Soy allergy and FRUSTRATED!! - Allergies Message Board

KN1999 · 05-21-2005, 05:34 AM

I am allergic to Soy and my dr said DO NOT

eat anything with any form of soy in it. If soy in anywhere on the lable DONT eat it!! Well I took my first trip to the grocery store and came home and cried!! My hour trip to the grocery turned into 2 1/2 hours!! I had 3 different clerks ask me if they could help me!! I told them if they could give me a list of Soy-free products I'd get my stuff and go!! Everything just about has some form of Soy!! What can I eat?? I joked with my husband and told him at least I'd loose some weight!! I am just VERY frustrated and overwhelmed with the limitations!! Any suggestions would be helpful. My dr has a dietition on staff so I was gonna ask to see her, but til then I just feel like I can eat anything without wondering about the soy!!

HELLASRULES · 05-21-2005, 05:43 AM

Hi, I have an allergy to sulfites, which are in everything, too. So I have cut out all packaged food, canned food, etc. I basically stick with fresh veggies, fruits, and meats. Cook most of my own foods, and read every label, as soy & sulfites are hidden in everything, you're right! Anything pre-prepared has tons of things added as fillers, preservative, etc. It's hard to eat this way, but a lot healthier, too. I lost 15 lbs!!!
Not necessarily a bad thing. Just takes some getting used to. And you will find you are going to feel like a new person, once you're body can stop fitting the "intruder"!
Good Luck.

Machaon · 05-21-2005, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KN1999

I am allergic to Soy and my dr said DO NOT

eat anything with any form of soy in it. If soy in anywhere on the lable DONT eat it!! Well I took my first trip to the grocery store and came home and cried!! My hour trip to the grocery turned into 2 1/2 hours!!

Do you know the level of allergy you have to soy? Do you have other major food allergies. What other types of allergies do you have?

The reasons why I ask: The results of certain allergy tests are not always totally accurate, and there are ways to deal with food allergies.

An allergic person is usually allergic to many items, not just one or two.

I am allergic to many food items, including milk, some peanuts, vegetable gums, olive oil, wheat, corn, nitrates, etc.

It is difficult to stay away from milk products, or wheat products. So, what I do is limit my consumption of vegetable gums, olive oil, corn, nitrates, all peanuts but almonds, etc.

In other words, perhaps you can trade three food items, for which you are allergic, for soy, so that you could still consume soy, but you would have to stay away from the other "easier to avoid" food items.

KN1999 · 05-21-2005, 06:39 PM

I dont know the level. I was 3+ and 4+ on the sking test so what ever that scale is that is what I am. I go in on Mon and I have some questions to ask!! I am also allergic to peanuts, carrots and apples. It is not the cross recation thing either. My doctor just told me to not consume it. I was overwhelmed and dealing with my child at the time so it did not dawn on me to ask questions!! I was in shock, NEVER being allergic and I am 26years old!! It sounds bad when I say, I was eating it last week and it did not kill me so why even bother?? Yes, my mouth gets tingley and itchy and my thoat gets tight (somewhat) and then I get heartburn really bad. It is REALLY bad with apples and carrots, my lips swell and it feels like I have chicken bones in my thoat!! I DID get more fruits and veggies and some meats. I did find some homemade noodles and I did find some bagels that are soy free, I just have to go to places that make them from scratch and spend more money on them!! I cant wait til Mon!! This is just crazyness!!!! Thanks for the helpful insite!! I just blows my mind, thats all!! I DO feel better though!! I have not felt this good in a while!! I can only imagine once I start on the allergy shots and continue with the Zyrtec (10mg)!! Thanks!!

rheanna · 05-22-2005, 01:35 AM

KN1999,

Those of us with allergies to common foods (in my case: gluten in wheat, rye, barley) have learned to cook at home and bring our own foods with us when we go traveling and even sometimes to friends' homes for dinner.

I buy VERY LITTLE prepackaged food, and even grind my own spices, because wheat is OFTEN put into spices to keep them from clumping. I read labels VERY carefully. I study the lists on websites for celiac (reactions to gluten). There are probably websites for people who are allergic to soy, as it's a very common allergy -- and it's put into very many prepared products. There must be lists out there in the internet.

You CAN eat a healthy diet IF you put a little effort into cooking at home. If you've got a decent sized freezer, you can save a lot of money by buying meats and things on sale, packaging them up into meal-sized portions (depending on the size of your family), and thawing things in the microwave just before you start to cook. Dried beans can be cooked in large batches, and frozen for quick thawing later. It doesn't take that much longer to cook from scratch, and you'd be eliminating LOTS of other additives besides the soy you're trying to avoid.

Feel sorry for yourself for a while -- I certainly did when I found that I could no longer eat wheat, rye, barley or oats, and therefore no more pasta, pizza, bread, beer, etc. But I have learned to bake my own buckwheat bread and pizza dough, my husband has become a master at making corn tortillas and buckwheat pasta, and we're eating MUCH healthier now and eating a much more varied diet than when we just reached for the white flour - based junk food.

Yes, it requires major changes in one's life and thinking to be able to eat without something that one is used to eating, and that's in many prepared products. But when you learn more about your own situation, I think you will find out that your friends will still like you, you'll be FAR better off without the instant gratification of calorie-laden junk food, your money can be spent on lots of other things besides prepared foods at the grocery store, and your diet will improve because you'll HAVE to focus on the things you CAN eat.

Hang in there -- I'm glad you're now starting to ask questions now that the intitial shock is letting up a little. It's possible that you may find a little sunshine in what looks like gloom at the moment.

--Rheanna