Food Allergies and Dietary Restrictions: Recipies, Advice, and Discussion

Fitting.

I've been wondering for a while if I'm anemic. I'm very cold, fatigued and pale myself. I don't eat much red meat anymore, mostly poultry, but I DO eat a lot of spinich, beans, colalrds green and mustard greens. (I'm southern in my heart, HA!) SO maybe whatever's wrong with me is something else. I bet you nutrition plays a factor though, my eating habits are pretty.. Inconsistant?

Iron supplements are cheap. Get some and find out for yourself if you need more iron.

See a doctor about it. Even if you're getting enough dietary iron normally, if you have a deficiency then you can feel really shitty during your periods (assuming, of course, that you're female).

NOPE. That means a blood test and I go ferral at the sight of needles. I realy don't handle doctors well, I'd rather suffer and die at this point.

That's a weird thing, it doesn't seem to get worse. It's constant, no matter what. It might actually have more to do with my poor sleep habits than iron. Doesn't explain my terrible circulation and constant cold, though.

Why didn't I think of that? If I don't feel any better by time I finish the bottle, I don't have to continue them, huh?

For the record, I'm male and I don't excessively bleed for any reason, and I still found that iron supplements improved my energy levels. Maybe it's a placebo effect but hey, if so it's a cheap placebo!

Allergies to shellfish are fairly common. I'm not sure if I'm allergic to clams and oysters, but I know I can't eat them because my reaction is like having food poisoning. I've tried both a number of times, and only once was I okay with them---I don't know why, but it's not enough for me to keep trying. Fortunately, they're relatively easy to avoid.

I have no problems with scallops, shrimp, lobster, or crab, for some reason.

I know there are skin tests to see if you're allergic to something, but the only one I've ever had is a skin test for nasal allergies, not for food. I don't know how they test to see if you're allergic to a food. I know my sister had a test once for food allergies, and the test said she was allergic to strawberries but she eats them with no problems. Maybe the tests are much more accurate these days.

You might want to be careful. Too much iron in the blood can lead to hemachromatosis, which affects several different organs.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hemo/printall-index.html
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/a-host-of-ills-when-irons-out-of-balance/
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51031

It's why women who have gone through menopause become more at risk for heart attacks than those that still get monthly periods.

I've also heard taking iron supliments can lead to expedited signs of aging and a few other thimgs, but I don't remember the details. That's oneofthe reasons I hesitate to go start taking iron.

The other is the real reason I haven't tried it yet, and I forgot when I last posted. I have stomach problems and normal supplements make me pretty sick to my stomach. I have to take children's multivitamins at my doctor's reccomendation just not hold my dinner down...

My acid reflux/various stomach discomforts is my biggest dietary limiter. Everything but the most bland foods in very controlled quantities can make me sick. Less so since I've gotten medication for the acid reflux, but I'm still delicate and easy to make sick. : (

Well, I guess you're fucked then. You won't do anything about the problem, so I guess you might as well just roll over and wait for the inevitable.

I can't help there, I just know about the "iron overload" thing because I read about it in the news. A friend of mine used to be a really heavy meat eater, and I was a bit worried about him because he'd never donate blood---he was totally convinced he could get AIDS that way, no matter who or how many times it was explained to him that he couldn't. He's more of a vegetarian now.

You've tried taking them with food and it still makes you sick? That's the only way I can take most vitamins myself, otherwise they will make me feel fairly queasy. Iron or vitamin C supplements by themselves have given me problems, but iron or C in a multivitamin seems to be OK. I'm not anemic, I was trying them out to see if it would help with my overall energy. If you're anemic, though, a doctor would recommend a supplement by itself---a friend of mine who was anemic used to take an iron supplement by itself.

Hmm, come to think of it, my brother-in-law takes children's vitamins. I never did ask him why, but he's such a picky eater so I figured it had to do with that. There are gummi vitamins as well, too.

Yikes. I have more acid reflux problems now that I'm older--something about a band of muscle that closes the stomach off from the esophagus getting weaker is why. I used to be one of those people that could eat just before going to bed, but not anymore. It isn't unusual to have more digestive problems as you age. The funny thing is, sometimes if I drink quite a bit of water with something that I know upsets my stomach, it will either lessen or eliminate the acidity and I won't have as many reflux problems. I'm still not as bad as you, though. My family used to joke about my iron-clad stomach when I was a kid as long as I didn't eat any clams or oysters.

One trick that I've learned if acid reflux wakes me up at night is to make a wedge out of my pillow and put it under my head and shoulders so they're resting on an incline. It can be uncomfortable to sleep that way, but it really does work.

EDIT: Oh, totally forgot---I have a herbal ginger tea that I drink when my stomach gets upset or if I have acid reflux problems but don't have any medicines for them. It works really well. It might help a bit with your stomach issues.

There are a couple of food allergies (lactose and fructose intolerance are the two I know of off the top of my head) that have breathalyzer tests that can detect the presence of gases that show up in your digestive system when you eat something that triggers the reaction. Otherwise, you basically end up on an elimination diet, where they basically put you on a specific diet and eliminate possible triggers ( RyanMM has been on one of these IIRC.)

Yeah, elimination diets suck, especially when they don't end up helping you figure out what's wrong.

I also had allergy tests (when I was like 8 or 9), and believe it or not, the test for food is the same as the test for everything else. Pin pricks on your back with the allergens to see which ones react.

Via that, they found out I was allergic (mildly) to wheat and oats, and moderately to grasses, pollens, trees, ragweed (basically ALL OF NATURE), oranges, and tomatoes.

After 2-3 years of allergy shots the only minor allergy I have left is the orange one.

Yeah, I'd take vitamins after dinner and it made me very ill. Found out when I had my second degree burn that pain pills are the same. No ammount of food makes me not throw up profusely. I had been on zinc and C for my problems with getting sicknesses all the time during school, so I cut those out first thinking they might be the trigger. But the adult multivitamin did too. So they said try children's in a double dose, and I'm fine on that.

I had acid reflux most of my life, I think. I was very sick to my stomach all through elementary, middle and high school. I didn't get diagnosed 'till I was around 17. As soon as I got on medicine for it, my symptoms dramatically improved and I coudl eat more than bread and water again.

I never had the sleep or breath problems they associate with GERD. But I did get to the point where I would be talking after eating at night and vomit acid like a dinosaur that wouldn't go away with no ammount of water. When it got to that point is when I got diagnosed.

I've tried a lot of things over the years to help with the nausia, but they only work minimally. Cola syrup, mint, tea, nothing really. Only my meds ever made it better.

Don't worry, I already have.

I know I should probably go out back and just take myself out for wasting everyone's time, resources, and air with my flawed existence for having a phobia. Problem is, I'm scared of guns too, so I'll just have to ride it out. Thanks for being constructive and helpful in this thread though, you've really contributed a lot. What would we do without you?

Damn. I've got nothing, then. Though my lungs are the same way your stomach is---I've had allergies and asthma since I can remember. They've only gotten worse as time goes on. I was around my dad for only 30 minutes when he had bronchitis, and I caught his bronchitis. I waited for my sister in a doctor's waiting room for 20 and caught pneumonia. A flu shot doesn't do much good, though I get them every year anyway. I found out I am alergic to, of all things, rose scents in perfume and rose pollen---though that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my allergies. Yeesh.

I assume they've tested you for everything they can think of. It's kind of crazy having acid reflux at such a young age.

At least with zinc and c they have those lozenges you can use like cough drops these days. Hopefully they don't give you problems.