My Experience with a Food Sensitivity Test

One day a rash popped up on my hand and so my journey began to get to the bottom of what was causing it;  TLDR  a food sensitivity test gave me some answers.  Had I taken the test sooner I might have gotten some clarity sooner.  I hope this answers questions you may have or helps you decide if this is something you’d like to do.  I didn’t even know a test like this existed for a very long time.

This is a long, rambling post. I’m not a doctor and won’t be dishing out any advice.  This is only my experience and my opinion…definitely consult your doctor.  

Rash, Rash go Away

I never had skin issues growing up. Even when I was in high school I felt thankful that I wasn’t one of those teens that had to worry about acne, trust me, I had plenty of other things to worry about.

My skincare life changed when I got a rash on my hand out of the blue in my early 30’s.  I was in a pretty stressful job, working long hours and put off going to the doctor. The rash festered and festered and spread all over my entire body.  

I saw a dermatologist who was not good, but he was the only one that could see me immediately.  He took a biopsy, gave me some prednisone (that’s how bad it was) and a topical.  The biopsy came back and he told me I had Eczema and to stay away from all unscented things.  But when I stopped using scented things the rash never disappeared.  I finally got in to see a recommended dermatologist who got the full rash under control, to a manageable point but it never fully disappeared from my hands.  I found myself treating what I knew was a symptom, and not the underlying cause.

When I left that job and moved to NYC I saw countless dermatologists and allergists.  Tests would come back that I was allergic to things, but none of them were contributing to this mysterious rash.  NYC was where a doctor recommended I go on an elimination diet to see if food was causing the reaction.  While I wanted the rash to go away, I didn’t want to play guinea pig with basically eliminating all foods.  I knew I didn’t have the patience for that, so I ignored the advice.

The Beginning of the End

After moving back to Chicago I decided it was time to get to the bottom of this chronic annoyance.  At this point, I had been on and off topicals for 6 years and knew I didn’t want to live like that for the rest of my life.  I waited months for an appointment and saw a highly regarded allergist.  

We did extensive testing and discovered new allergies.  I eliminated everything that I was allergic to but still the rash persisted.  At this point he said it was probably something I was ingesting.  

Shortly after I eliminated the new allergies I got a very severe rash on my face that wouldn’t go away.  My dermatologist put me on a rigorous medication cocktail so that my face was clear for my wedding.  It worked, but it wasn’t something that would be healthy for me to maintain for the rest of my life.  I felt frustrated and hopeless.

I was speaking with a colleague about my frustrations and she was telling me about her food intolerances.  She wasn’t allergic but she did have sensitivities.  She told me about a blood test she took in a doctor’s office that told her exactly what she was sensitive to.  This sounded like it might finally be the answer for me.  It took me about 2 years to take the test, only once I felt like I had exhausted all other possibilities.  My issues were getting worse instead of better so I didn’t know what else to do.  

The Testing Experience

I had been tested for standard allergies (gluten, nuts, etc.) by my primary care physician, but all came back negative.  However those tests were only for allergies, not sensitivities.  I assumed I didn’t have allergies because I didn’t experience stomach issues or have immediate reactions.  But that didn’t necessarily mean I wasn’t sensitive to something.

The doctor’s office my colleague went to specialized in functional medicine.  I decided to go to the same place since she had a good experience getting to the bottom of her issues.  It’s a local chain in Chicago with multiple locations.  I liked certain things about the place and some things I didn’t, but overall I got what I needed.

I took the first available appointment and had to answer a long medical history questionnaire prior to my arrival.  When I met with the doctor we reviewed all my answers and he asked questions if he needed more detail.  This was my first weird moment…the doctor, whom I assumed would be an MD specializing in functional health, was a chiropractor.  That was a lesson I learned, I should always check credentials prior to seeing a doctor (rookie mistake).  He had a great bedside manner and seemed very knowledgeable, but there’s something about trusting your overall health with someone who generally deals with back issues…

At the end of the appointment he recommended a food sensitivity test and explained the differences in the available tests and pricing options to me.  Basically there were two testing companies I could select from, one that tested only food and the other also tested chemicals, additives and mold.  Each company offered varying levels depending on how many items you wanted to test and each level increased the cost.  Since my insurance wouldn’t cover the test (they covered the basic blood panel and previous allergy tests, but not sensitivity tests) I decided to go with only food and the lowest amount of items from US Biotek, which I paid $595 for.  My thought was I would find something on that test and if I didn’t then it would be back to the drawing board.

The Results

The test itself took no time, about 15 minutes.  It’s a basic blood test but with quite a few vials.  I made an appointment for 3 weeks after which is when the doctor said the results would be back.  When I came in for the results we reviewed my regular blood panel first which was more detailed than usual.  We went through typical things you normally see like vitamin levels, but also things I hadn’t discussed before like Sed Rate which measures inflammation in the body (my came back high, no surprise there.)

Then we moved on to the Food Sensitivity Test which I think is really called a FoodStats Antibody Assessment.  My doctor told me to really focus on moderate and high reaction foods.  His advice to me was to NEVER eat anything in the high range and to eat in moderation items in the moderate range, meaning once every 4 days.  The good news is that items did come back with reactions (so I felt like I had my answer), bad news is I really liked the food I was sensitive to.  If I abided by this it would be a lifestyle change for sure, and change is scary.  I wasn’t really sure what I should do with my newfound information.

The end of the appointment we reviewed supplements he recommended based on my initial blood panel results.  It all seemed legit…it did seem like a lot of pills and I told him that wasn’t realistic for me.  When I went to pay my copay my second weird moment happened…they sold supplements.  It could be cutting out the middleman or just more efficient for patients, but it felt odd to me.

After my results came in I was in denial for a few weeks and just went about my life.  However, after some thought I decided I should at least see if eliminating those foods would clear up the rash. 

I think the doctor said to go for like 3 months without eating the reaction foods to see if the rash cleared up but that seemed like a really long time to me.  The food on the list that gave me the highest reaction was cow’s milk, meaning no cheese, no butter, etc.  In my own personal research it looked like it could take up to 3 weeks for it to get out of your system so that’s what I decided to do…cut out my high and moderate foods for 3 weeks and see if I could tell a difference.  And what do you know…the rash got better.  It got significantly better, but it didn’t disappear entirely.

The Aftermath

Once the rash had drastically reduced for a few weeks I went into the reintroduction phase, where you start adding foods back in, one at a time, to see what you have a reaction to.  I read to add a food back in and make sure to eat it consistently.  If no reaction then add something else back in, if a reaction does occur then eliminate it again.  In adding some moderate items back in I didn’t notice a reaction and that made me happy, but others I did notice a reaction. 

The tricky thing about it is that the rash came about 3 days later and takes over a week to go away so it can be a long drawn out process for me personally.  I’m now at a point where I’m experimenting with seeing if I can eat some of those foods I noticed a reaction with in low doses and see how I feel.  It’s definitely a practice in patience and something that can feel overwhelming and frustrating.  I’ve added in some supplements to my routine that I’ve read can strengthen your gut lining and potentially reduce reactions.

Takeaway

Overall I’m really happy I took the test.  Yes it’s a lot of money and it’s annoying that insurance doesn’t cover it but it really gave me focus on where to go for an elimination diet, which is ultimately what the doctor’s were ordering me to do.  In hindsight, since my rash didn’t totally go away, it might have been worth it to go for one of the more expensive tests that include more food items.  Or maybe now that I’ve become more disciplined I could try a total elimination diet.

While I haven’t yet found a “cure” (trust me I’m still looking, hopefully these supplements help), knowledge is power.  I like knowing that I get to make an educated choice if I decide that something is worth the rash and potentially the topical that I may need down the road.  A cracker is not worth it, a cupcake…DEFINITELY!

Any advice for getting over a dairy sensitivity (cow’s milk, not lactose)?  If so, drop a note in the comments below, I’m on a mission to eat pizza to my heart’s content.  In the meantime, I’ll be busy over here making my homemade almond milk which is so delicious I was making it long before I knew dairy didn’t like me.