FAQ/Food Allergies
Hormone Imbalance/Food Allergies since I was a toddler...
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Question: Hi Dr. Roby, I have had allergies since I was a toddler. I started my period at 10 and at 12 my straight hair turned very curly(told it was due to hormones)and gained a lot of weight even though I was active.I am now 30 and have started allergy shots again. I recently lost 42 in pounds in 10 months and have 25 more to lose. The best I felt during my weight loss was when I ate about 800-1000 calories a day and exercised 2 hours a day 7 days a week. During the last month, I only exercised 3 times a week for 40 minutes and didn't follow my diet as close(1200-1800 calories).As a consequence,my month was horrible. I gained 3-10 pounds(my weight always fluctuates and my stomach never feels flat no matter what I do),I have been overly sensitive,cry very easily,I've had a horrible headache,ear ache and allergies. Sounds like food allergies right?
My question is do I have to exercise 2 hours a day and eat 800 calories a day for the rest of my life or is there any medication that can meet me half way and help me out? My entire life I have had sore throats,double ear infections(hearing loss as a result),sinusitus,water retention, and need at least 9-12+hours of sleep,and severe headaches and migraines especially before my period.
With my new way of eating, these symptoms have decreased however, I still have acne and an oily face, scalp hair loss, swollen stomach, night sweats, wake-up from 1:30-3:00am a few times a week, have a pounding heart when I wake up, low body tempature(96.8, they say it's normal).I am very allergic to grass,molds,dust,trees, and animals.
I am taking Serafem,Yazmin (Birth control),maxide(water retention)and Tetracycline(acne) for PMS symptoms as well as Claritin 24 2x a day, Singular,nose spray,and albuterol plus one more inhaler. I also take phenterimine. At first I used it to help control my appetite, but honestly, I mostly use it for energy. I take two pills that are 37.5mg. each at 6 in the morning and fall easily to sleep at 11pm. I know that phenterimine is considered very bad, but that is the only thing that helps me function normally.I don't want to take phenterimine any longer because I'm afraid of a heart attack or something. What should I do? Will a doctor think I'm crazy to ask for a hormone panel? What happens when my tests probably come back within the low to normal range? I don't know that they will, but with my luck, the doctor will probably say, that I'm fine, and I know I'm not. Should I insist that we get my hormones within the high range if the need to be adjusted? It seems as though my whole life has always been surrounded by weight and allergies and the need for sleep(except with phenterimine I don't need as much sleep).My family says that I act like a 65 year old . Anyways, thank you for your web-site and for a possible solution.
Dr Roby Responds:
I'm afraid you have ansered your own question..."Ifeel best when I exercise 2-3 hours a day and eat 800-1000 calories."
Same for me. When I finish this email I will get on my treadmill for my morning walk of 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours. I will eat less than 1000 calories of low-carb and low fat food in six spaced meals. That is the only thing that works for me. Yes, the drugs work great. But, we all know that is no long-term solution.
You have discovered a great truth in life...this isn't going to be easy. You have to bathe every day for the rest of your life. Why not move and eat correctly, for you, for me, the same way?
Patient Follow-Up:
Thank you, Dr. Roby for your help and responding to me so quickly. While it will be a definite challenge to eat 800-100 calories and exercise for 2 hours every day, I have to say that it is worth it for me. Like I said, I had never felt better, and the happiness from that is priceless.
Thank you for your web-site and helping me solve my problems and realize that it's not just in my head.
Thank you for your help, Jennifer
3 yr old cannot tolerate white meat, eggs, wheat, dairy - has eczema, respiration problems, seizures.
Thursday, 22 April, 2004
Question:
I have a 3 year old son who has suffered extensively with allergies since he has been born. He can not tolerate white meat, eggs, wheat, or dairy products of any kind. For about a year now he has been able to eat red meats. He does pretty well with most fruits and veggies except banannas. Most of his reactions come in the form of eczema and respiratory difficulties. He responds pretty well to albuterol and flovent. To date he has been hospitalized 4 times as a result of his condition. At about age 9 months and again at about 15 months his breathing was so poor he had to be hospitalized for about 4-5 days each time. He was treated with a steroid and albuterol via a nebulizer and responded pretty well. After the second hositalization they allowed my wife the administer the steroid at home when he had severe cases. He has needed the steroid about 2-3 times over the last two years and has responded well each time.
In addition to the above two trips to the hospital, he has been hospitalized two other times (April 24, 2003 and April 20, 2004) due to seizures. On these two hospitalizations he was treated at two of the best hospitals in the state of Virginia; Medical College of Virginia and Children's Hospital of King's Daugthers. They ran blood work, urine tests, EKGs, MRIs, and a host of other tests and found nothing wrong with him on both visits. The first time they said his seizures resulted from dehydration and the second time (this week) they said it was due to a fever resulting from an ear infection.
Considering his previous difficulties and the fact that the seizures recurred the very same week the following year, I believe they could be a result of pollen or other environmental conditions related the the time of year. I saw your site and just wanted to know what assessment of this situation might be and what I might do to further explore this possibility (if you agreed that I could be on the right track). The medical professionals on this end just can't stomach the idea that I don't agree that my son's seizures resulted from dehydration and an ear infection or it was just coincidental that they were a year and 2 days apart. Of course my real concern is the well being of my son who has had two very difficult attacks which rendered him unconscious both times.
I really would appreciate your thoughts on the circumstances and what I might do. He has been seen regularly by a variety of doctors who have been very good about treating his symptoms although they appear to all be a long way from hitting the problem.
Dr. Roby Answers:
I would certainly agree with your observations. I frequently see some kid who is subjected to MRI's and spinal taps because he gets blinding headaches...each April.???? Medicine is very good at detecting and treating diseases. The problem is...your kid doesn't have a disease. He has allergies. We test for foods and pollens and neutralize the airborne allergy, in minutes, using sublingual drops daily (kids really don't like shots). See my sections on asthma and food allergy on the website. Get the air filters I suggest (Filtrete 1250 20X20 with box fans) and put four of them in his room. Put a 4X4 under the head of his bed so he sleeps slightly upright. New pillows. LOTS of antihistamine. Dry up the mucus. No mucus...no infections, no upset stomache...fewer food reactions.
The albuterol is a terrible medication. It is simply an emergency blocker. It makes his heart race and only lasts a few hours. There are certainly better ways to deal with it than that. See if the doc will give him an antihistamine. If not, ask the phrmacist about the time-proven over-the-counter pedi antihistamines. Pediacare (pseudoephedrine) by day and liquid, sugar-free, dye-free Benadryl at night.
Come and see us. We'll fix him up.
Patient Responds:
Dr. Roby,thank you so very much for your prompt and helpful response. If we came to Texas for a visit what would your costs be? What types of things would you do? How long would we need to stay?
Dr. Roby Answers:
Out-of-town (state) patients are seen in one session. It takes about three hours. You would get a single lab test done before you come. It is a blood test IgE Antibodies. The cost of the lab test is two hundred dollars. Any lab can draw it. It is sent to Immunosciences Labs in Los Angeles. It takes about ten days to get those results.
I see patients in Austin on Mondays and Wednesdays, San Antonio on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When you arrive in San Antonio (or Austin) we do a multi-test allergy screen (no needles, no discomfort, but little people don't like it because they must be held still for about five minutes while the plastic applicators are pressed against the skin). This allows us to formulate the desensitizing antigens (seasonal pollens and molds). We then put drops of these antigens under or beside the tongue with droppers and try to observe changes in congestion and breathing. These changes are immediate. They happen within seconds. You take these home and prevent symptoms with the drops and with aggressive use of antihistamines.
The costs run about $1600.00. This includes the initial evaluation, the testing, and everything you need to treat the patient for one year. Any adjustments after the visit can be made by email or telephone. We are covered by many insurance plans including Medicaid, Medicare and Blue Cross. Any patient who is not completely satisfied is refunded any money they have paid.
We have NO asthmatics who are out-of-control. Come and see us.
Question on your your recommended 5-day diet
Sunday, October 27, 2002
Question:
I'm ready to start your recommended 5-day diet. I wanted to make sure that wheat bread was ok to eat, or should I avoid all breads? Also, since I was not allergic to sugar or chocolate or milk on the skin test, do I still need to avoid these foods? Thanks for your help; looking forward to my next visit.
Dr. Roby Answers:
Skin tests for foods are not very reliable. Negatives are practically meaningless. Your worst food sensitivity might not trigger an IgE skin type reaction. We think of the negative skin test result as a "nothing established" result. The positives are much more useful and they have a false positive probablility approaching 40%.
The gold standard is avoidaance (for five days, after that reactivity rapidly wanes), followed by re-introduction of the suspect food(s). Your symptoms are so mild I am not sure you will see any difference after avoiding the eight categories. However, and in answer to your question, it is suggested you avoid all grains during the five day period.
Allergic to mango - help without medication?
Tue, 06 Aug 2002
Question:
I am allergic to mango and get poison-ivy like blisters (no itching), dryness, and swelling, above my upper lip. I must have had a small amount o it somehow, although not sure how, but I am having a reaction. It is not as severe as if at a lot of it, but the bumps/blisters are there. Is there anything I can do to help the symptoms without medication. I have no doctor currently and used to take a series of anitbiotics. Thank you for any help.
Dr. Roby Answers:
Take one drop of mango juice and put it in 8 ounces of water. Stir up the water and then put 3 or 4 drops of the mango/water mixture under your tongue. That will probably stop the discomfort. Repeat as often as needed. If this happens again, have your head examined. :-)
Itchy after eating a snackbar ( low carb type Advantage)
Friday, September 27, 2002
Question:
On 9/25/02 I began to feel itchy after eating a snack bar ( low carb type Advantage ). I took Benadryl 50 mg as the itch started to increase and then went to sleep as I get up for work at 1550. When I awoke I felt numbness on the left side of my mouth which was all swollen, my eyes were swollen, I had welts on my legs, underarms, peri area,chest and back. My tongue felt thick. As I was heading to the ER I started to get tightness in my throat and chest with a burping. They gave me Benadryl 50mg IV, epherdrine, predinsone and tagamet. Two breathing tx and Mylanta,
In 4 hours the hives and welts reduced and cleared, and the doctor said the bronospasm cleared up. However at 5 pm the hives and welts started to appear and some tightening in the throat so it was back to the ER but this time just the IV benadryl helped. The hives are still there. I was given predinsone 50 mg for 6 days, pepcid and an ventolin inhaler.
I am glad I found your web site as I started the vitamin C this A.M., and limiting my diet for the 5 days. Should I be doing anything else ? Thank you.
Dr. Roby Replies:
Well, you have obviously had a serious reaction to the snack bar. For starters, don't try any more of those.
As to why this has happened, I would guess you are in your thirties and have begun having problems with your weight (i.e., the diet bar) and loss of short-term memory, skin problems, fatigue, mood swings and diminished sex drive. That is the gist of what I see in women with "Hormone Imbalance".
Many of your questions relating to allergy and other symptoms are addressed in my section on "Hormone Imbalance" on my website. Please read that section again. Let me know how much of that material applies to you. I can then address your specific questions much more efficiently.
Frequency in urination; food allergies; hormone problems
Monday, September 30, 2002
Question:
I have an appointment to see you soon. Meanwhile here are comments and a question. Recently, in response to a question I sent you, you indicated that I might try to eat a low carbo diet and see how that helped. I've tried to do so, but greens--two examples are brocolli, asparagus - bother my bladder a great, great deal. I also react badly to oatmeal and probably to some other wheat products. About the only thing I'm not reacting to these days are proteins in meat, poultry, and maybe fish. The medication on which I was placed for bladder problems (ditropan XL--now at 15 mgs.) is useless against my allergic reactions to these foods. When I don't eat the greens, the medication helps me although I don't like some of the side effects. Might I have a whole range of food allergies in addition hormal imbalance? By-the-way, I began menstruation when I was approximately 12 years old. Thanks.
Dr. Roby Answers:
You can react to anything. Once you get so sensitive that you begin to react to a wide range of foods you really have your work cut out for you.
I HAVE TO EAT A a very restricted diet Sun thru Friday. On Fri and Sat I eat anything I want to, knowing full well I will feel worse later. At least I am clear-headed during the week. I too do best on fish and meat ( I think chicken gets me if I eat it more than every third or fourth day). I can tolerate green veggies pretty well, but no grains whatsoever.
We will try to determine which food families you might tolerate. The progesterone drops have been very effective at relieving bladder symptoms.
I look forward to meeting you.
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