What To Do For Allergies When Nothing Else Is Working?

[kiran]

I usually eat it with a full meal, with rice, OJ, milk, cream of tartar etc.
If it's the middle of the night, I might just do OJ, coke & milk, perhaps with a snack to neutralize all that liquid. If I'm outside I just drink the coke.

 

[Kray]

Commercial OJ is convenient but I find that freshly squeezed daily is better. I find it worth it to spend 30 mins daily to squeeze a few liters for the next day, I wouldn't go back to store orange juice.

Thanks jyb. This is very helpful. How much fresh OJ do you drink per day? I probably only have 1 glass since it's such a pain to use the juicer (for some reason I thought it had to be drunk right away after juicing... maybe I got that idea from the raw food people). And I don't have a car so it's hard to get a supply of all those oranges... I guess I'll have to order online in bulk. I tend to eat grapes, white sugar, berries, Coke for my sugars... not so much OJ. I stopped all commercial OJ as I get immediate severe allergies from 1 glass of it.

You could try upping the cypro. A higher dose at night (8, 12 ,16) and 1 mg every few hours during the day. Note that if you take a high dose, it's a lot of excipients but you can dissolve in water and filter. 4-8 mg daily of cypro corresponds to most of the benefits in studies (growth hormone, prolactin...) but higher doses might address additional problems.

Good idea I will try that. It did cross my mind the cypro excipients might be contributing to the allergies. When you dissolve it in water you just drink the water and not the white stuff? I don't do that with aspirin...are there excipients I should be worried about in aspirin?

The other disturbing thing is I think the cypro is making me gain weight (as it indicates on the label).

Have you tested every ingredients in your diet for allergy, starting with just 2-3 ingredients (milk, filtered and fresh OJ...) and adding? I used to have chronic nose congestion before Peating, and it can still happen when I eat something relatively safe but not 100% safe, so for me the relationship digestion/congestion is very clear. What I consider 100% safe are meat/dairy/eggs/filtered orange, basically 0 fiber whatsoever except carrot. I do ok with hydrolyzed gelatin too. Things like dates, grapes, chocolate, commercial ice cream...might be safe, but warrants an investigation to see if they cause problems and I don't really need them if I made enough orange juice.

I feel like I've tried so many different food combos to no avail... but no I haven't cut way back to just milk and OJ. I have stopped starches. The strange thing to me about all this is that I never reacted to any foods before I started on this diet. Now I react to even things that were never a problem before (eg. orange juice, even wine). Do you think it's because it's been a year now I haven't had PUFAs so my immune system is not as suppressed? My thyroid function is so much better than it was a year ago on a low T4 only dose.

If I were you I'd consider adding some cascara to carrot salad. I think its really useful even when there is no obvious signs of constipation and would apply to you since you have digestion related symptoms. Try it for 1 week, a generous dose with the carrot in the afternoon, enough so that the next day you need to go to restroom in the morning possibly more than once. That's the protocol I followed.

This is a good idea too. Is there a source for cascara that could be shipped to Canada? I haven't tried it as it sounded like people had a lot of trouble getting hold of it. But I would like to.

The cascara I've been using is this one: http://www.iherb.com/Nature-s-Way-Casca ... =null&ic=6

It does have silica in it, but it hasn't given me any problems. I take 1-2 per night with a full glass of water about 1 hr before bed. I haven't been able to find where to buy those brands mentioned by Peat and others. Hope this helps.

 

[ilovethesea]

I really don't want to give up my Progest-E Do you think just adding pregnenolone could help? I haven't been taking it as often lately as I don't have the purest form (Life extension brand). I used to take 200-400mg per day but never noticed it did anything.

Life Extension has been a good brand for me. Do you have the 100 mg version? If it doesn't hurt, I would use it, but it's just a guess.

Yes I have the 100mg. I'll give it another try. How much preg do you take?

 

[ilovethesea]

I order in bulk from online, once every week. I make 1-2L per day at the least, the more the better, and this can store for a day in the fridge without problem. I filter the pulp with a cheese cloth before storage.

I let cypro dissolve at room temp to remove the white powder at the bottom of the cup. For aspirin it's even more important because the impurities are worse (if we're using the same brands). For aspirin, better to use boiling water. I'm a bit cautious with aspirin, because it raises vit K requirements unless you're taking a baby dose, and so you need to find a suppl that doesn't cause problem etc. If I were you, I'd start over from scratch and wait before using aspirin.

Cypro has weight gain listed as side effect, but so far the only explanation I've seen is that it only does so by increasing appetite. I haven't gained any weight from it, that said I don't easily gain weight. For me the fact that it can raise appetite is a good thing, but I haven't noticed anything drastic.

Digestion troubles could be due to fruits, not just starches. Or even chocolate. If I didn't have access to as much OJ, I think I'd use dates, white rice, coke, maybe potato, possibly with cream of tartar (see Jenn's posts) supplemented to get as much potassium as I could have had with OJ.

Thanks for the tips. Question re: dissolving pills. I thought we were supposed to throw away the water and just swallow the powder at the bottom? Or is the reverse? See this thread, this is where I got the idea to consume the white powder: viewtopic.php?t=175&p=3023

 

[ilovethesea]

My coke consumption goes from 2x 200ml to 6x 200ml when my allergies flare up. It helps quite a bit!
I've had coke (chased by milk ofc) in the middle of the night a few times. Thankfully caffeine doesn't interfere with my sleep...

Oh wow that's a lot! Do you think it matters if it's regular Coke not Mexican?

I do buy this kind called Blue Sky which is the only real sugar cola I can find here... it's good but hard to find, so I wouldn't be able to drink 6 cans per day of it.

 

[ilovethesea]

The cascara I've been using is this one: http://www.iherb.com/Nature-s-Way-Casca ... =null&ic=6

It does have silica in it, but it hasn't given me any problems. I take 1-2 per night with a full glass of water about 1 hr before bed. I haven't been able to find where to buy those brands mentioned by Peat and others. Hope this helps.

Are you worried about the silica? viewtopic.php?f=56&t=1299

"…people taking supplements should be very careful to avoid anything with particles such as titanium dioxide or silica. […] And those things getting into the bloodstream trigger the stress hormones, and obesity is the least of the things they contribute to." - RP

I wonder if that would outweigh the benefits of the cascara. Have you noticed it made a big difference?

 

[Peata]

I've felt my nasal passages clear up dramatically from sugar, such as when eating candy (like Skittles) or just eating plain white sugar.

 

[kiran]

Oh wow that's a lot! Do you think it matters if it's regular Coke not Mexican?

How sensitive are you to HFCS?

 

[jyb]

It's the water in which the aspirin/cypro is dissolved that you want. The white powder is the starch/silica/talc etc.

 

[Blossom]

Commercial OJ is convenient but I find that freshly squeezed daily is better. I find it worth it to spend 30 mins daily to squeeze a few liters for the next day, I wouldn't go back to store orange juice.

Thanks jyb. This is very helpful. How much fresh OJ do you drink per day? I probably only have 1 glass since it's such a pain to use the juicer (for some reason I thought it had to be drunk right away after juicing... maybe I got that idea from the raw food people). And I don't have a car so it's hard to get a supply of all those oranges... I guess I'll have to order online in bulk. I tend to eat grapes, white sugar, berries, Coke for my sugars... not so much OJ. I stopped all commercial OJ as I get immediate severe allergies from 1 glass of it.

You could try upping the cypro. A higher dose at night (8, 12 ,16) and 1 mg every few hours during the day. Note that if you take a high dose, it's a lot of excipients but you can dissolve in water and filter. 4-8 mg daily of cypro corresponds to most of the benefits in studies (growth hormone, prolactin...) but higher doses might address additional problems.

Good idea I will try that. It did cross my mind the cypro excipients might be contributing to the allergies. When you dissolve it in water you just drink the water and not the white stuff? I don't do that with aspirin...are there excipients I should be worried about in aspirin?

The other disturbing thing is I think the cypro is making me gain weight (as it indicates on the label).

Have you tested every ingredients in your diet for allergy, starting with just 2-3 ingredients (milk, filtered and fresh OJ...) and adding? I used to have chronic nose congestion before Peating, and it can still happen when I eat something relatively safe but not 100% safe, so for me the relationship digestion/congestion is very clear. What I consider 100% safe are meat/dairy/eggs/filtered orange, basically 0 fiber whatsoever except carrot. I do ok with hydrolyzed gelatin too. Things like dates, grapes, chocolate, commercial ice cream...might be safe, but warrants an investigation to see if they cause problems and I don't really need them if I made enough orange juice.

I feel like I've tried so many different food combos to no avail... but no I haven't cut way back to just milk and OJ. I have stopped starches. The strange thing to me about all this is that I never reacted to any foods before I started on this diet. Now I react to even things that were never a problem before (eg. orange juice, even wine). Do you think it's because it's been a year now I haven't had PUFAs so my immune system is not as suppressed? My thyroid function is so much better than it was a year ago on a low T4 only dose.

If I were you I'd consider adding some cascara to carrot salad. I think its really useful even when there is no obvious signs of constipation and would apply to you since you have digestion related symptoms. Try it for 1 week, a generous dose with the carrot in the afternoon, enough so that the next day you need to go to restroom in the morning possibly more than once. That's the protocol I followed.

This is a good idea too. Is there a source for cascara that could be shipped to Canada? I haven't tried it as it sounded like people had a lot of trouble getting hold of it. But I would like to.

The cascara I've been using is this one: http://www.iherb.com/Nature-s-Way-Casca ... =null&ic=6

It does have silica in it, but it hasn't given me any problems. I take 1-2 per night with a full glass of water about 1 hr before bed. I haven't been able to find where to buy those brands mentioned by Peat and others. Hope this helps.

I'm wondering if wine may cause problems because of high histamine and it is also estrogenic? It could be that once our body experiences a break from a major onslaught of estrogenic substances when we do partake of something estrogenic especially something high in histamine as well, an intolerance reaction could just be our body trying to send us a message to avoid the offending substance. Food sensitivity is difficult to pinpoint at times simply because we eat a variety of foods each day. I personally quit drinking wine and beer because Peat has said they are both estrogenic and I didn't feel good if I drank either, even just one small serving. The only alcohol I rarely consume is vodka in OJ. I used to wonder why wine gave me a rash and now I think I understand why.

 

[Peata]

I have had histamine release at times when drinking red wine. I've also read it's estrogenic. Clear alcohol such as vodka, rum, supposed to be least estrogenic.

 

[Kray]

I have had histamine release at times when drinking red wine. I've also read it's estrogenic. Clear alcohol such as vodka, rum, supposed to be least estrogenic.

Good article re: wine in context
http://www.naturalnews.com/022739_wine_ ... icals.html

(His book) http://www.amazon.com/Cholesterol-amp-T ... ch+paradox

Not promoting wine per se, but like so many other things, moderation is key, and in the context of an enjoyable meal, giving thanks. :)

 

[ilovethesea]

I've felt my nasal passages clear up dramatically from sugar, such as when eating candy (like Skittles) or just eating plain white sugar.

I do eat a lot of sugar... haven't noticed this benefit though.

 

[ilovethesea]

Oh wow that's a lot! Do you think it matters if it's regular Coke not Mexican?

How sensitive are you to HFCS?

I have no idea. I don't think it causes allergy symptoms but like everything I'm not 100% sure. Are there any downsides other than that?

 

[ilovethesea]

It's the water in which the aspirin/cypro is dissolved that you want. The white powder is the starch/silica/talc etc.

Has anyone verified this with Big Papa? I ask because the thread I linked to former commenter Peatarian saying this, had corresponded with him for years... so I do trust her recommendations. I don't think she could get that wrong? She said she rinsed out the water 3 times and just ate the powder.

 

[ilovethesea]

I'm wondering if wine may cause problems because of high histamine and it is also estrogenic? It could be that once our body experiences a break from a major onslaught of estrogenic substances when we do partake of something estrogenic especially something high in histamine as well, an intolerance reaction could just be our body trying to send us a message to avoid the offending substance. Food sensitivity is difficult to pinpoint at times simply because we eat a variety of foods each day. I personally quit drinking wine and beer because Peat has said they are both estrogenic and I didn't feel good if I drank either, even just one small serving. The only alcohol I rarely consume is vodka in OJ. I used to wonder why wine gave me a rash and now I think I understand why.

I don't drink wine, it was just an observation that it used to be ok and now it is not. I've had it maybe once or twice in 12 months. I drank it a lot more regularly before and it was fine. The handful of times I've had it after doing the Ray Peat diet, I've had a runny nose all the next day.

 

[Blossom]

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood. I thought maybe you were having it on a regular basis. Hopefully with everyone's input you will find some things that help! I tried just 1 mg cyproheptadine today during the daytime and have found that it was helpful and not too sedating. I might go back to 4mg at night and 1-2mg during the day and see how that works for allergies. I have enjoyed everyone's input on this topic immensely! I do think you are on to a good idea with optimizing thyroid. Everything seems to work better when the thyroid function is good! Keep us posted on your situation.

 

[kiran]

Oh wow that's a lot! Do you think it matters if it's regular Coke not Mexican?

How sensitive are you to HFCS?

I have no idea. I don't think it causes allergy symptoms but like everything I'm not 100% sure. Are there any downsides other than that?

Well, there's only one way to find out.
You might get some estrogens from the plastic bottle too.
I do know that both the HFCS and the plastic bottle don't work very well for me overall.
It's also possible that I tend to drink more from the plastic bottle than the glass bottle and end up overdoing it. (plastic bottles are much bigger here)

 

[jyb]

Has anyone verified this with Big Papa? I ask because the thread I linked to former commenter Peatarian saying this, had corresponded with him for years... so I do trust her recommendations. I don't think she could get that wrong? She said she rinsed out the water 3 times and just ate the powder.

I believe you must have confused. Show me a precise reference so we know why.

 

[Kray]

Commercial OJ is convenient but I find that freshly squeezed daily is better. I find it worth it to spend 30 mins daily to squeeze a few liters for the next day, I wouldn't go back to store orange juice.

You could try upping the cypro. A higher dose at night (8, 12 ,16) and 1 mg every few hours during the day. Note that if you take a high dose, it's a lot of excipients but you can dissolve in water and filter. 4-8 mg daily of cypro corresponds to most of the benefits in studies (growth hormone, prolactin...) but higher doses might address additional problems.

Have you tested every ingredients in your diet for allergy, starting with just 2-3 ingredients (milk, filtered and fresh OJ...) and adding? I used to have chronic nose congestion before Peating, and it can still happen when I eat something relatively safe but not 100% safe, so for me the relationship digestion/congestion is very clear. What I consider 100% safe are meat/dairy/eggs/filtered orange, basically 0 fiber whatsoever except carrot. I do ok with hydrolyzed gelatin too. Things like dates, grapes, chocolate, commercial ice cream...might be safe, but warrants an investigation to see if they cause problems and I don't really need them if I made enough orange juice.

If I were you I'd consider adding some cascara to carrot salad. I think its really useful even when there is no obvious signs of constipation and would apply to you since you have digestion related symptoms. Try it for 1 week, a generous dose with the carrot in the afternoon, enough so that the next day you need to go to restroom in the morning possibly more than once. That's the protocol I followed.

I've been looking on the forum for anything about orange (juice) sensitivity. I know there are problems with the pulp-free commercial but other than that, can oranges be an issue for people under the "citrus" category? I have been having commerical, good quality (non chemical de-pulped) organic oj daily and have developed eczema. On average, I drink about 1-2 cups per day (not much by peat standards), usually consumed in some amount everyday. I have omitted some foods and brought them back when they didn't seem to make things better, but I haven't considered oj yet.

Just how important is oj in the diet? What else could I be eating/drinking/supplementing with that would be a good substitute if oj isn't the thing for me? Alternatively, if I would juice my own and remove most of the pulp, do you think it's as likely to cause problems? Or, what about eating the whole orange-- too much unnecessary fiber?

Thanks for any insights.