Increased food allergies due to lazy adrenal glands?

[wendyanne49]

Hi

Has anybody else experienced a sudden increased allergy to foods you’ve eaten/ drunk all your life and are wondering why?

I’m wondering if my very lazy, hardly working after 8 years of steroids , adrenal glands are responsible for my sudden food allergies.

Dried apricots, chocolate, concentrated orange juice all gave me a pretty nasty oral allergy within the last month. I was using the apricots to increase my iron as have been diagnosed as very anemic( poor iron absorption not anything else). The orange juice( from concentrate) I was taking with the iron to help absorption) and the chocolate? Well- because I do 😂

My rheumatologist has kept me on a dose of 5 mgs of Prednisilone to keep my aches and pains under control. Have tried many times to get below this amount but it doesn’t work. My cortisol levels are low and she did have the option of hydrocortisone but decided in my case, a maintenance dose of 5mgs was best for now.

I’ve booked in for an allergy test but that will take some time to happen. In the meantime I’m avoiding suspect foods but keep getting caught out ( chocolate was a surprise!) Sulphites could be the culprit. Present in all of my allergy foods.

But I’m interested in why now? Any help or advice would be really appreciated.

My diet is becoming very safe and bland 🤣

[PMRpro Ambassador]

i doubt you can blame the adrenal insufficiency resulting from corticosteroid therapy for allergies manifesting - whatever the world woo says about adrenal fatigue (doesn't exist) being a cause of allergies.

What is a lot more likely is that you developed allergies because your immune system is haywire in the autoimmune side of PMR and at higher doses the pred suppressed the allergic reactions. There are several of us with similar problems.

I had developed allergies about the same time as the PMR appeared - and nothing at all to do with pred suppressing my adrenal function as I didn't get any pred for 5 years. While on high enough pred I can eat wheat products without problems - by just below 10mg it is starting to cause the itching but not the rash.

[wendyanne49 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks, your reply makes sense. Hopefully an allergy test will help sort the problem

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to wendyanne49]

Don't build your hopes up too far - the immunologist said she could test me for years for one rather unpleasant allergic reaction I used to have and not find anything, there were so many things it might be! But taking an antihstamine in the circumstances in which this typical food allergy occured sorted it!

It may well subside with time so fingers crossed!

[wendyanne49 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for your reply 👍

[DAN38655]

I find that fasting away a pound or two reduces any bad reactions from various foods.

Increasing one's prednisone dosage slightly should have about the same effect, but may quickly drive weight upwards to where allergic food reactions recur.

I'm at zero pred these last couple of months, so my only control mechanism now is to adjust my weight slightly in order to prevent any pmr symptoms or food reactions from returning.

I can achieve relief within one day just by reducing my caloric intake relative to my exercise/activity level.

Tendencies for the occurrence of inflammatory pmr symptoms and food allergies are both closely related, and should respond similarly to small reductions of caloric intake or slight increases in prednisone dosage.

[Hidden]

I also developed several food allergies when I got down to 7mg of Prednislone and it was put down to adrenal insufficiency because when I had to increase my dose again to 8.5mg they slowly disappeared again.

[wendyanne49 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks. I’m nervous when I eat now in case I have a reaction. I’ve asked my GP for his take on what’s happening so for now, my new best friends are anti histamine tablets 😂

[Floridafan]

I get a burning tongue when I eat dried fruit which I never had before PMR so I just stopped eating it. I had never considered it could be an allergy before you mentioned it….interesting 🤔

[wendyanne49 in reply to Floridafan]

Hi. Thanks for your input. It’s all interesting isn’t it. Stay safe and well.

[Meggsy]

I began reacting to certain foods when I reached 6 mg. I have assumed it is a histamine intolerance as avoiding high histamine foods has helped. I also developed pressure urticaria. Just hoping it will one day go away. 🙏