MSG Sensitivity, anyone?

I developed a sensitivity to MSG a while back.  It was sudden, and pretty scary.  I had eaten a cup of ramen, and soon after, my heart started racing.  I've had regular palpitations before, which are not a big deal and go away quickly.  These were different, lighter and faster.  I figured they'd go away, so I drank some water and relaxed.  They persisted, so I tried all the tricks (cold water on the face, deep breathing, magnesium, potassium, etc)  They started at 12:30 am.  They didn't stop until about 10am (I was at the doctor's office).  The doctor asked if I knew what caused them, I said I suspected the MSG.  She, of course, looked at me like I had three heads and completely dismissed that idea.  Did blood work, and an ekg.  Found nothing wrong with me.

It happened a few times after that, each time could be traced back to MSG.

So I basically overhauled my diet.  I'm the crazy chick at the grocery store who reads every single label checking for MSG and all it's hidden names.  It is in EVERYTHING.  But, I did find out that the MSG had also been causing a weird breathing thing that I'd had for the last couple years.  Feels like I can't get a full breath.

So then yesterday, I swapped out my usual tomato and pickle sandwich for tuna.  I forgot to check the tuna.  It's just tuna, right?  I had a reaction.  Not a bad one, but still.  To tuna!  It wasn't anything else.  The bread, mayo, pickles, potato chips were the same kinds I always used.  

So I read the label.  The tuna had vegetable broth.  Broth = MSG, almost always.  

This is so frustrating.  It is in so many things, so many hidden names.  Am I allowed to post a link?  

http://www.msgmyth.com/hidden_names.html

Oh, also, free glutamic acid is also produced when you slow cook meat.  Like my famous super slow cooked awesome bbq chicken sandwiches that caused a big reaction (I ate lots of them, lol) after my 4th of july bbq.

I think I'm just gonna eat potatoes.

Gah!  lol, anyone else?

MSG gives me massive headaches and I've learned to stay away from it as much as I can. Like you said, it's in a huge amount of foods, so it's difficult.

FWIW, I read the labels, too, when I'm at the store. It takes me forever to get groceries for that very reason.

lI feel light headed with MSG, plus it makes me swell up like a balloon with water retention.

I'm not a big fan of it either and will also swell up. I try to avoid it as much as I can.

MSG is a poison, so it's bad for all of us, whether we get symptoms from it or not. I stay WAY away from it -  big asthma attack trigger for me.

You can eat tomatoes but can't have MSG?

Yes, tomatoes, mushrooms, and parmesan (when I ate dairy) are all ok. I know you can react to them as well, but I never have.

Are you sure that your reaction wasn't from increased sodium?

Yes

I've never had a reaction like that; but after getting Chinese take-out a few times I've been super sick.  I found a place that says no msg on their menu and I can eat there fine.  I haven't connected anything other foods to that type of reaction (except maybe hot sauce in large quantities....)