Well I finally got my Food RAST test back. I waited an hour and 15 minutes in the waiting room past my appointment time. And when the doctor saw me, the test results weren't in the chart! He finally located them. And I was shocked to find I have food allergies. I was also shocked to see that they only tested for 16 foods! And some common ones like chicken and soy weren't tested for.

My class 0/I reactions are: potato, apple, fish/shell, celery, and bannanas

My class I reactions are: barley-whole grain, lettuce, wheat, oat, corn, & peanut.

My class II reactions are: tomato, egg whites

As I posted in a previous thread, the ENT I've been assigned to is awful. (waiting more than an hour for an appointment is unacceptable) He tisked the nurse for putting me on Ceftin so long. But it did break up an infection. He said these allergies are why you are so miserable. But I'm not miserable ALL the time. He said,of course you are more miserable during pollen season. I have an appointment with the other nurse practioner, the one who gives me the shots. He siad she will be able to explain things to me in more detail.


Those of you with food allergies, do type I and II cause you that much trouble. Is eliminating them worth it? My pollen reactions were so much bigger, can this really have an effect? What should I ask the nurse about? I'm almost afraid to eat anything now, because I never dreamed I would test positive for anything but bannanas. Should I demand more testing of more foods? There are so many foods I eat all the time, that I wasn't tested for. I am just so overwhelmed right now.

Hey sneezy - I hope you get an answer to your post because I would love to know myself. My ENT did say that ones and twos wouldn't cause asthma problems, but didn't say what they would/could do. I am wondering if they contribute to the lovely dark circles I have noticed getting worse over the last few years. The ENT's nurse said dark circles were more allergy related than sinus (still not sure I buy that), but I'll let you know if I see a marked improvement in mine since quitting tea and eggs.

Thanks for your response! I am just really overwhelmed. And this ENT is a jerk. He was like, "Yup this is your problem." And when I asked questions, he just acted like he didn't have the time to answer. He said to go ask the nurse. It was cutting into lunch hour,but frankly that's not my problem. I'm not the one who didn't see me until more than an hour after my appointment.

I did speak to the nurse on the phone. We talked a great deal, and she said that I shouldn't worry so much about the 0/I's and I's, just the II's, except for corn because corn syrup is in everything. So even though it is a one, I am consuming a lot of corn w/o realizing. She also wants to test for more foods, ones that I eat a lot of because these results are not a smoking gun to why I am miserable, but maybe another food I eat a lot of will be. I get my shot tomorrow, so I will talk to her more then. But I feel a little better now.

I hope you feel better soon. Let me know what happens with you.

P.S. My previous allergist(whom I loved) also said dark circles were more allergy than sinus. But they disappeared after my sinus surgery, so I don't know. They came back eventually though, but not as dark as before.

OH boy I can relate!!!! WOW!! Not about the Dr, but about the food allergies!! I went in thinking it would be pollens (hayfever and such) but it turned up SO much more!! He tested me for the basic food allergies plus the ones I had mentioned that I reacted too (apples, carrots and cherries). I came up positive to soy, peanut, apple and carrot. I too FREAKED cause SOY is in everything!!!! I went in for my allergy shot and was asking the nurse ALL sorts of questions, so many so she got the Dr to better explain them to me. He talked to me for like 30min about my conserns!! (allergy shots are w/i, so he took his OWN time to talk to me!!) It eased my mind. He told me that with my results (3+ with soy, peanut, and apple and 4+ with carrot) that I should NOT consume it if they are in the first 3 ingredience, peroid!! He said if they are within the first 3 ingredience under NO circumstances consume it!!!! He said the further down in the ingredience list the less they will react with me. He still stressed that I should not consume them cause they are pretty high reactions, but with the allergy shots, and zyrtec he said I should be able to tolerate them in small quantities, but should really TRY to not consume them!! He did not want to give me the green light cause he is a doctor and lawsuits are prevelent and food allergies could cause bad reactions!! I dont know what CLASS my food allergies are but I have been avoiding the foods, READ lables very carefully!!!! I have gone from store bought to homemade!! I am a BREAD LOVER!!!! All breads in the store have SOY somewhere in them!!!! SO I resulted to making my own!! I KNOW what is going into it!! I am coping but it IS hard!! SO much I cant have!! Pizza Hut pizza, chocolate, the flavored coffee creamers, and the list of NO's go ON and ON and ON!! BUT I can make my own crust and my own sauce and then spinkle the cheese on, Unsweetend chocolate (powdered) has NO soy!! I can cook with that and balance it out with sugar!! I put that in my coffee with milk. Just as GOOD, just takes some CREATIVE cooking and ideas to get by!! It $UC%$ but, it is a way to make me eat healthier!! I feel like I have lost the weight I gained on predisone, and I am sure there is alot more for me to loose. You just have to get creative, but I am enjoying looking up NEW recipies and tring things I would never have before (cause it is an alternative or the ONLY thing in the store without soy!!) Good Luck and hang in there!! I DOES get better!!!! I promise!! It did for me!! (let me tell you I was paranoid!!)

Thanks KN! I am calming down a bit. Just like you, I was so shocked. I really didn't expect anything to come up on the test. The nurse practitioner ordered them because she couldn't think of anything else to do. Some of the results baffle me, as I was not a sickly kid, and I eat peanut butter and pasta all the time. Some are not too suprising, like tomato and banana, as I always shunned those foods as a kid. The most shocking was eggs, I eat one everyday for breakfast! Maybe not doing that alone will make me feel better. I'm really upset they didn't test for all the foods possible. I see the nurse for my shot, and I'm going to tell her I want all the panels ordred for my peace of mind. I also will see my primary doc, and I might get a referral to an immunologist. Thanks for listening.

Just thought I would update in case anyone is reading. The nurse practitioner at the ENT wants to test for a wider variety of foods, and redo the pollens. My primary care doctor wants to refer me to an allergist. There is one from a city 3 hours away that comes here once a week, but he is booked solid until end of July. He said if he can't get me in there sooner, he will try a prestigious clinic that is also 3 hours away.

I am feeling so much better about things now that it is clear that my doctor will refer me to wherever it takes. I just hope I can get an appointment soon.

I haven't eaten any of my 2+ foods since yesterday, and have tried cutting down on the others, but haven't really noticed any difference yet.

Give it a week!! I REALLY notice a difference after a few days!! I was so paranod and irratic and upset the first few I probably would not have noticed anyways!!

That is wonderful that they are working with you to find out what is going on!! I am glad that they will test for more foods and that the allergist wants to see you.

I dont know what an ENT is but I see an allergist. They are a group of 3 doctors and a dietition. ( I was thinking about seeing her, but I am ok now so I decided not to) I have seen 2 out of the 3 and I like the one alittle better, not that the other one is no good.

Hope you get this all straightend out soon!!!! I know it is frustrating!!!! I was a wreck the week before when I failed the breathing test and they gave me the predisone and inhaler along with nasal spray and eye drops. I had SO many senerios running through my head, I was almost to the point of explosion!!!! Now I am better!! :)

Hang in there it DOES get better!! :)

Hi Sneezydiva
Just wanted to say sorry to hear about your bad news with the allergy tests. I went for some testing a while ago (just basic yes/no) and was told of a number of foods to avoid. The first thought that crossed my mind was panic - what am I going to eat. But actually I do feel much better for it. Stick with it and it will get easier and you will feel better.
Hope it doesn't take too long for the testing of wider range of foods to happen. Once you know a more exhaustive list then you might start to feel better sooner aswell.

Youve helped me understand a lot with my posts, hope this helps you.
Cheers

Thanks so much KN and Tesss. I'm already much more optimistic. Having both of you reply to my posts helps me so much. It is just so good to know I am not alone, and that eliminating foods has helped both of you to feel better. I am anxious to get more testing, but in the meantime I will concentrate on the list I have. Thanks again!