test for food allergies

[deagar]

I want to know if my son has any food allergies that would trigger some of his tics. I read about a blood test for delayed food sensitivity and have also read about food elimination diet. Do you find out the same thing both ways? Deanna

[Chemar]

Hi deanna

 

when my son was allergy tested we had a RAST skin test along with blood tests

 

I know that there are many more advanced methods avaiable now, but as my son doesnt have food allergies, it is not an area I know much about

[deagar]

Hi deanna

 

when my son was allergy tested we had a RAST skin test along with blood tests

 

I know that there are many more advanced methods avaiable now, but as my son doesnt have food allergies, it is not an area I know much about

 

I guess I don't understand why someone would struggle with the tough job of food elimination when they could have a blood test to find out the same thing....if that is the case.

As usual, thanks so much for responding to my questions. I am slowly plugging away at trying to figure out some triggers. Deanna

[Chemar]

Deanna

some people may not be actually ALLERGIC to certain foods yet still be very SENSITIVE to them. So perhaps the elimination diet is more one of determining those sensitivities that wouldnt show up in an allergy test per se??

this is just my guess as it is not an area I know much about so hopefully one of the members who has had more experience in this will be able to explain it accurately for you

[ad_ccl]

The IGG test shows any immune reaction that you are having to the foods being tested. The results can vary from moderate to severe. The reaction when eating the food can be delayed meaning up to 3 days, this makes it hard at times to pin point which foods cause which reactions.

 

We did the IGG delayed food allergy test and found my son was allergic to quite a few things, once off the foods he improved significantly. ( He has PANDAS) We decided to do the test rather than the elimination diet as we wanted answers in black and white as we were dealing with so many unknowns, and also he already had a limited diet and removing all dairy for example 100% is a lot of work - with no slips etc. We were AMAZED at the difference once off milk, then wheat, eggs and soy. We could see an improvement within the week. He is now able to have wheat but we still try and limit it, I still do a lot of baking with rice flour and oats. One reason many people would try an elimination diet would be the cost of the blood work. I spent about 300$ on the test, and then tested my other two children and my husband and myself. So, 1500 is a fair bit. Worth every penny mind you. My husband also had a lot of allergies and once off the foods his asthma improved 80%. My other children are also now off all dairy as per the test results.

 

Hope that helps. I do think it is a test worth doing, but also think if you are committed you could removed the foods one at a time as per Doris Rapp's book. There are several common problem foods - casein ( diary), wheat, soy, eggs, - the test we did tested over 100 foods. If you are doing an elimination diet do not replace milk with soy as there is often an allergy to both ( 30% of people I believe)

 

Good Luck.

[deagar]

Thanks so much! You gave me just the answers I was looking for. Does insurance ever cover the IGG or is everyone pretty much on their own for this. Do you need a doctor's signature for this? Deanna

[ad_ccl]

I live in Canada so know nothing about the doctors signatures etc, required in the US. I did it through a naturopath and it was not covered. Good Luck!

[deagar]

I am also looking for some guidance on ASO and DNASE B test results. I am wondering if there is a chart or something that states at this level you would need antibiotics etc. I had my son tested 3 times. The first time was after he had his first real sudden tic onset and we couldn't get it controlled. Our neurologist suggested the possiblity of PANDAS but I didn't want to do a blood test on my 5 year old. I saw another neurologist and he didn't believe in PANDAS so it gave me more reason not to have it done. Finally I was desperate and had it done and sure enough he had been exposed to strep and was put on antibiotics. We checked again 3 months later and the titers had gone down but not a lot. Then about 2 years later he had another sudden onset and I had him checked and the titers showed strep exposure again and we ran a 10 day course of antibiotics again. At the same time we increased his gabapentin (neurontin) and his tics slowed down alot. I am just curious though about what is considered a high test result and what is "off the charts"? The last test showed his DNASE B at 680 but his ASO was only 590 (about 1/2 what it was during his first check 2 years ago). I don't know how to interpret this. Thanks - Deanna

[ad_ccl]

Hi Deanna,

 

I had replied about the ASO titers on the other thread you had started. My son's continue to be high too - seems some kids remain high for quite some time, my doctor and I have agreed to treat symptoms rather than numbers at this point. Many times we have done the blood work when he is completely symptom free and has been for quite a while, yet the numbers remain very high - 1200 at one point when he was doing amazing. So...over the past two years they have slowly been coming down - most recently 590 - normal us under 65 with the test we do. I was thrilled with 590 as maybe 4 months prior it was at around 800. Slow and steady. I think this shows how crazy the immune system of PANDAS kids can be when they have had a strep infection. I am not sure if Ronna has posted or tested her son and if his levels ever came down to normal? If she is reading this I hope she will respond, although she will be very busy these days with all the kids. My son has remained on prophylactic antibiotics but we are planning on taking him off them in a few weeks - YIKES - He has been on them for two years now. If he does get sick again like he did a few years ago I will without hesitation put him back on the antibiotics.

 

Good Luck, from all that you are describing sound PANDAS like to me. Have you looked on the NIMH site, also if you do a search of RONNAS posts you will find a wealth of info on ASO titers etc. She has copied some info from the NIMH site ( I think)