Has anyone had a recent experience of 'intolerance testing'... York Test? or others?
I'm happy to 'throw' my money away and try a recommendation if there is a slim chance of relief and useful knowledge.
I cannot find out if they are a con and a waste of time / money.
Thank you in advance, L.
Personally, I would ask my GP or GI team what they thought of these tests, and I would go along with their thoughts, after all they are the one you have put your trust in.
Thanks for replying. That's the issue! I have no trust or confidence in my GP. I have been told many times that it's just IBS, there are people out there worse than me and to just get on with it and to learn to live with it. My life has drastically changed over the past year, for the worse and I'll happy to try anything to try to make it better.
Have you had a calprotectin test? Have you been referred to a GI consultant? If not, ask your GP how can he be so sure, and then demand a referral, in writing, if necessary. Sometimes doctors do need a gentle nudge to make them work properly.
Yep, had all the tests at the end of last year. All the bloods, all the fecal and colonoscopy with 12 biopsies... all clear.
I have been wondering the same thing. I've had mixed reviews but lots of people have said it has identified their worst trigger food/intollerance. I'll follow this thread with hope. I too am willing to do anything to find an answer.
Are you talking about one of the over the counter food intolerance tests? If so I recently did one, mine was through Everly Well.
I've no product or company in mind. I gladly take all and any recommendations. I only mentioned York in my original post because I noticed this company mentioned in another post from some time ago.
Ok! I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track. 😄 I think it was worth the while. The test was simple enough to do, with clear cut instructions. I had to do a finger prick and put a few drops of blood on a card. The test results were ready quickly and were laid out in an easy to read format. They were separated into the categories high sensitivity, moderate sensitivity, and low. What was nice is that each food they test for (which is a lot) is laid out separately. If you click on it it will tell you what other foods/drinks you should consider avoiding if you tested high or moderate for that particular food. I tested high for things that I never even thought of...like clams. It also further supported foods that I thought were bothersome to me.
Have you had any positive results from cutting out or limiting the 'high' foods. Do you think that it has made a difference to your health?
Yes! I have less pain and more normal bowel movements. With that being said it has cut down on some of the anxieties of wondering what the next hours and day would be like stomach wise.
That's great to hear! I'm seriously considering it. At the moment, I feel that everything I eat is making me 'ill' 🤢
I am in same boat was thinking of doing the test but not sure if complete waste of money.
That has been my worry, but I'm willing to try anything.
Don’t waste your money. I did the York test years ago and wish I hadn’t bothered. The only tests you can do for intolerance that are valid are for dairy and gluten which you can have done for free on the NHS. There are no tests to prove intolerance for any other food stuffs the only way to find out is through elimination. I have done the fodmap diet which helped with bloating by cutting out certain natural sugars. I’ve also done a low chemical diet (eating naturally and excluding food with high natural chemicals called salicylates) If you’d like some more information on this please message me.
slhd.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy...
Any information you can pass on that could possibly help would be gratefully received 🙏
What are your symptoms?
I hope you don't mind me doing a copy and paste. This is what I posted early this week.....
I've been struggling both physically and mentally since July 19.
I became unwell very quickly, basically overnight, with diahorea, nausea, discomfort and pain (right abdomen area / under ribcage). In total I have lost 22kg in weight.
My BM type and quantity varies day to day, it's like a lottery (not the one I wanted to win) as I never know what's coming next! Some day's I can have a BM 2 - 3 times and some day's, I can spend the entire day running back and forth to the toilet.
I can need a BM very quickly. On a scale of 1 - 10, where 10 is I have to be sat on the toilet, I can reach 10 very quickly with very little notice.
My stomach sounds like it's constantly talking (sometimes shouting) to me... the rumbles and noises are obscene!
You can see what I believe is my intestines moving like a snake... twisting and turning! It scared the hell out of me the first time it happened. My doctor just said that it can happen... end of! No explanation.
I feel I'm constantly thinking and worrying what's going to happen next. I'm constantly worrying about where is the nearest toilet? What am I going to do if I need the toilet and and cannot find one? I worry about what I'm eating? and being honest, sometimes it's easier for me skip meals or only eat a small amount if I'm not at home.
I want to be able to take a 'magic pill' to cure me which I know doesn't exit.
I don't feel I have good communication with my doctor and I honestly feel that she thinks I'm waisting her time. I've been told that she believes that I have IBS and that there are many more people out there that have far worse symptoms than me! I know that there are people suffering more than me, but I don't see how that statement is meant to help me feel better mentally and physically or help me deal with the issues I'm facing.
I get upset when taking about this to my doctor and I don't know why? It could be my embarrassment I suppose? My doctor is the only doctor in the practice so I don't have the option of making appointments with someone else.
I also struggle to get family and friends to understand what I'm going through, both physically and mentally. I've said in the past to people, unless you have experienced what I am experiencing, you have no idea what is going on. I try to explain but sometimes I don't think I'm communicating or expressing myself correctly?
I had all the blood and fecal tests possible which came back normal. I've had a colonoscopy with 12 biopsies taken, which all came back normal.
I wouldn't accept the IBS diagnosis initially, but over time I have come to accept it. I have periods where I'm positive even though I'm 'ill' but other periods where I feel I'm in a dark place with it all. I honestly don't feel that I'm suffering with depression but when I feel 'dark', I find the constant symptoms hard to deal with and I become quite upset and negative.
That sounds horrendous! Can you register at a different medical practice? Have you seen a consultant or did the GP just send you for tests? Did you have food poisoning or something that may have triggered your problems? Have you tried any probiotics like Symprove? There’s a book called Gut - the inside story by Giulia Enders which might be helpful. Your gut is clearly very upset but medicine doesn’t have all the answers as they still don’t understand everything but the book explains what they do know. It might be worth you paying for a private consultation with a gastroenterologist if you haven’t already seen one?
i had similar for 18 years anc what worked for me was:
following a fodmap type plan eliminating foods that irritated ( chilli, onions, wheat etc). food diary can help to identify foods that are problematic
using glutamine to repair my gut
using pro bio7 probiotics as i read a study about strains that reduce gas and bloating and these contained those strains
using digestive enzymes at most meals
chia seeds to bulk me up
therapy for emotional stress
lots of water and veg that i can tolerate
good luck! xxx
My daughter did the York test and then followed the dietary recommendations. She quickly became IBS free for two years. However, the symptoms did return although they are not as bad. It's really expensive and you can follow an exclusion diet for free. If you can afford it it's worth a try. However, I'd also recommend hypnotherapy which is also expensive, but there is a lot more evidence that it improves IBS symptoms . After hypnotherapy my daughter's symptoms have really improved.
Thank you for your reply. I feel at the minute I have nothing to loose and if I can gain some insight into what I keep on reacting to (maybe hidden?) which makes make me ill, it will make the cost worth it.
Honestly this changed my life. For me it really did work. I found out about dairy and egg and gluten and it didn't get rid of my stomach issues but I went from over 20 bouts of diarrhea a day and losing over 20kg to at least being able to eat. Without it tbh I would have confined to lose weight and I dread to think what would have happened. I got down to 6 stone so quickly that if I wouldn't have done this test and identified my intolerance which literally got me hospitalised for a week, I wouldn't be here. Everyone's different. It depends on how severe your symptoms are. I was desperate and maybe they aren't totally accurate but for me it picked up on something that everyone else missed and I'd spend the money again in a heafy beat for what it did for me. I haven't touched anything I'm intolerant to for two years and I'm never going back to how bad it got. I have colitis and endo etc... But yeah. Anything I could do to help myself I did it. I had no choice in the end.
Sorry for the horrid typing aha
I did chuckle when I read 'heafy'.
Thank you. Apart from the cost, I have nothing to loose. I'm going to have another think about it today but honestly think I'm going to go for it.
Did you use York?
Typing with acrylics wouldn't recommend haha. Yeah I used York. My neighbour told me about it. She found she had a intolerance to wheat and for her it solved most of her problems. But I'm sure for others it hasn't worked but if you can afford it personally I'd do it but it is abit of a gamble really. Honestly it made life a little easier for me. You could try cutting out one item at a time yourself and see when you react but you need to be very strict to make sure it's as accurate as possible
I tried the York Test a couple of years back,like you I was desperate and I still am,it would take me all day to tell you what I’ve been through. But back to the test,I do think it’s worth a try,it came back to me as intolerant against Yeast,ahhh, and I love my bread,now that’s not gluten ,that would be just fine,I don’t mind gluten free anything, but YEAST is sooo difficult to avoid. I also had a phone call from a nutritionist from them. So I say if your desperate,and can afford it,give it a go. It’s only money you’ll loose, but your health it’s not going to affect it anymore than you already feel. Go for it gal.
I seem to be intolerant of all cereals including rice, cornflour etc.
Hi,
I work for an allergy team in a hospital and the Consultants I work for couldn’t hate those companies more if they tried! Don’t get me wrong, there’s many times I’ve thought about trying them myself, but they are so against them and believe they’re a massive waste of money. Yet I know people who have done it and have found benefit from cutting out what they have said. I would maybe speak to your GP about seeing a professional first and then use this as your last resort! I hope you get the answers you’re looking for 🙂 xx
I went to my GP who referred me to a gastroenterologist who gave me antibiotics for poss Sibo, has reffered me to a dietician and am due to have a gastoscopy and they will also take a sample to check for coeliac. I was very impressed with that response!
So far antibiotics seemed to have settled my bowel movements.
Key to me getting this help is a good GP and I think me stating that I have had IBS symptoms for decades and the it got worse this year, despite sticking to a low Fodmap diet.
Good luck
Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply to my post.
I've not had access to the internet for the best part of 10 days. I'm on days off tomorrow so plan on reading back through all the replies tomorrow.
Hi,
More info on the York test on our website here theibsnetwork.org/diet/have...
So, is that article basically saying that the methods and results which these tests deliver are unreliable at best? Have I read and understood this correctly?
Yes, the role of York test in the management of IBS is unclear. Whilst the test is useful for detecting the presence of IGG antibodies to specific food components it typically yields multiple positive results and may represent a normal immune response to food.
Thank you for clarifying my understanding.
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