Food Allergy Testing: IgG4 blood test accuracy questions

[Smygen]

Three weeks into the new diet and I'm only noticing minor improvements in relatively unimportant symptoms...the big ones still show no improvement such as IBS and migraines which I thought would be better by now. Oh, well. Going to stick with it for a while. Maybe it just takes more time than I thought.

1/2 year into my diet, the only think thats gone away is my burning throat. But glad it is gone. It was changing all the time, so once i had gotten used to one level of the burning, it changed

But changing the diet, is usually followed by more improvements. So what i (and you?) experienced is not typical. But not typical is sort of the signs of cfs
lol

And...... the inside of the gut and the intestines (spell check?) takes about a year to renew itself. That is if you stay away from all the stuff that is bad for you. It can be ruined easily by just a tiny thing that you shouldn't have, i belive.

I hope to have that part of me repaired around this time next year

 

[jen1177]

UPDATE:
Wanted to add some things to this thread since it has been a while since I started this whole diet modification experiment...

Here's one thing I've learned: Before you get the blood test to check for food allergies find out what all the foods are that you will be tested for and make sure you consume them before the test. I would say try to eat all the foods at least once (more than once is better) within a week of taking the test. The reason being that it's pointless to test for a food allergy to something you aren't eating. A negative result means nothing unless you have eaten the food recently. And conversely, a positive result is meaningless if you haven't eaten the food recently...it means you are being exposed to another allergen (like a pollen in the air) and your body reacts to it by producing a similar antibody as if it was exposed to the food.

I ended up getting re-tested without knowing I was being re-tested because it was part of another larger set of blood tests. A few things that I had been positive for were now negative because I had completely stopped eating them. And vice versa...some things that I had tested negative for were now positive because I hadn't been eating them before but now was. AND, if there are things you eat that aren't on the test, you could be allergic to them and not have a way to find out, so you have to stay away from foods that you can't be tested for while you are on the elimination diet or else you could sabotage your own efforts and your strict diet will be all for nothing.

Also...I was eating a diet free of dairy and eggs and soy and beans for 4 month (strict diet) and only had small inprovements in some symptoms (fewer migraines, fewer flares but that could be due to the season -- I flare less often in the summer), but what also happened was that I became nearly hyperthyroid and had to lower my levoxyl dose. I've determined that this was most likely due to my previous vegetarian diet containing a lot of soy which must have interfered with my body's ability to use the thyroid hormone. (I had a total thyroidectomy a decade ago and no longer have a thyroid gland and I have to take levoxyl.) I had been told that soy only interferes with thyroid function (the gland itself) and not how the body uses the thyroid hormone. It appears that this is not true. It appears that eating soy regularly can cause hypothyroidism whether you have a thyroid or not.

Also, after the four months of the strict allergen elimination diet, I started adding back foods to see what happened. I'll tell you what happened. GAS. Hellacious gas. I don't know what happened but all I know now is that I can't go back to my old diet. Which is very depressing. Seems like I became MORE sensitive to the things I avoided when the opposite was supposed to happen (according to Metametrix). Pretty infuriating and very disappointing.

Oh, and about the question of leaky gut possibly causing me to react to ANY protein source I eat...not the case. After eating meat for five months and getting re-tested...I still tested negative for all meats. I still tested positive for dairy, soy, beans, and eggs like I did on the first test. (I had been eating them for a month for the re-test.)

So, I'm back on the strict diet. I'm still sick with CFS. My life really hasn't improved at all, and I'm now unable to be a vegetarian. So, do I recommend going down this path with food allergen testing? Not really, but the jury is still out. I think I need to be re-tested again in a few months. And also to be patient and wait for my gut to heal, which may or may not happen...

Well, hope that helps clarify some things for some people who might be interested...
Good luck to us all.

 

[roxie60]

Got my first test results, an IgG test from US Biotek. I was stunned at the results (thought for sure I would be allergic/sensitive to corn). Anyway I test HIGH on Dairy (all were high except Goats milk). BTW for those that have had the IgG tes from Biotek am I to undersand they just used samples of my blood with these foods, not that I had ate hese foods recently, correct? I tested VERY HIGH on eggs, my primary source of protein since I dont eat much mea (mainly chicken which was LOW). MODERATE on soy beans and peanuts, low on Wheat. I guess with all the GI probs I was expecting to be sensitive to everything.

 

[Sushi]

... BTW for those that have had the IgG tes from Biotek am I to undersand they just used samples of my blood with these foods, not that I had ate hese foods recently, correct?

I have had that test and tested high on some things I never eat, so it must be from the blood sample. However, some of the things I ate really frequently (like eggs) I tested high on which would seem to be an argument for varying our diets.

Sushi

 

[Esther12]

So, I'm back on the strict diet. I'm still sick with CFS. My life really hasn't improved at all, and I'm now unable to be a vegetarian. So, do I recommend going down this path with food allergen testing? Not really, but the jury is still out. I think I need to be re-tested again in a few months. And also to be patient and wait for my gut to heal, which may or may not happen...

Thanks for the update Jen. Sorry to hear that things have not improved. A lot of these diets and tests seem like more trouble than they are worth to me.

 

[jen1177]

Thanks, Esther. I agree, this whole diet thing has been a lot of trouble and just been basically a lateral move. Some things improved and some things got worse. I'm now pretty sure that my cholesterol level is too low and it's causing irritability (rage-iness), depression and anxiety. I wish I could eat dairy again to help raise my cholesterol. Another problem I am noticing is that I suddenly developed arthritis in my neck. I believe it's from eating meat. I didn't eat meat for 21 years and a few months into the diet where I was eating meat, boom, arthritis -- diagnosed by my doctor using an xray.

 

[GcMAF Australia]

I keep reading that we crave the foods we are allergic to.
How does anyone know this?
I just got the results of my blood test and it says I'm allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, beans, and some other things. I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years and these are ALL of my protein sources. (I don't eat fish or chicken either for those of you who think they aren't meat-- they are.) So, I'm pretty devastated at the idea that I'll have to go back to eating meat in order to get enough protein and feel full.
But, how do I know I'm not allergic to meats as well? I haven't eaten them for decades.

Has anyone cured their leaky gut?

HHmmm
some of the gut bacteria seem to affect leptin levels so we dont know when we are full.
To me it is like the bacteria induce us to eat foods that feed them.
Also this can lead to insulin insensitivity.
so need to change diet and gut bacteria?
GcMAF

 

[Valentijn]

I did an elimination diet about a year ago, and had problems with egg whites, wheat, and bananas. Basically my stomach gets itchy 5-10 minutes after eating egg whites or wheat, and I get swollen a bit for a couple days. With banana, it felt more like my throat was swelling a bit as I ate it.

I avoided those but started getting the same symptoms again starting a month or two ago. I couldn't figure out what I was reacting to, so did the IgG test. I tested positive for egg yolks, cranberry, broccoli , pecans, banana, pineapple, brewer's yeast, and sesame. I was negative for wheat, gluten, and egg whites.

I probably ate broccoli, cranberries, and pineapple twice each in the past year. Pecans ... maybe in belgian chocolates, but I really don't like pecans so don't eat them deliberately. I'd had banana in belgian chocolates. I had egg yolk somewhat frequently in mayonnaise, but not daily, and sesame oil maybe twice a month.

But I haven't had Brewer's Yeast in at least a year, so I have no idea why I reacted to that. I also had plenty of wheat/gluten prior to the test but didn't test positive. I thought I was reacting to it again when I ate it prior to the test, but maybe it was the cranberry sauce that I ate at the same time.

Basically I'm assuming that I'm reacting badly to everything on that list, and the past foods I reacted to on the elimination diet. I've had REALLY bad full body swelling with elevated inflammation markers over the past week or so, so I'm being careful and avoiding everything potentially bad to see if it helps. So far there's been some improvement, but still plenty of swelling. Not painful now though. I've also stopped having major OI crashes after dinner.

My long-term plan is to use the IgG results as a starting point for elimination testing in the future. When I'm in a normal condition to start with.

 

[Valentijn]

I avoided those but started getting the same symptoms again starting a month or two ago. I couldn't figure out what I was reacting to, so did the IgG test. I tested positive for egg yolks, cranberry, broccoli , pecans, banana, pineapple, brewer's yeast, and sesame. I was negative for wheat, gluten, and egg whites.

And while looking for yeast in my multivitamin and B complex, I found broccoli in the multi (AOR ortho core). It's like a plague of the nasty green stuff

 

[alwayshopeful]

How do you guys get these allergy tests? I went to the allergist requesting tests, he refused because I don't have hives or scratchy throat---said if I don't have those symptoms, I don't have food allergies. Even tho I listed many foods that I know bother me. Then I mentioned food sensitivity tests---he said those are "quackery". End of visit. God, I hate doctors!!

 

[Valentijn]

How do you guys get these allergy tests? I went to the allergist requesting tests, he refused because I don't have hives or scratchy throat---said if I don't have those symptoms, I don't have food allergies. Even tho I listed many foods that I know bother me. Then I mentioned food sensitivity tests---he said those are "quackery". End of visit. God, I hate doctors!!

Get a different doctor that will let you order tests It doesn't have to be an allergist.

 

[alwayshopeful]

Finding a new doctor is easy, finding a new GOOD doctor, not so much. I have been to 8 different doctors, only one that is worth my time and money. Problem is that he isn't close and many times I am too sick to travel. Just wondering if you guys went to allergists because then I could go back to this allergist and say "other doctors are doing these tests, get with it"! Confronting doctors does give me pleasure!!

 

[jen1177]

How do you guys get these allergy tests? I went to the allergist requesting tests, he refused because I don't have hives or scratchy throat---said if I don't have those symptoms, I don't have food allergies. Even tho I listed many foods that I know bother me. Then I mentioned food sensitivity tests---he said those are "quackery". End of visit. God, I hate doctors!!

My naturopathic doctor ordered them for me. The tests are not cheap, either. Around $200. I suggest looking for a naturopath in your area. They are usually much nicer people than the "regular" allopathic docs are.