I had extensive food allergy testing several months ago and came back positive for lots of things...so many things that if I were to not eat all of it, I'd be malnourished.
Additionally, I have several GI disorders where I can't eat certain things. My stomach just doesn't digest things well anymore. So, that cuts out some things including most meats besides chicken and fish.
My question is: what am I supposed to do?! I don't understand why my allergies have gone off the charts in the past month or so. It seems like I am allergic to EVERYTHING.
I just itch all the time, and my GI tract will burn. I wish I could just not eat, but that 'solution' only lasts so long.
It is just challenging because I feel like Lyme limits your diet (sugar,etc), but then you add in allergies and malabsorption...and I won't even talk about the issue with absorbing pills for treatment!
Thanks for any suggestions/feedback!
Posted by faithful777 (Member # 22872) on :
Sugar isn't good for you whether you have Lyme or not.
Eat what you can. A year ago when Lyme was making it pretty impossible for me to eat, all I could eat was yogurt and my own chickens organic eggs. It took a lot of time to slowly start adding tiny amounts of other foods before I could tolerate them.
A year later, I can eat most things okay.
Malabsorption is common in Lyme.
I was never allergy tested. I think Lyme upsets the balance of everything and you may not be permanently allergic to the foods you reacted to.
That is just my opinion as many here have issues with foods in the beginning that resolve later on as they get better.
Posted by daynise (Member # 39609) on :
You might have to substitute things here and there.
Gluten free grains: millet, buckwheat, rice, oats (if you can), quinoa, flax, mila
Posted by glm1111 (Member # 16556) on :
What you really should consider is looking into parasite treatment. Parasites/worms can cause severe allergies and are on the symptom list. Google parasite symptoms.
Parasites are now recognized as the number one co-infection of Lyme Disease by ILADS. Check out the PARASITE WARRIORS THREAD
Gael
Posted by MichaelTampa (Member # 24868) on :
You could treat the allergies (NAET, AI, and there are others) and do parasite treatments.
Posted by LAXlover (Member # 25518) on :
Life+Lyme, A year ago my daughter tested being allergic to over 85 foods. They were ranked in categories of High, Medium, Low. We definitely did not touch the High foods. Occasionally had Medium and Low because she would have starved without them. Seafood, beef, bananas and a couple other things (can't remember now :-) ) was pretty much the only things she was not allergic to.
I believe it was from the damage the PARASITES caused (leaky gut holes). She tested positive for charcot-leyden crystals via stool testing. MOST of the time this is what that finding means.
Flagyl (for parasites) and clindomycin (Lyme) and azithromycin was an extremely good regimen for her.
Now, a year later and still in treatment, we have an amazing recovery. She was dx with Crohn's Colitis 6 years ago and no longer has those problems anymore. (GI docs, that's another story, ugh!)
since 9/2007 and now can eat pretty much whatever she wants, eventhough I still make all SCD foods at home. It's a great diet for ALL GI disorders.
In the future, we will do a parasite cleanse for her that many are doing here on LymeNet.
Also, my LLMD may believe that Babs can affect the gut.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
Make a list of what foods you CAN eat, and focus on those. Focusing on what you cannot eat is counterproductive and a waste of energy.
I know whereof I speak, because there is only a tiny list of foods I can eat without becoming severely ill (allergies, intolerances).
Don't worry about not being able to stick to the "Lyme Diet" or "Candida Diet" - that only works if one can eat the foods on those diets.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
I have to agree with everyone who said parasites. Parasites penetrate, then pierce through their host's intestinal wall causing food particles to enter the body in the wrong places. So the body attacks, hence the food allergies. Treat for parasites. IMO, people who don't just deteriorate further.
It took a while for me to convince my LLMD that I had parasites (gut feeling), so I just started treating them on my own. There are lots of products, herbs etc to help people do this (humaworm, parstroy, herbs, salt/c protocol). There is also a great thread on this board called PARASITE WARRIORS SUPPORT THREAD that has lots of great info on it.
Posted by Life+Lyme (Member # 33568) on :
Yeah, I'm thinking it's parasites, as well. I'm trying to address it. Thanks for the helpful hints and stories!
Posted by madronewood (Member # 34126) on :
Yes, it sounds like you may have Candida, with all the itching. I get pretty bad perianal itching from Candida. And sometimes just all over itching that moves from place to place.
Tell us what ingredients you can eat, and maybe we can come up with some suggestions for what to make, etc.
Right now, my diet is very narrow. I eat meat (which I don't really care for!), eggs, beans (kinda hi in carbs for Candida so careful here), all low carb veggies (no potatoes), seeds (especially crackers made from flax, sesame and chia seeds instead of wheat), nut butters (mostly almond or sunflower seed), and salad dressings with lemon or lime juice instead of vinegar (vinegar is making me itchy lately). But that is just me. It really depends on what is on your list that you can eat.
You may also want to consider changing to a different type of clothes detergent. Some of us are chemically sensitive and that can cause itching. I buy all my laundry detergent at the health food store, to avoid various additives.
Posted by Life+Lyme (Member # 33568) on :
Thanks Madronewood.
I think it's more of a leaky gut issue for me. I just need to do an elimination diet, and then add food back in to see what I'm allergic to.
Posted by timaca (Member # 6911) on :