Are Allergies Just Other Diseases Not Diagnosed?

[HiCaliber]

I've had allergies all my life - since infancy. I've gone through desensitization shots (6 years) only to have chronic severe reactions. Shots were a failure. Antihistamines make me miserable. There just aren't any good treatments that I have been able to find. My IgE is something like 417.

A doctor (formerly at a med school) told me once that the diagnosis of allergy is usually just lack of a thorough work-up. I've read that some places too. The symptoms are horribly real - no argument there - but since treatment doesn't work well over a lifetime I can't help but wonder if it isn't something else going on - something not diagnosed. Also, it seems like there might be a difference between people who've had allergies since earliest childhood to the extent that it interfers with normal life events and those who acquire allergies later in life.

Anyone else dealing with these issues?

[john_ng_33]

Hi,

You probably won't believe this, but there is another way of testing for allergies, through applied kinesiology. And, believe it or not, there is a new way of eliminating all allergies through a technique called electro-acupuncture. I'll let you visit our website and you can make an informed judgement from there. The website is www.nosugarplease.com.

John

[orthomolecular]

Originally Posted by HiCaliber

I've had allergies all my life - since infancy. I've gone through desensitization shots (6 years) only to have chronic severe reactions. Shots were a failure. Antihistamines make me miserable. There just aren't any good treatments that I have been able to find. My IgE is something like 417.

Anyone else dealing with these issues?

I don't have allergies but I do balance my histamine levels with nutritional supplements. Some people can have high histamine levels and some have low levels. Usually low histamine types can have food allergies, and the high histamine types can have seasonal and I think environmental allergies. I am not an expert on the different allergies that go with either type. But some people may say that anti-histamines make them feel really weird; usually that type has low histamine levels being aggravated by the anti-histamines.

I have heard of some high histamine types using anti-histamines to help a headache. Histamine is a nuerotransmitter in the brain. So your histamine levels can effect you nuerologically or mentally.

There are some things like vitamin C and amylase which are natural anti-histamines.

[shespeaks247]

My IgE WAS around 17,000 (not a typo) and then an immunologist used Xolair (an anti IgE injection) and now it is 22,000 and rising. I have HIE (Hyper IgE Infectious Syndrome). Xolair is contraindicated in individuals with IgE's above 750.

I also now have ovarian cancer (since the injected Xolair ...and it was injected into my abdomen...not saying it 'caused' the cancer..but....).

The good news: I now know why my parents and my grandparents died before the ages of 50 yrs. old (all of us with anaphylactic asthma, allergies, etc.).

My little Grandson also has an exceptionally high IgE. I am in my fourth YEAR of waiting on SSDI (disability) after working 29 years. They classified my 'HIE' as 'asthma' at the disability hearing. Sigh.

I was just told by a pulmonologist that giving me desensitization injections was the WRONG thing to do (I only had two rounds..because I was hospitalized for anaphylactic reaction for BOTH). I have genetic allergic reaction. It took me over 14 YEARS to get a diagnosis of HIE (supposed to be 'very very rare' and most doctors have never SEEN a patient with it..therefore they won't say you 'have it'. There is a long term study on the disease at the NIH (National Institute of Health) in Maryland and the disease was thought to be 'only one standard'...resulting in death, and they know there are varying degrees of the disease now). HTH

Pam

[zoso a.k.a Neil]

>>>>Greetings<<<<<
Allergies are no fun at all but i found having hayfever in the summer a real bummer as everybody else is having a good time and all you can do is moan or suffer in silence.Sneezures and lots of them and reddening of the eyes are my worst symptoms.Bad as they are now but less embarresing than when i was a teenager ; you just cannot be cool when you have just sneezed a dozen or more times and your eyes are popping out of your head like two red orbes.
And as for nettle rash or a wasp sting it's anaphalactic shock and a hastily applied adrealin jab ( i never leave home without one in the summer)then get myself to a hospital.Where i was kept in overnight last time a wasp got me.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Be seeing you <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Zoso

[bretlee]

To speak the truth I have become so fed up with my allergies that I have developed a belief now most people lie when they say their allergies are well under control. Since the time I was in college till date which covers a span of almost 20 years I have tried everything possible or existing that claimed to be a healer to such problems. But none of them were able to help me even a bit in recovering my condition and I have realized now I have got to live with it.

[HiCaliber]

I've been on Xolair now for almost 12 weeks. It hasn't worked yet but am going up to a higher dose this week. Also, they say that it takes at least 6 months although I've read that something like 80 some percent will find some relief after 6 months. The problem is, they don't really know the full spectrum of side effects and as far as I can tell, have no interest in studying it.

What was shocking is that my IgE level shot up to over 1,300 + after I was on it. Genentech tartly informed my physician not to test me while on Xolair because it allegedly changes all over the place. But, they won't tell me WHY exactly it changes and what the implications are of those changes. About a month after starting treatment I came down with a sinus and upper respiratory infection (that's not unusual for me anyway) so that might have influenced the extremely high IgE. Wish I knew more about this and could get some relief!

One of the big problems is that doctors just don't seem to take it that seriously nor does the research community.

[MargaretRules]

I'm not sure. There was a time when my idea of allergies was sneezing 4 times a day, eyes that water a little more than normal, and a little bit of a stuffy nose. This occurred in the spring. In recent years (as in, no more than a year and a half ago), I've had awful sinus pressure, coughing, breathing issues, and just general misery. Not all the time, and they seem to hit at random times (suggesting mold allergy?) but it's odd that I would have mild allergies that suddenly get really really bad. Unless the mold rate has increased a lot or something.

I possibly have a b12 deficiency, and I've read that b12 can be used as an allergy treatment. I do wonder if maybe my heinous allergies are related to b12 deficiency at all?

[StLouis79]

I had horrible allergies and asthma for years. I tried so many different allergy medicines but nothing seemed to help. I thought I was doomed to live this way for the rest of my life. I was miserable. Then I started taking acid reflux medicine every day and my asthma is *GONE*. It's amazing. And my allergy symptoms are almost completly gone too.

[HiCaliber]

I've started to show some improvement w/the xolair. It is far from wiping out the allergies but they're not as severe as they were last year and with the weather here that's pretty good. I still wheeze if I forget Advair and my lungs feel tight to some extent but I'm not breaking out in rashes as much. I have some concerns about the long term effect as biologics are still new.

Someone close to me has MS - one of his neurologists mentioned that multiple sclerosis is kind've like one really big bag allergy. The body allegedly turns on itself and destroys the nervous system. I don't think he meant at all to diminish the significance of MS - was just trying to put it in an understandable context. So, I'm wondering if there is something else going on in those of with severe long-term allergies? Something at the molecular level? I guess curious minds want to know!