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To Those That Have Had A Allergen Test And A Few Others Random Questions:)


lissy

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I have been seriously thinking about requesting having allergy testing done, I would like to hear from those of you that have had it done (was it dangerous?) and also did you have allergies prior to dysautonomia? Or sensitivities?

Is Mcad or Masto conditions that a allergist would be aware of?

Totally different topic- One of my children is extremely Hypermobile along with severe asthma * does that mean that he had to have gotten it genetically(EDS) from either myself of his father if it was EDS. And can a parent have one type and a child have another or is that not possible?

Lissy Thanks ahead of time:)

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My allergist is very aware of masto. My tryptase was 20, normal. So it has been ruled out. It is hard to say when I started with the dys because I have had on and off symptoms since childhood, but didn't get really bad with lightheadedness and nauseous until 2007. It came on gradually. But I did go off doxepin for a while in 2006 (was taking it for fibro) and immediately had unbearable itching which was torture.

Long story short, it turned out to be food allergies. I had both skin prick testing and oral challenge testing. The oral challenge turned out to be the most revealing and I am now taking oral food drops for 11 foods and they are the only reason I can keep weight on. The allergy testing was not dangerous at all, it is easy. If you do have a bad reaction they are fully prepared to treat you. I am so glad I had this; I had been having face flushing and itching and nausea for decades! Much better now.

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I have been thinking of food allergy testing for a while now and was told by a nurse who works in an allergy department in a hospital that people shouldn't need to be tested for food allergies because if they are allergic it would be obvious (ie swelling, breathing problems, nausea, etc, fairly quickly after ingestion).

However I have always thought that for most of us with dysautonomia it probably isn't all that 'obvious' because we have so many other issues going on.

Songcanary, were your food allergies "obvious" or was it something you just decided you'd test yourself for? Were you suprised when you found you did have food allergies??

I just wonder how many of us here have allergies we don't even know about...

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Lissy, I forgot to mention I have had allergy testing done by an immunologist for allergies to environmental factors - ie - dust mites, pollens, grasses, seeds, dog hair, cat hair, etc, etc, in my quest to find out what has been causing the breathing problems I've had for the past 8 months. Unfortunately it was not revealing in any way. I think it was a 24 skin prick test, painless and no adverse reactions. I came up in an itchy red welt for dust mites and dust (which I already knew). The welts went down under 24 hours. It was probably the least invasive testing I've had done for a long time.

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From what I know allergy testing for the most part is not dangerous. There are a few different methods of allergy testing. With the ELISA test, it's a blood draw, and it can check both IgG and IgE (for both allergy and sensitivity). I recommend continuing to educate yourself on the different types of testing that are available, finding a good allergist/immunologist (i'm sure there are plenty that don't know what they should about masto/mcad) if you don't already have one, and finding out what testing they prefer and why. I have had allergies all my life, though they have changed. My food allergies are actually better than when I was younger, but my environmental allergies have gotten worse. I don't really think any of my sensitivities/allergies have been related to my dys, but that's just me, I think others have a different experience. I hope all goes well for you.

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I have had the allergy testing done and it was very non-invasive. It was extremely itchy. They have emergency protocol on board if something major happens. For me, it was very eye opening. I do not have celiac disease but am highly allergic to wheat. Hence, no more wheat for me & unfortunately it is in everything :angry: . What's interesting is that I am highly allergic to all Grasses so I guess it makes sense that I am allergic to wheat as well. Anyway, since I am ingesting something that both my blood and my skin pric test show I am allergic to....therein lies the problem. I am also allergic to several other things (hay fever) & am lactose intolerant. I've known about the lactose thing for years... Beef was another one, which I also gave up years ago. Maybe because the animals ingest grass??? Just reaching here, but I find it interesting.

Needless to say, it has helped me quite a bit to illiminate the foods I am allergic to and at least my stomach symptoms have greatly improved. :P If I cheat, the big D returns...

Don't know about the EDS issue...

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I am one who had a reaction during my testing.

Their main concern was whether my lungs were clear and they were so all the tachycardia and chest pressure, shortness of breath and anxiety I get with these episodes while scary and not fun seem harmless to date.

The thing is there could be something in your diet making you sick that is not obvious. For me that was corn and corn is in everything.

By eliminating all corn-all I have left to drink is milk and water my symptoms are improving and I am gaining weight.

Up to 91 pounds now.

Without that diet change I was just not doing well-so while allergy testing hasn't solved everything for me it was a very big important step for me.

I would encourage you to do it.

I think the corn had my GI tract in a tizzy and I possibly wasn't absorbing nutrients due to that-not to mention the horrible symptoms I was getting.

Go for it : )

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Hi Lissy,

I have had bad allergies all my life. I had my allergy test when I was 8, I am 17 now, it was pre-POTS but I don't think the POTS will change it much. They prick your skin with something that has the essence of the allergen on it if the skiing reacts you are allergic to the allergen. I'm not going to sugar coat it the test is quite painful and VERY itchy but well worth it. Hope all goes well.

Meaghan

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I had skin prick allergy testing done a couple of years ago. I have stupidly severe hayfever and reactions to house dust mite.

I had to stop taking antihistamines and other allergy meds for 4 days before the testing. My test wasn't at all painful, they put a drop of liquid on the skin then used a plastic tool that the nurse put into the drop and rotated so it broke through the top layer of the skin. After about an hour I went back in to have the results "read" I had several large angry welts on my arm that were very itchy. I was then given antihistamines, a one-off dose of prednisolone and some hydrocortisone cream to rub on the welts. Within a few hours I was back to normal other than a few blotches on my arm.

I started having injection desensitisation treatment for dustmite and will hopefully get pollen too this winter.

My theory is that allergies cause the release of histamine into the body. Histamine is a potent vasodilator so lowers blood pressure. I find that having my allergies under control really helps my POTS symptoms too. Although I have to take mega doses of antihistamines Fexofenadine (allegra) 360mg twice per day (the usual dose is 120mg once a day!!).

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I had an atypical reaction to skin testing. I am allergic to timothy grass (??) and I had large welts on my arm. Over the course of the evening, the welt got bigger and bigger. I was awakened the next morning with tachycardia and the welt on my arm was then the size of an orange. I felt like crap for two days, but after taking my Zyrtec the lump started to slowly come down. My allergist cannot tell me why this happened.

Since I am odd, and weird things happen to me this is probably an isolated incident. B)

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Angelika,

I have spent my entire life thinking that I too, am odd. And that led me to ignoring symptoms that were actually very relevant. So I hope you don't really feel that way. We can't help it that doctors aren't always on top of their games! Just had to say that :P

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