allergy question

[Guest guest]

I suffered much the same way with allegories. If fact, before this diet, I

was sick 3-4 weeks a year with bad sinus infections that followed allergy

bouts.

I'm pleased to report there practically gone. In fact, after spending 2-3

hours outside this summer during a day that our city set a world record for

pollen infestation, I got bad sneezes for about 4 hours but woke up the next

morning just fine.

What I think worked for me was:

(1) Time on the diet. It took a good year for some of the immune build-up to

work.

(2) Taking care of sinuses: Saline spray, limiting exposure to dry, dusty

air (i.e. air conditioning, a true evil in my book).

(3) Supplements: I can only afford to take half/third daily doses, so it

took 6-8 months before I really noticed a big change.

(4) Regular Exercise

(5) Stress - life management. Nothing kills the immune system like stress.

But 2 1/2 years later, it really has made a huge difference.

For me, the cycle was like this. First, my immune system over-responded

repeatedly to allergens, making me feel sick. Then, weakened, I would then

actually get sick from the next virus I ran into.

Allergy cycles are pretty individual, so take time to figure out how yours

works, experiment and give stuff time to work.

stephen

www.xiveren.com

" There is no band and yet we hear a band "

Mulholland Drive (that's where I was going).

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks, this helps.

I'm new to the diet & actually wondered if making the change over is part of

why I feel so ragged. And the stress thing has been a real problem this

year - am trying to work on that.

RE: Allergy Question

I suffered much the same way with allegories. If fact, before this diet, I

was sick 3-4 weeks a year with bad sinus infections that followed allergy

bouts.

I'm pleased to report there practically gone. In fact, after spending 2-3

hours outside this summer during a day that our city set a world record

for

pollen infestation, I got bad sneezes for about 4 hours but woke up the

next

morning just fine.

What I think worked for me was:

(1) Time on the diet. It took a good year for some of the immune build-up

to

work.

(2) Taking care of sinuses: Saline spray, limiting exposure to dry, dusty

air (i.e. air conditioning, a true evil in my book).

(3) Supplements: I can only afford to take half/third daily doses, so it

took 6-8 months before I really noticed a big change.

(4) Regular Exercise

(5) Stress - life management. Nothing kills the immune system like stress.

But 2 1/2 years later, it really has made a huge difference.

For me, the cycle was like this. First, my immune system over-responded

repeatedly to allergens, making me feel sick. Then, weakened, I would then

actually get sick from the next virus I ran into.

Allergy cycles are pretty individual, so take time to figure out how yours

works, experiment and give stuff time to work.

stephen

www.xiveren.com

" There is no band and yet we hear a band "

Mulholland Drive (that's where I was going).

[Guest guest]

I have to add to that list below - a very underrated, overlooked basic in

life - GOOD SLEEP!

Love,

JK

RE: Allergy Question

I suffered much the same way with allegories. If fact, before this diet, I

was sick 3-4 weeks a year with bad sinus infections that followed allergy

bouts.

I'm pleased to report there practically gone. In fact, after spending 2-3

hours outside this summer during a day that our city set a world record for

pollen infestation, I got bad sneezes for about 4 hours but woke up the next

morning just fine.

What I think worked for me was:

(1) Time on the diet. It took a good year for some of the immune build-up to

work.

(2) Taking care of sinuses: Saline spray, limiting exposure to dry, dusty

air (i.e. air conditioning, a true evil in my book).

(3) Supplements: I can only afford to take half/third daily doses, so it

took 6-8 months before I really noticed a big change.

(4) Regular Exercise

(5) Stress - life management. Nothing kills the immune system like stress.

But 2 1/2 years later, it really has made a huge difference.

For me, the cycle was like this. First, my immune system over-responded

repeatedly to allergens, making me feel sick. Then, weakened, I would then

actually get sick from the next virus I ran into.

Allergy cycles are pretty individual, so take time to figure out how yours

works, experiment and give stuff time to work.

stephen

www.xiveren.com

" There is no band and yet we hear a band "

Mulholland Drive (that's where I was going).

[Guest guest]

I was doing some reading. Can seasonal allergies really tighten up

your band? Could this be why mine got tight all of a sudden? I

really do suffer from spring allergies and they've been wicked

already. It is just so weird knowing that my band has slipped and

that the pouch is dialated, and I follow every single band rule. I am

a model for it according to my friends.

BTW, does anyone want to see a pic of what it looks like on the

fluro? The doc gave it to me.

[Guest guest]

, Thanks for your note below too. I think you'll be back on track soon,

and that your dilation is not a major problem. Yes, I'd like to see a picture of

the dilation and will post it (no names, of course) here if possible.

Re allergies causing the band to feel tight - YES !! There are people on every

board having band trouble with allergies and allergy medication. but this is not

a reason for a dilation.

A couple things are going on with allergies - first, the thick mucous can clog

up the stoma, especially at night and first thing in the morning. It may be

actually irritating the stoma itself and causing swelling, but i don't know that

for sure.

Then, allergy meds are very dehydrating, and we know dehydration causes stoma

swelling. We need a lot more, even, than the 80-100 oz a day of fluids Bandsters

normally need.

Then, some people may also forget that all meds need to be smaller than an

aspirin (liquid, cut up, tiny capsules) to safely get thru the stoma without

damage. If they don't. this can cause further trouble.

For those suffering with allergies, I think the solution is to get onto a good

small allergy med, take it safely, and drink a LOT of extra fluids to avoid

dehydration. This may be a time when we need softer foods for awhile too. , and

extra care re portions and total calories.

Sandy r

>

> I was doing some reading. Can seasonal allergies really tighten up

> your band? Could this be why mine got tight all of a sudden? I

> really do suffer from spring allergies and they've been wicked

> already. It is just so weird knowing that my band has slipped and

> that the pouch is dialated, and I follow every single band rule. I am

> a model for it according to my friends.

> BTW, does anyone want to see a pic of what it looks like on the

> fluro? The doc gave it to me.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've got lots of fluoro pix and videos of mine. Put them in the pix

section of the website if you've not done so already.

As to allergies, sure. ANYTHING can affect it. And if you're taking

antihistamines, that'll do it (at least it does for me, nothing is

universal). When you're taking antihistamines you definitely need to

drink more than usual. And, if you're allergies produce sinus

drainage that can make a BIG difference, again at least for me.

dan

Sunday, April 26, 2009, 10:36:32 AM, you wrote:

> I was doing some reading. Can seasonal allergies really tighten up

> your band? Could this be why mine got tight all of a sudden? I

--

" It's OK to be a little broken, everybody's broken in this life " Jon Bon Jovi

Dan Lester, Boise, Idaho, USA www.riverofdata.com/lapband

Banded 4/27/03, Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana

Started at 355, at goal in the 210-220 range for almost 4 years

Ultimate goal of 195 Tummytuck in Boise and SmartLipo in Tijuana

[Guest guest]

In my experience, RAST testing has a higher number of false positives and

negatives than skin testing. But....I have also had a lot of personal and

family experience with food and drug allergies causing skin problems, and

there is usually some type of rash.

Does your daughter's itching come when she has experienced temperature

change? Is she hot, or cold? Did she come in contact with water?

Believe it or not, these can be triggers for itching for some people. It

can be cholinergic urticaria (urticaria=hives), or physical urticaria, and

can be the problem even if there is no visible rash. I think the

treatment is avoidance of triggers plus antihistamines, so the

antihistamines should help her itching regardless of the cause.

Personally, I found that Zyrtec helped better than Claritin for the

itching (medications and foods both cause itchy rashes for me), but you

should figure out which one works best for your daughter.

http://allergies.about.com/od/skinallergies/a/pruritus.htm

http://allergies.about.com/od/urticariahives/a/dermatographism.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholinergic_urticaria

I am not a doctor, and am not telling you what to do, but hopefully, you

are exploring all options. Itching is not fun!

Mindy, mom to seven with allergies and asthma

> My daughter who is now 3 had a blood test done for both environmental

and

> food allergies about a year ago. The only things that came back with

mild

> to moderate findings were dairy, wheat and egg. No environmental

allergies. We just went to the allergist a couple of weeks ago, mostly

because my daughter constantly itches without a rash (liver function

tests

> were normal). The allergist we saw was confident that food allergies

(or

> other allergies) were not causing the itching because she had no rash

with

> it. After begging to get a skin test for the above 3, the allergist

agreed

> and all 3 came back negative (which I was happy about!).

> We are still in the midst of trying to get to the root cause of what is

going on with her. I recently told my pediatrician after a bout with

the

> croup that my daughter frequently has nighttime stridor. Because of

this

> and a year that has been filled with (confirmed) infectious sinusitis

and

> now her (4th) CT scan this year shows no active infection but mucosal

thickening, my doc wants her to get environmental allergy tests done and

put her on Claritin and a nasal spray. So my question: If her blood

test

> (RAST) was negative to environmental allergens, won't her skin tests

come

> back negative as well? I am so at the end of my rope I could scream. I

still need to talk to my doctor but thru my husband (who had spoken with

her yesterday), it sounds like she had talked with the ID doctor and

they

> want to try Claritin with her and go down the allergy route. My

daughter

> is ill every other week and while I'm not inherently opposed to

Claritin,

> it seems a bit simplistic given the daunting complexity we have been

facing for so long.

> Thanks for the space to vent and any feedback you have

>