "regular" oats, "regular" soy sauce, and enough other "regular" items to provide them with a supply of wheat gluten. I really do miss baking for them.
Before it's over that will be a gluten free station ~ we are 3.4% of the American market and we are tired of being played with.
When you look at the 3.4%, mentally add another 4 percent or so. At least. We shop at stores which cater to Celiac sufferers, and while there, shop for the rest of our family. So I may be part of that small 3.4%, but shop for half a dozen other people at the same time. Same with dining out.
Restaurants who don't have anything I can eat get 0% of our family's dining-out dollar. Restaurants which take us into consideration get much more of our family's dining-out dollar.
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