Reading and Interpreting IGg test results

[rcwang]

Good day. I have a 7 year old daughter with TS. With the help of this forum and the ACN book, we have been able to minimize her TS by 85%. With the onset of spring, we notice that her Tics become stronger than in the fall and winter. I suspect that there is some kind of environmental irritant (pollen or something) that is aggrevating her allergy. She already had allergy testing, but not the IGg test. Her allergist would not give her that test since he did not agree it would help any. He says it show whether she has ever been exposed to something (ie if she had milk, she would have IGg level ). Thus, it would only show what she has eaten or breathed her entire life. That does not make sense to me.

 

Her neurologist is open to giving her the test, but he does not know how it will help us in relation to the TICS. Please advise how we use this test to determine what she is intolerant of. Thanks!!

[faith]

I don't think I can give an entirely scientific answer, but it is believed that foods that cause sensitivity bring about a histamine release (not entirely like a true immediate allergy, but sort of a delayed, accumulative reaction) and what happens after that I'm not entirely sure, but do a search of Igg and lots of thing will come up to read and you can copy them and show it to your nuero.

 

We did the Alcat food sensitivity test (you can search that), and I believe it is supposed to be better than just Igg. When they send back the results, there is a total explanation and guide to how to read the results. They also give recommendations on what to avoid and how to rotate the foods back in.

 

Now, I suppose some don't believe this is beneficial, (my DAN doctor also said the same thing that you describe yours said, and so we just did an elimination diet without the test, but I did not seem to see any good results, so I went ahead and did the test anyway through a naturopath, who believes in it, and found some interesting things that my son was sensitive to and sort of provided clues as to why the elimination of foods was not enough. He was sensitive to things that I was still giving him on the elimination diet since they were allowed. So I am a believer in this as it did provide us with another direciton when we really needed it. We are not out of the woods yet, as my son has a few different tics, but I will tell you that about three days after eliminating the strong reactors that he had such as flax, yeast and corn, his head nod/shake diminished and is gone (praise the Lord). I also remember in the past he had a neck stretch tic that went away a few days after I eliminated high fructos corn syrup (mainly pancake syrup which he sucked up) only on a suspicion. So what I am saying is that personally, I feel its a worthwhile step, even though a little costly, (maybe that is why a mainstream doctor is hesitant to recommend it) and would definitely persue it. Just read as much as you can on line and maybe some books in the library will explain the premise better. I found a book called "Hidden Food Allergies" (finding the foods that cause you problems and removing them from your diet) by Stephen Astor, MD., that might explain it in simpler terms, although it is not about the Igg tests, just elimination diet.

 

May I ask how your child is doing as far as tics go? I got the impression from your past posts that you were managing them very well. How is she presently and please share what steps you feel has helped. I know that will help me and others who are reading.

 

thanks

Faith

[rcwang]

Hi Faith,

 

Thank you for your info. My understanding also is that IGg is suppose to be some kind of indication of a "intolerance" to the food or irritant. So are you saying that the higher the number, the more histamine reaction her immune system is generating? Thus, that is a possible allergen. I am going to search more on the web to find out more info before we see the neurologist tomorrow. I am all for the test just to find out and get peace of mind. It is good to know the test you mentioned will explain the results so I will bring that up with the doctor tomorrow.

 

As for our approach, let me first explain what we saw in our daughter. She was 6 years old and having vocal tics, verbal repetition, motor tics with her hands, obsessive compulsive hand washing, anxiety, hyperactivity all at the same time. Some of the tics started as young as age 3, but really escalated at age 6. We noticed that they become stronger with the spring and summer months. We decided to try this more natural approach instead of medicine immediately because we have heard of the side effects of some of the medicine. With research, my conclusions were that if we reduce taxing the immune system, the nerves will calm down. Also, I believe this genetic disorder deals with the nerve transmissions (synapse) not reaching the next nerve cell. Thus, the brain keeps sending the signal (ie to clear her throat), but the response from the throat is not getting back to the brain that it already did it's command. This is similar to the preschool game "telephone" where the message from the first person is not the same when the last person hears it.

 

Our first step was to eliminate all artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, and nitrates from our diet. We tried to go organic as much as possible. The hyperactivity and obsessive compulsive stopped.

 

Second was the elimination diet. We eliminated all the common food allergies at one time: milk, nuts, eggs, citrus fruits, wheat, chocolate, seafood. We did this for 2 weeks to detox her completely. This was extremely difficult but worth it since we had to build up her immune system again. The motor tics and the verbal repetition stopped. This was GREAT since I was hearing the same word every day about 400 times. Every 4 days we added one restricted food back in. If no reaction, then it stayed. If there was a flair up, then it was gone forever. I kept a daily journal to track her reactions.

 

Third we went to the allergist. From the scratch test we identified other allergies and dust mites was the main one. No real food allergies were found, but we found a few she was intolerant of via the elimination diet. We got all those dust mite covers and went crazy trying to get it out of the house as much as possible. Within days, the vocal tics lessened.

 

Fourthly, we added magnesium (natural calm), flax oil, and more vitamin c to supplement her. I replaced the flouride multivitamins from her old pediatrician with a vegetarian whole food based one (natures plus.. only if your child is not allergic to citrus fruits). I got the ok from her dentist. She will do the annual flouride at the dental office and brushes with a flouride toothpaste, but at least she is not eating it anymore. This helped to lessen her colds and reduce the anxiety and vocal tics more.

 

Fifth, I threw away all the nonstick pans and spatulas. Now I only cook with stainless steel and bamboo spatulas. I try not to microwave as much as possible.

 

We also took her to a chinese nerve doctor to help clear any blocked nerves (kind of like accupuncture without the needles).

 

Now we try to keep a balanced organic diet highlighting magnesium rich foods (spinach, nuts, kiwi, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.), essential fatty acids (flax, fish, acai) amino acids, minerals, immune builders, and foods that eliminate toxins and metals from the body. I taught her not to eat the same foods everyday (ie not the same cereal every morning, not the same fruit every day, etc.) so she can get a balance in her diet. I pack her lunch and make dinner most of the time to control what is in the food. I think this also helps to keep her from getting a reaction from some foods that she may be allergic to, but we do not know about.

 

Knock on wood, now she only has very little vocal tics and some anxiety. This is 85% better than it was before. She is tops of her class and very social. With this pollen season upon us, I notice the tics getting more frequent so that is why I am concerned about the IGg test. She did not test positive to any pollen in the scratch test, but I know it is something in the air. I pray that it does not get worse like last year.

 

I hope this helps. I got tons of help from reading these forums, the ACN book, and nutrition books. Thank you to everyone who posts. It is so hard to find people who understand what I am talking about. I know it sounds like a ton of work. I know you know it is. But... so totally worth it! My daughter is the best trooper because she embraced the approach. She was supportive of it from ground one because she saw how improved she had become and wanted to get better. Now she reads all the labels so she knows what she can have and is learning what foods have what vitamins, minerals, etc and what it will do for her.

[faith]

Thanks so much for sharing all that information. I'm very impressed in all you've researched and tried, and elated that it seems to have worked so well for your daughter. I think it's invaluable to share all we've tried and learned, you never know what particular information is important to someone else.

 

The results of food intolerance test wasn't by numbers, just by category. Like foods in the "red"range were severe intolerance, "orange" was strong reaction, and "yellow" was mild. They list the food item under each category. The "green" are all no reaction. This is all "delayed" reaction, not immediate allergy. The following is quoted from the book I mentioned "Hidden Food Allergies" : " When we eat food, the body breaks it down into many small particles and eventually into chemicals like sugar, amino acids, and fats so that the body cells can utilize the substances. Thus, the body changes each food we eat into dozens of different byproducts. These chemicals and byproducts can be allergenic. It is the time lapse between eating the food and the body's creation of these products that accounts for the delay in the reaction."

 

There is also some mention that some believe that the histamine release has not been proven to produce the "cause and effect" in relation to symptoms and that is why this book is touting the elimination diet as opposed to the blood test. However, I do believe it is a worthwhile test if someone is searching for more answers. Did you find some culprits when doing the elimination diet? You mentioned you try to eat foods which eliminate toxins and metals from the body--just curious what they are?

 

I am on much of the same path as you and so far have seen improvement in my son's head shake, and feel it is due to the elimination of the foods he reacted strongly too for it improved only a few days later.

However, we are still dealing with a vocal sound which is not too bad, but has been there since just before school year.

 

Does anyone feel that different things cause different symptoms (or specific tics) in their child (or themselves), for example, I'm getting the impression his neck/head tics are triggered by corn products. Not sure, but just observing.

 

Sounds like you are doing an outstanding job--appreciate all your info and help.

 

Faith

[Guest]

Faith,

 

I feel that certain foods cause certain tics/symptoms. For example, milk causes a sniffling tic for me. Chocolate causes a pounding headache. Some foods cause a coughing/clearing the throat type of tic for me.

 

Carolyn

[rcwang]

Via the elimination diet, we found milk to be the main culprit. In fact, we went out to breakfast this morning and she had something that we thought did not have milk (but it did). The same motor and verbal tics that she had 9 months ago that was due to milk came out again. I know because I track the reactions in my journal. So, it will probably last about 4 days until it clears her system.

 

The neurologist said she is still mild and supports our approach. I need to go to the pediatrian for the test and other blood work. If I can not get it there, I can order the test. Anyone know which company is the best for the IGg test?

 

As for the metals, we eat banana, apples, pears which are suppose to bind to the excess metals. I found this book called "the food doctor" by ian marber really useful. It is on amazon if you can't find it locally. Of course I'm not a nutritionist so I am sure there are more food that would help also. I just know what seems to work for us so far.

 

If you suspect corn and have not done the elimination diet yet, you are probably right. As his mom, you know them best and I would trust your intuition on it. I would say sit down with your son and have the talk. If he is OK with it, then take all highly allergic foods out for 1 - 2 weeks. We ate alot of rice and stirfried foods then. If some tics stop then you know something you took out may be the culprit. Add one at a time every four days and track it. Then you know what is suspect. Save the corn for last to add back and see if the tics are still gone. I am not going to kid you.. it was really hard. I read hundreds of labels. But... sticking to fresh fruits and vegetable, rice, and no nitrate meats for meals makes it easier. Our allergist told us he is almost positive she was not allergic to milk. He was probably right that she is not allergic to it (ie no hives,etc) but she IS definately intolerant of something in it (casein probably). Also as a side note, for us, during the 2 week detox period, she got worse in some ways before she got better. I think she had to clear it all out of her system and her body was reacting to not having the stimulus food. By the end of the first week, she was feeling better.

[rcwang]

Carolyn,

 

Just curious which foods causes your cough / clearing throat. That is the one tic I can't seem to get rid of. I thought it was environmental in a way. Thanks!

[Guest]

rcwang

 

For me food colorings cause the cough/clearing throat tic.

 

Carolyn

[faith]

rcwang,

when you say your daughter had something with milk in it, what was it? Are you saying that she hasn't had any dairy in a long time, even hidden dairy in breads and cookies? And she hasn't had that verbal tic until that slip up? ... Same for you Carolyn-- do you see it come and go with direct correlation to the offender. Do you mean you don't sniff if you don't have milk? (I can see where milk/dairy would be related to the vocal/sinus area because of the mucous and swelling in that area in relation to allergy, if that's what it is.).......

 

We did do the elimination diet first, under direction of the DAN doctor. Yes, very hard, but we stuck to it 99.9%. He was doing a little throaty sound and blinking a little. But nothing was totally gone after a month on that diet. So then I went ahead with the test (which was the Alcat, you could search that)

and found he was strongly reactive to yeast, corn and flax, pork and sweet potato--he was still getting flax oil, sweet potato and baloney on the elim., so maybe that's why we still had problems. He had also started a head nodding in between, so when I took away those foods, the head nod has stopped. But the blinking and throat sound is still lingering. So that's why I'm asking about specific culprits for specific symptoms. I have long suspected milk/dairy to be the culprit for his vocal, as it did clear up when he had it last year, but I can't seem to chase it this time. He didn't show any reaction to casein on the test. He drinks no cow's milk, only rice milk. Lately he does have a little cheese and some baked goods that do have dairy (but no yeast or corn). Yikes, if I read labels to remove the hidden diary too, what's left to eat? I don't know how to handle this. I think I have to try the no dairy again, but we did that on the elimination and the vocal was still around. So,

 

Also, I'm a little upset, for I'm hearing him add a little "squeak" sound now. It's not so big a deal to me, but you know, in school during quiet lesson, the teacher may think he's being naughty. She does know his issues, but still...

 

thanks guys, for the input, any other suggestions are appreciated.

 

Faith

[Guest]

Faith-Yes, I see it come and go with direct correlation to the offender. The only time I sniff is with milk or if I have a cold.

 

Carolyn

[rcwang]

Yes, it is in correlation to the offender. Only when she has milk products she usually gets that motor tic. We are pretty cautious about the milk. Since I make her lunch/ snacks and monitor her breakfast/dinner we can do without it. We read all labels, avoid lots of bread based meals, and she reads all her labels before she eats.

 

Funny you mentioned the squeak sound, because mine is doing that too now as well as the cough. Caroline thanks for the info. We had removed food coloring along time ago as much as possible. I think some things set everyone off differently.