Becoming Allergic/Intolerant To So Many Things

Yes, my list of intolerant foods was getting longer & longer. Then there would be days that I wouldn't have anything that should have caused problems & I was still ill.

I just had a colonoscopy which my surgeon says should be the first step in figuring this out. He prescribed a "low fodmap" diet which I didn't like the look of. And then he suggested I try a daily probiotic. I started with 30 days of a 30billion probiotic & I am able to eat quite a few things which were off the list. I ran out a few days ago & decided to see how it went, I went back on them 3 days later after having problems again. He thinks it may be mild IBS which the probiotic is helping with. Don't know if it's from the Tamox/Arimidex or what. HTH, GG

Chemo and other treatments (antibiotics) can mess with your gut. I second the probiotics. I took them all through chemo and still take them. I also started eating way more fiber.

Hi Rebzamy, I am in your boat. Diagnosed with IBS years ago, then found I had other allergies (through elimination diet). I don't eat any dairy: highly allergic to that. Then I became reactive to red wine (when before, in college, I could drink plenty of red wine with no reaction).

Then, in the past two years (and six or eight surgeries, horrible infections, etc) I have become highly reactive to other things I'd never reacted to before. I cut out gluten, and that has helped. I tried to be moderate about it -- I didn't want to cut out another thing for 'no reason' -- but when I added some back, I really suffered for it.

Wanted to speak to the celiac issue. I'm no expert, but I've read that if you aren't ingesting a certain amount of gluten during the time of testing, the test can come out negative. And -- did you know that you've got to look for 'gluten-free oats'? It turns out that many types of oatmeal contain gluten. Here's another one I didn't know -- don't buy your grains in bulk. Apparently bulk items can become contaminated easily.

I just wanted you to know I am on your side, or whatever other metaphor applies). I suspect the mega- mega- doses of antibiotics I was subjected to for the past year have contributed to my allergies.

I didn't have chemo but was on Tamox for almost two years before being pulled off due to ovarian cysts. I started having allergies to everything about a year and a half on Tamox. Started with foods so I cut out wheat and dairy but was still having issues. I went to a allergist (md) who said I wasn't allergic to any foods but I would have asthma like symptoms,headaches or pain after eating things. I went to a naturopath doctor who tested me for food sensitivies and that really helped. Found out ALL the things my body was sensitive to, all dyes and preservatives on top of almost all grains and milk products. Gave up all those things and after 3 weeks things got better but still not back to normal. Once I got rid of the foods, I started realizing that I was also having reactions to products I was putting on my body and anything with fragrances in it. Initially I just went cold turkey - went on the Cosmetic Safety Database and found the least toxic, preservative free, fragrance free body wash, shampoo, conditioner, wore NO makeup and took off my acrylic nails. After a few weeks I was back to 100 percent! Since then I have added back some makeup, now that my body is back to normal, I get a reaction within the day to something if my body doesn't like it. Not fun for any of us but I figure this is the body I was given and if I want to stay alive I have to work with it.

Anna

Hi cowgal,

He did a biomeridian test on me. I will be honest, I first thought it was a bunch of bs - I even told the doctor that. But he wasn't trying to sell me any supplements or anything and he just told me what harm would it do to eliminate the things I was sensitive to for a few weeks. Well, in 3 weeks my life was completely different, no more headaches, nasal problems, or bathroom issues. I had given up dairy and gluten before too and not seen any difference but I think it was because I was still eating other things I didn't know that my body was sensitive too like pineapple, oats, dyes, preservatives and a few other misc. veggies. Hope this helps! Most drs in the LA area charge around 100 for the test so for me it was worth it then to keep playing food detective.

Anna

Hi cowgirl, rural here too. My treatment was done here, but I went to Seattle to a major cancer center for the analysis and recommendations.

Starting at age 52 I was on full dose tamoxifen for 1 year and then 3/4 year at half-dose before stopping it due to loss of gender and painful VA. Chose not to start any AI.

I didn't have much in the way of allergic reactions until about 2 years ago. Then literally overnight I developed urticaria that has never gone entirely away. Inflammation is such a biggie to avoid in terms of cancer, and itching is a major indicator of inflammation. It got quite severe, with the rash that had been confined to a limited part of the trunk spreading fast. At first my doctor just had me applying hospital-brand type moisturizers and using less-drying soaps because cancer treatment resulted in faster aging. The urticaria and rash continued to worsen so eventually I saw a derm doc in California and very reluctantly but desperately used skin application steroids for a month, and that calmed down the severe itching and rash, but it never went away.

I never used cosmetics, so no change there. I like foods with tomatoes very much, but it does help some for me not to eat them. I use stevia instead of sugar although that is more for weight control. Basically my life has changed from enjoyment of gender, exercise, food and many interests to one of being genderless and constant effort with diet and exercise. The accelerated aging with no advance counseling to help in making a more educated decisions about treatment is a bummer. I especially find seeing most oncologists useless for addressing these kinds of problems because their nursing staff are pre or perimenopausal and truly clueless about accelerated aging problems that contribute to inflammation and cancer recurrence.

Hey everyone!

My name is Ashleigh and I am a member of Rice University's OwlSpark accelerator program. I was going through different cancer blogs and I came across this post. I am currently working on a project concerning nutrition and cancer and I would love to know more about managing your diet.

If you would be willing, I would love to speak with you more in detail. Feel free to respond to this post or message me!

I am having the same issues. I am almost 3 years out from chemotherapy with my last treatment on August 5, 2015. I am finding that I am allergic to ice cream and I have become allergic to cheese. I never had this problem before chemotherapy. I am also becoming quite ill from soaps - bar soaps, dish washing detergent, laundry soap, shampoo, cleaning agents and my husband's deodorant. This has been slowly coming on over the past year. It seems that the further I am out from my last chemotherapy treatment, the more reactions I have. I told my husband this evening that a year ago, I only had to shave my legs every couple of weeks and this has changed, too. This past week, I am not back to my normal shaving routine of three times a week. I can't believe that it is a coincidence that the further I am out from my last treatment, the more allergies I am developing. I think it has to do with my chemotherapy leaving my body. Now that the chemicals are finally getting out of my system, I think my body is rejecting all chemicals now because it was battered so badly. I don't have any proof of this. I am just seeing a pattern.

I have had to switch to plant based laundry soap, dish washing liquid, hand and body soap. My shampoo is a children's shampoo from Tom's of Maine. I got very ill over the past weekend from eating ice cream and I read that the ice cream I ate had added alkali to the chocolate. My mind has been brainstorming. I tried two different types of natural bar soaps - olive oil and a goat's milk soap that is supposed to be all natural ingredients but I learned that in order to take animal fats and liquids and convert them to a solid, that these liquids have to be saponified. This means that a strong alkali has to be added to convert the animal fats and liquids into a solid bar soap. I am only guessing but with alkali added to chocolate to reduce the bitterness of the chocolate in the ice cream, I think I am reacting to the saponification process used in "natural soaps" I think I am putting two and two together.

But it doesn't end here for me. I am also not able to tolerate Chinese food anymore and I would eat it easily before this past year. I am also getting sick from women's perfumes. I can't tolerate my husband's deodorant or shaving cream. He had to quit wearing deodorant on the week-ends because I got so ill. He switched to a much more expensive shaving cream that I can tolerate. I can only use vinegar and water to clean with. Any other cleaning agent, makes me very ill. I get an awful headache and it burns my mucous membranes. I have to wear a chemical mask when I go into women's restrooms because I can't handle cleaning agents that are used - especially anything with ammonia in it.

I have always been sensitive to dust and cleaning agents but I never reacted like this.

The only thing I know to do right now with regard to food, is to eat pure foods.This means no processed foods. I will be cooking from scratch. No more ice cream, or deli meat or foods that have any chemical additives. I could be wrong with my thinking but after my reaction to my favorite ice cream over the week-end, it means to me that my body can't handle the added chemicals in foods. Because I reacted so badly to burning candles two weeks ago, I am seeing some consistencies and that appears to be the added alkali in the saponification process and possibly the added alkali in chocolate ice cream. To play it safe, though, I am cutting out dairy altogether because of the added chemicals and no more processed foods as well because of the added chemicals.

My reactions to the soaps and the ice cream and cheese is an awful headache, burning sinus area, burning mouth, nose and tongue and awful nausea. Once I replaced the soaps with plant based ingredients, I am not having these reactions.

I hope that I have helped someone else with these similar issues. The only thing I know to do is to stay away from chemicals as much as I can.

Bumping to ask about other people's experiences. Two years post-chemo (adriamycin & cytoxan) I am having digestive problems that might be food sensitivities. Headed to a fructose breath test on Tuesday morning to move toward diagnosis.