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Has anyone had food intolerance tested?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/3/2011 9:34 AM (GMT 0)
about half a year ago, I talked with my doctor about gluten and food intolerance. My doctor said he knew celiac disease, but did not believe my UC was caused/triggered by gluten. He only believes in medicine (5-ASA). His opinion is that any supplements such as probiotics, spinach, sunflower seed have placebo effect. So, I wonder if I should have food intolerance tested.

 

Posted 8/3/2011 11:13 AM (GMT 0)
It is very possible that your UC was not triggered by gluten, but there are many people here who do better on a non-gluten diet. Including me.

Don't know about the placebo effect. if the placebo effect could last more than 1 & half year, then it's the most potent medication i've taken until now :).

UC people become sensitive (wich is not same as intolerant) to many foods during their flares (or even in remission) since our bowel flora is dramaticaly changed compared to a normal person.

Just keep a food journal, try same foods for about 1 week, then remove gluten foods and try without it for about 2 weeks. See if you see any difference.
Same thing with sugar foods, fast food, tomatoes, coffee, fruits and so on.
You will learn if there are foods that can make you feel worse, but it takes time.
Posted 8/3/2011 12:48 PM (GMT 0)
His opinion is that any supplements such as probiotics, spinach, sunflower seed have placebo effect

More and more doctors are finally recognizing that probiotics are effective for IBD. Apparently your doctor hasn't received the message yet. Maybe someday doctors will finally get the message that food also affects UC. In the meantime you will need to think for yourself and find what works for you.

As far as food allergy testing I tried Elisa testing from a company in Florida. They turned out to be con artists. They took my credit card and then ignored my phone calls. I called Florida regulators and they said they had many complaints about them. When I called my credit card company to retract the sale, they sent me a report saying that I was allergic to the usual suspects like milk. I took the report as garbage.

Next I went to a company recommended by my PCP. This new report said I was allergic to beef and broccoli. Maybe I am but I don’t notice it. I do notice thru trial and error that I have problems with gluten, kale, shellfish, plums and hummus. This new report did not mention any problems with those foods.

I would say save your money. Food allergy tests are notoriously unreliable. There are other members here on this forum who have been tested and given a green light for gluten and later found it to be a source of flares.
Posted 8/3/2011 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
I was tested for food intolerances by a reputable nutritionist and a whole bunch of things popped up, some of which were not surprising, like dairy and coffee but some other random things as well. Avoiding these foods helped me a lot for awhile, a avoided a yearly flare I had for years every August and I even got through my second pregnancy without a problem(versus my first, lot of UC issues then). What I got tested was IgG reactions, not IgE, which is a food allergy.

I feel like it can't hurt to find out more about what your body can and cannot tolerate. My GI at the time was definitely flippant about it, but as he wasn't able to give me any kinds of answers, I figured why not?
Posted 8/3/2011 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
5 years ago I had both the gluten (celiac) test and lactose tests at my previous GI's office. Both came back negative so I did not remove those foods from my diet.

Fast forward to a year and a half ago when I started diet modification. My husband saw an article that said many people were gluten-intolerant and would not show up on a test but still have trouble digesting gluten foods. I removed gluten from my diet and just a few days later my rectal bleeding stopped. Proof enough for me.

I also know that when I eat dairy I have gas, bloating and looser BM's the next day, if I had dairy every day I'd be in a major flare. So that test did not diagnose my intolerance of dairy either.

I do not trust medical tests for food intolerance. I believe they are only good for people who have an anaphylactic reaction like hives or heart irregularity. I knew someone who went to the hospital for allergy scratch tests and he had a heart attack because of the testing.

I trust my own food testing. By adding a questionable food one at a time I know what is causing problems. Gluten fooled me because it was so subtle but no bleeding since removing it.
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