Mast Cell Disorders Forum

Mast Cell Disorders Forum
http://mastcelldisorders.wallack.us/yabb/YaBB.pl General Mast Cell Disorders Discussion >> Symptoms >> what are your allergies? http://mastcelldisorders.wallack.us/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1343344941 Message started by Emilyviolet on 07/26/12 at 12:22:21

Title: what are your allergies?
Post by Emilyviolet on 07/26/12 at 12:22:21

what are your allergies mine are..
wheat
corn
tomatoes,
potatos
brocoli
all fruit but bananas and apples but sometimes i react to apples i don't it just drops my sugar
a lot of veggies
i really only just eat lettuce
peanuts
it seems like everything i have been living off of just meat, eggs, a slice of cheese here and there. and apple juice maybe once a week. its been real hard im going back for more allergy testing since i was tested a year ago and now i need retesting.

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by PamH on 07/26/12 at 13:48:36

Emily,
So many of us mast cell people don't have allergies show up at testing. Some do though. I am not "allergic" to any foods, but have gone into anaphilaxis more times than I can count. Foods high in histamines and salicylates will set me off. I was looking through your lists some are both histamines and salicylates. Here is a great link to look at. Tons of veggies and fruits fall into this catagory.

http://salicylatesensitivity.com/about/food-guide/

I am always telling the new people on here about salicylates because it took me sooo long to figure it out and if someone would have said "hey look into this" it would have saved me so much time in my recovery. Save with the histamines.
I did have several things show up on my chemical test...like nickel, fragrace(salicylate) black hair dye(salicylate), neosporen, and epoxy.
I was also tested for every mold, nothing showed up...but mold is my worst offender. It makes my throat close up faster than anything else. I had to move out of our house last year because there was mold some where...I knew it. We just didn't know where it was....we finally found it. I was finally able to come back in the house with a giant air cleaner by my side constantly!
oh yeah, interesting that you sometimes react with apples, salicylates vary in apples, the red being the highest the yellow delish being the lowest...might be a puzzle piece!
Pam

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Anaphylaxing on 07/26/12 at 14:33:14

Do you mean IgE allergies or triggers too?

My IgE ones are hazelnuts, cats, horses, birch trees

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Emilyviolet on 07/26/12 at 15:18:23

i never had allergies before well not that i new of and when i got tested i was allergic to like everything! what is that about?

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Starflower on 07/26/12 at 18:39:21

Were you "allergic to everything" based on a skin test? If you have dermatographism (which is pretty common in people with mast cell disorders), then a lot of those are probably not true (IgE) allergies... it was just the mast cells in your skin freaking out from all the pricking.

After my first episode of anaphylaxis I skin-tested positive for peanuts, almonds, and celery. Turns out I'm not allergic to any of those things (and I can eat them now, no problem). RAST testing says I'm allergic to shrimp and ragweed.

Heather

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Emilyviolet on 07/26/12 at 20:07:17

i did both actually, once i did the skin test i said let me try the rast and that came back with all the allergens i was like what on earth! i know there is a lot of false positives and the allergist i go to tell me the numbers are so low but i still react to so much, i hate this!

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by DeborahW, Founder on 07/28/12 at 04:10:41

I want to mention something since we have a lot of new members that I just registered for the forum. GENERALLY (there are always exceptions) people with mast cell disease do not have many or any allergies. Often people will refer to their food reactions as allergies, when they really mean that those foods are triggers, not allergies, for their mast cell disease. So, I want to make sure that people use the correct term, because I don't want new people thinking that allergies go along with mast cell disease. In fact, it is a great clue to doctors to consider mast cell disease when the patient has all the typical symptoms of allergies, but tests negative (via blood tests) for them.

Now that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions to this fact, though. I have a couple real allergies (shellfish and outdoor mold). As we know, it seems that anything is possible because each mast cell patient is so different from the next. All we can do it to compile information and decide for ourselves if it applies to us individually.

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Emilyviolet on 07/28/12 at 09:30:31

thats so weird then, i would swear that i have this. i been reacting like crazy to things, even smells.. and i have severe flushing all the time. i never used to be like this when i was young either. i have all the symptoms but i do test postive to so many things . maybe i dont have this afterall. idk whats going on then :(

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Joan on 07/28/12 at 10:51:34

As Debbie said, there are exceptions. The same percent of the population that has allergies, can have both a MC disorder and allergies to some things, and that's about 20%. So having allergies doesn't rule out a MC disease.

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Lisa on 08/05/12 at 02:05:45

Emilyviolet wrote on 07/28/12 at 09:30:31:

Emily, reacting to foods, medicines, contrast, and situations doesn´t rule in or rule out a mast cell disorder. According to a study performed on masto patients, these patients were NOT found to be any more IgE allergic than any other patient group out there. In other words, masto patients are highly allergic people but this is not necessarily due to their being more allergic than others. So, in other words, when a masto patient is reacting, it doesn´t mean he´s reacting because he has an allergy to something. It means that it´s the disease which is causing the reactions.

I am totally NEGATIVE to allergies and even with dust, my levels were so low that my doctor was shocked, but I have no allergies and never did. I will react to tomatoes, spinich, cheeses (I´ve had 3 very serious cases of anaphylaxis to cheese!), chocolate, shrimp and other foods. This is because they are high in histamines and some are known mast cell degranulators. I have extremely serious reactions to radiographic contrast and yet tested negative to sea foods and shrimp! Doctors don´t even dare use any kind of iodine on my skin for antiseptic purposes for this I´ll react to as well!

And tell me, how can they test us for heat or cold, when extremes of temperature are KNOWN to cause us to react. So you see, allergy testing for masto patients is really unimportant except for the purpose of helping to reduce your triggers. This is because you will trigger to the things which you have a known allergy to, so by knowing what it is that you have real reactions to, this helps you to identify known triggers and thus avoid them like the plague. But, having known allergies does NOT rule out a mast cell disorder!

I hope this helps!

Lisa

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by cutty sark on 08/15/12 at 09:19:56

Yes, I don't have 'allergies' either. In terms of triggers the list grows and so therefore the list of what is OK, in terms of food, reduces. The nightmare for me is that I usually 'discover' a new trigger when I am away with work or suchlike which is a nightmare not just for me but also for the poor innocents I am working with who have to witness almost instant projectile vomiting when my system decides something is now a no no :-)

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by FarmerJane on 01/05/13 at 11:19:27

Oh my yes!!!! Not a pleasant sight or smell. Been there, done that. Although I am blessed right now with a quiet monster that is under contol, I am always pepared and alert.

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by chthompson5 on 03/23/13 at 20:48:03

I have over 50 IgE food allergies. Of those, I've found that I can eat rice and potatoes with no reaction. Working on the list to see what else is a false positive. Sick of stomach aches, low blood pressure and hives.

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by DeborahW, Founder on 03/24/13 at 10:30:50

Most people with mast cell disorders don't have many allergies, if any at all. This is very curious that you have so many!

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by brethor on 03/29/13 at 07:10:04

I was totally shocked too when my immunologist did the allergy testing I was so sure I would react to everything but oddly enough nothing showed up....he said that was a big red flag that I had a mast cell disorder.....I didnt even react to ragweed and things which I was sure of since I swell and sneeze and my nose just runs and runs....but atleast it finally explained why I even react to getting a saline drip.....just a needle sticking the skin can cause chaos ;) so weird.....

Title: Re: what are your allergies?
Post by Joan on 03/29/13 at 17:16:21

Hi CH,

You said you have 50 IgE food allergies. Was this determined by positive RAST tests through an allergist or skin testing?