I’ve had a hunch for a while that I’ve had some sort of food allergy/intolerance.  My gut has been unpredictable for awhile (I’m sorry if this is Too Much Information).  I started in June by cutting out dairy (I had done a lot of research when we first realized Maria was lactose intolerant and a friend had just found out her family had egg/gluten/dairy allergies as well).  I felt a little better and a skin condition I had improved considerably but did not go away, which led me to believe that I it was an auto-immune thing.

I also went to a couple of different doctors. One suggested I take Miralax every day. Another doctor couldn’t figure out why I was having severe pain in my right side, but after an ultrasound and blood tests, suggested that MAYBE Prilosec would help. I was not convinced either was right.  I am a problem-solver by nature, and I like root-cause analysis…

I did some research to find a doctor who believed in holistic medicine along with traditional therapies.  She was very helpful, and suggested removing dairy and gluten.  But after following up, the symptoms were not better so I decided to take the Meridian Valley E95 test, to find out exactly what I was allergic to.  This was a commitment, because I knew I had to be committed to make changes.

And I got the results this morning.  I was dreading eggs or soy or corn.  I was prepared for dairy and gluten as those are fairly common and I knew I could find a lot of resources to help me.  (as opposed to eggs that I love and soy/corn which is in EVERYTHING!)

So my results were – Dairy – Egg Whites – Brewer’s Yeast and Pineapple.

• Dairy- I’m pretty cool with. I’ve learned substitutes (although I miss yogurt).
• Egg Whites – Wow… this one is still hard.  I think I can figure it out.
• Pineapple – I will miss my favorite Pineapple-Orange Juice and having it in smoothies.
• Brewer’s Yeast – I figured I was ok. I don’t drink much, so giving up beer or wine or alcohol is not a big deal at this point. But then I learned that it is in Vinegar! And do you know how much stuff has vinegar in it!?  Ketchup, Mustard, Pickles, Barbecue sauce, Salsa, Salad Dressing, Mayonnaise (that has egg too), etc.  What will I put on my hamburger or salad!? oh, and yeast is not a regulated ingredient, meaning food only has to say yeast and not signify if it is Baker’s yeast or Brewer’s yeast (I don’t completely understand the difference yet, so don’t ask me)  Also realizing that alcohol is in many extracts like vanilla!

And guess what I had planned for dinner – meatballs (with eggs) with barbecue sauce (with vinegar) and pineapple.  I ended up eating a baked potato with corn and leftover chicken.  It could have been worse.

Today, I researched and went to the food co-op.  I was pretty sad when I left because I realized what a lot of work this is going to be.

Next steps –

• taking more time at the grocery store to read ingredients
• carrying my lunch to avoid eating out
• probably a lot of online research
• and going back to the doctor in November
• remembering to be thankful that it wasn’t soy or corn…

Hopefully I will start to feel better sooner rather than later.  And the hope is that once the body is healed from the damage of the allergies, then some foods can be reintroduced.

Stay tuned…