# Allergy testing and wheat free diet



## Ceann Comhairle (1 Mar 2005)

Hello Everyone,

Just looking for some advice about allergy testing and a wheat free diet.

Not too sure if I definitely have wheat allergy but feel health is suffering any time I eat bread - perhaps its a touch of irritable bowel syndrome.

Would anyone here have any adviceforme about allergy testing and how and where to get it done professionally.

Wouldit be hard to stick to a wheat free diet?  Has anyone else tried it?


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## casiopea (1 Mar 2005)

*gluten free diet*

Hi Ceann Comhairle.

Ive been on a wheat free diet for most of my life and I would say its not hard at all to stick to. Like all things it  takes some discipline but there is so much choice now in the shops for Coeliacs (or people on wheat free diets who just want to cut down on gluten).  Tescos carry a whole range of breads, pastas, pies.  When I first diagnosed I had to order my bread from Johnson Mooney and O'Brien and a loaf would come in specially every 2 weeks for me! This christmas I had a gluten free mince tart/pie thing from Tescos....I was in my element!

When you are out in restaurants you need to double check about soups and sauces (and obviously avoid the bread and pasta), italian restaurants are hard however Italy itself is great (no restaurant in italy only serves pasta/pizza as they do in ireland).

In the pub you need to avoid beers and whiskeys and switch to wine or spirits (g+t, vodka orange etc).  

If someone invites you to a dinner party remind them about your diet, to be honest it means that they cant just serve pasta, it usually isnt a problem at all.

Honestly though, its not a hard diet at all.

Regarding tests, as I was diagnosed 26years ago Im not the best person to ask, I know I had a barium meal done which was rotten,  I  believe there is now a blood test  that identifies it.  

Good luck!

Cas


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## Biggles (1 Mar 2005)

*Re: gluten free diet*

Don't know where you're based, but there's a guy called Turner in Stillorgan has been specialising in fod intolerances/allergies for years.  My Mother-in-Law swears by him.

From what I hear, any move to a new diet is hard to get used to at first but once your system has adjusted it gets easier.


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## stobear (1 Mar 2005)

*Re: gluten free diet*

My wife did the neTron diet a few years back to identify food intolerances. They take some blood and after testing it, they send you a list of foods to avoid, as a start you have to cut out bread completely and dairy for 6 weeks, this will of course lead to weight loss and she did feel better after it, but her 'red list' contained stuff she loved so it didn't last long. They are also skeptical [broken link removed]. 

She then began to identify the foods that cause her problems. Its a fairy common sense approach but it does need discipline


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## Sherib (1 Mar 2005)

You have all my sympathy Ceann Comhairle.  However most scientific experts are sceptical about allergy testing since there are no recognised definitive tests.  A qualified dietician would probably recommend an exclusion diet in order to identify the offending food.

Coeliac disease is quite easy to diagnose medically and is being increasingly recognised among adults up to middle age which wasn't the case fairly recently.  Ireland has one of the highest incidences of Coeliac disease in the world.  So, if I were you I'd get that ruled out first.  Coeliac means intolerence to *gluten* which is present in *most cereals* except rice.  It's not a nice diet so not to be embarked on lightly and pointless if you're not a Coeliac.

All the tests were negative so I had to find a solution myself.  I did find that excluding wheat helped.   A wheat free diet, apart from the obvious, means excluding soups, sauces etc.  The list is enormous.  Wheat is in almost everything so you'll have to read all the labels if you go down that road.

The wheat free diet wasn't too bad.  Switched to oats (porridge) for breakfast.  Oats are good for us - and helps to lower cholesterol it's said.  Practically all cereals have wheat added. You can eat as much rice and potatoes as you like.  If anyone wants to loose weight, go on a wheat free diet!  Better than all the diets that sell millions of books.  

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an umbrella term and in most cases the cause is unknown as there is no definitive test except for gluten and lactose intolerance.  Medical profession is not that sympathetic to sufferers of I.B.S. Its very common but difficult to pinpoint a cause.  But at least they can exclude diagnosable conditions.

I tried a range of health shop products, pretty expensive, and a waste of time.  A dietician told me once that it could be due to the chemicalisation of wheat and other foods in their production.  

On two occasions I had treatable conditions which I wrongly attributed to I.B.S.  The first was an infection and required antibiotics.  Up to six months ago I had continued to abstain from wheat and then developed severe symptoms in that department.  Back I went to Prof. Colm O'Moran, a Gastroenterologist of high repute and a very nice man too.

To my amazement a diagnosis was made on a bowel biopsy and treated with medication.  I'm cured!  It's brilliant.  After twenty years of deprivation I can now eat as much lovely bread as I like and have actually put on weight.  Maybe I had that condition all those years ago but it wasn't diagnosable at the time.  

If you go the scientific route you might end up having a full examination of the gastro intestinal tract - gastroscopy and colonoscopy.  It's not too bad actually since you get knocked out with an injection and it's well worth it in my opinion.    

A strange topic for a financial forum!  But who would buy a house without a professional survey? 

The best of luck with the choice you make.  

8)


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## casiopea (2 Mar 2005)

*coeliac diet*

Hi Ceann Comhairle, Sherib,

Very informative post Sherib and Im delighted to see that  you were at last diagnosed.  Its very distressing to know that there is something wrong with you and have doctors regard you skeptically, as I was so young when I was diagnosed I wasnt privy to that but my poor parents were. 

As Sherib rightly points out there is a difference between Coeliac Diet and a wheatfree diet.  Simply put, on the coeliac diet you are allergic to more, all cereals except rice and corn/maize.  


->  It's not a nice diet so not to be embarked on lightly and pointless if you're not a Coeliac.

This statement I disagree with, its not that hard.  Especially not now, with a wider variety of g/f breads, cakes, biscuits, pasta, pizza bases to choose from.  I do appreciate though that this is a personal thing, whats hard for some people is not so hard for others etc.

I have remembered one thing though that I think will help you.  There is one very clear symptom of a Coeliac (as oppose to someone with IBS, Crones, intolerance to gluten).  If you are Coeliac and go on a 100% gluten free diet (not just wheat but also avoiding rye, hops, barley, oats, everything but maize/corn and rice) you will very quickly notice a dramatic improvement in weight gain, height (if you are growing, in your teens).  For example, Im on a g/f diet and Im a very very normal weight for my height/age and by looking at me you cant tell that I have dietary restrictions.  Interestingly when Sherib tried the diet he/she lost weight (if I read your post correctly).   Anyway, in short, try the diet for 6 to 8 weeks (you have to give it long enough for current damage to heal) and see if you have a dramatic improvement in weight, lethargy, bloatedness, nausea etc.  If not, its more than likely you are not coeliac.

Hope this helpls,
Cas.


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## car (2 Mar 2005)

*book*

may I recommend this [broken link removed] book off the shelf in easons.  Mrs car swears by it.


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## Ceann Comhairle (2 Mar 2005)

Hello All,

Thank you all very much for your informativeposts especially Sherib and Casiopea.  A lot for me to digest(pardon the pun).  

I started the wheat elimination diet yesterday but feel rotten - no energy.  Not sure if I will last but sick and tired of feeling rotten with flu like symptoms.


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## Sue Ellen (12 Nov 2005)

Has anyone used this clinic [broken link removed]? Saw it advertised recently and just wondering if anyone here has used it.


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## Marcecie (12 Nov 2005)

following a virus I have been having chest problems and ended up on inhalers, have just had allergy testing in new Galway clinic which showed up a dust mite allergy-- not really sure how accurate the tests really are they cost €140


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