Please help!

[StephanieAc]

I need some input. I just found out today, at 25 years old, that I'm allergic to peanuts via a RAST food panel blood test. I didn't ever have any symptoms other than a stomach ache for a few minutes after eating most nuts, which started pretty recently. I also have an allergy to wheat, which I eat every single day, corn, and milk. It's all very odd to me. Does anyone know about these tests and their rate of false positives or have any suggestions as to what I should do?

I'm also penicillin allergic, which worries me about meat, soy sensitive...and I have an allergy to the mold that grows on fruit and veggies lol. I'm going to the allergist for further testing tomorrow, I'd just love some input! Thanks!

[Janelle205]

The rate of false positives for RAST and skin testing as well, is pretty high.  I don't have the exact statistics, but I know that there are other members here that can point you in the right direction.  If you are eating something every day without having issues, the likelihood that you are actually allergic to it is very, very low.

I have a number of food allergies, but there are things that I skin test positive to, and things that I RAST test positive to that I eat frequently with no issues at all.

If there is an allergist in your area that specializes in food allergies, I would try to see that doc for another opinion.  Docs that do mostly environmental allergies are often not as good, or as up to date on the particulars of food allergies.  It is really, really important to get a good allergist.  Before I got my current doc, my previous allergist gave me advice that I am nearly certain would have killed me if I had followed it.

[GoingNuts]

Welcome Stephanie!

I second Janelle's suggestion about being certain that you see a Board Certified Allergist who is knowledgeable about food allergies, not just environmentals.

RAST testing alone means almost nothing; it has to be considered along with a clinical history.  As my old allergist always said, he doesn't treat test results, he treats patients and symptoms.

Who has been doing the testing?  And what made you seek it in the first place?  Those answers may help us help you. 

[PurpleCat]

What they both said.

Reactions trump testing.

False positives are common.

My DD tests positive to apples but eats them often.  She tests positive for shellfish and can not eat lobster or crab, however, she eats shrimp all the time!

[StephanieAc]

Thank you so much for all of the replies! I'm gonna try and answer all of them. Well, I had some skin prick tests for only environmental allergies done by someone who I THOUGHT was an allergist, she was just a tech, as it turns out. I came up positive for a lot of molds, pecan trees (and thus fresh pecans) and trees. Molds that grow on veggies and fruits, as well...anyway... after that test I got a fever, which ...was odd (Has that happened to anyone else by the way? I get fevers from a lot of things like colonics, colonoscopies... gross I know, sorry) Anyway, back on topic. Then I had the RAST test done by my GP. They told me they didn't know how to interpret the numbers, so they weren't sure just how severe my allergies were. They just saw that it came up as abnormal.

The reason I went for testing is because I started to feel odd after eating certain foods. Sushi (even just avocado rolls with no fish) started to make my heart race. I thought it could be a soy allergy (someone also told me that wheat allergies make you very sensitive to soy...) or it could be the high amount of salt. Benedryl wouldn't even really work, which was scary,so I cut out the sushi all together and much chinese food, although I recently had some with oyster sauce and I was fine...weird.

I also started to break out randomly. I broke out twice when I had some coconut milk ice cream... half of my face broke out...and once when I had some mayo and organic chicken with a little bit of vinegar and oregano. That's something I eat all the time, so it struck me as odd. The hives on my face actually occurred after I took benedryl because my tongue felt strange, so I took it. I was told that this was REALLY BAD by my GP, which scared me even more. So he took the test.

I'm going to a specialist today for skin prick tests (I'm guessing because they told me not to take any benedryl, etc. for 24 hours...) and I'm going to see if he can either give me another blood test or get the results from my GP so that I can have him interpret the numbers.

The other thing is that I have severe anxiety and panic disorder. I was hoping the hives, etc. were all results of me panicking from slight reactions, but now that I got those results I became extremely worried. I'm honestly too nervous to eat anything because, as it is, I was living off of crackers and now... they said wheat. Oy... It's weird to have your life turned upside down at 25, but honestly, I'm so glad I found this forum!

[StephanieAc]

Update! Sorry! So I got the results back. Highest was wheat at .77. Moderate. I always eat wheat, so does this mean I can continue to do so? It's such a low number. Everything else was .15-.33... All low and then the rest were negative or under .10 which was I think called equivocal/low. So I'm wondering... Can I eat wheat? It was smack dab in the middle of moderate. The first specialist I went to said I can't have allergies that I didn't have as a kid and sent me home lol so I'm going to another specialist Tuesday.

[PurpleCat]

I don't know much about wheat allergy and the potential for celiac disease.

I can tell you that in our experience, nothing about allergies is black and white.  Nothing!

What I do know is if my DD tests positive to a food she eats, her allergist advises her to continue to eat that food.  Her allergist does not believe in eliminating a food that is not a true allergen.

Apples and shrimp fall into this category for DD, although she will react to other foods in the same family for both such as pears and lobster.   There is no explanation as to why she can eat shrimp and not lobster or crab.  Makes no logical sense.

They are also both "cousins" to some of her environmental allergies which may be another reason why she tests positive but can eat them.  Apple/Birch Trees.  Shrimp/Dustmites.

I suggest waiting to decide until you see the next specialist on Tuesday.

[GoingNuts]

We had also received the same advice - when he was younger DS tested positive on a few things he ate all the time, so allergist said to continue eating them.  At the same time he tested negative to something he was clearly allergic to (milk), so allergist said to disregard the test results and avoid milk.  He was eventually able to consume baked milk, and then ultimately uncooked milk. 

[YouKnowWho]

I would run screaming from any health care practitioner who left you to interpret results on your own.  I would also be wary of any provider that did a blanket food allergy test.

You need an allergist that specializes in foods and not an environmental allergist who will tag on food allergies. 

[guess]

I don't mean to be harsh but you need a solid health care professional who can and will help you move from vague queasy tummy feelings and vague test results to (a) determination if your life is at risk (b) determination of how much of your quality of life is at risk.

This will require an experienced and well qualified board certified allergist whose true depth of knowledge and practice includes IgE-mediated food allergy and anaphylaxis management.  If you see this as a game with 'lol' that means the needle has not moved at all towards such a professional that would lead you reliably with tests results, history of reaction or lack of reaction, and what is key here: in office food challenges preferably double blind.

Too many doctors or alt med or dermatologists, etc., try to play in the sandbox of food allergy and anaphylaxis.  Either you are in danger of anaphylaxis, or you are unnecessarily endangering your quality of life by assuming by test results alone that you are allergic or not allergic.

All assuming we're having a conversation about IgE-mediation and not EoE, non IgE-mediated, or potential celiac which requires an experienced GI doctor who can administer up to the gold standard for celiac diagnosis and proper lifetime care treatment for all potential health risks of celiac.

Try AAAAI.org for their provider search.  Find one that lists a specialty in food allergy and anaphylaxis.  We can't medically advise you but have sort of a group experience as informed patients.  Although it would not be unreasonable to carry an EpiPen on you just in case until you have this sorted out.  Better safer than sorry.

[Macabre]

I'm going to suggest we merge this thread with the other one in Adults--and keep the subject line of the Adults one, as it will be helpful for finding this info.

And I believe we should remove the posts of the OP  that have the same information. There is a lot of good informaton in both threads. It would be helpful for it to be in one place.

[guess]

Double post.

[StephanieAc]

Thanks for being rude, guess. I said LOL bc it was so ridiculous that he just sent me
Home. Thanks for the advice, I guess.

[StephanieAc]

And I had a celiac test. Negative. But wheat came back positive. They said its two different things.

[YouKnowWho]

DS1 has anaphylaxis to wheat and barley (and all likelihood rye but he hasn't had to test that one in real life yet, just has numbers that are off the charts).  He does not have Celiac. 

I don't see Guess as being rude, maybe I missed a post or maybe I am just used to her posting style.  She was just saying what the rest of us have said that a good practitioner is what you need to see.  Many alt med professionals (ie chiropractors, naturopaths, etc) will test for foods based on IgG testing which have no true meaning (despite them telling you otherwise).  And as I posted before, even all allergists are not created equal which is why I mentioned finding an allergist that specializes in food allergies than environmental allergists.  I question any doctor who wants you to interpret results rather than interpreting them for you.