MC and 3 children

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 12:37 pm

Thank you, thank you Tex!! Hopefully the transit time will shorten after healing! If only I had your brain!

Now I'm going to try to get into an allergist. Been needing to for years. Just hope they don't push the weekly shots on me!

Post by **tex** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 1:26 pm

Martha,

The problem with those injections are that they represent a form of forced tolerance. You will still produce antibodies, but as long as you expose yourself to the allergens regularly (after the treatment is completed) you should not react with clinical symptoms. The fly in the ointment is that if you are not exposed for a relatively long time (such as a year), you will probably lose your tolerance.

Tex

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 2:37 pm

So tex, you think the injections are beneficial unless its a food allergy? My problem would be the side effects from the injections. I know seasonal allergies are a major cause for my migraines in the fall and spring...

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 6:22 pm

I had horrible seasonal allergies. I couldn't even taste food from May-October. In my 20's I got allergy shots for 5 years (I was afraid to stop after two). They helped tremendously. I am now 63 and have hardly any hayfever symptoms. I might sneeze a time or two and that's it. Definitely beneficial for me.

jlbattin · Post by **jlbattin** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 6:22 pm

Martha, I took allergy shots almost my entire life starting before I was a year old. Most of the time I took 2 shots a week. They really helped, and sometime when I was in college, I reached a point where I didn't need them any more. Then I had my hysterectomy and my hormones went berzerk and my allergies came back with a vengeance. That was when I was 35. I took them until just about two years ago when I just got tired of taking them and when they needed to be renewed, I said, "I'm done." I've done well on my own every since. I don't even have to take Allegra very often. At this point in my life, I wouldn't take them again. I've had enough of poisons and other in my system.

Post by **tex** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 6:53 pm

For food allergies, oral immunotherapy methods are being developed/promoted. The effects on the immune system should be very similar to what happens with injections for pollen allergies, I would think, (but of course, I could be wrong). Such treatments should prevent a risk of life-threatening anaphylactic reactions, and that can be very important in some cases. But here is a quote from pages 114–115 of the book, that explains why I don't trust oral immunotherapy methods in general, for food intolerances that do not casue anaphylactic reactions:

Oral immunotherapy treatments offered by immunolgists are currently in vogue as a way to desensitize patients who have food allergies and food sensitivities. Based on results that show a resolution of clinical symptoms, these treatments are claimed to be very effective in resolving food sensitivities. Immunologists point to the elimination of clinical symptoms and a reduction in IgE antibody levels as proof that their treatments are effective and safe. But do they actually resolve the problem? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding “No!” True, such treatments can eliminate a patient’s clinical symptoms, but as I pointed out in the previous paragraph, antibodies to those allergens continue to be produced in the intestines. This is easily verified by testing for IgA antibody levels by means of appropriate stool tests, or by analyzing biopsy samples taken from the intestines. Serum tests are worthless for this purpose.

Furthermore, researchers have demonstrated that when tolerance to an allergenic food is attained by the use of such desensitizing treatments, damage to the intestines continues to accumulate if the consumption of those foods continues.24 Burggraf et al. (2011) used mice as research subjects to prove that continued feeding brought tolerance (as demonstrated by the resolution of clinical symptoms) and a reduction in IgE antibodies, but inflammation in the jejunum (the middle section of the small intestine) continued to increase. Obviously this raises some serious questions about the validity and safety of the current use of oral immunotherapy treatments.

And here is reference number 24 from that quote:

24. Burggraf, M., Nakajima-Adachi, H., Hachimura, S., Ilchmann, A., Pemberton, A. D., Kiyono, H., . . . Toda, M. (2011). Oral tolerance induction does not resolve gastrointestinal inflammation in a mouse model of food allergy. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 55(10), 1475–1483. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... F51.f03t03

The treatments should work for pollen allergies, and that might prevent your migraines from developing. With pollen allergies, re-exposure is pretty much guaranteed, so the "forced tolerance" should continue to remain effective. I just don't trust the claims that antibodies are actually resolved with such treatments — the researchers typically don't look for the right type of antibodies, or they look for them in the wrong place, in order to justify their results. It appears that what actually happens is the immune is just persuaded/forced to tolerate the antibodies. IOW, the treatments prevent clinical symptoms, but the internal damage caused by inflammation continues with continued exposure to the antigens.

My pollen allergy experience was similar to Deb's and Jari's, except that I never took any treatments (other than antihistamines as needed). I also seem to have "outgrown my pollen allergies. Whether this has happened because of old age, treatment of nutritional deficiencies, or because of MC, I have no idea. My pollen allergies stopped when my MC symptoms began. Then they returned after I changed my diet, and my MC symptoms went into remission. But after correcting some methylation issues and other deficiencies, in recent years my pollen allergy symptoms have faded away to become a minor issue.

Tex

jlbattin · Post by **jlbattin** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 7:09 pm

I had food allergies, as well as pollen, dust, mold, dogs, cats............you name it......I seemed to be allergic to it. I was mainly allergic to tomatoes and peanuts. My peanut allergy was life threatening if I came into contact (of course, I was under the age of 1). They treated both the same way.......allergy shots. I outgrew my food allergies somewhere along the way. I actually don't remember not eating tomatoes and peanuts and love both of them, but know they could be pretty deadly in my very young years.

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:18 am

Thank you guys, I'm pretty sure I'm all of a sudden I'm allergic to tree nuts. I use to eat them with no problems, not frequently though. Can I attribute this new food allergy to MC? I know no one really knows, but crazy that I'm 41 and all of a sudden this. I've always had problems with antibiotics but never food. It was scary! Tex, I know you are now allergic to peanuts. I can live without tree nuts, not a huge fan really. I mostly ate them in banana nut bread or pumpkin bread. I just don't want to die from it if it gets into my food unnoticed!

I need to research mythalation and the supplements for that. Would love to do without shots, but also migraines. Had another last night, mold was out with a vengance yesterday.

Post by **tex** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 10:21 am

Martha wrote:I just don't want to die from it if it gets into my food unnoticed!

Exactly. There's no point in taking a chance, because contaminated foods show up way too frequently.

It's difficult to say how the allergy developed. It may have been in the works for a long time, because as you know, with allergies, each exposure makes symptoms worse than the last time. Or antibiotics might have something to do with it if you have a history of adverse antibiotic events, because antibiotics can trigger mast cell events that become associated with other triggers. So can vaccines. We have several members who have developed systemic mastocytosis from vaccines, and I believe that in every instance, it was a flu vaccine. Apparently they were already having mast cell issues when they had the vaccine, and the vaccine caused their mast cell activity to spike.

Tex

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 11:03 am

Thank you so Tex and that solved my question about flu shots for my kids. My husband says no and I think maybe! You have helped me more than you will ever know with everything!!

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 8:46 pm

Well I'm at ER, ate 1 tiny scallop and 3 bites of salmon. Had shortness of breath. Guess allergy to salmon or shellfish. I've eaten all that for years. Could this be happening now since I stopped eating those items for a couple of months? Crazy and scary. I go to allergy dr on Thursday. I'm scared to eat anything....

Post by **tex** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:55 pm

Martha,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having repeated allergy reactions. Yes, unfortunately symptoms can become worse with re-exposure after avoidance of an allergen for a while. It's a peculiarity of the immune system.

I hope the allergy specialist will be able to get everything sorted out promptly next week.

Tex

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:15 pm

Thank you Tex!

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:01 am

The allergy shot has caused peripheral neuropathy. I had this when I took 2 flagyl awhile back. So hoping it goes away soon. On the brighter side, my MC is wonderful this morning.

Post by **tex** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:04 am

As Roseanne Roseannadannal used to always say, "It's always something".

Are you supplementing with magnesium? I can't keep with what everyone is using, but trust me, magnesium plays a huge role in allergies and intolerances. A magnesium deficiency opens the door to all sorts of allergy risks because there is evidence that it can cause leaky gut. And it can throw a monkey wrench into the machinery of the autonomic nervous system. Many antibiotics and possibly vaccines can deplete magnesium, and this can lead to adverse reactions because of an acute magnesium deficiency.

I have a hunch that magnesium supplementation will help to resolve the peripheral neuropathy much sooner than it would otherwise. Some sublingual B-12 might help, also.

Tex