Solving my Mysterious Health Problems....

For many years, my health has plagued me in various, though non-life threatening ways. It seems things really started when I turned 21. No, it wasn't drinking related because I really never really cared much for alcohol. Sometime around this time period I gained a significant amount of weight in only a few months, I felt more fatigued, and started to feel nauseated after eating. I attributed the change to hormonal changes or perhaps just a change in my metabolism. So life moved on despite not feeling well.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to try and figure out what may have been causing problems, as things had gotten worse gradually over time. At this point, I wondered about milk and dairy. I loved cheese and milk, but took them out of my diet and took lactase pills when I did have a small amount. I experienced no change. Then, I read about Celiac's disease and many of the symptoms that I had acquired were very similar so I decided to try going without gluten. It was very tough at first, since gluten is in many things you wouldn't expect like soy sauce. I stayed on the gluten-free diet for over a year. I felt slightly better, but my problems were not completely solved. I experimented with cheating and noticed no change so I went back to eating normally.

The worst month of mysterious problems was in February of this year. I had severe diarrhea and had no explanation for why I was having problems. Desperate, I went to my family doctor and she ran lots of tests to see if I had parasites, celiac's, and any deficiencies which may have been causing me problems. Everything came back negative. She referred me to an allergist as I suspected I may have some type of food allergy that I hadn't thought of yet. My husband noticed that when I ate spaghetti I complained of nausea and bad digestive problems. I mentioned this when I was at the allergist.

When speaking with the student doctor, I went into detail about my experiences. I mentioned things I had tried that didn't work as well as things I had theories about, like something in spaghetti. When the allergist talked with me she didn't think I had food allergies, but was willing to test me if I wanted. I insisted upon it because I knew something was up. She explained to me about the "big 8" and said she would also test for tomatoes, since that is one of the missing things in spaghetti. I was also tested for environmental allergens, as I knew I was allergic to something, probably ragweed.

When the results came back, I tested positive for several environmental allergens (mostly weeds and one grass) as well as, you guessed it, tomato. She advised me to try cutting tomatoes out of my diet to see if I experienced any improvement.

I got on the computer as soon as I got home to find other people who are allergic to tomatoes and while they exist on the internet, there isn't vast amounts of personal accounts. I also read that many people who are allergic to tomatoes are also sensitive or allergic to other members of the same plant family (nightshades). These plants include the pepper family (not black or white pepper spices, just chiles, bells, etc.), potatoes, eggplant, and tobacco. Common spices with nightshades would include chile pepper, cayenne or red pepper, paprika, and Tobasco sauce.

The same day I went to the allergist I went to Chipotle to see if I was sensitive to peppers. I didn't have any nightshades that day and I knew what symptoms to look for. I ordered the chile corn salsa, which has peppers in it. As I was eating, my mouth was tingling, my chest tightened as if someone was stepping on my sternum, and I felt nauseated when I left. I also didn't digest it well. Same reaction the next day when I had a Frontega Chicken made especially for me without any tomato contact. The staff members were even nice enough to change their gloves and used different utensils. I still reacted the same way due to the chipotle mayo on the sandwich.

So, I want to keep a blog not only for my own documentation, but also to help others like me. Feel free to comment and ask questions. I'm more than happy to try and answer and if I don't know, I will try to help out as much as possible.