Allergies

Winchester

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DH was tested for allergies yesterday (he's been seeing an allergist for really nasty headaches). Turns out he's very allergic to pollen and mold and shows a bit of an allergy to dust mites. He has no allergy to cats (thank goodness) or dogs....it didn't even raise a bump.

I didn't realize that mold includes things like vinegar, cheese(!), and wines. Mold also includes tomatoes and tomato products. Why? Because the tomatoes I use at home are cleaned very well and all mold spots and bad spots are removed. But when you buy commercially-prepared tomato sauces, pastes, spaghetti sauces, canned chili, etc., the manufacturers, as a rule, just throw it all in the pot, so to speak. Yes, they have quality control people, but, let's face it, it's a fast business and there's no time to take off a small bad spot. DH mentioned that the products are cooked before being canned, but evidently that doesn't matter. The allergist recommends that we make our own tomato products. Oy!

Pollen also includes grains, which means cereals, breads, etc. It includes milk and milk products, simply because at certain times of the years, the cows may eat more pollen with their food. The allergist recommends gluten-free for awhile and see if that helps. It also includes beer, not a biggie for DH.

The allergist doesn't think dust mites are a big issue as the bump wasn't that large. DH did tell him that I change our bed sheets at least twice a week, and more than that during the hot summer. We were planning on getting rid of the carpet anyway and putting in either wood floors or tile in the living room and back the hallway. The bedrooms have wood flooring. And we can encase the mattress on our bed. I'm constantly vacuuming the house; with six cats, I don't have a choice.

Meanwhile DH is on a prescription-strength Claritin for the next 3 weeks and is to continue cleaning out his sinuses twice a day. And he is to continue keeping a food journal for awhile, too. He doesn't drink much alcohol at all because he has epilepsy. But dear lord, no cheese. That's going to kill me...I guess I can make a cheese-less pizza though and there are gluten-free crusts I can make. But no regular baking for awhile either....poor DH; his sweet tooth will be put to the test. OTOH, maybe we'll finally lose those last ten pounds again!

And me? Well, it looks like I may have my cooking cut out for me for awhile. I don't mind making my own tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and such as long as I don't have to can the stuff....I'm scared to can foods, especially tomatoes. We do have a large freezer, though, in the basement. If I can freeze it, and I did years ago, and it was fine, I'll be OK. I don't mind the work involved and DH did say he would help. But wow. Looks like we'll be growing lots of tomatoes this summer....I just hope they do better than they did last year.

We'll see what happens with the Claritin. I remember years ago I had to take Claritin because despite not being allergic to cats, when we brought Banshee home, there was something in her fur that set me off big time. I took Claritin for about two years before it finally cleared up. The allergist did say that, even if one has not had an allergy to something in the past, it can come on suddenly....and my doctor had told me that when Banshee came into the house. DH has had headaches and migraines for years, but they've gotten much worse, and now they're wondering if they're not allergy-related as we've ruled everything else out. (And I will say that my dear, DH told the doctor right out; if it turned out that he was allergic to the cats? Oh well.....his wife would probably get rid of him before she would get rid of the cats! Seriously, the cats would stay; it's their home as much as it is ours. And we would deal.)

I get migraines from time to time, too, not as often as DH does. Mine usually kick up when I turn into a couch potato. If I stop walking and exercising and start eating crap, then my headaches start in. So we'll see. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of his headaches or at least, lessen the frequency or the intensity.
 

strange_wings

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Has your husband been tested for celiac disease? If not do that ASAP before you remove gluten from the diet. If he actually is positive for it you can include gluten free products you'd normally never buy on your taxes as it's a medically prescribed diet. Just trying it won't count.
You'll also know whether it's safe for him to even have gluten.

As for losing weight while doing gluten free baking… you won't. Recipes usually take double the eggs and sugar for flavor. There's also a high risk of cross contamination in premade mixes and items that claim to be gluten free but aren't made on dedicated lines. I've gotten sick at least three times alread from that. The last time was from pizza crust, ironically.
Pasta made from brown rice taste exactly like brown rice, which is cheaper.

He doesn't need to avoid all cheeses. If the allergist said that they're fairly ignorant of how cheeses are made. Simply avoid the ones that are mold ripened. American cheese and Velveta (if you can actually call those cheese) use no mold. iirc, some hard cheeses don't either?
What did they say about soy? A lot of people cut that from their diet when they have issues related to food sensitivities and allergies.

Any mention of getting shots? My DH was found to be allergic to a lot of foods as a child (around 12-13yrs, so he simply didn't grow out of them) - mold, pollen, and dust mites, too. He had shots for them whiched helped him a lot. He still needs a daily allergy med, but his asthma (which his allergies set off) is well controlled.
 
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Winchester

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It's not really the gluten per se, as much as it to reduce the amount of pollen that could be in the grains. DH told the doctor that I keep my flours in the freezer, but he said it doesn't matter. I can make my own pasta, if need be as we do have a pasta maker. But it's going to be a hassle the whole way around.

As for cheese, we don't use American cheese that much at all. Nor do we use Velveeta. So that's not an issue.

You know, he didn't even mention soy? Nor did he mention any shots at this point. I think we're in an experimental period to see how DH reacts to not having some of these items.
 

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Wow, I'm really sorry for your DH! My mom had allergies & asthma and migraines. Turns out she only needed to remove the nightshade family from her diet and everything was pretty well controlled and the migraines went away. (Tomatoes, eggplants, green peppers).

However... the way she got there was not by the allergy testing (which showed no food allergies!), but by a food elimination diet over the course of a year, where she journaled extensively and ate only one food at any meal. Took a lot of discipline and wasn't easy on her! But it was worth it.

I tested positive for everything the allergist tested for (environmental). I didn't have a problem with migraines, but for me hepa filters, unscented soaps and laundry stuff, getting rid of the down pillows and blanket (
), and cetirizine (zyrtec) controlled the worst of it (and I am crazy allergic to cats!).
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Winchester

You know, he didn't even mention soy? Nor did he mention any shots at this point. I think we're in an experimental period to see how DH reacts to not having some of these items.
Soy is in so much stuff now that it's becoming more of a problem. It's even added to pet foods with similar results.

You will never be able control pollen and mold in the environment. He should seriously think about treatment.

And I meant American cheese is safe, not bad. No mold.

I don't get being told no gluten because of pollen? Gluten is a protein from within the wheat itself- no where near pollen. All grains, seeds, veggies, and fruit are the result of pollenation. So if you use the theory that wheat isn't safe because of pollenation used to create it, then seeds, veggies, etc would not be either.
And if you typoed and meant mold, well all grains, seeds, nuts, and yes even corn are held to the 20ppm limit. You'll have a huge list of foods that cannot be eaten.
 
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