Allergic to everything?

Hi all,

I've been switching from diet to diet for around a year now. I tried vegan, I tried the whole grain thing, I tried everything. Every time, no matter what I ate, my stomach wouldn't settle down. It's like I'm allergic to everything. Some things are ok, like veggies and sometimes meat/eggs, but I keep being shot down by seemingly random things like crisps, honey soy grilled chicken, and even just really bizarre ones like mayonnaise (even though I can eat eggs just fine.) I've lost 5.6kg and I'm now at a BMI of 16.5, because I'm sick all the time. When I get sick, it's bad. Like throwing up and then staying in bed for a week, with added diarrhoea. I'm at my wits end - I had a salad made with barley and lentils for dinner, with spinach and balsamic dressing. It was amazing. But I'm typing this from my toilet.

What on earth am I to do?

Replies

  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    See a doctor
  • schlafentzug
    schlafentzug Posts: 8 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    See a doctor

    Unfortunately, that's not a possibility for me for the foreseeable future.
  • not_my_first_rodeo
    not_my_first_rodeo Posts: 311 Member
    Is there a free clinic or something like that?
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    If you're having this response to everything, chances are it's not the food, it's something else like a digestive disorder.

    You really do need to try to see a doctor. Only a doctor can get a handle on what's going on.
  • WatchJoshLift
    WatchJoshLift Posts: 520 Member
    You're not going to find the answer here. You are going to have to see a doctor. This sounds like a medical issue, maybe acid reflux or something like that. You need to be checked out.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited December 2016
    You really should get an allergy test. It could be an ingredient that's not even on your radar that's causing the issues. I have a relative who suffered from serious digestive issues and she ended up being allergic to tomatoes, cruciferous veggies, dairy, eggs etc etc.

    We've paid out of pocket for the scratch test for our daughter and it was around $800, so not cheap but it's very helpful.
  • asltiffm
    asltiffm Posts: 521 Member
    I recently had the allergy testing done. While I'm allergic to almost everything that's not food, I'm not actually allergic to many foods. But random foods, gluten and dairy make me sick all the time. Turns out that I have IBS. But lots of different digestive disorders will do the same things. If you can't go to a doctor (I wasn't able to either for a while) you can go online and look up FODMAPS diet. It's a strict elimination diet designed to help you find out what foods are ok for you and which ones trigger your body. But if you do it, definitely don't cheat or it will be a pointless thing to do...and it takes several months. But in the end, you will have a much better idea of what you need to avoid.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    See a doctor! There is no other way to know what your problems are.
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    You can't come to MFP and ask for medical advice man, go to the hospital.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    See a doctor

    Unfortunately, that's not a possibility for me for the foreseeable future.

    Make it a possibility. Nothing is more important than your health.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    I would see a doctor before spending money on allergy testing. Even the fodmap diet - which can have good results - is complicated and really should be done with the guidance of a qualified dietician. I agree with the above that it could be a gastrointestinal issue rather than food. Is there no way you could get medical advice?
  • michael1976_ca
    michael1976_ca Posts: 3,488 Member
    if your spending alot of time in the bathroom. get checked for crohns but its best you see a doctor
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    I will echo the others and say that it seems like it's gastrointestinal issues. See a GI doctor.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
    emdeesea wrote: »
    If you're having this response to everything, chances are it's not the food, it's something else like a digestive disorder.

    You really do need to try to see a doctor. Only a doctor can get a handle on what's going on.

    I agree. I know you said seeing a doctor isn't an issue but I would seriously start looking into free clinics or sliding scales. You could have IBS or another GINissue and it likely won't get better until you get professional help.

  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    With a BmI of 16.5, see a doctor, immediately, especially if you can't keep anything down/have diarrhea. Vomiting and diarrhea can lead to electrolyte imbalances which can be fatal.

    Go to the hospital emergency room. In the USA they can not turn you away for inability to pay.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    Go to the hospital emergency room. In the USA they can not turn you away for inability to pay.

    Unfortunately, they find ways to do it anyway. Like, for example, looking a patient over and saying things like 'it's just anxiety.' and sending them on their way. Highly unlikely a doctor would do much in the way of tests for symptoms like this, in my experience (and yes, I know folks with symptoms like this who actually have insurance and were basically brushed off by emergency rooms. It is more common than we'd like to think).
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    First, I am so sorry you are suffering. I wish you could go to the doctor and they could help, but you have said that you cannot, so, that being so....

    Tt could be a lot of things. Sadly, the whole 'go to the doctor' advice only works if 1, you have money, and 2, you have a Reeeeeally good doctor, with these types of symptoms, because they are usually not easy to diagnose and require a lot of testing.

    So, with that in mind, as I have multiple disorders that involve the same or similar symptoms, I'm just going to put out there what I have had, and what acquaintances looking for answers have had, in case it helps.

    1. Celiac disease - body reacts to gluten with damage to the intestines. HOWEVER, it's not like you can just read a label and you're good. Celiac's react to gluten like peanut allergic folks react to peanuts, in terms of sensitivity, it's only celiacs ONLY react to stuff that gets to the gut. But that means unless a food is certified gluten free, it can have contamination from the factory, you can contaminate things in the house, and so on, which can keep you quite ill. It can only take a tiny bit and you will STILL be sick. But this can lead to things like, say, eating eggs fine but reacting to processed foods with eggs due to gluten contamination. Celiac disease has only one treatment: going gluten free and avoiding gluten cross contamination - might be worth looking at that.

    2. Giardia infection (or other parasites)- this infection tends to respond to some foods more than others. Might be worth exploring.

    3. Allergies or chemical sensitivities - unless you have been really investigating, there are often a lot of connections for allergens or chemicals between seemingly unrelated foods, due to the food processing. As an example, someone could react to tomatoes, fortified milk, Tilamook large cheese blocks (but not small sized cheese blocks), and corn chips if they were very allergic to corn. Because tomatoes have a corn based ripening spray, fortification uses corn as a carrier for the vitamins, and Tilamook brand uses cornstarch to coat the inside of their plastic wrapping for their larger blocks of cheese (but not small ones).

    Or for me, i react to sulfites, which only have to be reported if there is a certain amount in the food, and I react to less than that. So I react to many salt brands (bleached white with sulfites), pistachios (shells are bleached with sulfites), wine (added sulfites), potato crisps (sulfites keep them from oxidizing) and even some waters that have added sulfites.

    It can be very, very, VERY hard to track down this stuff. I would honestly say that if you are concerned about potential allergies, truly? Drop every single processed item you can. Like, if this food has been ground up or hulled or fermented, even, ditch it. Even drop salt and oils for a while (which SUCKS, let me tell you). Find some really pure salt that isn't bleached or processed. Maybe find one type of oil that you can trust. And then eat as close to fresh, unprocessed veggies, meats, fruits, and eggs as you can and see how you do (you can try to add in nuts, beans, grains, seeds later, but these are QUITE frequently processed with grains, and grains are quite frequently found with additives like anti-fungals and such, which can be a problem for some). Sometimes, there are STILL contaminants, so look at brands and farms and keep track of what you eat, and how you feel, because even fresh produce and meat has stuff done to it and added to it (anti-bacterials, coatings, anti-sprouting agents, the list goes on).

    This can really make a difference, especially if you end up having an allergy that is one of those put in just about everything (corn is in the category, as is gluten). And then you can start adding things back in, if this settles things for you.

    4. You could check out something called a mast cell activation syndrome (support groups on Facebook are good resources for this). Folks with this require a low histamine diet, but they react to nearly everything, with this disorder. So, might be worth looking.

    good luck, and hope you can get better soon!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    OP says nothing about having previously tried seeing a doctor, is describing serious symptoms, and is underweight. Why on earth would you discourage them from going to the ER? Yes digestive issues are sometimes difficult to get diagnosed, but there could be something more obvious wrong.

    OP, if so many foods are causing you problems, I don't think food allergies are the most likely answer. There are many things it could be. This has been going on for so long, you have lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Vomiting with diarrhea for an extended period of time is a red flag to get emergency help. I'm assuming you are uninsured and don't have the $ for another bill, but this isn't a sore throat or a sprained toe. You could be doing permanent damage to your digestive system, not to mention your heart and other organs from lack of nutrition, physical strain, and being underweight. Please find a way to see a doctor.