I know tomatoes are suppose to be bad for Reflux but I wonder if I have an allergy to them. I just put all my symptoms on acid reflux but now I have doubts. I always get better then I eat something like Chili, Spaghetti and meatballs, BBQ Sauce and then I'm all messed up. I get acid reflux, wheezing, excema, and a feeling like my insides are being chewed up. Then after 4 or 5 days I start to improve. Problem is I know tomatoes are bad for reflux also, so I don't know if it's just normal or allergy. Has anybody else got these reactions? Would a tomato allergy cause reflux? Or am I just barking up the wrong tree as usual.

neddy it begs the question - if tomato products get you all screwed up, why do you eat them? allergy or not - does it really matter?

I've been avoiding all tomato products and tomatoes since having these stomach problems that started a year ago after taking advice from people on this forum. But finally I decided to try eating tomatoes and didn't have much of a problem as long as I ate fresh tomatoes, not cooked only. I know the acid is more dense if you cook the tomatoes and cook the moisture out of them. Canned tomato products have more acid also. Try just plain raw tomatoes over already cooked pasta like I do. Added vegies that you can tolerate. It's not the same as eating a tasty pasta dish or a pizza but it beats avoiding it all together.

Thinking back I realized... weeks before I had the GERD symptoms I have been really eatinga lot of tomatoes... cherry tomatoes to be exact and I am eating them like chips.. probably 10 -15 in one sitting... I was pregnant that time and I dont know but Ijust love to eat the stuff.. then voila! Here comes GERD! :mad:

I just realized that tomatoes where causing me problems, otherwise I would have stopped them long before now. The thing that worries me is the wheezing I get and the red blotches on my skin, that seems to me to be an allergy of some kind. I know reflux can cause wheezing but this happens when I don't have any reflux. I will avoid all tomato products from now on, see what happens. I'm starting to improve again, seems like I need a good week after setting off my reflux to start to recover.

Yup, tomatoes are one of those foods that commonly cause allergies.
Just a few of the symptoms are:

red, sandpaper-like facial rash
dry, scaly, itchy skin (mostly on face)
wheezing
congestion
bronchitis

Bethsheba

neddyflanders ,
The thing that worries me is the wheezing I get and the red blotches on my skin, that seems to me to be an allergy of some kind.

This is a standard allergic response. Have you been to an allergist? You should think about it. You may have many minor food allergies you are unaware of and eating those foods will lead to overall chronic ill health. I am allergic to all but Roma tomatos. Roma tomatos have a different acid and as a result do not trigger as many allergic issues. I make my own sauce from these.

If the allergies are severe enough allergy shots can do wonders. In the mean time, keep benedryl handy for those slip ups.. stay calm and sip a caffinated beverage to help with bronchial dialation and speedy wheezing relief.

SEVERE allergies do require epi pen application. My whole family carries them.. too many allergies not too. Epi pens are serious and when used require an immediate trip to the ER. You should look into allergy testing for food and environmental trigger confirmation.

Sincerely,
MG

yeah even though I said I will never go to another doctor, I may go and get allergy testing. I just assumed since tomatoes made reflux worse that, thats what was causing the problem. I really didn't know anybody could be allergic to tomatoes. I never could figure out why my skin went bad when I would get bad reflux and then clear up on when the reflux would go away. I haven't touched any tomato product (even ketchup which I put on everything) for a week, so far reflux has gone away. Who knows I've been wrong before but either way, allergy or no allergy, tomatoes really do me in.

Funny thing I just read: People who have allergies to certain foods may also have a latex allergy. Both the foods and the latex may have some of the same proteins. Commonly eaten foods which contain some of the same proteins as latex include: bananas, avocados, chestnuts, kiwi, passion fruit, papaya, figs, peaches, nectarines, plums, tomatoes, and celery.

I have always been allergic to Latex.

Neddy,

It is very unlikely that certain foods cause acid reflux--it's a myth that diet causes reflux...certain foods may make the reflux worse, but foods in general don't cause it. And if foods make the refllux worse it may be just due to an allergy as you suspect. Just ask anybody from a country that spices up their foods alot. Mexico comes to mind...do you know any Mexicans with acid reflux?:) Or China...do you know any Chinese people who don't eat spicy Chinese dishes? :) Of course, people from these countries aren't usually overweight and being overweight puts one at risk for acid reflux.

Just something more to think about.

Bethsheba
PS Neddy, you never responded to my posts on Gerd and Sleep Apnea. Did you read them? If you don't agree to what I said, that's fine, but I would hope that you'd at least read them.

MG,

I am sooo happy you found the acid reflux board. You have so much knowledge and experience to offer...I've passed on some of the info I've learned from you that has applied to me--hope you don't mind.

Bethsheba

Hi Bethsheba, I thought I did respond. I said I went to the doctor about it and he said I didn't fit profile, basically said I don't have it. But I am still leaving that open as a possible cause since I don't believe a word the doctors say. I'm at the point now where I have the possible causes down to maybe 3 or 4 causes and sleep apnea is one of them but I'm not ruling out other causes, I've been burned to many times thinking I found out the cause and then it comes back. Like the problem I'm having with tomatoes, whether sleep apnea is causing my reflux or not, tomatoes really make it 100 times worse so I'm going to avoid it. Since you know more then I do about sleep apnea would you know if sleeping propped up (like on a wedge pillow) would make sleep apena worse? I find myself waking up 7 or 8 times when I sleep on that but when sleeping almost flat on my left side I wake up maybe once.

Oh, Neddy, thanks for getting back with me...I was afraid I had offended you for some reason and I certainly didn't mean to. Actually, I wrote several posts after you filled us in about your doctor saying you didn't fit the profile. I may be jumping to conclusions but unless you filled out a 8-10 page questionaire that your doctor gave you, I would question your doctor's credentials and reasoning for saying you didn't fit the profile.

FYI, many of my symptoms were in my chart (acid reflux, weight gain, high blood pressure for example) but my doctor didn't id them as a sign of a possible sleep disorder. This is not surprising because I have read that before being diagnosed with sleep apnea, patients have had symptoms of the condition for an average of seven years--over this period of time they have reported seeing a family physician about 17 times and a specialist about 9 times.

The reason the docs don't id the symptoms is because they get very little training (about 15 minutes) on SDs so we have to do the research and the training for them, :). One way to do that is to take take quizzes on sleep problems---and you can find these by doing some research on sleep disorders.

I'm no expert on sleep apnea as I have only mild to moderate apnea and haven't needed any surgery whatsover, thanks to my little air machine. However, I do know you are more likley to have fewer "episodes" of obstructive apnea (the kind where your air supply is blocked) if you sleep on your side or if you sleep upright in a chair---if you sleep on a wedge pillow you can still sleep on your back and that's the worst place to sleep because your air supply can easily be blocked when lying in that position.

Pre diagnosis, I got my best sleep lying on my left side on the sofa (it was too narrow to roll over onto my back) or sleeping upright in my recliner.

Bethsheba