Quick recap: I’ve been diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE), a chronic immune system disease where certain foods can cause your esophagus to become inflamed. Back in June, I had a bad flare (you can read about it here) and connected the dots to determine that gluten was the/a culprit. I went low gluten, but that didn’t 100% solve my issues. So, I went to an allergist (back in November) who scheduled me for a food allergy prick test at the end of the year.
Ok, all caught up!
So, in mid-December I was so excited to go into that appointment and finally get some answers to what was making me sick. I was 98% certain that gluten would cause a reaction, but I thought maybe there might be something else too that I had been overlooking.
The allergist had already determined that I don’t have a “food allergy” in that I won’t need an epi pen, but I most likely have food intolerances. By doing the allergy prick test, they poke you with tiny amounts of various allergens and if your body releases histamines you’ll get an itchy reaction bump. If a food causes the bump, you have an intolerance and you may want to reduce or avoid it in the future. So, by the end of the appointment, I would FINALLY have some answers.
So, I whipped my top off, laid down on the table and let them scratch me with all the stabby things.
Here’s all the foods they tested me for:
And here’s my “I’m trying not to complain about the itchiness” face:
Finally, I got my results. And I reacted to:
- Soy
- Sesame
- Hazelnut
- Lamb
- Pork
- Cherry
- Carrot
All were ‘mild’ reactions. And ALL were not things I’ve ever noticed having a reaction to in the past. But the most WTF of it all… is that I didn’t react AT ALL to gluten.
I feel like there should be a word for happy-disappointed-mad. Maybe something in German?
I mean, it’s great that I’m not allergic to gluten or intolerant to gluten from an allergy perspective. BUT, I know for a fact if I eat gluten after 2pm-ish, I will wake up between 12pm – 1am and vomit.
The allergist recommended I return to the GI doctor for another upper GI scope, but that was pretty darn expensive last time and didn’t really give me any great clarity. So, I’m going to pass for now.
But here’s what I do know:
- I do not have Celiacs Disease
- I do not have a food allergy
- I do have some mild food intolerances
- If I eat gluten after 2pm, I get sick
And I’m done. I’m done searching for answers, when honestly it doesn’t really matter WHAT the answer is. What it really comes down to is that it appears that I can control the EOE flare and vomiting 90% of the time if I avoid gluten after lunch. So that’s what I’ve started doing. I’ll eat the occasional gluten at breakfast or lunch and then do no gluten for the rest of the day. I’ve been doing this for a few months now and have only vomited once, so I’m planning to stick with it.
And as frustrating as it is not to have the answers I was craving, as long as I can keep this issue mostly under control… well, that will need to be enough for me.