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Anyone else with a sulfite intolerance? I would love to hear from you!

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Posted 12/19/2010 9:48 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Alcie

also the gastric reflux problem that is just in the throat as well and my doctor prescribed Nexium but I did not take it.

I just drink a quarter glass of milk and sit upright and sleep upright, very hard to fall asleep too because of the feeling in the throat.

Posted 12/19/2010 11:23 PM (GMT 0)
  My reaction is gastric reflux and chest pain as well - is this called tachycardia?  my heart beats fast and I can hear the heartbeat in my ear.  My neck and jaw kind of seize.

 how is everyone else doing?  hope we can create some recipes between us and share them, that would be wonderful, what do you think?

 

Posted 12/20/2010 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
Yash

Do try the Nexium for the reflux. It might help calm down the hearttoo.
Yes, rapid heart beating is called tachycardia. Hearing heartbeats is something you should discuss with a cardiologist because it can be something wrong with an artery in the neck. But don't get hysterical. Usually it's nothing.

If your heart is beating 120 beats a minute or more for a long time and you can't get it to slow down with valsalva maneuver or coughing - see posts above (I think) - you have to go to the ER to get a shot to reset the heart.

Go to the GERD pages for loads of info on that subject.

No need for recipes, just cook your food yourself without pepper, garlic or onion. You should be able to tolerate most fruits (except grapes) and veggies, meats except pork.
Posted 12/20/2010 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Alcie

yes, I was always using black pepper and red chili flakes and kosher salt in almost everything, eggs, chicken, potatoes and sometimes a little organic thyme.  But I also use organic garlic on my chicken, sometimes I don't feel well afterwards, but sometimes I am okay with eating it.

At lunch, everyday without fail, I take an extra strength reactine and the calcium vitamin but I don't take any other vitamin.  Should I be taking a multivitamin ??  My allergist had said I should be but I got a reaction once and did not try any other brand after that.

I read that the liver produces this enzyme that converts the sulpites to a stable sulfates in our body and we lack this enzyme and therefore the allergy. 

I read lots of people are taking this molybdenum and quertecin and bromelain, any idea about this, do I have to see a  herbalist or something or can the Medical Clinic help me with this.

The more I know the more I can control my reactions and try to have a decent life.

Since you gave me the websites to visit, I have and am following your advise and its true, this weekend I did not have any reactions and actually had the energy to clean the house, hooray!

thank you very much, pls keep writing, you have so much knowledge and it can touch and save many lives.

 

Posted 12/21/2010 1:53 AM (GMT 0)
Salt doesn't have sulfite, but black peppercorns are roasted in 3rd world countries over charcoal and the pepper picks up sulfite from it.

Fresh potatoes are fine, but never use frozen or dried.  Those are all sulfited.  I avoid french fries except as fairs where they are cutting up fresh potatoes.

Some vitamins, especially biotin, contain sulfite.  A normal one once a day should be OK, but if youhave a reaction, try a different one.  I have less trouble with the real tiny round ones.

I doubt a herbalist would have any true experience with sulfite.  You'd be safer with an allergist - someone who has at least had to study biochemistry.

Try using individual spices, not mixed ones.  Just plain dried oregano, basil, or some nice fresh ones are the safest.  You will be surprised that you need very little salt too.

Bread is one of our worst enemies.  It's amazing how many things are now put in it.

Any time you see the words carmel coloring, corn starch, corn syrup, yellow dye #5, and much more, keep your intake to a minimum to avoid sulfites.  If I keep my consumption under control I can eat a little cheese or chocolate, which have a fair amount of sulfite.  One thing I don't tolerate well at all is gelatin.

Posted 12/21/2010 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Alcie

thank you for all this info.

Yes, I cut out black pepper I use to add it to everything I ate, wow.

I need to grow an organic spice pot in my kitchen for the winter months for the herbs.

Are you in Canada because I feel you are someone I know.

Is your daughter working at Bennett & Jones downtown Toronto?

If it is you, you must remember talking with me on the phone, I found you through my sister Rose who also worked at this Law firm with your daughter, pls pls let me know if that is you.

 

Posted 12/22/2010 2:47 AM (GMT 0)
New member here.

I am sulfite sensitive - learned that a few years ago. I was unable to get a confirmed diagnosis by a doctor (my allergist agreed that was probably the issue, but said "We don't do anything for that - just avoid the foods that bother you.")

When I figured this out, I immediately suspected my son was also sensitive (he's 4 now). He was colicky as a baby and had odd illnesses with high fevers and vomiting that would come and go within a day or two. Since we have been limiting his sulfite intake he doesn't seem to get sick at all - except when he eats or drinks something with a fair amount of sulfites (a rare occasion now, but we screw up once in a while - or a family member who doesn't believe us lets him have something he should stay away from!)

I have come to realize that I grew up with this problem and had the same illnesses my son was having! A big difference with me is that I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and that was used as an explanation of the fevers. For the headaches, everyone said I was just stressed all the time. Now I suspect all or most of my trouble was caused by sulfites! (for the Arthritis, I used to have joint pain a LOT, but since watching my sulfites I've had no trouble with that either)

Every once in a while I learn something new still... recent findings are chocolate with chocolate liquor in it provokes a strong headache reaction and a certain brand of roast beef my wife was buying actually contains carmel coloring! Nothing is sacred these days...

A comment on something I read here about breads - I've had really good luck with natural breads and even some really cheap breads (mostly air!) with no coloring or preservatives (just chemical leavening).

That's enough of an intro for me.. there's so much to the story, but it would make for a book of its own... back to work now. Glad to have found this forum!
Posted 12/22/2010 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
Yash -
No, I don't live in Canada, although half my family is from there and I have relatives still there.  I'm near Pittsburgh.  I have no daughters, just sons and now daughters-in-law.  There's more than one way to get daughters. :)

DEJ -

You were lucky to have found docs who at least have heard of sulfite allergy.  Most don't believe in it.


Yes, there is no treatment.  Baby formulas have dextrose, which is sulfited. That may have been why I was a "spitter" as a baby.  Baby foods contain a lot of additives too.  Make your own!

The usual reaction to sulfites is migraines.  See what Rick Williams has to say on his web pages at http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm  You can read the entire book, minus the tables of how much sulfite is in many, many foods and medicines, for free.


I did buy his book because I needed to know more about how much sulfite is in various foods and medicines.  That helped me figure out I can eat a lot of foods that are on "sulfited" lists, but I can only eat a little of them.  It's not like peanut allergy where a tiny touch sends you into a reaction.  I can actualy have a can of soda if I don't have other sulfites that day.  I calculated that I could have 1 bag of D5-saline when I was in the hospital.  5% dextrose if it was running full blast would have made me ill, but 1 liter a day was OK.  I carry with me a list of medicines I know I don't tolerate and ones that are known to contain sulfite - in case I can't speak for myself.  I've needed the lists a couple of times for emergency hospitalizations.


All the breads on the grocery store shelves are sulfited to some degree.  The ones baked in grocery stores come in frozen, and are just like pizza dough, which is a known source of sulfite.  I do eat some, and regret it every time.   

All beef, as well as most other meats in the deli contains carmel coloring.  Cook your own roast and get a slicer and you won't have any problems.  But you still have to avoid ham because pork naturally contains sulfite.

Posted 12/22/2010 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
I did buy the book as well. It was a sort of bible for me for a while, and I still use it as a reference on occasion.

We have a bakery that sells to the local grocery stores and they do not use any sulfited ingredients - and the bread is amazing. Their ingredient list is 4 things: water, salt, yeast, and milled flour. Yea, some sulfites from the natural yeast activity, but much better than other breads. A side effect is this company's bread goes bad VERY quickly.

In any case I do somewhat limit bread intake even of the ones I don't normally have issues with because - like you said - they absolutely do contain sulfites. For some things we simply select the kind or brand we estimate to have the least sulfites and eat sparingly.

The most difficult thing about this problem is the 'analog' nature of it - like you said, eating some foods that are sulfited is not necessarily a problem, but when the total intake of sulfites in a given period of time exceeds our tolerance level, bad things start to happen.

Oh with the doctor.. my disappointment was that he wasn't willing to even have it listed in my medical records at all! Not a huge issue for me, but with my son - daycare and schools won't alter what they give him if there is no documented issue! And daycare doesn't allow the kids to bring their own food.. neither does his pre-k program! Essentially, without the doctor note we're at the mercy of what the schools are feeding him! and it does cause issues!

- sorry, short rant -
Posted 12/22/2010 4:23 PM (GMT 0)
Last thought about the doctor thing... it seems that it is important to have it listed/documented/something because of the amount of medications that contain sulfites! Thoughts?

For now, I don't bother with doctors since I'm healthier now than I've ever been.
Posted 12/24/2010 1:52 AM (GMT 0)
Maybe your doc just doesn't want to call sulfite sensitivity an allergy. It doesn't make any difference what term is used. My allergist is a lumper, calls sensitivities and intolerances allergies. If your doc won't consider sulfite intolerance/allergy is a condition no matter what it's called, find another doc who will. I recommend an allergist.

Can you educate the kid about not eating certain foods? You should be able to get the menu for the week or month. It won't hurt if he eats some sulfite at school or daycare as long as you can keep the total for the day under control. My DIL was able to get her preschooler to prefer regular milk instead of chocolate milk and to prefer packed lunch most days, after he tasted the school food. It helps to talk about taste instead of trying to get a 4-year-old to comprehend chemistry.

Schools aren't likely to comprehend sulfites (and other additives) in processed food, and they buy the cheapest food available. They don't actually cook in their kitchens anymore, just heat up portion-control servings of processed food. Most districts still have pop and candy machines. If we have trouble educating our doctors, how in the world can we possibly expect to educate school "nutritionists?"
Posted 12/29/2010 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
So, after having a read through these posts I am becoming more confused about my diagonsis. Three years ago I started displaying anaphylaxis symptoms when out at dinner eating thai with a glass of wine, I then was fine for a few weeks before I was having a glass of wine and started to feel 'funny' again, so I stopped drinking, but continued to eat guacomole... (which I later looked had prawns and sulphites) not surprisingly my lips started swelling and breathing became more shallow - thank goodness for anti-histamines.

I went to the dr who gave me a blood test - I came out positive to seafood and nuts IGE allergy. I was sent to the allergist, where after skin tests diagonsed me with a sulphite allergy.

I have been 'off' them for three years now. I have had a vitamin test in that time and not suprisingly was low in vitamin B, so it all seems linked.

But, I think I have had a reaction to paracetamol - gelatin coating a few years ago. However, I can eat pork, pepper, red onions, mushrooms, some spices, white bread - it has vinegar on the label but no sulphites, ham (without sulphites, including no tapioca startch etc)... I am confused, I think I can recall having capsules, which I've later learnt have sulphites. I am wondering if I do actually have this 'allergy' after all... I've reacted to strawberries, but have no problems with apples, bananas, etc... I also get hives with particular shampoos and detergents. I can have citric acid in foods and have particular chips and have recently discovered I can have salt and 'vinegar' flavoured chips - no obvious sulphites in the label.

Surely, if I can tolerate capsules then the paracetamol may have been something else? If I can tolerate pork and pepper no problems and 'pure' soy sauce (no caramel flavours) all in the same dish as puff pastry (which doesn't label any sulphites) on the packet then my teolerance is quite high or perhaps living in Australia means that the food standards are high on these and they don't have sulphites? I'm so confused!!!!

Anybody else have weird reactions/no reactions? Is it possible that my allergies are something else entirely or that they have gone???
Posted 12/29/2010 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
The thing about sulfites is there has to be a certain quantity to trigger a reaction. A low level food, even though it "contains" sulfite is not enough. Pork is naturally sulfited, doesn't have any added, bothers me if I eat a slice of ham but not a couple of strips of bacon, but you may not have ingested enough to trigger at your level.

You probably have more than one sensitivity/allergy. Sulfite is not an IgE mediated allergy. It also calms down when you avoid highly sulfited foods and you can become more tolerant again.

Your reaction to the prawns was probably what triggered the lips swelling and the antihistamine helping. They are IgE mediated.

Shampoos have multiple potential allergens.

Labels only tell you what has been added in large quantities. They don't have to tell you about natural sulfite - as in wine, or what someone else added to an ingredient. Gelatin is a good example. I don't know where they get the pig skin or who soaks it in the sulfite bath.

I don't know why guacamole triggers my reaction. I can eat plain avocados just fine. Same with corn starch vs plain corn, but there I know sulfite is used in the processing.
Posted 12/31/2010 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Free-flowing agents in some salt brands can be derived from corn, which is sulfited... I do best with Redman salt. Sea salt makes me ill but not sure why...
Posted 1/18/2011 4:21 AM (GMT 0)
Wow, finally found some people with the same sulphite problems as I have.

It has gotten quite bad in the last few years, when I exceed my threshold, I typically wake up at 1:30 am with terrible gastric distress,
followed by vomiting for 18 to 24 hours, the only thing I can do is to drink filtered water so I don't turn my guts insideout with dry heaves every 15 minutes, this is
accompanied by strange hallucinations, 2 - 3 days to get back on solid food. Tried the hospital thing, but the beds were too cold and the bedpans too small.
The doctors I have seen have been no help whatsoever, totally misdiagnosed the problem.

I also had persistent gloom and doom, panic attacks, etc. I was self medicating, fell into a depression, was put on antidepressants
and had to take a stress leave from work last year. I had 3 of the major barf attacks last Oct and Nov, twice from ice cream with
maraschinos (2 small bowls) and once from 2 beers and then I got really pissed at myself, I started scouring the web and reading the labels
on everything and realized that even though I had been aware of the sulphites for the past 18 months or so, I wasn't avoiding a lot of the hidden stuff.

Over the Christmas holidays I declined all of the group and department dinners out (took a look at The Keg allergy guide), refused all sweets (the real eye-opener came when I read the ingredients of a pre-made cake and identified 4 different added sulphites, I knew I was on the right track!)
I didn't eat anything that I didn't cook and just stayed away from alcohol altogether.

In the last 2 weeks it has been like the lights have come on, I have lost 15 pounds, my joint pains are gone no more gloom and doom, I am actually cheerful all day, I haven't felt this good for 25 years!
A friend gave us a breadmaker and an ice cream maker a few months ago, very handy now.
I am lucky that I can cook and have been able to prepare a pretty tasty and varied diet, it does take some work, but has been worth the effort.
Posted 1/19/2011 12:19 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome Ping,

You are smart to be researching your problems. I posted a link above somewhere. On that website are directions for calculating how much sulfite you are ingesting in various foods. If you had done that with the maraschino cherries you would have stopped at 1 or 2 and not gotten so sick.

Before the next time you get to vomiting get a small bottle of paregoric. Ask your doc for a prescription. If you can get down even a teaspoonful it will instantly stop the heaves. You won't have to worry about getting addicted. It tastes truly awful. When you get yourself dehydrated from vomiting try a little flat ginger ale. Yes it has a little sulfite, but if you can stay below your limit it helps a lot. I much prefer Vernor's because it's sweeter and works much better in my experience as a patient and mom of 4, grandmom to 3. It has real ginger.

I think I also posted on this thread how to keep a food journal and how to do food challenge testing.
Posted 2/24/2011 9:17 PM (GMT 0)

Hi all,

I am trying to compile a definitive list of what foods sulfites are or may be in.  This is what I have so far.  Are there things I should add or take off the list?  I have known about my sulfite allergy for 3 years.  It is the type in which an immediate severe reaction occurs to eating minute amounts of sulfites.  I do already have Rick's book and it has been very helpful.  I believe the internet (and God's help) allowed me to self-diagnose this problem and kept me alive.   I do have a reaction to organic corn starch, so it must also contain sulfites.  Thanks for your help.

Sulfite Allergy List

 

Sulfites:

sodium sulfite

sodium bisulfite

sodium metabisulfite

potassium bisulfite

potassium metabisulfite

sulfur dioxide

sulphurous acid

sodium dithionite (may yield residual sulfites, in pickled foods)

 

Cysteine (L-cysteine?)

methionine (produces sulfite in the body)

Vitamin B7 (Biotin)

Taurine

 

Wine

Wine vinegar

Balsamic vinegar

Grape Juice, grape juice concentrate (organic grapes OK)

Raisins, raisin paste (organic raisins OK)

Dehydrated potato / potato flakes

Potato Flour

Corn starch / food starch / modified food starch

Powdered Sugar / Confectioners sugar (contains starch)

Corn syrup (corn syrup solids)

Glucose (glucose syrup, confectionary icing)

Dextrose

Polydextrose

Dextrin

Maltodextrin

Artificial Sweeteners (acesulfame K, saccharin contains dextrose and maltodextrin)

Artificial Color

Caramel Color

Tapioca Starch

Rice Starch

Gelatin

Mirin

 

The following are assumed to contain sulfites unless proven otherwise:

 

Molasses (unless says unsulfured)

Lemon Juice Concentrate (organic lemon juice concentrate OK)

Lime Juice Concentrate

Dried Ginger

Shredded cheese (starch)

Sauerkraut

Maraschino Cherries/ Glacee / glazed fruit

Sundried Tomatoes

Dried Coconut  (unless states unsulfured)

Dried fruit:  apricots, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapple, apples (unless unsulfured)

Shrimp (fresh, frozen, canned, dried)

Crabmeat

Frozen loster / prawns

Pickled vegetables (onions, cabbage, peppers)

Preserved horseradish

Coconut milk

French fries, hash browns, all frozen potato products (frozen)

                               (fresh may be treated with sulfites, also?)

Natural Flavor

Dried vegetables (soup mix)

Olives

Pickles / Relish

Canned clams?

Scallops

Dried Cod

Table Salt (regular table salt contains dextrose) ( sea salt OK)

Beer

Hard Cider

Tea??? (instant tea, liquid tea concentrate)

Peppercorns

Filled milk

Canned Potatoes

Hominy

 

Posted 2/25/2011 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
For others reading this thread -

The lists are published everywhere.  The best one is at http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm.  Rick has written an entire book with amounts of sulfite in foods and medicines, and how to calculate how much is in what you eat.

The problem with sulfite is that it's not a true (IgE mediated) allergy for most people, although there are some who DO react to it with anaphalaxis.  Usually it's termed an intolerance or sensitivity.  Most of us just get worse symptoms as the amount of sulfite intake increases.  That's why you can't just rely on a list of foods and medicines, but you have to learn your tolerance level and how much you take in with the various foods.

Sulfite gal - Can you tolerate any at all?

Rick wrote at length on the process of making corn starch.  Yes, it's sulfited.  I could look it up in the book to find out how much is in it, but I know it's a lot because I react to it strongly too.  I can't eat gravy made with it, although I can take pills where it's used as a binder.  Sulfite is often used to keep nozzels from clogging in the spray drying process of making lots of powdered foods, even if it's not added to the food for preservaitve reasons.

Another big problem for me is gelatin.  Gelatin plus sulfite preservative is found in lots of immunizations, which is why I react to many of them: flu shots, pneumonia vaccine, MMR.  I did get away with taking Benadryl for 2-3 days when I was forced to take the pneumonia vaccine, but it wasn't fun.  I can't eat even a small serving of gelatin without getting tachycardia.  The amount in capsule coatings is OK though.

Tapioca is supposed to be OK, but you may be right.  I react to it a little.

Frozen lemon juice is clean.

Most tea is clean unless labeled, and some brands are preserved!

Coconut milk?  Dried coconut is sulfited.

Yellow dye #5, also other azo dyes.

Shrimp can be cleaned enough for me if washed thoroughly, since it's only sprayed on.

Fresh potatoes are clean.  Canned may be sulfited.

All artificial sweeteners have dextrose or maltodexrin, or the other products for diets.

Grapes and grape juice and wine are naturally sulfited.

Pork is naturally sulfited.

All cheese is supposed to contain sulfite from the action of the bacteria that makes it.

Onions and garlic.

Lots more!

 

Posted 2/25/2011 2:03 PM (GMT 0)
Sulfitegal,

All corn derivatives are sulfited, as are all coconut derivatives. Many other things contain sulfites as well - sorbates, polysorbates, etc., and many medications. Air pollution also contains sulfites - sulfur dioxide.

Email me snoodledoo (at) yahoo (dot) com for a list (5 pages) of sulfited ingredients.

Take care,
Posted 3/15/2011 11:48 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

I have recently been diagnosed with a sulphite intolerance and wondered if anyone had some good recipes. I have been very strict with my self, but think I must have had some sulphites accidently, and had a bad asthma attack, can any one help.

Many thanks

Smudger#
Posted 3/16/2011 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Smudger -
From your spelling I presume you are not in USA. Nice to hear from you! So sorry you have an asthma reaction to sulfites (the way we spell it).

It's easy to get something where the sulfite is not listed or the people making it don't list all the ingredients. Unfortunately there's not much you can do once the reaction starts - unless an antihistamine, like diphenhydramine, helps you.

I just avoid most restaurant food and packaged meals. Really, you can cook things you tolerate the way anyone else does. Just watch how you season it - no mixed spices, just individual spices without onion or garlic and only the tiniest bit of pepper. Salt is fine for me. Avoid thickeners, especially corn starch, although flour is usually ok.
There are tons of lists of sulfite containing foods, but most of the foods only have a tiny amount and you can still eat them in moderation unless you are super-sensitive.
I posted a good website which has amounts of sulfite in foods listed. http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm
Posted 3/26/2011 7:18 AM (GMT 0)
A SULFITE PROBLEM

I have a sulfite intolerance. Sulfite intolerance is cumulative (gets worse each time you are exposed) and if I had realised 10 years ago my health would be much better.

I have controlled my intolerance by not taking in any foods with sulpher in them and by drinking distilled water.

I eat only food I cook at home and buy only products with "no preservative added" at the supermarket...eg bread, etc. The only food I can eat in resturants is authentic Japanese, as they use NO SULITES in their food at all and they use rice wine vinegar which is sulfite free. ( common vinegar is very high in sulfites.)

I have controlled all my symptoms by doing this, but unrelated to my intolerance after a CT scan I have developed acute Thyrotoxicis wich gave me atrial fib etc. The joke on me is that the ONLY treatment for this stage of my thyroid disorder  is a sulfite drug.

The first day I took the drug I had chest pains, tachycardia and collapse and had the dose reduced by 1/3. And now one week in I have blisters  and weeping sores on my hands and face and can hardly see out of swollen eyes. If I do not take the drug I will die and if I do take it..........probably will just be a slower process

SULFITE is a metabolic poison, it shuts down many of the biochemical pathways we need for metabolism. (it shuts down the thyroid gland also that is why I have to have it)

Overweigt people are not fat because of their fat intake, it is because Sulfite inhibits the metabolism of fat as an energy source and so it is just deposited in the body. Same for sugar, hence diabeties.

Sulfite also decreases the immune system leaving us open to cancers.

The medical profession is unaware of this sulfite problem and it is affecting more and more people daily because it is being added to our processed foods as a preservative. There is no money given to researching a problem that does not result in a drug to be sold.

Good luck if you live in the USA because corn syrup (a cheap form of sugar) has VERY HIGH levels in it.

Posted 3/28/2011 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Sulfite,

Vitamin B12 may counter some of the effects of the sulfites in the medication you rely on. I've found that taking a large dose of Vitamin B12 (1000-5000mcg) along with an antihistamine (such as Benadryl, Claritin or Zyrtec) can actually stop the sulfite reaction in its tracks. The B12 binds the sulfites and renders them unable to exert their damage in those who are allergic/sensitive. Also, the pathway that processes sulfites also processes histamines, so by taking the antihistamine, it helps to reduce the load on the enzyme pathway so it has more capacity to process the sulfites (ie, turn sulfite into the less harmful sulfate form).

Take care,
Posted 4/1/2011 4:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi! I'm new to this thread and feel like I have just found my "people"! This past October I self-diagnosed myself with a sulfite allergy after years of feeling horrible! It was like a light bulb went off in my head, of course it wasn't a curable diagnosis which is the frustrating part. My family and friends keep asking when I'm going to "get better"! My husband is sure the somewhere out there is a doctor who can cure me! I know that sulfite-free eating is a way of life for me.
I have also been diagnosed with Hashimotos thyroiditis, does anyone else know a link between autoimmune diseases and sulfite sensitivity? I have been to 2 allergists who give me an epi-pen and tell me to avoid the foods making me sick!
Because of this thread I started looking at the vit D capsules and herb capsules I had been taking recently, I was feeling very foggy and tired and couldn't figure out what was wrong with me until someone mentioned gelatin! AHA! I was trying to be better about taking my vitamins and herbs only to discover they were gelatin capsules!
I have also started taking the B12! Thank you! that has helped too!
I have suffered for years from IBS, migraines, and stomach discomfort. I thought it was MSG /Soy at first and avoided all of those foods, in August I had a salad with a large amount of balsamic vinegar and started getting a migraine, then my throat/mouth starting swelling up more than it used to with "msg/soy"! Luckily I'm an RN in a hospital and was working when it happened so I was able to get an IV benadryl rather quickly! It still took me until October when I realized what was wrong with me, after I had to spend 24 hours in the hospital again for severe stomach pain! CT scan showed inflammation. Little did I know that the morphine sulphate they gave me for pain and the drink they gave me for the CT where contributing to my symptoms! My face was so puffy it was almost unrecognizable!
So now I feel like I have found people who understand me and don't think I'm a hypochondriac!
Does anyone know of a cookbook for sulfite allergies?
Posted 4/3/2011 10:37 PM (GMT 0)
nrp -
Do you have actual allergy symptoms - hives, swelling throat, etc? Or do you have the typical intolerance/sensitivity reactions - gastric reflux, migraine, tachycardia, lower gut problems? The latter is my type of reaction, although others have true allergy. If you are getting swelling it sounds like you may have the true allergy. :( Maybe your allergist can invent a skin test with a miniscule amount of sulfite. There aren't any approved ones on the market.

If you read a bunch of the threads - see the search box above - you will find lists of websites, how to keep a food journal, etc.

Watch that IV Benadryl! You have to ask for non-sulfited! Don't take the liquid at home either. It's sulfited too.
But there isn't enough gelatin in a simple capsule to harm you. Gel-caps, containing gelatin for filler inside them do have enough sulfite to bother me.

A lot of people who have sulfite intolerance seem to have auto-immune diseases. But then auto-immune and fibromyalgia is common too. I don't know of a really good study showing any real connection.

The epi-pen probably won't help unless you have an actual true allergy. It's got sulfite preservative in it too, so you need to get to a hospital if you use it. They don't keep well, have expiration date, so I am not refilling my Rx.

I take vitamin D, don't have any problem with them. I do have problems with Advil Liqui Gels, Tylenol Gel Caps, all liquid stomach preparations.

Foods with MSG seem to be on the lists of foods with sulfite. Processed soy generally has sulfite also.
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