DoozlyGirl Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Hello all,I thought I would share that I have figured out one of the things that is triggering my plummeting BP episodes. I have unstable BP, which at any given point can be stroke level high, then plummet. Several days a week, I catch a 200/100 BP then during my worst symtoms have caught a 60/40 as my low. I have been able to link FD&C Yellow Dye #5 to my hypotensive episodes. I know some of you are wondering how in the heck could I figure this out? Years ago, my allergist at the time figured out I couldn't tolerate a yellow pill, and he ordered a different doseage where I split white pills. I would have nausea, flushing, blotching (not itching hives) or lower extremity itching within minutes of taking various meds, but I would just chalk it up to another pill I can't take. One day the pharmacy switched generic suppliers and I ended up with symptoms again. My "aha" moment came when I read the peach colored pill had Yellow 5 in it. I was switched back to the white one, where I had no symptoms. My daily symptoms have significantly decreased since I eliminated/switched meds that do not contain Yellow 5 and 6 dyes.Before I could figure out if I was ingesting these dyes in my food, I had a significant reaction. I didn't connect azo dyes to my hypotensive episodes until I went into anaphylaxis within 10 minutes of eating my birthday cake (yellow cake and whipped topping), which I later found out from the bakery had Yellow 5 and 6 and Red 40 dye. Several days later, I put a drop of yellow food coloring on my tongue and replicated the post-cake hypotensive episode, complete with flushing, blotching, "D', and vomiting. My hypotensive episodes are part of a series of symptoms, such as flushing, GI issues, cognition issues, blurry vision, blotching, vascular leaking, lower extremity swelling which I now know is anaphylaxis.I have been diagnosed with MCAS, and these pieces are falling into place. Azo dyes (any FD&C dye) are KNOWN mast cell degranulators and thus can trigger mast cell reactions (dumping of up to 200-300 chemical mediators into the body). Yellow 5 is AKA tartrazine and and Yellow 6 is AKA sunset yellow dye and is used in yellow, red, orange, peach, and purple pills. Red 40, AKA Allure Red is another trigger for people that has been reported to FDA. These are the same dyes found in foods, such as gatorade, kool-aid, jello, powdered cheese covered snacks, soda, and nearly every packaged food product you pick off the grocery shelf. Numerous countries in Europe have banned these dyes due to the health risks. Yellow dye sensitivity is linked to chronic hives, asthma, asprin sensitivity, and salicylate sensitivity. Until I did some research into these dyes, I never realized the impact they can have on the body. I hope this information may help someone sort out their own symptoms.Lyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Congratulations on figuring this out and thank you for sharing it with us. It's great when we make progress. : ) I react to certain dyes too but not in the same way as you. I can taste them in certain foods. I used to love cake of all kinds but hated red velvet or any of those frostings with dye like the bakeries use. I never noticed the dyes in regular cannedicing if they're in them. I'm on the paleo / wahls diet now so I only eat whole unprocessed foods. I'm curious about the azo you take. I have taken the one with probiotics for years now to helpwith uti symptoms, oxalate problem ?, and it always works for me. I've never noticed a bp or hr reaction but I'll look for it now.The azo with OUT probiotics causes me to have horrific bladder pain. I was just wondering if the probiotics might helpwith the dyes too. Fwiw tho, I don't have a problem with my hr or bp skyrocketing or plummeting. I have mild pots, 30 - 50 pts increase, but I have petite mals and sob if I'm up very long. Tc .. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
targs66 Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Thanks for posting this info!! I don't know if I've got similar issues, but it's certainly something to consider. Information like this is invaluable.Glad you got to the bottom of it - congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martiz Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 The farmers in Texas use Yellow #5 as a fly repellent/killer. They get big drums of it and spray it from tractors. When the sun hits the dye, it changes it and flies die when they land on it. A friend of mine raises cattle.If you google the Feingold Association - they have done research on dyes and the effects on autistic children. Don't buy the book - too expensive and basically, the advice is "stay away from dyes" - especially the red and yellow. I bought the book but was disappointed. And my son and I have other restrictions that we couldn't follow their buying guides. This was a few years ago when we were on the road to whole food.But their website might give you more insight.Congrats on finding a trigger! This can be life changing. Every little improvement adds up to a better life.Marti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songcanary Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 This is valuable info and I am not at all surprised. I have had bloodshot eyes as my initial symptom after eating any kind of dye and it took a long time for me to figure it out. Thanks for posting! Why does our food have to have all this crap in it? I already know the answer, just venting. This stuff is slowly killing people IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoozlyGirl Posted April 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 Congratulations on figuring this out and thank you for sharing it with us. It's great when we make progress. : )I react to certain dyes too but not in the same way as you. I can taste them in certain foods. I used to love cake of all kinds but hated red velvet or any of those frostings with dye like the bakeries use. I never noticed the dyes in regular cannedicing if they're in them. I'm on the paleo / wahls diet now so I only eat whole unprocessed foods.I'm curious about the azo you take. I have taken the one with probiotics for years now to helpwith uti symptoms, oxalate problem ?, and it always works for me. I've never noticed a bp or hr reaction but I'll look for it now.The azo with OUT probiotics causes me to have horrific bladder pain. I was just wondering if the probiotics might helpwith the dyes too.Fwiw tho, I don't have a problem with my hr or bp skyrocketing or plummeting. I have mild pots, 30 - 50 pts increase, but I have petite mals and sob if I'm up very long.Tc .. DDizzy , Please let me clarify regarding the azo I mentioned; they are the chemical classification of the FD&C dyes. The Mast cell world refers to them as azo dyes, so I used that term so others could see that connection to the mast cell documents and websites. I do take probiotics and do better with them than without them. I have used different brands and read to switch them up to get full coverage. Thanks for your post, Lyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemons2lemonade Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 this is so crazy. I swear that the fruit punch gatorade makes me feel worse than the lemon lime. And in fact, since i have stopped drinking gatorade, i have been feeling BETTER. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 Oh now it makes sense. Thanks. I couldn't get past the definition I had for azo. Lol..I mix up my probiotics too. I'm on Blue bonnet probiotics, s boulardi yeast and the azo w / p right now. I really feel bad for children nowadays. They're being fed all these chemicals and frankenfoods and then they're diagnosed with some psych diagnosis, chronic illness, etc and drugged because their bodies can't handle them. It's crazy .. Tc .. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoozlyGirl Posted April 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 targs and song,I'm glad you find my experience helpful to you. It took me years to pin it down, mostly because I hadn't heard of a food dye causing anapylaxis/plummeting BP before. Years ago when I had my first anaphylactic event (complete with ambulance ride and epi), my allergist disected the individual ingredients I had in the previous 24 hours and deduced MSG was my trigger. At the time, I couldn't find any online information the supported MSG as a possible trigger for anaphylaxis. I could only find a connection with migraine and other lesser symptoms. Marti, thanks so much for the information on farmers spraying Yellow #5 on crops in Texas as well as your experience with the Feingold books. I've perused the website, but need to dive into all the pages. It's on my to do list. I agree, songcanary, we are all impacted by the crap in our food supply. Thanks everyone for the discussion,Lyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoozlyGirl Posted April 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 lemons,I wonder how many Potsies feel better off gatorade? Thanks for the comment, Lyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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