Food intolerance symptoms?

NadNight

I know this site isn’t meant for a diagnosis I was wondering if anyone with any experience could make some suggestions ☺️

I’ve been struggling with some kind of allergy or intolerance for a while now. I think it’s food based as it shows up after eating but there’s no consistency to it. I’ve tried keeping a food diary and my diet isn’t exactly great, it is highly processed, lots of sugar, cheese, chocolate, pasta and toast

After eating I get painful gas and about half an hour to an hour later need to go to the toilet bad. But I’m also coming up in red splotches. Across my cheeks especially but can affect my neck and chest I’m getting slightly swollen red patches that feel very hot but they only last a few hours and they go. Similar looking to rosacea but I don’t have rosacea and they’re only temporary.

I was wondering if this was a common thing amongst a particular food intolerance or if it wasn’t particularly indicative of anything except that something isn’t agreeing with me (it might not even be food, it could be environmental but it just seems to be after I eat)

yirara

Could be anything from too little fibre to pretty much any allergy out there, to gallblaller problems, etc. If this happens with any food then there are two options: go to your gp or do a proper elimination diet (look up low FODMAP).

ToadstoolBetty

Me and my daughter are wheat and gluten free.
We swell and have allergy symptoms.
My daughter is waiting for a hospital appointment.
I've had red patches on my chest that are some times itchy.
There's a lot of contamination in factory's so what ever it is you could be eating it with out realising.
We have to take antihistamines to stop the symptoms.

Bridgie3

NadNight wrote: »

I know this site isn’t meant for a diagnosis I was wondering if anyone with any experience could make some suggestions ☺️

I’ve been struggling with some kind of allergy or intolerance for a while now. I think it’s food based as it shows up after eating but there’s no consistency to it. I’ve tried keeping a food diary and my diet isn’t exactly great, it is highly processed, lots of sugar, cheese, chocolate, pasta and toast

After eating I get painful gas and about half an hour to an hour later need to go to the toilet bad. But I’m also coming up in red splotches. Across my cheeks especially but can affect my neck and chest I’m getting slightly swollen red patches that feel very hot but they only last a few hours and they go. Similar looking to rosacea but I don’t have rosacea and they’re only temporary.

I was wondering if this was a common thing amongst a particular food intolerance or if it wasn’t particularly indicative of anything except that something isn’t agreeing with me (it might not even be food, it could be environmental but it just seems to be after I eat)

capsicum? tomatoes? Potatoes? That family?

There are diets you can go on to find out what allergies/intolerances you might be having.

Also: diet products? I find the diet Fanta sends me to the loo with raging diarrhoea, diet marshmallows give me gas... Some of those diet foods are really hard on the guts.

ciaoder

We used the Feingold elimination diet to narrow down my daughter's food sensitivities with great success.

ExistingFish

If you have no clue, I'd suggest an elimination diet.

I've recently cut dairy out of my diet, I know that it bothers me. It has greatly reduced my flatulence and gastric distress, and I am more aware when something else has given me flatulence - it's either beef or alcohol gives it to me. Now it actually stands out and is not just a "normal" thing after eating.

If it's flatulence, you could just try cutting out dairy first, but it might be easier to go on a full elimination diet - everything has dairy in it.

sollyn23l2

There's no way to know for sure.... the red splotches make me suspicious of an allergy.... which could be really dangerous. They can do allergy testing, but it's pretty expensive unless covered by insurance.

neanderthin

You might try an elimination diet. The most restrictive is the carnivore diet where you eat only animal protein and their fats, and it's suggested to leave out dairy. Antidotally it's been pretty successful, especially with things like rosacea, acne and for overall gut health. Adding things back in one buy one is a solid indicator. Talk to your physician or endocrinologist before you start because if you're on medications it can affect dosages. cheers

acpgee

I have a friend who discovered he had a malabsorption problem with FODMAPS (his was garlic and onions) that had caused bloating, diahroea and irritable bowel syndrome for years. This was pinpointed by a hydrogen breath test ordered by his doctor. Once he eliminated the FODMAP culprits his symptoms disappeared.

I was diagnosed to be allergic to all fruit due to a severe pollen allergy cross over. I was advised to microwave all fruit for 30 seconds on high (chill back down if that makes it more palatable) which breaks down the protein that triggered my particular allergy.

acpgee

In case it is an allergy, which can be dangerous, I would consult a doctor.

If it is a FODMAP problem (inability to digest certain sugars) I believe the recommendation is to use a breathe test (referral from a doctor) or do the elimination diet under the guidance of a dietician. If the cost is too prohibitive and you need to DIY pinpointing your FODMAP triggers I would read up on the common types of malabsorbed sugars on the web and trying to eliminate them one at a time (ie, lactose, fructose, fructans, etc).

JarheadSFMF

Sounds like what gluten does yo me

shaumom

That does seem like it could be an allergy, yeah. Anything that is causing a rash response, allergy is a good first thing to check.

While a LOT of things can cause gut issues, the swollen red patches? That's a lot more rare. That is not something that an intolerance usually causes. That's not something celiac disease usually causes. That's not caused by FODMAP issues, etc...

Although re: the allergy - there can be 'true' allergies, and then there can also be chemical sensitivities that the body basically reacts to LIKE an allergen, even though no proteins are involved. And since you eat food with a lot of chemicals, either one could be a suspect.

Unfortunately, allergists don't really deal with chemical sensitivities as a specialty. Just sometimes you can find an individual allergist that looks at them. So to start off with, as you wait to get in with an allergist, an elimination diet can at least help you alleviate your symptoms.

One thing about our food industry and trying to keep a food journal - there is a LOT in our food that isn't on the label, so we won't know about. I mention this mostly because it means that there may be a consistent pattern to what you are eating and your reactions, but the answer may not be on the label.

Like, for example, I react to sulfites (very common chemical sensitivity). It's a preservative, and if it's above a certain amount, it is listed on labels (like wine and sulfited dried fruit). However, I react to lower levels, and if it is low enough, it is NOT listed on labels. Like, corn that is wet milled goes through a sulfiting process. It is then used for things like corn syrup and corn starch and there is enough sulfites remaining that I react, but there's nothing about that on the label. It just seemed random.

And then...corn starch is sometimes used on the inside of plastic packaging (like, Tillamook used to use this on one of their bigger blocks of cheese), but it's considered 'packaging' and not an 'ingredient,' so it, too, isn't on the label. So far as I knew, I was reacting to cheese...but only some sizes of cheese and literally, that makes no sense until you find out about the corn starch thing, you know?

So for elimination diets, it's often easiest to literally make everything from scratch out of single ingredients, and go, like, camping level of cooking. Like, no breads and complicated foods, but rather oatmeal and rice
and soups and basic meats, etc... It's hard, though, so easiest way I heard was to literally do a batch of stuff and freeze it, thaw and eat it throughout the week so it's not so much work day to day.

With so few ingredients, and often non-repeating ones meal to meal, it can help your reactions space out, so you can see what you are reacting to a bit better, when you food journal, you know?