Food 'intolerances?'

[mouse_chalk]

I've noticed over the past few months, that I cannot eat chicken. Every single time I've eaten it, I get horrible stomach pains about an hour after, and then end up..... very ill for the next 24 hours or so....

I've checked carefully, and the chicken is always well cooked, so that isn't an issue. It happens whether it's roasted, stirfried, etc etc. Whether it's cooked at home, in a restaurant, takeaway, in England or in San Francisco! :?

The weirdest thing is it's always been one of my favourite things for the past 24 years- I think up until about April/May time.... It was very sudden :?

I was the same with fish for a bit but that seems ok now... Tomato sauce-based food was funny also but that seems ok now too.... :? I also can't drink coffee these past couple of months without getting really bad 'gas'...

Has anyone else experienced 'sudden' intolerances like this? I know, I know, I should go and see my doctor, but I hate going for things like this. I have a feeling he'll just say 'don't eat chicken' lol :?

I know this seems like a random thing to post but it's been bugging me for ages! Also, I have a tendancy to forget this every once in a while and eat chicken- which I did tonight, and I'm currently sat here hands over my tummy!

 

[irishbunny]

That used to happen to me when I drank Coca-Cola, I used to get pains in my stomach from it for a few months, this was about 2 years I think but it just went away and I can drink it now without any pain. I can't think of anything else it happened to me with.

I heard that if you eat/drink too much of something it can start giving you pains in your stomach, so you've got to stop eating/drinking it for awhile and then slowly bring it back up so you get used to it again. I don't know if this is true though, it worked for me with the coke thing though. It might make sense to you too if you found that you ate alot of chicken.

 

[NZminilops]

It's why I don't eat meat now Jen, same thing happened to me. Started with chicken, the fresher the more sick I would feel. Then just any old chicken would make me sick, now it's any meat :?. I have no idea what caused it.

Is you gas the heartburn thing you mentioned in the tea thread? Sounds like a stomach acid issue.

 

[mouse_chalk]

NZminilops wrote:

It's why I don't eat meat now Jen, same thing happened to me. Started with chicken, the fresher the more sick I would feel. The just any old chicken would make me sick, now it's any meat :?. I have no idea what caused it.

Eeek! I really hope that doesn't happen to me!! :?

I guess I should really go to the doctor lol... :foreheadsmack:

 

[Raspberry82]

Ok, so I'm not a doctor just so you know , but this definitely sounds like an intolerance/allergy to me. Either an intolerance or your stomach is lacking in sufficient digestive enzymes to break down meat proteins, but if that were the case then the stomach pains would happen with all meat and not just chicken (and this would be fixable with proper digestive supplements). Since you've tried chicken from all over, it clearly isn't an added chemical in the chicken you're reacting to.

If you wanted to make sure of this and check other intolerances, doctors have a blood test available that tests your body's antibody count to specific foods. I took it and it costs about $120 plus blood draw fee. Personally, since your body's reaction is saying "No chicken!" then I would stay away from it completely for a few months and then slowly try it again. If pains come back again, stay off it for even longer:?. To remove the resistance, you have to stay completely off it long enough for your body's antibodies to go away and this time period depends on the severity of the allergy.

What happens is that when you eat or drink the same thing every day (or even multiple times per day) for long periods of time, your body builds up a resistance to it by creating antibodies for attack just like it would with a virus. So your immune system is triggered every time by this food and you can react in different ways. We're designed to eat a wide range of things, so I'd be sure to change up your protein sources more often too to make sure there isn't just 1 thing totally dominating your diet all the time.

 

[Raspberry82]

Have you tried farm-raised or organic chicken to see if you react? Meat is one of the more uncommon food allergies to have. I know here in the US we have antibiotic and hormone free chicken to buy, buy some brands still use antibiotics in the chickens or chemicals in their feed and don't have to put this on the package label. So you should also consider that to be a possibility.

If you try organic chicken and don't react, then it is something in the regular chicken.

Sometimes my bf reacts after eating beef, his nose immediately gets all stuffed up after eating it, but only if it is beef with antibiotics or hormones or something they added into the meat. Farm-raised is no problem.

 

[mouse_chalk]

Thanks for the detailed response!

All the chicken I eat is always at the very least free range, and I buy organic where possible- I just can't stand the way that battery chickens are raised over here. I must admit, I do sometimes eat chicken from non-known sources, such as tonight when I ordered a chicken side with my pizza :embarrassed:, but that's not a regular occurance, and it happens even when I eat the super-expensive organic stuff lol. And from whichever supermarket/shop we buy from... My rule is normally that if we can't afford for me to have the organic stuff, I eat something else that week...

I think, for a while after I first started to 'react' to it, I avoided it for a while- I can't remember how long, but at least a month. I used to eat it fairly often, although not every day or anything too over the top like that lol. I guess I ate it as often as I eat any other food (apart from lettuce, because I seem to be addicted to that lol! )

So it's really strange... I'm not sure if our doctors over here do that testing, or if I'll have to wait for months to get it done on the NHS, or what really....

One thing is that my mum has Chron's disease, but I don't think my symptoms are anywhere near that severe lol!

 

[Raspberry82]

Ahh, ok. That is odd. Hm. Chron's Disease isn't hereditary, but it is often diet related. Chrons disease is usually brought on by a combination of things. Food sensitivities (where the foods are still being consumed regularly even with strong reactions), the person isn't supplementing regularly with enough good probiotics, digestive enzymes, and Betaine hydrochloric acid/HCL (our stomach acid, for breaking down food well enough), and/or a possible yeast infection that has become systemic- throughout the digestive tract/body, but usally they are severely resistant to sugar if this is the cause. But it takes years and years of these things going on to lead to something like that.

It can take the body quite some time for a resistance to dissapear. I acquired an allergy to wheat about 10 years ago and my stomach would always hurt if I ate it too often. So I went wheat-free for years and now when I eat it, it doesn't bother me.. but I still eat mainly wheat-free.

Often times, random allergies like this pop up due to a yeast infection, our natural yeasts can live throughout our body, not just in our gut. The immune system becomes overly stressed if our natural yeasts grow out of control (due to too many over the counter drugs, antibiotics, too much sugar) so it then becomes overly reactive to food as well.

Do you tolerate sugars and starches just fine?

 

[mouse_chalk]

Raspberry82 wrote:

Do you tolerate sugars and starches just fine?

Yeah! Apart from coffee, which gives me really bad gas if I have more than one cup a week or something, I can eat everything else fine. I eat a ton of lettuce and salads at the moment, probably a lot more lettuce than is normal lol, but everything else I'd say in normal quantities...


Sooo... trying to make sense of what you're saying (sorry I'm not as astute as you lol!) do you think it could be other things I'm eating, something I'm doing, or just one of those things where I have to stay away from it? I guess if I know that I just can't eat it I'll be able to avoid it a lot easier lol, but at the moment I tend to forget, eat it, and then realise when I start to get ill what I've done!!! :shock:

I cling onto the fact that I can still eat steak, lamb and fish ok....

 

[Raspberry82]

Lol, sorry for the health nerd speak, hehe. I can sound like a text book sometimes . I eat pounds of lettuce, too. Salads are SO yummy! Sounds like you have a healthy diet, too!

Here's what I would do first (and in fact I've had to do this in the past to test allergies and if i had an allergic response).

Does your stomach hurt when you eat chicken broth or chicken eggs?

I always thought it was weird that people can be allergic to chicken eggs and then not be to chicken itself! Our bodies are so bizarre sometimes .

First I would avoid all forms of chicken for 2 months straight. No cheating and doing my best to not accidentally eat it either. So this means no chicken, chicken-containing foods, chicken buillon cubes, or chicken broth.


Then try 1 meal with chicken after the 2 months and watch what happens. If the pains come back even after 1 meal, then I'd stay off chicken completely for 6 months, then try it again. If it still makes your stomach hurt, you might need to be off it for 1 year +.

A food allergy (unless you're born with it and it is severe) can often go away over time so long as you give your body a complete break from it.


Sorry, I'm trying not to be confusing, lol..

 

[Raspberry82]

This article explains it really clearly .

http://www.medicinenet.com/food_allergy/article.htm#reactions

 

[mouse_chalk]

Raspberry82 wrote:

Lol, sorry for the health nerd speak, hehe. I can sound like a text book sometimes . I eat pounds of lettuce, too. Salads are SO yummy! Sounds like you have a healthy diet, too!

Here's what I would do first (and in fact I've had to do this in the past to test allergies and if i had an allergic response).

Does your stomach hurt when you eat chicken broth or chicken eggs?

I always thought it was weird that people can be allergic to chicken eggs but not chicken itself! Our bodies are so bizarre sometimes .

Hmmm... definately not broth or eggs.... I have eaten both seperately recently (I love eggs! And the only kind I buy are organic free-range chicken eggs) and have been fine.... Saying that, the only chicken stock I have/eat is the powdered/cubed stuff... I've not tried the fresh stuff recently...

That just makes me weird I guess lol!

My diet is *reasonably* healthy, save for the occasional pizzas etc that I have- but that's maybe twice a fortnight at the most...

 

[mouse_chalk]

Thank you so much for that article!! It makes sense!

I'm going to stay well away from it for the time being, like you said.... It seems like a good plan and if I need to go to the doctors for anything else then I'll mention it then. Saves a visit for nothing and at least I'll have some proper info to give him to go on..... My doctor is so lovely but I just always feel like I'm bothering them and being a hypochondriac when I go lol...

I do wonder though, if it's going to be the same with turkey- I've not tried it or any other bird (apart from duck which was fine) since the whole problem started... I just don't know whether to eat it for Xmas dinner or to stick with beef lol!! Then again I guess the pain is short-lived, if unpleasant....


Sorry for posting all this! I guess that normally people would go to any other site relevant to the problem that they have lol, but I just trust RO so much more! :?

 

[Raspberry82]

Lol, no worries, I do that too on RO :biggrin2:. Sounds like a perfect plan to bring it up with your doc the next time you need to go in for something. I'd eat the turkey on x-mas and just watch for any reaction, then you'll know one way or the other .

 

[BethinIrving]

Dear, you need to see a doctor. You could have developed an ulcer and need meds that will make it heal.

Have you noticed anything else unusual? Is it always one particular place in your tummy that hurts? How soon after eating does it hurt? Does your tummy stop hurting after food passes by that spot? Do you break out in a sweat when your tummy hurts?

If your doctor dismisses complaints with any sort of "hypochondriac" idea or even makes you feel that way, it might be time for a change to another doc.

But please, Dear, see a doctor and get this taken care of. It's a treatable condition and you will feel much better knowing what it is, and getting treatment.

Tell your Doctor that Granny Beth said so...

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I was under the impression that Crohn's Disease CAN be hereditary. My dad has Crohn's Disease and his doctor told him it can be hereditary, and that a fairly high percent of people with Crohn's Disease have another family member with it. Also, the first sign with my dad that he had Crohn's Disease was what would happen to him when he ate chicken. Not trying to freak you out, just mentioning it! I'd imagine Crohn's doesn't necessarily hit you full force at once and different people are affected by it in different ways... In any case, going to the doctor is probably a good idea Take advantage of that free health care, woman :biggrin2:

 

[Raspberry82]

I read that Chrons Disease IS more common in relatives of people with IBS or Chrons, but they still do not know if there is a hereditary link for sure. People with a mutation of the gene NOD2 are more likely to be prone to Chrons, so this aspect may be hereditary.

An ulcer is possible. If it was an ulcer, I would think it would hurt/burn all the time when you ate, not just when you eat chicken . But again, I'm no doc and I think keeping a diary of what your doing, eating, etc when you feel that pain is a good idea so your doc will have more precise info and also how your "movements" are doing (your doc will want to know this). Chron's Disease is a form of ulceration in your gut due to your immune system attacking itself from the disease and causing inflammation and ulcer like formations in the lower gut and below. So it would be important to mention to your doc that your mom has Chrons if he doesn't know this already.

I forget you get free healthcare over there!

 

[Flashy]

I gained a good few intolerances over the past couple of years.

I wonder if maybe you have IBS or something bought on by the stress of your illness, and the food has become the trigger?

In terms of Crohns, that is actually hereditary, or at least has a hereditary element. It may be the early stages, but equally, it may be you have inherited a dodgy bowel (my brother has crohns and it is now looking like I might have iot too, and knowing he has it, my dad and his mum also have the same symptoms, but never got tests). And I wrote all that before I got to the bottom of the thread.

 

[Raspberry82]

What does your family do to treat it if you don't mind me asking? Medications from your doctor?

 

[mouse_chalk]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

I was under the impression that Crohn's Disease CAN be hereditary. My dad has Crohn's Disease and his doctor told him it can be hereditary, and that a fairly high percent of people with Crohn's Disease have another family member with it. Also, the first sign with my dad that he had Crohn's Disease was what would happen to him when he ate chicken. Not trying to freak you out, just mentioning it! I'd imagine Crohn's doesn't necessarily hit you full force at once and different people are affected by it in different ways... In any case, going to the doctor is probably a good idea Take advantage of that free health care, woman :biggrin2:

Eeeek! Lol.... :?

I do know that with my mum, her problems started in her late teens/twenties, and gradualy got worse, but she wasn't diagnosed properly until a few years ago. Ashamed to say I'm not sure exactly what medication she takes for it, although I know it's a whole lot. I also know how little she looks forward to her regular checkups lol..... :?


I think if I remember correctly that my Dad also has a bit of IBS, and my brother definately gets it. My brother is veggie so don't know about the chicken thing, and my dad eats chicken all the time no problems!

I have forgotten what everybody else said now lol, so I'll have to reply separately