Effects of nightshades/solanine
 

I am on my 2nd week of nightshades/solanine free diet. I read that blueberries, okra and paprika have small amounts of solanine so I avoid them too.

My question is - how long do you know that you have allergies to nightshades/solanine? Would you know the effect instantly after eating just like other food allergies e.g. shrimp, peanuts, etc.? Or does the effects only show several days after eating?

Thank you.

My reactions now to nightshades, are either GI upset, and or burning at night in the feet and lower legs.

Potatoes do it within several hours or the next day.
Tomatoes do it faster, if concentrated. A little fresh tomato doesn't bother me, but concentrated sauces, or large amounts of tomato do get faster.

The longer you are off a suspect food, and then reintroduce it, the results typically are faster, than if you only stopped a few days.

Tomatoes have that histamine factor in addition to the nightshade factor so some of their reactions may be histamine in type added to the solanine. From what I have read lately solanine is additive and builds up in the body...that makes it more nasty than histamine which is eventually metabolized away when in excess.

I am very sensitive to paprika too. Paprika inflames my GI tract and I get burning there from it. And green chilies. But I can tolerate a bit of pizza once a week without difficulty.

I think people vary. I find the H2 antagonists (Zantac, Tagamet or Pepcid) helpful for the food reactions.

I will continue to avoid nightshades/solanine foods for a while and re-introduce one by one to identify if I have reactions to these foods.

Assuming I am allergic to these food, does it mean that consuming them will further damage the nerves?

Oh my, I envy you eating pizza every week!!! Pizza is my favorite but for now, I avoid them as part of my gluten free diet. Talking about gluten, it is so difficult to find a shampoo or lotion which is gluten free. Well, everytime I call the Consumer Representative of the products I bought, they would always say that their products do not have gluten, however, they could not guarantee the cross-contamination.

Thank you.:hug:

I don't think the solanine DAMAGES the nerves. No evidence of that exists yet. I think it is some chemical stimulating reaction. Your biopsy was negative right?
Showing no damage yet...at least not at the levels they measure.

Some PN symptoms are a direct reaction to a chemical...but not all are going to be killing nerves outright.

Some heavy metals can leave permanent damage, herbicides, and drugs, but the histamine reactions are reversible, and I'd expect the solanine may fit into this less serious category.
Food intolerances are pretty common, and when the offending food is stopped, usually the symptoms decline or go away.
An new toxicity example== a study on Round Up weed killer has found it is implicated in generating Parkinson's disease (neurotoxic). And farmers who use chemicals alot have higher rates of Parkinson's as well. So those types of exposures may be more serious and lasting.

People with gluten induced PN, do improve when the gluten is removed. We've had several posters over the years post about that.

Thank you Mrs.D!

My skin biopsy was negative, but, I have all these symptoms: painful feet with "electric zaps" (I could not walk nor stand for too long), hypersensitive skin (prickly, pins and needles, stabbing).... and now, I am having this persistent shortness of breath (that accompanies the tightness in my front neck) and feeling full after eating (even small amounts).

When you said: "Showing no damage yet...at least not at the levels they measure. does this mean that my suspicion of using the TB medications in 2000 may not have yet damaged my nerves?

I am on gluten-free diet for over a month now. I will continue to do so until I am certain that either I am gluten intolerant or not.

Thank you, as always:hug:

Well, there is no way to measure the autonomic fibers like they do with the skin biopsy.
So you can't really know about the possibility there.

But basically if your problem is centering on your surgical site, as you describe that suggests a possible link to that surgery.

When I had my long C-section scar, I had weird feelings in it for years, some days, some days not. And now my old foot scar is acting up quite a bit. So do consider that your issues are related to that surgery somehow.

See how the gluten free diet goes. It might calm things down for you. It takes a while to work, to get that gluten out of your system etc.