Food Allergy Testing/igE

Hi. Me again! Wearing this forum out I think....

Food allergy testing. I am going for some blood tests for food allergy testing. In other posts I've mentioned I'm having coeliac reaction to a whole new range of non-gluten foods, and it's all a bit confusing.

Can anyone tell me if the igE blood test for allergies is the same as coeliac, i.e. you need to have the food in your diet to register any allergy reaction?

I asked this of the GP and they stated a small level of igE should register even if food not in diet for a while. I'm not convinced by that, and do not think it will be a valid allergy test in the absence of the food items being tested for.

Anyone had similar, or have any thoughts on this?

So, basically will a blood test accurately measure if you do/do not have an allergic response to a food it that food has not been in your diet for years.

Think I'm entirely sceptical when it comes to GPs and diet issues at this point.

[Penel]

Hi Mise

I’ve had the skin prick test for allergies but not the blood tests, so cannot give a definitive reply, but think the doctor may be right on this one.

Have you had a look at the Allergy website? It’s a very comprehensive site, so might be useful.

allergyuk.org

[Hidden in reply to Penel]

Hi Penel. No I had not visited that site. That's a useful link. Thank you.

[Suit]

I think IgE allergies have their peak around 6 weeks after eating a piece of the allergen, and then they begin to decline.

Ask them to run a diamine oxidase count too. That way you can rule out if your issues are connected to one kind of 'histamine intolerance' too.

[Hidden in reply to Suit]

Hi Suit. Thanks for that. Yes, it does seem a dubious route when foods not present in my diet for a long time. I will ask for the diamise oxidase, but think that will involve going back to GP rather than the nurse for the bloodtest. Will that work when the foods that might be causing an issue have not been in my diet for a long time?

[Suit in reply to Hidden]

I don't think diamine oxidase is dependent on the diet. It's being under debate now.

But if your count is low, then it's low no matter what you eat.

It's more dependent on nsaid and antidepressants, ppi, antibiotics and a few other medicines, but not food.

You could however eat some of your trigger foods to awaken your antibodies, and hope it'll be sufficient.

It's awful, I know.

[Hidden in reply to Suit]

Thanks Suit. Yes, I think a few days of the trigger foods before the test might be helpful. Give me a chance to indulge myself a bit - so pleasure/pain!

[jox1]

It depends what the test is. IgE in a standard blood test is not normally considered diagnostically useful in the sense that is non-specific. It's not even normally used as a screening test. However there are the skin prick tests which measure IgE in response to antigens - these are often debated for accuracy if you Google the issue.

My view is that most of this testing is problem ridden and not definitive. Better to do exclusion from diet to know what the problem is - sensitivities may be present rather than allergic reactions.

[Hidden in reply to jox1]

Thanks Jox1. Ye, it does feel a bit like just going through the motions with the test, rather than being provided with a positive route of investigation. To be, fair this has been ongoing for so long I really am at the point of telling GPs to just p'off and do some research before they shunt people to waste of time appointments and tests. Have had years of this nonsense and still no further forward.