Really?!? No food allergies, huh?

Round two of The Forced Allergy Experiment took place this morning with about 48 more pricks in the back. I tested positive for the mold with the interdermal tests (more sensitive). But I did not test positive for any food items.

Now I'm at a fork in the road. I was kind of hoping we'd find a food allergen that was causing stomach problems and we could rule out IBS. I was just not looking forward to another chronic and misunderstood illness. With food allergies you can explain them away pretty easily. It's harder telling someone that your bowels don't like to color inside the lines.

But I guess the food allergy...or should I say food intolerance...experiment is not really over. There is a difference between food allergies and food intolerances. The symptoms are different and seeing as I've rarely had a wheezing fit over food (other than curry, which I don't think they tested), it shouldn't be a shock that I don't have a food allergy. In fact, very few people have true food allergies.

Food allergies cause:

• Rash or hives
• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Diarrhea
• Itchy skin
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Swelling of the airways to the lungs
• Anaphylaxis

Food intolerance causes:

• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Gas, cramps or bloating
• Vomiting
• Heartburn
• Diarrhea
• Headaches
• Irritability or nervousness

And maybe since the IBS symptoms are so akin to food intolerance symptoms, I may never know. What an discomforting thought.

In any event, the experiment is over. I was put on a new daily inhaler for my asthma and Singulair in addition to Allegra for good. We'll see how this works out. But in the meantime, my stomach rages on.