Coeliac with multiple food intolerance & allergies

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suew
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Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:40 am
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by suew on Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:11 pm

Coeliac with multiple food intolerance & allergies

I am now nearly 60 with multiple allergies & food intolerances. I am a coeliac who has been confirmed as 'not breaking the diet' by every doctor I get to see. Commenced as a baby with eczema; at 11 was a patient at trial for dust allergy treatments, at 29 diagnosed as coeliac. At 40 the migraines commenced resulting in early retirement at 52. At 43 after eating a meal in Italy I have suffered from bowel incontinence and loose stalls with urgency that food elimination diets can only partially control. Obviously my social life and quality of life are impaired. I have had lots of gastric tests with nothing confirmed. On one occasion I was well for three months which seemed to coincide with a bowel wash prior to a colonoscopy - but this has not been reliably repeatable. I very rarely suffer from pain, but I do suffer from bloating and exhaustion. In the last 4 years I have developed hives. Currently I don't eat soya, dairy, fish, yeast, spinach, tomatoes, citrus fruits, pulses ..... plus the gluten free element. It is very boring, but I do feel better than I did, migraines, digestion and gastric have all improved. It seems the healthier the diet, the sicker I got. I have been basing my current diet on the 'low histamine diet' - not because there is accepted science (as far as I am aware) but because it seems to work better than other approaches I have tried. Is there anything you think I should consider. My last gastric doctor said I should manage as best I could. I take all the regular medication for dust allergies, migraines etc. i would like to have more functioning days and be able to accept lunch dates etc. Thanks

Dr Rubaiyat Haque
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 11:42 am
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by Dr Rubaiyat Haque on Sun Feb 26, 2012 5:16 pm

Re: Coeliac with multiple food intolerance & allergies

Dear suew,

Thanks for your message. The one other possibility that might be worth contemplating is that your symptoms may not be food-related. With such long-standing symptoms that have a poor or inconsistent response to significant dietary restrictions, this is always a possibility.

If I were your doctor, I would want to do the following:
Review the investigations carried out for Coeliac disease to ensure that this particular diagnosis is robust.
Review all of the results of the more recent gut investigations to ensure that other organic gut pathologies have been ruled out.
Keep a strict food and symptom diary for at least a months to get an idea of your baseline symptoms severity and diet.
With the help of a dietician, gradually re-introduce each food that you have been avoiding in turn (with the exception of gluten, assuming that the coeliac diagnosis is correct) while monitoring symptoms.

I hope that helps a bit.

Best wishes,

Rubaiyat
Dr Rubaiyat Haque
Consultant Allergist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital
http://www.consultantallergist.co.uk

suew
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:40 am
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by suew on Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:12 pm

Re: Coeliac with multiple food intolerance & allergies

thank you for your advice Dr Haque, I will talk to my GP, kind regards, Suew

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