Ouch x 4!

My Gastroenterologist sent me today to have some blood drawn. Two hours and four pokes later, my glucose level, thyroid function, celiac disease (allergic to gluten - which I really doubt I am, but cross your fingers that I'm not if you have a minute!) and lactose intolerance (I know I am and after the test this morning, I've proven it again! UGH) were tested. We'll know the results in about a week. Stay tuned...

At this point, I'm am still angry and HUNGRY for MORE food!!! I really don't think I'm getting the nourishment I need AND I got a cold from my little guy to top it off so I've been feeling really rotten this past week. I have three weeks left to go on keeping everything out of my diet and I'm still craving certain things. My Gastro told me no more diet coke!!! Will I survive?!

On a positive note, I made Quinoa for the first time last night and I was too bitter and wallowing in self pity to actually eat it. Today I mixed it with Costco's Pesto sauce (which is pure enough for me to eat! Yay!!!), some brocolli and ham and it was pretty satisfying.

We're going up to Flagstaff for a night soon and I have NO idea what I'm going to eat, so this should be interesting! I'll keep you posted!

Am I an idiot?

Well, certainly not after reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Food Allergies." Who doesn't love these "idiot" books? I have to say that this book has had the most useful information I've read yet. The book is laid out in an easy to read format and you don't have to read it cover to cover if a section doesn't pertain to you. Sorry to my dogs for not even perusing the dog food allergy section...I'm too involved in my own torment right now to even THINK about THAT!

A few websites I plan to visit for more information:

1. www.allergy.mcg.edu (Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Online)

2. www.aaai.org (American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology)

3. www.mochallergies.org (Mothers of Children Having Allergies)

Food for thought...

Did you know?...

Did you know you may not react to a food for up to three days after you consumed it? A food allergy almost always shows up immediately in a rash, itchy throat/mouth or digestive problems. A food intolerance is much less obvious but can be just as serious.

According to "Your Hidden Food Allergies are Making you Fat", 'The low-grade, chronic nature of a delayed food reaction is called "masking" because it conceals the food as the perpetrator....Examples of "mask" symptoms are fatigue, chronic sinusitis, rhinitis, arthritis, depression, colitis and ADD."

I recommend this book if anyone is interested in learning more about how foods actually affects every working organ and how damaging it is to eat the wrong foods.

I would like everyone I know to get tested for food allergies. This book uses the ALCAT test in it's research and personal stories. This is a more involved blood test than the skin test I took. After all is said and done and I work out which foods I can actually live with in my diet without causing any problems, I know I will be the better for having found out my food allergies.

Having said that, you should know that sweet potato chips are very good and that buckwheat is not THAT bad, just different. Four more weeks to go before I can add something back in. Hmmm...what should it be?

Three stages...

Well, I've been a little down about my food limitations. Sorry I haven't written sooner. I have come to realize that there are three stages to finding out you have Food Allergies/Sensitivities:

1. Shock - This is by far, the quickest stage, lasting only a couple of days. Wow! Look at this list everyone! This is just craziness! Lettuce? Really?

2. Resignation/Numbness - This lasts a good week and a half. There is much to process, to read, to learn and new health food stores to explore with a new eye.

3. Anger - Who knows how long this one will last, but it comes out of nowhere and hits you like an angry, short-tempered Puerto Rican girl who can't eat rice anymore! You do NOT want to be hit with THAT! But...it will come.

I just had the nastiest fake peanut butter with the worst yeast-free bread I've had yet. Mmm, what a way to start the day!

On the positive side, I'm meeting with a nutritionist tonight! I'm hoping that she'll give me enough info to be able to add some food items back onto my list. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know!

An Alternative!

My brother sent this to me a couple of days ago. I thought it was too funny and wanted to share it with you. You just gotta laugh, right?

I have eaten all the "right" foods today and am still having the same issue. I have not had a Diet Coke, but did have a Sprite Zero with lunch????? Tomorrow...no soda and we'll see what happens. Wish me luck!

Seriously?

Okay, so it's day 7! I made it one whole week without my yummy whole wheat bread, rice, wine and anything with corn in it (except Diet Coke which contains corn syrup for coloring and which I think I need to let go, sadly). I'm very proud of myself though and even though I know this is going to get harder, I'm trying to stay positive.

I spoke with my Doctor today. I asked him if I'm allergic to iceberg lettuce, does that mean I should be able to eat spinach, red leaf and others? His answer was an unequivocal maybe so, maybe not! Gee, thanks!

I thought this new change in my diet was supposed to make things easier for me (digestively speaking). What did day 7 bring me you might ask? A new vision for a toned, healthier me? A deep understanding of my body and it's needs? Nooooooo! It brought me CONSTIPATION!!!!! Are you KIDDING ME! I know that's a lot of information but if you're in this far on the blog, you seem to care a little. So thanks for sticking with me.

May tomorrow bring an easy transition from week one to week two and may I have more luck in the loo! Sorry, couldn't help it!

Who Knew?

Okay, I consider myself to be an educated woman. My kids would argue, but do I know stuff. How come no one is talking about food allergies and they myriad of health problems they can exacerbate including:
Acne (have more now than I did in high school sorry to say)
Anxiety
Arthritis (This one blew my mind. I have also read it is the same with gout.)
Asthma (I'm scheduling my son's test tomorrow. Brady has asthma and if I can help relieve his asthma just by eliminating a few foods why wouldn't I?)
ADHD (We've had our discussions about this possibility too. I choose all other options before medicating!)
Bed-wetting (Thank goodness we don't have these issues anymore!)
Chronic Diarrhea (Ditto, right?!)
Chronic Fatigue (Although I admit to being a harried mother of two young boys, could I feel less fatigued with my new found allergen free diet? I can't wait to find out!)
Depression (I have to say, I'm actually MORE depressed now that I can't eat some of my favorite foods...stay tuned on this one...)
Diabetes (That makes sense)
Ear Infections
Eczema (For years I have been getting a mysterious rash on my legs and arms that two dermatologists have no clue where it's coming from...no one mentioned food allergies...)
Hay Fever (Did you know that an allergy to melons is connected to a ragweed allergy?)
Headaches - tension type and migraine (I have thought for years that my husband's headaches stem from food allergies. I'm trying to convince him to take the test. Stay tuned on that one too)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Still have to look this one up)
Muscle aches (Just thought we were getting older. You mean this doesn't have to be a lifelong sentence of aches?)
Obesity
Panic Attacks (Hmmm...)
Stuffy Nose (Makes sense. My nose actually stuffed up last night when I ate the walnuts. Never noticed it before. It has always stuffed up when I drink wine (yeast allergy).)
Okay and for all the $, who knows what Urticaria is? Good, old-fashioned hives. Well that makes sense too.

I'm sure there are other symptoms that stem from eating allergens. I found these in the book "Your Hidden Food Allergies are Making You Fat." This book also discusses the ALCAT test which is a very thorough blood test for food allergens.

Accidentally...On Purpose...

Well, I had walnuts last night. I foolishly assumed that the Trader Joe's Pesto sauce would be made with pine nuts as pesto is supposed to be made with...only cheapos like myself would make it with walnuts, right? My family LOVES my homemade pesto. In fact, this is the first recipe Brady had memorized and we love to make it together! It's the first thing I've added back to my diet. And it's the first thing I'm permanently removing. It did not do well in my stomach...I'll leave it at that! So....

After my first buying trip to Whole Foods (the first trip was just to gawk and drool), I have realized that I should be waaay more depressed about this whole situation than I am AND it is going to cost a bundle to eat my new non-allergen diet!

I'm into my second book on food allergies. Come back later today to see the list of different ailments one can acquire or exacerbate with eating food you are allergic to. I was absolutely amazed!

Thanks for checking in!

Is it possible to sabotage oneself?

So last night, just to inflict more torture upon myself, I watched Julie and Julia. You know, the movie with Amy Adams and Meryl Streep that parallels the lives of a girl from NY and Julia Child. Great movie by the way and ALL ABOUT FOOD!

I think I'm the meanest person I know to let myself watch that! Anyone know of any other great food movies?

Gotta run, I think there's a Food Network Challenge on right now...

No Soup For Me!

Today is Friday, January 8th, 2010. I LOVE food. Ask anyone. I'm a little obsessed with it, actually. My favorite channel is the Food Network and I'm completely obsessed with any show about cake. I can't help myself. My cousin, David was the same way. My son, Brady wants to be a chef. He loves Rachel Ray. He's six and knows recipes by heart. Half of his Christmas presents were cooking/baking related! What can I say, it's a big part of our lives. Maybe it's genetic?

And then this...

Three days ago, I was given some life-altering news. I hadn't been feeling well for quite a while. I thought I might have developed a soy allergy. I grew up suffering as many of us do with seasonal allergies. Basically, I'm allergic to anything green and outside. My allergist once told me that the two places I could live allergy-free were...are you ready for this? Antartica or (drum roll please) a pine tree! After 10 years of shots as a child, I resumed shots after moving back to Arizona only to have two bad reactions within a few months of each other and going off the shots cold turkey. (Notice the food reference?)

I have always known that I have some food allergies...melons, for example which I recently learned is related to a ragweed allergy... so I went to get tested for food allergies. Curious to see what else might be on the list and really expecting a ho hum kind of a result, I patiently held my breath as the nurse poked all 40 foods into my the sensitive skin of my back. As I lay on my stomach for the required 20 minutes, itching more and more furiously as each minute dragged on, I knew the news would not be the best. Call it a gut instinct...

The nurse came in to check on me after 10 minutes of blue cross-approved medical torture only to have to have the doctor come in to see the unusual amount of redness and swelling on my calamine-deprived back. In walks the doctor and I hear words come out of his mouth that I never in a million years thought I would hear (or adhere to for that matter). He said, "Oh boy, it looks like you're going to have to stop eating. Haa haa ha! No soup for you!" Yes, he actually said that. We all laughed and hahaha, it must be some insider allergy office kind of a sick joke, I guess. He's a regular comedian, right!? Hi, Doctor Manning! You're the best!

Anyway, here I am now on day three of completely eliminating (what's more than many?) many of the foods I have eaten all of my life. Granted, some of them I knew I was allergic to. I sneeze and my eyes itch and water when I peel and eat an orange...(which by the way, I had started to eat an orange every night TO BE HEALTHY!...Carrots and celery. My throat usually gets a little itchy, but nothing (I thought) worth NOT eating them. Iceberg lettuce (never touch the stuff but have a salad nearly every day of the week), peas, peaches (oh please!), corn and tomatoes (no more chips and salsa?), yeast (I could easily o.d. on bread and butter any day any time, just try me!), and white rice to name a few. I'm half Puerto Rican for pity sakes! NOT having white rice, might just send me to my grave...kill me now!

This is just a sample of my list of no no items. Now here's the good news. If you show a 0 out of 4 on the allergy test, you truly have NO allergy to that food item. Anything else and there is a 50-50 chance that you will have some kind of noticeable reaction to it. Soooo...that means that for the next few months, I will have to eliminate all of these items from my diet and then try to add them back, one by one to see what happens. Want to join in on the fun?

This is where I'm going to need some help. I've never had to think about my weight (until the very second I turned 39) and I've always eaten whatever I wanted to. I work out and I try to eat healthy foods. (Did I mention I can't have whole grain wheat, which is, of course, the only bread I eat because it's HEALTHY!) My challenge is going to be NOT eating all of these things and staying HAPPY and positive in the face of the evil allergy beast who has plunked itself down at my table.

I have started to research food allergies and picked up a couple of books from the library. What I noticed right away is that there is a definite LACK of specific information about this issue. At Barnes and Noble it took two of us to find a grand total of 4 books on food allergies. "Isn't that the strangest thing," said the B&N employee, "They hid them here in the middle of a couple of different types of Cancers." If B&N doesn't have a stock of books on the issue, who will? I want someone to tell me what I can eat in place of the things I can't so I can still make my family's favorite hot Italian sausage soup! No soup for me is right, as it happens. It's got a tomato base! UGH!!!!!

I know there are other people out there who have lots of allergies to lots of foods and are in the same kitchen with me. If you can and are able to help me with advise or humor, I would love to hear from you. In the meantime, I am going to read the few books I found and google everything thing I can find and get back to you.

Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm not allergic to soy...so that's good.