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How Do You Figure Out If You Have Food Sensitivities?


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Last night my hubby and I went out to Pf changs. I ate hot and sour soup, crab wontons, spicy scallops, spicy chicken, wine and cheesecake. Probably 3-4 bites of each item. Anyway, nothing out of the ordinary.. I drink wine 3-4 times a week.. I've never had any allergic rxn to food etc.. But last night when I went to bed my standing HR was 135 and laying down it was 95. Waay high for me, especially at night. I was instantly bloated after eating too. (I don't have any intestinal ans dysfunction) So maybe I have a food sensitivity? Or my POTsy-ness was just being wack?!? I don't know where to begin with the food allergy stuff.. Just seems weird to have bloating &bad tachycardia out of the blue.. Especially the high HR laying down.

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Removing the most common offenders gluten and dairy are a good place to start. At least 2 weeks, but probably more like 6 weeks to know for sure. There is so much junk in sauces and soups, especially at asian types of restaurants that it would be hard to nail down just one thing. Eating a very clean and simple diet works best for me. Chicken, eggs, veggies, nut butters, protein shakes,etc. all organic. I have had bad reactions to food like that many times.

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Hi,

I wish I could answer your question about food sensitivities, but I don't have any that I know of, so I don't really think I can help you with that. What I wanted to mention though is the fact that my HR can frequently reach high 90's, and even values over 100 bpm every so often while resting. What makes no sense to me is the fact that all the meds I'm taking - including propranolol don't seem to make any difference for me in such instances. On one occasion I even reached 160 bpm at rest about 1 hr after taking 10 mg propranolol. I kept asking my dr if this is normal but he didn't really give me a straight answer.

Hopefully others will be able to address the food sensitivity issue.

Best,

Alex

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Eating a high-fat meal makes me tachy for hours on end. Also, even in non-dysautonomia people, high fat-meals take longer to be digested than "regular" meals.

My gut feeling (no pun intended) is that the food you ate is "stuck" in your stomach because of normal mechanisms. Extra blood is probably being diverted there to aid in digestion, hence the tachycardia...at least that's how I explain it in me.

Now if someone could explain why I go into a second degree heart block when I eat a high carbohydrate meal...

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I'm sorry about what happened to you. One way of testing for food sensitivities is a test called ALCAT, I had this done and they create a chart for you with sections: RED (severly allergic/sensitive) ORANGE (moderately) YELLOW (mild) and then GREEN (you can eat any of those items listed in the green box). Not only does it check for food intolerances but also for medications, herbal supplements, as well as gluten, dairy (whey), and some more stuff.

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mytwogirlsrox,

Have you ever had issues with MSG? Asian food, especially the soups, appetizers, and sauces are loaded with MSG. I have found a local asian restaurant that can make a white sauce from scratch and steam up some veggies, but they told me to stay away from the rest, since they are prepackaged and loaded with MSG.

Lyn

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I'm not sure about your food sensitivities, but two things cause tachy for me that I am certain of: MSG and sulfites (ie wine). My doctor says neither are true allergies, but they do cause tachy that remains even when I'm laying down. I'm rarely tachy laying down, so that's a sign that there's a reaction.

Like Alex mentioned, though, I also just get random bouts of tachy, even at rest. Usually, it's accompanied by a feeling that my heart is beating very hard (pounding). The force is so great that my teeth actually knock together. My doctor has no explanation for it, other than "yeah, that's your POTS."

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I had blood testing for food allergies. It was not entirely helpful. It didn't show sensitivity to foods that I know cause probs for me. I get migraines and/or POTS like symptoms from alcohol, cilantro/corriander, avocado, bananas, and grapes. Each of these I discovered by keeping track of what I ate each time I felt bad from eating. When I saw a common food, I would eat that food by itself and see if I reacted. Some things were easy...like grapes made me have such bad stomach probs that it was obvious. Also, I was not bothered by any of these foods until my POTS was full blown, my point being that even something that didn't ever bother you before, could start to bother you and it doesn't have to look like a classic "allergy" with hives, itching, anaphylaxis. My food sensitivities cause any or all of the following: GI issues, bloating, tachy, joint pain, and migraines.

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Thanks all for the great responses!

I'm going to keep a food journal to see if I can find a culprit. It's so hard when eating out since yOu don't get a full break down of all the ingredients. I'm pretty sure PF changs says they're MSG free, but you never really know.

I know preservatives give me headaches ... Hot dogs are killer. Maybe it is nitrates then?

Well I guess I get to do more research :(

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