I haven't been around much lately which I guess is good.
It means I have been doing very well and had an uneventful summer so far even though our tick load has been horrible.
I've had something pop up recently, however, that has me curious as to whether or not anyone else with a history of Lyme has experienced something similar.
Recently I have developed a sudden allergy to tree nuts.
This occured over the spring. Every time I eat any tree nuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans, pistachios etc, I develope severe GI symptoms.
It even occurs if I consume anything that has coconut oil or palm kernal oil in it.
The symptoms are stomach pain, gas, discomfort,nausea and bowel symptoms likewise.
Along with it is a general feeling of unwellness that lasts for about 24 hours when it all concludes with diarrhea.
Once it runs it's course, I am fine until I accidentally eat something with tree nuts or oils in it.
When I googled my symptoms the first thing that popped up was their association with tree nut allergies.
With the news about tick bites being associated with a sudden developing of meat allergies, I am wondering if there isn't a similar association with my sudden developement of a tree nut allergy.
In the mean time I am learning to read product labels VERY carefully.
Anyone else had this problem?
Posted by Judie (Member # 38323) on :
I have a nickel allergy which is unrelated to Lyme and have difficulty with foods high in nickel. I can't eat lots of nuts either, but I love them.
Nuts can also be just hard to digest.
Daryl Hall (of Hall and Oates if you remember them) had food allergies as one of his Lyme symptoms. He was allergic to celery though and other things he had eaten all his life.
On the plus side, some of my allergies are less since treating Lyme (not all, I'm still allergic to some things).
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
I have eaten anything & everything my whole life. I developed mild chemical sensitivity when going chronic & after some mold exposure I developed some severe hyper chemical sensitivity that has now also crossed over to food sensitivity.
The leak was very slow, drip by drip, & unbeknownst to us while it happened. I had developed more & more symptoms along the way. When we discovered it there was a wall that had mold about 2' high & the water had gotten around other boxes & equipment.
It was all hidden under piles of stuff that had remained there, since I always reacted & could not tolerate our 1st floor/ground level (partially under ground). After this experience I reevaluated & noticed mold on most of our windows around the silicone. It had been there for years & all along.
For me chemical sensitivity & food allergies was accompanied by greater mold exposure.
Posted by KimC (Member # 44257) on :
Hi,
I can't wear any jewelry with nickel - I get a rash. Also I have developed food allergies which a while back I used to be able to eat anything! Had my gallbladder out and had to go gluten free - which helps but only for a little while - the stomach problems come and go. I am trying to cut dairy now and even if I have 1 beer I get a nasty headache. Never used to. My headaches last 3 to 4 days with no letting up.
Posted by Nemo (Member # 22783) on :
I just discovered that I have to read ingredient labels even closer than I do already.
Palm Kernel oil, coconut oil are both off the list now.
I wondered why my favorite 'treat' cereal, Capt'n Crunch with berries was giving me an upset stomach. At first I thought it was the sugar content.
Then I read the label. Coconut oil.
I still have a half a bag then it is crossed off my shopping list. I find I can eat a half a cup without problems as long as I take a Benedryl or two before endulging.
I have always had a nickel allergy. Even some golds will cause me trouble.
My wedding ring is titanium for that reason.
I've had some pretty drastic stomach problems off and on since my aquaintance with Lyme.
Some from medications and yeast infections. Some unexplainable.
It makes me wonder what else I have developed an allergy to.
Although since I have eliminated tree nuts and tree oil ingredients from my diet things have been very quiet digestive wise.
Posted by 'Kete-tracker (Member # 17189) on :
An article I recenty read says there's a furry of new cases of (serious) allergy to red meat caused by... a LOne Star tick bite!... here in central New England.
Seems the tick [bite] introduces a sugar (alpha-gal) into the body. The body's immune system then reacts to it as a "foreign substance"... & whenever that person trys eating any red meat (cooked or not) after this tick "innoculation"?... they have a B-A-D reaction! It typically occurs 4 - 6 hours *after* the meal. No "cure" is known, though there are the standard allergic reaction treatments.
Talk about being forced to be Vegan!
Posted by Nemo (Member # 22783) on :
That is what made me start to wonder about the correlation (if there is one) between Lyme and other food allergies.
If Lone Star tick bites can initiate meat allergies, then why not other food allergies as well?
I grew up devouring every nut I could find from coconuts to cashews with out a burp.
Now at 61 I suddenly cannot eat them.
It started about three years ago, I was treated for Lyme in 2010. I remember getting deathly sick after eating pistachio nuts after that.
I finally put two and two together this past Christmas when I ate cashews we got as a gift. Since then I have been more aware of what I eat and how I am reacting to it.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I would think it's plausible for it to happen with other foods.
Kete-tracker: Lone Star ticks are the main culprits in Lyme related illnesses in the Midwest and South.
Posted by Nemo (Member # 22783) on :
LYMETOO what I find so amazing even after almost 5 years a victim to Lyme is that the information net still says that Lone Star ticks have no connection to Lyme Disease.
Where we live in North eastern Missouri we have had a HEAVY tick load this spring. They claim it is because we had so much snow and cold that the snow insulated the tick population from the harsh temps we had.
We couldn't go out in the back yard without coming in with at tick or two crawling on us.
So we started, out of curiosity, to identify all the different varieties of critters we were pulling off of us and surprizingly, deer ticks were in the minority.
Most were Lone Stars and common brown dog ticks.
We are ready to turn a flock of chickens loose in the yard and let them be in charge of tick control
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I know. They try to keep the public insulated from the truth on this. It's criminal.
Posted by Brussels (Member # 13480) on :
Many people get more food allergies during lyme. I was one. It was clear that I got allergic to things like wheat, but also many other natural foods when lyme was active. Nuts, fruits, some veggies, and many types of carbs.
Once lyme got dormant, things got much better. It happened a couple of times, and I know that in my case, active lyme has to do with increase of food allergies. Possibly, because my body gets toxic, then allergies increase?
Front Line is toxic for cats and dogs. The problem is not the tick, but our immune system. Many people get bitten and re-bitten and never fall sick. Or not as sick as most of us...
My daughter got her 3rd bite today, this year. She is still fine, so far. I got two or three bites too. I even don't count anymore.
Before, one bite was enough to send us to hospital after a few days. They activated old borrelia. We still keep fingers crossed though.
We live in an infested area, and as you said, this year is pretty bad. In our case, almost no snow, but very mild winter (Switzerland).
During lyme, I was always on diet. If not, my energy levels would go down, my digestion would be messy, and no way I could heal with such food allergies. I find it is as important to avoid allergens as much as to treat pathogens.
In my case, things are much better without lyme, but I still have some food allergies (but they do not increase, like with lyme).
Posted by Judie (Member # 38323) on :
Before Lyme, I thought I had developed food allergies. It turns out I had severe gut dysbiosis.
A CDSA (comprehensive digestive stool anaylysis) test helped diagnose the problem.
After 2 years of horrible problems with eating, I finally had an answer.
My ND treated the dysbiosis and I was able to eat foods I thought I was allergic to again.
An ND is a naturopathic doctor. I had never worked with one before. The one I chose specialized in nutrition.
Posted by Nemo (Member # 22783) on :
It seems that my allergies appeared after my Lyme went dormant, or at the end stage of it's acute phase.
I have always had environmental allergies. Surprizingly, they have improved and the food allergies have taken their place.
Sneeze or suffer digestive upset....I think I'd rather sneeze.
My husband suffered a suspicious tick bite this spring, complete with bulls eye.
He was on Biaxin for a sinus infection at the same. His doctor hopes that covered it for him.
I really worry about him having to go through what I went through.
Does gluten intollerance, not celiac disease but just an intollerance for gluten happen in conjunction with the food allergies?
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nemo:
Does gluten intollerance, not celiac disease but just an intollerance for gluten happen in conjunction with the food allergies?
- I would think that if you are gluten intolerant it will make you very likely to have leaky gut .. if you are eating gluten anyway.
Leaky gut leaves you prone to food "allergies."
Posted by Judie (Member # 38323) on :
One of my first Lyme symptoms was increased allergies.
A Lyme doc I saw said that as the infections are treated, my immune system will stop going crazy and attacking all this stuff.
I found that to be true as I've been going through treatment.
If you've done any antibiotics though, they can cause gut dysbiosis that seem like food allergies.
When I finally got to the root of what was going on with the ND, we traced the problem starting to 2 years before when I had taken a course of antibiotics.