Alice, I enjoyed the way this allergist was open minded. I learned a lot from his book. I must admit that I found the repetition of information annoying in the second half of the book, I felt as if he was repeating himself. Still, I found this book full of great insights, as if he were putting the puzzle pieces together from a difficult puzzle that I have struggled with my whole life.

Susan,

Yep, she said it was Threelac! She's been on the maintenance regimen now for 3 years.

I asked my husband to get me this book, who knows, it may another piece of the puzzle, worth looking at.

It makes perfect sense that the food we eat, in the modern industrialized world will pose problems, at least for some people. We were not "programmed" to eat, digest or metabolize the kind of stuff that our food contains. I am sure that some of it may even be recognized by our immune system as unwanted invaders. how can our immune system differentiate between a pathogenic bug or a food coloring molecule?

I also think that much of this stuff did not exist when the medical text-books were written, so it is not surprising that there are "unusual", "unexplained" diseases that would be caused by what we eat and also possibly by what we are exposed to in other ways (such as all those "stay on your clothes" detergents etc.). our nasal mucosa and respiratory system also have cells that recognize invading organisms or debris, and could easily recognize those as such.

I thought of this long ago, but didn't see any solution, because it seemed impossible to avoid it all, unless you move to a desert island. so, I am very interested to see what solutions he is suggesting.

It is also very reasonable that autoimmune disease will be worse by an allergic reaction. I have noticed this in my patients with Immune Thrombocytopenia and seasonal allergies.

I also saw an interesting article suggesting harnessing this response to create tolerance to the auto-antibody, as a way of treating the autoimmune disease.

Alice,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I found them insightful, especially you noticing the effect of seasonal allergies on your patient, this book also mentions how seasonal allergies can make food allergies worse.

I had previously come to the conclusion that avoiding the foods I am allergic to was impossible and it truly is, we have to eat.

The book did help in identifying the foods that are the worse causes of symptoms, at least for people with this kind of allergy.

I think I can learn new habits that avoid most of my exposure to the short list found in this book, and learn to rotate the rest of the foods.

It does make sense that our body wasn't meant to handle all the processed foods, added chemicals and refined sugars that are commonly found in our diet. Our bodies may be trying to protect us from the onslaught of what it sees as invaders, and then it gets overwhelmed and starts attacking other things, such as our bodies and food.

The thing I learned reading this book was to try not to overload my immune system with MSG, sugar and acidic foods, but that it is okay to eat these things in small quantities.

I am really interested in the function of the suppresser lymphocytes. I wonder if there is something a person can do to strengthen this part of the immune system, the part that stops allergic reactions and stops the immune system from attacking itself. I think this is related to your thought of creating tolerance to the auto-antibody. I am going to quote a paragraph from this book, because it gave me such hope. I think the same idea can possibly be applied to MG and other auto-immune disorders.

From "Food Allergies" by William E. Walsh, M.D.:

"To help relieve classic food allergy, our immune systems need a break from this monotonous diet, a day off once in a while. That's why varying your diet can work so well. Not eating wheat, corn, milk, or citrus fruits for a day gives the police responsible for these foods a well-deserved respite-a chance to refresh themselves. Then, when you reurn to eating these foods again, your refreshed immune police can stop your immune system from attacking the foods. Alternatively, they gain this rest if we eat only a small amont of the food each day, an amount they can easily control.
Is this police force a figment of my imagination? No; it exists. The police I described are cells of the immune system, cells called lymphocytes. The lymphocytes that stop allergic reaticion are called suppresser lymphocytes, and, as their name indicates, they suppress or stop allerigic reactions to foods. When they weaken, when they become exhaustedd, we suffer the immedieate or delayed syptoms of food protien allergy."

This book leaves me wanting to know more.

I remember now the book my previous doctor recommended, it is "The Yeast Connection" by William Crook. I found this book very helpful in learning what kind of diet changes to make.

Wellllllllllll, since YOU brought it up, Desertflower!! I was a PATIENT of Dr. Crook!! He was my allergist!! I was his patient when he started writing the books (there are several). He used to talk to us, his patients, ALL the time -- getting feedback -- asking questions -- he was constantly trying to figure out the mystery of allergies. Candida seemed to be a LARGE piece of the puzzle. I have taken Nystatin on and off for YEARS per his instructions. Since being diagnosed with MG, I have found that taking one Nystatin tablet a day seems to help tremendously. (Nystatin kills candida in the gut -- systemic candida.)

If I EVER have to take an antibiotic, I take one Nystatin for each antibiotic pill/capsule -- trying to keep my system "in balance". Kill bacteria -- kill candida -- neither takes OVER.

He passed away several years ago -- a stroke. I cannot tell you how much he is missed -- as a person AND as a doctor.

I must say, though, that in the EARLY days, Dr. Crook was met with GREAT skepticism by other doctors in the "rigid" medical community -- even though he was literally changing/saving the lives of his patients. He was a TRUE pioneer -- bold, fearless. I cannot tell you what he did for me -- and for others.

The way that he tested for allergies AND gave shots 20/30 years ago is JUST now being taught and accepted by medical schools. The man was LIGHT years ahead of his time.

I also suggest reading books by Dr. Theron Randolph.

Jana,

Exciting! How lucky you were to know this man. I've never been to an allergist that was helpful. I went through testing three times, two times by an allergist. The allergists basically threw up their hands and told me that I was allergic to so many things that I was going to just have to eat what bothered me the least, that I was allergic to too many things for them to be helpful. I was tested once by my favorite doctor for allergies after I tested positive for candida in my blood. She isn't an allergist, but she was learning about natural medicine to combine with her medical practice. She was the one who recommended this book by Crooke and thought my allergies might be helped by the suggestions in this book.

I am happy to know that controlling candida helps your MG symptoms. From all I'm learning, it seems that if someone gets MG or another autoimmune system disorder, it is worth looking into the possibility of having systematic candida or another infection that may have caused the immune system to overwork itself. I'm surprised that doctors don't have a list of infections to test for after they confirm a MG diagnosis, I suspect it would be helpful.

Thank you for your the response, the excitement I sense in your typing has made me smile.

I am afraid the immune system and its regulation is much more complicated then that. This approach fits what we knew about the immune system more then 20 years ago. We now know it is the edge of the iceberg.
Many disease (probably more then we are aware of) involve some form of immune dysregulation.

At the same time, medicine is an empirical science (eg-based on observations, even if we do not always have a proper explanation for what we see). So, he may have reached the right conclusions, even if his explanations were a bit over-simplified.

I will let you know what I think after I read this book.

Sweetie, if you tested positive for allergies to both wheat and milk, it is absolutely imperative that you stop eating them NOW. Fortunately, there are lots of alternatives to both of those substances. If you have a doctor's note that you cannot eat them, you can deduct the difference in cost for "special" foods on your income taxes (if you itemize deductions).

Do an Internet search for "Celiac Disease", and see all of the conditions that are associated with an undiagnosed case of that. Anyone who is allergic to wheat who continues to eat it will more than likely be susceptible to those same conditions if they don't eliminate it from their diet.

You may want to get retested for CD; however, if you are taking steroids you may get a false negative result.

The funny thing about a wheat allergy is that many people don't have a "typical" allergic reaction. I didn't realize that I was allergic to wheat until my mom gave me a copy of an OLD allergy test I had done over 40 years ago (and over a year after I started a gluten-free diet for completely different reasons)! It can wreak havoc on your immune system....

You are right in pointing this out, and I have already taken your advice when you first brought this up, knowing I tested allergic to wheat, I don't remember when that was, months ago. Thank you for doing so.

I did not see any improvement from removing gluten from my diet, although there may be some not so obvious symptoms. I don't have any of the symptoms listed for Celiac Disease, I do get itchy skin that turns into a rash if I scratch, that could be related. I am rarely eating gluten and wheat but I decided not to eliminate them completely, it is too restricting, mostly because of all the other foods that I am allergic too that have more noticable symptoms, but I eat those, too. I am allergic to most foods...In the past I ignored the symptoms unless they turned into a runny nose, but I am not going to do that any more.

I do think that MSG and sugars bother me the most, and also some of the sweetest fruits such as bananas, mangos and pineapples. I am going to give this new idea a try, because from what I am seeing, avoiding these things really improves my MG, there is no missing such an immediate effect.

I think the only food I have been eating with gluten is oatmeal, but I am not going to eat it for a while because I add sweet things to it such as sugar or banana, both of which aggrivate my MG. In fact, I only like wheat and other grains when they are sweetened, so I guess I am going 99% gluten free for now. I think I will work towards new food habits that rarely include gluten.

The good news is that I don't like bread.

I am not able to avoid all the foods I tested allergic to (I am allergic to every single food that was tested), I'd starve...that is why I think this rotation diet may help.

It is good to know that you can deduct costs from your taxes...this is great to know but it made me laugh...I don't think I'll have much income for last year, probably none or most likely negative after my standard deduction, however this is good to know. I can't live on my saving account permanantly. I am hoping these good days last so I can go back to work...it would be nice to have a paycheck.
....

How are you Teresa? I haven't seen any posts from you for a while.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1050294-overview

Susan, Some people have dermographism, like me, and tend to have an exaggerated histamine response. If you scratch your skin (like on your arm) and you see a red raised area, usually with a white area around it, chances are you have this. Mine has decreased somewhat since taking certain things out of my diet. When doctors have checked for this in the past, they used the end of a pen! Not a very sanitary way to do it.

When I got celiac disease in 2004, I also had hives. Some people with CD get an immune reaction in the gut (mast cells) that cause hives. They don't really know why some patients, like lupus patients, are more prone to having hives or this type of immune reaction.

The only way to tell for sure if you have celiac disease is by getting the antibodies tested for. And IgA, because a deficiency of it can make it look like you don't have CD when you do. And you should know that some patients with CD have absolutely no symptoms. The problem with the antibody tests is that some gastro idiots have decided that the reticulin antibody test doesn't need to be run anymore, due to the cost (not very much), wanting one magic bullet test, the fact that people with this antibody may not have a positive small intestine biopsy right away and that not as many people test positive to it. They have NOT done away with this in Europe.

Like Alice said, the immune system is so incredibly complex. I'm quite sure Dr. Walsh was simplifying for the sake of book sales. Not many people want to read complicated medical jargon, especially not about the immune system. I've spoken to him, having been a patient of his, and I can tell you definitively that his knowledge far exceeds what has been written!

Ditto on Jana's comments about yeast/candida/fungas, etc.

Allergies do change over the years. It might be worth it to be tested again. They can do RAST testing (blood tests) instead of the skin tests.

The other thing that needs to be thought of when considering immune reactions is the gut. Keeping the GI tract healthy and happy is essential. All those years I didn't know I was without stomach acid had a huge impact on my immune system. I was constantly getting sick. A year after taking Betaine HCL, a mild acid usually made from sugar beets, things settled down and I don't get sick anymore. Knock on wood.

I wish you could find a good allergist or immunologist. There might be an immunological reason why you are having such a hard time. Have you had your immunoglobulins (i.e., IgA) tested for?

I personally saw the 2nd half of Walsh's book as an integration of the 1st half's knowledge. Some people are not as "astute" as you and need those details to put it all together.

Annie