IGA deficiency

[Vanessa]

Hey guys,
I know this has been discussed many times before but I just realized I have an IGA deficiency from doing a doctors data comprehensive stool analysis a couple of months back. When I was first diagnosed and found this life saving forum I remember it being discussed as I was ordering my enterolab tests. Now that it has dawned on me and I've made the connection, does that mean my testing was not accurate. I was creating antibodies to gluten, dairy, and soy. I guess I don't know if it is false positive or what the implications are of having this deficiency. I did get the gene testing done which revealed that I have two copies of a gene that predisposes me to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I was doing fairly well on my diet of rice, chicken, potato chips and other foods I considered to be safe. I got a fair amount of healing underway but would still have some issues around hormonal times. So I decided to cut all grains and go primal/paleo........well now I've been working my way to a full flare since. I thought I would feel better. It's been six weeks and I have 3 to 6 watery around the edges stools and complete lack of energy. This started almost immediately after the diet change. I also was found to have a lot of candida in the gut growing so this seemed like the right step to take. I'm trying to stick with it thinking the lack of processed carbs and rice was to blame. I cook all my veggies until they are mush and try not to eat so many nuts and seeds. I also get this unrelenting fatigue that will come and go. At night I get this odd feeling as though I am not getting enough oxygen like I'm in high altitude? Kind of scary but goes away by morning. It will come if I try and work out or over exert myself. I worked out six days a week before. Also as I'm falling asleep I have woke myself up gasping for air. I'm a respiratory therapist and this is not sleep apnea..or anxiety because I still fall asleep. Nothing like going back to square one. I went to the doc yesterday thinking maybe my low ferritin level I had back in September was not being helped anymore by my supplementation. I'm bummed and lost.

[tex]

Hi Vanessa,

If you have selective IgA deficiency, then you are at risk for false negative on any IgA-based test, but any positive results should be reliable. Therefore, any foods that tested positive on the EnteroLab tests should indeed be reactive for you. But because of the selective IgA deficiency, any negative results might be invalid. IOW, you might react to them (because your IgA antibody level may have been suppressed a bit too low to trigger a positive test result).

At night I get this odd feeling as though I am not getting enough oxygen like I'm in high altitude? Kind of scary but goes away by morning. It will come if I try and work out or over exert myself. I worked out six days a week before. Also as I'm falling asleep I have woke myself up gasping for air.

I had a lot of that for a while roughly a year ago when I stopped taking Metanx for a while. Therefore, it may be caused by a methylation issue.

You are quite correct — it's not as easy to fall asleep when you wake up with the feeling that you are starved for air. In my case it would be more likely to happen at times when I was unable to draw a deep breath at will. When that happens, naturally you crave to take a deep breath, but can't, so that just adds to the anxiety. It seemed to happen sometimes just as I would be falling asleep (or at least it seemed that way), and I would have the impression that I was 'forgetting" to breathe as I fell asleep — a scary feeling. It has to be a neurological issue. At one time I thought that maybe I was developing myasthenia gravis, but after I resumed taking the Metanx, the problem seemed to diminish significantly, though I still have periods when I cannot draw a deep breath at will. At least I haven't had any of the nighttime breathing problems in a long time.

For me, belching will typically relieve the problem, suggesting that it is a problem with diaphragm strength or neurological control (as in myasthenia gravis). There are uncommon case studies that associate this problem with undertreated hypothyroidism, also, especially cases where only Armour seems to be effective, and a misguided doctor withdraws Armour from a patient, insisting that synthetics be used for treatment.

You're the first member here that I can recall posting about this (other than myself).

Regarding your diet, it's possible that you might be reacting to one of the meats that you are eating more of now, and that is the problem. But whenever diet changes cause a relapse, it's always a good idea to go back to a diet that was working (at least for a while).

Tex

[Vanessa]

Wow Tex,

That was super helpful. I tested for the MTHFR? gene and it was neg. However, I did order the 23 and me kit, hopefully that will bring more insight and can get me on the right vit Bs. This is exactly the reason this forum is here. Not to get too corn syrupy, but how comforting it is to hear that someone else also felt this way...thank you

[tex]

You're very welcome. I was editing my post when you replied, so you might reread it again to see if there is anything else worth reading in it. I added a comment about certain hypothyroid issues that can also cause this kind of problem for a few people.

Tex

[JFR]

I used to have this gasping for air problem as I was falling asleep. I had forgotten about it until reading this thread. Maybe it went away when I started taking B vitamins. I'm not sure but it was strange and scary when it happened. It only happened as I was falling asleep and would wake me up rather abruptly. I think it became just one of the many strange things that went on in my body, so, since it didn't seem to be killing me, I ignored it as best I could. I have a tendency to try to ignore things, which may not always be the best response but it saves me the embarrassment of being treated like a crazy person by the medical profession.

Jean

[Vanessa]

I'm gonna be more like you Jean. I need to ignore things just a little bit more, I think my life would be a little more enjoyable!

[Leah]

HI Vanessa. I also have Selective IgA Deficiency that was determined by a blood test. I also only produce about 50% of IgGs. I'm confused about your positive results from the Enterolab tests. If you are IgA deficient, you shouldn't be able to produce enough to get a positive reading.
Having said that, my Immunologist explained that usually if one has IgA deficiency, he/she will usually either have many upper respiratory infections OR have autoimmune diseases ( which is me).

Like Tex said, it sounds like you are reacting to one of the meats you added to your diet. Some people here react to chicken, beef. or pork. Lamb and turkey seem to be safer.

Feel better
leah

[UkuleleLady]

I agree with Leah, try turkey. Chicken doesn't work for me at all, but turkey I could eat everyday - go figure. I guess the DNA is pretty different so it makes sense.

Lamb always settles me down, too. It's not as prevalent but I get chops at costco in bulk and freeze half of them for another day.

Best wishes.
Nancy

[Lilja]

Hi,

The more I read here, the more I have to gasp for air. In my situation, the more attention I pay to my breathing, the more problems I have to breathe. I have always thought that in my case it was a sign of stress.

I found that it helps to yawn.

Lilja

[brandy]

I agree with Leah, try turkey. Chicken doesn't work for me at all, but turkey I could eat everyday - go figure. I guess the DNA is pretty different so it makes sense.

I wonder if it has something to do with the feed/growing techniques of the two fowls. Turkey is commercially grown but chicken is HEAVILY COMMERCIALLY GROWN. A modern chicken house holds 25,000 chickens. It takes 8 weeks to go from chick to chicken. The last week of growth the
chickens are at risk of death due to stress (heart attack) in the chicken house. During the last week the chickens tend to flock I think is the word....move from one area to another in groups. During the movement is when they can get stressed and die due to heart attack/stress. I used to know the figures that the farmers earned per bird but can't remember them. The farmers get a bonus per bird that survives (does not die during the 8 week period.) At 8 weeks the big processor picks up the chickens and they travel to the processing plant.

All chicken sold in the US is "cage free." i.e. The chickens run around loose in the chicken house--no cages. Do not make your buying decision based on "cage free."

Most chicken farmers have 2-3 houses going at once. Plus they have a real job to pay the bills and get health insurance.

After the chickens are picked up for processing the farmer has a week to clean out the chicken house generally done with running a small bull dozer through to scoop out the chicken manure. I'm not sure but there is so much manure generated it must end up on soybeans or corn or processed.

[JFR]

Hi,

The more I read here, the more I have to gasp for air. In my situation, the more attention I pay to my breathing, the more problems I have to breathe. I have always thought that in my case it was a sign of stress.

I found that it helps to yawn.

Lilja

Lilja,

Your problem seems to be a very different problem from the one I used to have, which happened only when I was fully relaxed and in the process of falling asleep, not stress but the absence of stress, when the body was relaxing. It would wake me up abruptly.

Jean

[Vanessa]

That was me too. I would be just on the verge of falling asleep and boom. I'd gasp like I'd forgot to breathe. Very weird because you are not aware of anything as it happens...you are almost in dreamland. Like Tex suggests, IMO I think it is neurological. I have been taking a methylated form of vitamin B's called vessel care by metagenics. I can't wait to get my 23 and me results to further investigate other methylation cycles. I don't know much about it but I think a methylation issue could be the result of my lack of energy, amemia, hypoglycemic symptoms, hypothyroid symptoms, ...etc. A lot of hope in one bag. Can you take Metanx without any ill effects even if you don't necessarily need that form? If it is just vitamin B's would there be any harm? I don't think I'm reacting to the meat only because I ate chicken and beef and pork before. I think it might be a combination of adding more of everything I was already eating in between the potato chips and fighting off bad bugs. I think adding more fat, meat, veg, and taking the specific probiotics I needed (specifically prescribed from the stool analysis) is making me go more. As soon as water hits I'm going back to rice and chicken! Thanks for all of the suggestions guys!

[tex]

Can you take Metanx without any ill effects even if you don't necessarily need that form? If it is just vitamin B's would there be any harm?

Apparently you can. My previous PCP took Metanx to improve cognizance and memory, in order to prevent the effects of aging. It's also prescribed for treating endothelial dysfunction, so it should be beneficial for maintaining the elasticity of blood vessels.

Tex

[Vanessa]

Great! I may ask my PCP for a script and try it. She's super cool and open to learning. I just read all of the articles Gabes posted about methylation......wow a lot of info. More complex than I realized. Interesting article about the candida factor. I know everyone and there mother has it and it is naturally occurring in the gut. I'm gonna concentrate on getting the good probiotics in me and not worry about a sweet potato or two or three plus a banana on top of that

[Polly]

Hi All,

I've had that feeling of gasping for air when falling asleep twice, and it was scary! There can be many reasons for it. If you are on your back, the respiratory muscles can relax so much that they lose their tone and collapse upon each other so that no air can get thru for a brief moment. Also GERD and post nasal drip can be causes, as are sleep apnea plus other cardiac/pulmonary problems. Anxiety is a common cause, too, and often presents as an inability to take a deep breath. Often we are not aware that we have been hyperventilating until we can no longer take a deep breath. The best treatment in this case is to rebreathe exhaled air for a while from a paper bag tightly covering one's mouth/nose. It seems unlikely that anxiety would rear its ugly head while falling asleep, but it is actually possible to have a full-blown panic attack while asleep.

Polly