My rashes and eczema journey

[Shelley D]

I know I dropped off from this topic in favor of just soapy topics ~ but I had an interesting development recently.
All my life I never had reactions to food, or so I thought ~ except for when I asked my mom why I would get "snotty" (I was a kid) when I ate ice cream? Or feel like I was choking on my snot (again, I was a kid, sorry for that ) after drinking milk? She would say it was because it was cold and it was probably just making my nose runny like when it's cold outside (remember, she's trying to kid-splain to me so could understand). So I never questioned it after that. No rashes, no other problems, like breathing issues.
Fast forward to now and I come across the results from blood work from about 4 years ago in a patient portal that I had to renew to see a neurologist for my pain and when I scrolled down to the end it had "allergies" listed so now I'm interested Come to find out, after showing my Dr those results, he said so you're allergic dairy, eggs, soy, shrimp and almonds? I said I don't know but they are my favorite foods and I eat them on a regular (almost daily) basis and I haven't died!
So, my body has been fighting my mild allergies all my life ~ fighting the inflammation and other mild reactions until finally it started erupting in rashes. But I had no clue it was food related allergies because I never had insurance I could afford to use and I always made too much money to qualify for state or federal medical assistance.
The severe reactions I did have landed me in a clinic or an ER and I would get steroid shots, pills, creams and told to take ibuprofen and Tylenol ~ now the steroids have messed up my liver and my kidneys are in a "fragile" state.
So, yes I am now doing a food elimination diet (pray for me because this is still a new adjustment! And I miss my eggs and cheese/crackers and ice cream) and thanks to my dermatologist I did confirm my hands do actually have eczema and I had to get a Rx for them but now that it has cleared, I rarely have to use it.
It's been an interesting and frustrating journey ~ because I'm still dealing with pain issues. But now that the rashes are under control, all that remains are the scars (because I'm a chronic scratcher ). I still prefer my soaps to store bought Knowing what's in them makes all the difference! And I'm still learning what works best for me and my skin so it's always a journey! Especially now that I'm dealing with aging skin
Sorry to ramble on, but that's why I started a thread and didn't put this in the soapy things thread I know so many of you have helped me figure out these soapy things because it can be so frustrating and I really appreciate all the input and I still appreciate every little tidbit I learn! Thank you everyone!
Happy soaping

 

[justsomeguy]

It's a hellish road, but at the end of the diet is relief. Hang in there.

 

[AliOop]

You definitely have my prayers, @Shelley D! My family has been on a similar journey for years. It is a relief to have confirmation that you aren't crazy. But the relief is somewhat short-lived because then there is a huge healing mountain to climb. For me at times, that mountain has included denial. It was so hard to accept that I really can't eat certain things if I want to be in optimum health. It helps to reframe it from "I can't eat these things" to "I choose not to eat these things because I want to feel better."

And not to be an Internet doctor, but I hope you don't mind a suggestion? If you haven't already checked out the MTHFR mutation, that's another good place to look for clues about your health. It is far more widespread than initially believed even 10 years ago. I did a relatively inexpensive 23&Me genetic test, and then paid a small fee to run the raw test results through a website that interpreted them. The information that provided me about what foods, supplements, and vitamins to avoid has been absolutely life-changing for me, and for other family members.

If you have already checked that out, please forgive my rambling on about it. I do pray for you to find all the information you need to start healing and feeling better very soon!

 

[KiwiMoose]

Wow - it still amazes me how doctors can be so oblivious to allergies in children. I'm so glad you finally got to the bottom of this issue and that you are now on the road to recovery.

 

[Shelley D]

You definitely have my prayers, @Shelley D! My family has been on a similar journey for years. It is a relief to have confirmation that you aren't crazy. But the relief is somewhat short-lived because then there is a huge healing mountain to climb. For me at times, that mountain has included denial. It was so hard to accept that I really can't eat certain things if I want to be in optimum health. It helps to reframe it from "I can't eat these things" to "I choose not to eat these things because I want to feel better."

And not to be an Internet doctor, but I hope you don't mind a suggestion? If you haven't already checked out the MTHFR mutation, that's another good place to look for clues about your health. It is far more widespread than initially believed even 10 years ago. I did a relatively inexpensive 23&Me genetic test, and then paid a small fee to run the raw test results through a website that interpreted them. The information that provided me about what foods, supplements, and vitamins to avoid has been absolutely life-changing for me, and for other family members.

If you have already checked that out, please forgive my rambling on about it. I do pray for you to find all the information you need to start healing and feeling better very soon!

Thank you ~ I haven't checked any new information yet. After the neurologist information comes in and gets processed, I intend to start processing the allergy information so we shall see where that leads!
Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Shelley D]

Ironically, most of my sinus congestion has disappeared with the elimination diet part of me is like and the other part is like dang it, I bet it's the dairy ~ which will suck because I love pretty much the whole diary food group! Milk, real butter, cheeses, ice cream, sour cream, cream cheese ~ I mean come on, sausage and gravy! Milk & cookies! And I do mean whole milk! I've been known to buy heavy cream and mix it into milk to give it some "body" because I miss "fresh from the cow" from my childhood And cheese and crackers is one of my favorite snacks along with a few bites of smoked meat or a hard boiled egg.
This is so hard! My Dr said I probably won't have to give them all up forever, just eat some in moderation but dairy will still be the hardest because I could eat something "dairy" 3 x's a day without even trying I wonder how long the elimination will last? ??

 

[AliOop]

Same for me with dairy. After years of abstaining, I can get away with occasional bites of it now, but I instantly start clearing my throat, coughing and blowing my nose. If I have enough of it, a migraine will ensue. The weird thing is, I don't test as allergic to milk at all - but all the classic symptoms are there.

 

[Shelley D]

Same for me with dairy. After years of abstaining, I can get away with occasional bites of it now, but I instantly start clearing my throat, coughing and blowing my nose. If I have enough of it, a migraine will ensue. The weird thing is, I don't test as allergic to milk at all - but all the classic symptoms are there.

That sounds like me ~ except I haven't had the actual allergy test yet, it just shows up on the blood work so we shall see

 

[dibbles]

@Shelley D thank you for posting this, and @AliOop your responses help too. My hubby has for years had a dry, ‘I need to clear my throat’ cough and at times a very runny nose (daily, but at random times). More than one Dr has thought it is due to acid reflux. He has an appointment with an allergist coming up and this is one more thing to consider as he is tested. I had never heard of MTHFR. My FIL has a chronically drippy nose, and so does my son, to a lesser degree. It would be nice for him to get to the bottom of this.

 

[AliOop]

@dibbles I'm sorry to hear of the ongoing issues, and I pray that you can get the bottom of them. For me, the issues were multi-layered, and did include acid reflux as well as allergic-type reactions to dairy and gluten. Thankfully, the majority of my symptoms were largely resolved by removing the offending foods. Even my seasonal allergies are nowhere near as dramatic as they used to be. I hope your hubby and FIL both get some answers that will provide them with relief!

 

[cmzaha]

Do not forget there are vegan options for all your dairy; most are pretty good. My daughter has been a vegetarian for many years, not by choice, and I taste many of her products and things she makes that are very good if you do not have allergies to cashews. I think I am going to have to learn to cook vegetarian foods for her.

As for doctors ignoring allergies in children, I do not know that is necessarily true; the parents need to point it out to the doctors. I have had severe eczema since I was 5yrs old, which never completely goes away. It may go into remission for a short time but can always flare up at any given time, so do not be fooled into thinking it is cured. It is not, and food allergies, especially, can change daily. My oldest granddaughter, Autumn, has food allergies to many fruits, and she loves fruit but no pineapple, strawberries, melons, tomatoes, and some I cannot think of for her.

 

[Shelley D]

Do not forget there are vegan options for all your dairy; most are pretty good. My daughter has been a vegetarian for many years, not by choice, and I taste many of her products and things she makes that are very good if you do not have allergies to cashews. I think I am going to have to learn to cook vegetarian foods for her.

As for doctors ignoring allergies in children, I do not know that is necessarily true; the parents need to point it out to the doctors. I have had severe eczema since I was 5yrs old, which never completely goes away. It may go into remission for a short time but can always flare up at any given time, so do not be fooled into thinking it is cured. It is not, and food allergies, especially, can change daily. My oldest granddaughter, Autumn, has food allergies to many fruits, and she loves fruit but no pineapple, strawberries, melons, tomatoes, and some I cannot think of for her.

Ironically, my mom has the same symptoms and we always chalked it up to hay fever symptoms neither of us had a clue it had anything to do with a dairy allergy. It wasn't all that common 50 years ago. When I mentioned it to her recently, she said, "So are you saying I'm allergic to dairy too?!" I said well, it wouldn't hurt to check if you want your nose to stop being stuffy and congested all the time