Depends on how itchy...I had cholestasis with all 4 of my pregnancies & my first went untreated. I was literally going crazy & scratching my skin raw. It was torture. I actually quit working because it was so bad. If its nearly that bad, I'd give up all those foods in a heart beat. If it just mildly annoying but not life altering then I probably wouldn't.
Wow, that's awful, I'm sorry! I'm a vegetarian who gets migraines from eating avocadoes, vinegar, red wine, and a couple of other things, so I get the concept, but I don't think I could go without wheat. Too much to ask! And no leftovers? That's just soooo expensive!
Itch, without question. I mean, what on earth would you eat?
Also, why is leftovers on the list? I don't get that. And what constitutes a "leftover"? Because I can imagine some definitions covering a lot of food prepared in advance at restaurants.
So the idea is that as meats decompose, they generate histamine. So only the very freshest meats--you should really buy meat and cook it the same day and not eat it after that.
I experienced this with shrimp once. Got giant hives all over my face, and a friend was just fine. We suspect they were just slightly on the older side--not unsafe, but enough to have generated histamine that I would react to. Shrimp are notorious for that kind of reaction.
Shit.
For the past two years, my mother has been having really weird, random reactions to food, and they think its a histamine issue. It's really sporadic, like maybe only once every month or two, but it comes out of nowhere. I'm just curious, did yours start randomly, and then build up more frequently?
She's got some appointment with a specialist on the calendar, but the guy was booked out months in advance, so she's been waiting for ages to see him.
So the idea is that as meats decompose, they generate histamine. So only the very freshest meats--you should really buy meat and cook it the same day and not eat it after that.
I experienced this with shrimp once. Got giant hives all over my face, and a friend was just fine. We suspect they were just slightly on the older side--not unsafe, but enough to have generated histamine that I would react to. Shrimp are notorious for that kind of reaction.
Shit.
For the past two years, my mother has been having really weird, random reactions to food, and they think its a histamine issue. It's really sporadic, like maybe only once every month or two, but it comes out of nowhere. I'm just curious, did yours start randomly, and then build up more frequently?
She's got some appointment with a specialist on the calendar, but the guy was booked out months in advance, so she's been waiting for ages to see him.
So my issue is physical urticaria. It started more or less spontaneously about 5 years ago. My biggest trigger is heat--so exercise, hot showers, etc. all give me hives pretty reliably, although the condition also ebbs and flows from day to day. I am trying to figure out what explains the day-to-day fluctuations in severity, and it seems like it has to relate to food somehow, since my showers aren't hotter or my workouts more difficult. I also react to physical pressure (waistbands, jewelry, light scratches) but again to varying degrees.
I take a ton of antihistamines, which helps some but doesn't solve the problem. I also do allergy shots, which are awesome for nasal allergies, and maybe help with this, but not enough.
I test allergic to a ton of foods, but eliminating all those foods for a month didn't solve the problem. After that month, I added wheat back and it clearly made my symptoms worse, so I avoid that now. But it was too much for me to try to avoid all the allergens long term--they were things like wheat, soy, eggs, most fruits, all fish, most nuts, etc. Also all the substitutes for wheat like rice. Just not sustainable. Much like the above.
Basically my body seems to overproduce histamine in response to way too many things. The body tampers the histamine response with something called DAO. So I may try naturopathic DAO supplements to see if that helps. Maybe your mom would benefit from looking into that? It seems to help a lot of people--I've never tried (but I'm one two-day-prime away from having some).
Post by mainelyfoolish on Feb 16, 2014 19:29:10 GMT -5
How itchy are we talking about? I had cholestatis with my last pregnancy which caused me to be awake half of the night scratching (intense arm and leg itchiness). If it was that bad, I guess I'd find a way to eliminate those foods. If it was just a little itchiness in the daytime, I'd probably live with the itchiness.
Most days I have an itchy rash around my waistband and bra strap, and when I work out and shower I get more hives. Some other days I am covered head to toe in itchy hives and I want to claw my skin off--especially after I work out or shower. 5 years in, I can't remember many days where I didn't itch at least some, but there are better days and worse days.
Ugh, that sounds awful. I would have a really hard time giving up all of those foods. I guess even if there wasn't much hope I'd try to give up a couple at a time and see if it helps.
I had no idea about meat leftovers and histamine reactions.
Most days I have an itchy rash around my waistband and bra strap, and when I work out and shower I get more hives. Some other days I am covered head to toe in itchy hives and I want to claw my skin off--especially after I work out or shower. 5 years in, I can't remember many days where I didn't itch at least some, but there are better days and worse days.
omg, that sounds awful. Ok, in this case, I might give the diet a shot. If it helps, then I would try the PP's suggestions of adding foods back in one by one to see if some of them are ok.
That's rough. That is a long list of things to give up. Is giving up these foods entirely the only option you have? I guess if I had to I'd give them up, but those things are really tough to avoid. I guess if I was craving them really bad I'd have to suffer through with the side effects, but probably wouldn't do it on the regular.
I hope there's some alternative or some sort of compromise for you.
Post by irene adler on Feb 16, 2014 20:09:48 GMT -5
I would try it.
I would probably hate it, but until I gave eating things not on this list an honest shot, I wouldn't count it out--But there would be at least be exception day per week.
Post by asoctoberfalls on Feb 16, 2014 20:14:08 GMT -5
I'm so sorry you're dealing with this! I know how you feel... I have severe eczema, and I itch almost all the time. It's been a lot better since we rehomed our dogs, but I still deal with it and we can't figure out why. I get random itchy rashes often. I haven't been able to wear makeup in months. Itching sucks!!
Have you heard of candida overgrowth? I've been wondering lately if that's the root cause of some of my issues.
If I knew for sure it would help, I would do the diet. Being itchy seriously makes life miserable.
I have chosen to itch. I also have urticaria and extra histamine production but I think mine is less severe than yours because I can take one allegra or claritinand be good for the day. But I have to take it every day or else it's hives galore. If I bump into something, hives. Hot shower, hives. Change into/out of clothing, hives. It's so annoying. And my food and seasonal allergies are so random. So I just deal with it. I've gotten so used to something itching all the time that I don't even notice that I'm scratching or rubbing (rubbing helps to prevent more hives from developing due to the urticaria). It's a pain but I can't deal with such a restricted diet.
I know I couldn't do it. I hope you find something that will help you deal with it though. I also can't stand itching, and have a tendency to claw my skin off for bug bites and such, so constant itching would also be bad. Maybe I would try. Except the cheese part. Maybe the stinky, moldy cheeses (e,g, blue), bc in my head the mold would be worse.
I have a nephew who is allergic to just about all food. Boiled turkey breast, applesauce, and sweet potatoes are the only foods he can eat. The advantage he has is he has been that way forever (g-tube at 12 months old), so he doesn't know what he is missing,
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Feb 16, 2014 20:50:22 GMT -5
I'm so sorry you're dealing with that.
I have a rash that my doctors can't figure out the cause of that comes and goes. When I have it, the itching is so bad that I probably would at least try that diet to see if it made it better.
If you decide to try it, make a list of everything you CAN eat. That way you aren't thinking about everything you're craving but can't have. When you're hungry, you can look at your list and pick something (like a menu).
For the past two years, my mother has been having really weird, random reactions to food, and they think its a histamine issue. It's really sporadic, like maybe only once every month or two, but it comes out of nowhere. I'm just curious, did yours start randomly, and then build up more frequently?
She's got some appointment with a specialist on the calendar, but the guy was booked out months in advance, so she's been waiting for ages to see him.
So my issue is physical urticaria. It started more or less spontaneously about 5 years ago. My biggest trigger is heat--so exercise, hot showers, etc. all give me hives pretty reliably, although the condition also ebbs and flows from day to day. I am trying to figure out what explains the day-to-day fluctuations in severity, and it seems like it has to relate to food somehow, since my showers aren't hotter or my workouts more difficult. I also react to physical pressure (waistbands, jewelry, light scratches) but again to varying degrees.
I take a ton of antihistamines, which helps some but doesn't solve the problem. I also do allergy shots, which are awesome for nasal allergies, and maybe help with this, but not enough.
I test allergic to a ton of foods, but eliminating all those foods for a month didn't solve the problem. After that month, I added wheat back and it clearly made my symptoms worse, so I avoid that now. But it was too much for me to try to avoid all the allergens long term--they were things like wheat, soy, eggs, most fruits, all fish, most nuts, etc. Also all the substitutes for wheat like rice. Just not sustainable. Much like the above.
Basically my body seems to overproduce histamine in response to way too many things. The body tampers the histamine response with something called DAO. So I may try naturopathic DAO supplements to see if that helps. Maybe your mom would benefit from looking into that? It seems to help a lot of people--I've never tried (but I'm one two-day-prime away from having some).
Thanks for the info and I'm sorry you are dealing with this.
I might even put hot showers higher than wine on my list of things I can't give up. Hopefully you can find a solution soon. This sucks.