food intolerance tests

Personally, I wouldn't trust any medical diagnostic kit sold over the internet. They are usually in league with people who sell you "cures" as soon as they "diagnose" you with a problem.

I don't know about the UK, but over in the US we have allergy clinics and they are the ones that test you for allergies. I know some people on here have been and that they have been diagnosed with some intolerances. Basically they showed a mild reaction to something, but not a full-blown allergy reaction. I have heard it is a pretty imprecise science when it comes to foods (I know they nailed all of my mother's non-food allergies, though), but it can go a long ways towards confirming any suspicions you might have. In other words, if you think you have a problem with dairy, and it shows an intolerence to dairy proteins, then between your observations and the tests results, you can figure that you probably have a dairy intolerence. This means that when you consume dairy you may or may not react badly to it, depending on a number of conditions. It's my understanding, though, that if you have a true allergy, you have a bad reaction every time you come in contact with your irritant.

I have heard of people who go to less affluent countries to get medical treatments for much cheaper. Some friends of a co-worker of mine spent half their year in the Czech Republic (I think he was from there originally anyways) because it saved them so much money in terms of living expenses (they were retired). They saw doctors over here in the US if they needed to, but any medical procedure they needed that could wait--including dental work--they had done over there at a fraction of the cost. If you're not getting sufficient testing in the UK because the government doesn't want to pay for it, then you may want to see what it will cost you to see an English-speaking doctor in one of the poorer European countries and time your appointment to one of RyanAir's cheapy flights. You could get some tests and some vacation in at the same time! Just do plenty of research online beforehand so you don't get taken for a ride. They shouldn't do any tests that are life-threatening (like surgery), so you shouldn't have to worry about your health--at least getting any worse than now.

I just looked up some sites and it says the skin test is more accurate than the blood test. I have had those skin tests a number of times in my life. Not fun.

I don't want to appear negative but I do not trust food intolerance tests. I saw a programme on tv about a man that sent off samples to different companies and they all came back with different intolerances. You can also garuntee they will tell you that you are intolerant to dairy and wheat.
If I were you talk to your doctor or GI and ask their advice on this. I asked my doctor's advice and she told me to stay away as you pay so much money for something that may not help.

I'm sorry I sound negative but I just hate seeing people pay so much money for things like this.

Victoria

If the skin tests Canyon is talking about is what my mother had, then no, you cannot do it yourself. I don't know if you've ever had a TB test, but it's like that. They take a needle with whatever allergen in it and stick it right up under the skin. They do it all plotted out a certain way and when you go back however long afterwards, they look to see if you have developed any sort of redness or swelling or itch and that's how they know that you are allergic. I wonder how that works with food? Anyways, that's what my mother had done and she found out that she's allergic to everything but horses and dogs. Tree pollen, grass pollen, mold, cats, rabbits... you name it, she's allergic to it. I don't know if she was tested for foods at the same time, but since she doens't have stomach upset, I'm guessing she's not allergic to any foods.

This is an old thread but will add that the skin tests were never considered extremely reliable for food allergies. It may be ok for allergies like rashes and things like that but not sure about the stomach part. It is often that we are not really allergic to something but just cannot digest it properly for some reason so that would not show up. Best thing is to try and avoid foods that you think are affecting you and see how it goes. Stay off dairy for 2 weeks, wheat, whatever and see how you feel. Here is a site that explains food allergies and diet.

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergies-elimination-diet