Gluten / Wheat Sensitivity But No Wheat Allergy?

[sptx1]

OK....new forum member here with my first post!

I am a 41 y.o. male with a long, long history of symptoms that I am now believing have always related to wheat (gluten?) sensitivity and associated malabsorption. In summary, here are the highlights:

always a VERY skinny and underweight kid.....skinny arms and legs, bigger abdomen. Looking back, I was malnourished!

terrible allergies (severe eczema, dry skin, food allergies, hay fever, etc.) throughout childhood....weekly allergy shots for years, on steroids and powerful antihistimines for years, saw allergist monthly, special diets all the time as a little kid, etc.

frequent stomach aches as a child, and actually hospitalized for a week at age 13 due to mysterious chronic stomach ailment that caused severe pain, vomiting, etc. Many tests run at the time (1980?), but no diagnosis other than "stress" (but I don't recall being stressed!).

always anxious and irritable as a child....this sprialed downward by college and into adulthood into clinical depression, panic attacks, anxiety disorder, which continued in one form or another to the present

chronic sinusitus and allergic rhinitis, all of my life.

occasional "irritable bowel syndrome" over the years....i.e., a month of diarrhea, a month of constipation, then all "back to normal"

weird undiagnosed neurological symptoms (parasthesias, etc.) over the years

As I said, just a summary. I could go on and on. But, anyway, I began to suspect I had a "grain sensitivity" probably 10 years ago. Whenever I would drink beer, my sinuses would immediately close up. After a big spaghetti meal, I was wiped out. I was thinking wheat was the culprit. A few years ago, I gave up carbs as part of Atkins, and I really REALLY started feeling better. For whatever reason, I went back to them after a while.

OK, now the main point of my post.....I finally (a few years back) decided to visit an allergist, after not having seen one for 25 years. When tested, I was so highly allergic to EVERYTHING that they even called other doctors into the room to see my skin reactivity test to the various test!! They said not even allergy shots would help me. But guess what......the ONLY food that I was NOT allergic to was WHEAT!

Fast forward to today, and I again believe there is SOME sort of link with wheat. But, the doc said I'm not allergic to it. I eliminate it anyway (this month) and all sorts of wonderful things have happened! My skin has cleared up, I have stopped snoring, my sleep apnea is going away, and for once in my life I can breath out of my nose! My hair is even improved! Not only that, but I feel less "inflammed" (it's hard to describe), and have even eaten some foods recently that I am highly allergic to (normally), with NO reaction!

So.....my question is, what the heck is going on here?? I KNOW this isn't my imagination. I was told I had NO allergic reaction to wheat when tested, but when I give it up I feel so much better! It's true I have had some (well, a lot of, actually) questionable things occur in my past with my digestive tract that would make someone think of celiac, but I have also gone for LONG period with what seems like fairly normal digestion.

Whatever it is, I can't see going back to wheat (and barley, and rye). There is SOMETHING to all of this! Am I finally absorbing my nutrients? Was my gut inflammed due to wheat for years and years, so much so that I became "immune" to registering an allergic response to it? Just weird!

[aklap]

Hi SP,

Welcome to the board!

The docs probably have tested you for the wrong thing. Celiac Disease is not an allergy and thus can't be tested as such. Celiac Disease is a genetic autoimmune disease - not an allergy. The response your body puts forth in each are entirely different.

Do you know if you ever had testing done for CD? Before you get too far into being GF - see if your doctors will run a Complete Celiac Panel. This might turn up something a bit more.

It sounds like you are on the right track! Many of us have figured this out by trial and error.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[aklap]

Here's a link that explains the difference: http://www.glutenfreemd.com/wheat_allergy.htm
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa