About a year ago, I went to an allergist because I was suffering pretty consistently from digestion problems. My stomach churned frequently, and I was uncomfortable throughout much of the day.
The doctor gave me two sets of “scratch tests,” one on each arm. One arm was for “environmental allergens,” like ragweed and Kentucky bluegrass, and the other was for food products like nuts, chocolate and milk protein. The test itself is pretty painless:the doctor pricks your skin and then applies extracts of certain allergens. If the spot where you’re pricked swells, you’re allergic.
I am VERY allergic to many common environmental allergens… my arm blew up and I couldn’t stop sneezing! The other arm, which tested for food allergies, showed less severe reactions but still showed sensitivity in three noticeable places: those marked almonds, cashews, and casein (a protein in cow’s milk) and wheat.
Based on a little self-diagnosing I did a couple years ago, I figured out that my body does better when I’m not drinking cow’s milk. I haven’t had milk in my coffee (I use almond milk or drink it black) since April 2011, and I haven’t felt any stomach pain from coffee since. As far as almonds and cashews are concerned, I haven’t noticed either to make me feel particularly bad. As I said above, I drink almond milk in my coffee nearly every day, and it doesn’t seem to bother me.
The wheat part, however, is a little tricky. Along with the scratch tests I took last year, the allergist also had me tested me for Celiac disease. The results came back negative, and I went on with my life, happily ingesting wheat and gluten.
Unfortunately, the GI troubles never really went away. Even when I was vegan and not eating dairy at all, my stomach would still vibrate uncomfortably all day, but particularly in the evening.
For some reason, there are ailments and discomforts in my life I’ve just kind of accepted I’ll have forever. Eczema, for instance, has plagued me since childhood and for years I just suffered through it, wreaking havoc on my legs in my sleep. I finally got myself to a dermatologist who prescribes me REALLY powerful steroids, and while there’s no cure for eczema (fingers crossed that one day there will be!), it’s better. Point being: if something is physically bothering you, GO SEE A DOCTOR! That’s what insurance is for. And this year should have proved this to be especially true.
I went to my GP- a new one I just started seeing this year after my last doctor failed to return my calls while I was getting more and more sick- and explained my symptoms. She took a few vials of blood to check my vitamin levels and see if there any antibodies present consistent with Celiac. She also took a few “samples” to look at two things: 1) because I was on such powerful antibiotics earlier in the year, it’s possible the healthy bacteria in my gut got displaced and I contracted an infection. She suggested I start taking over-the-counter probiotics immediately (which I did, with good results). 2) to see if I had possibly been harboring a parasite in my intestines.
The doctor called today, and luckily it looks like I don’t have an infection OR a parasite. Whew! It does, however, seem like I might have a gluten intolerance. I know you can develop this late in life, and though I googled a few things, I couldn’t find anything conclusive listing major illness to be a possible cause.
My next appointment, with an actual GI doctor, isn’t until the end of January, so I’m not going to freak out or change my eating habits or do anything drastic like that. While I certainly don’t want to have to give up gluten, I also really want to know what’s going on with my insides and if this is it, part of me would be really relieved to have an answer. Either way, I’ll take things one step at a time.
