This Post is about how my summer has gone with my food intolerance’s – maybe someone else can learn from my experiences. I have made some progress on my projects, albeit a little slow due to having bad days. But such is when one is changing things in their lives – like quitting a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI i.e Aciphex) and dealing with rebound reflux that I never had before I took the darn things for 13 years and before that 10 years on Zantac 150. WOW withdrawal from these can do a number on one’s body, but I am just about through the process of the rebound from the Aciphex to quit (3 months now). NOW I have been reducing the amount of Zantac 150! Where was I in 2010 when everyone else found out about the side effects of taking this medication so long – guess I was having too much fun. The internet has been a tremendous aid for me in figuring out that I really do not need all of this medication!!!!! – NOT MY DOCTORS!
Most of my issues are food intolerance’s – that is the issue that can cause the acid reflux for me. I had an extensive “food allergy blood test” in 2011. All that did for me was to show which foods I should not eat. OK – worked on that one for a few years, but I never understood why my blood test showed a problem with eating those foods. About a month ago I started baking my french fries with Parmesan grated cheese – BOY WERE THEY EVER DELICIOUS and I had a serving everyday for 3 weeks! Then my eyes started giving me issues, like blurry vision, red and dark circles, and the horrible itching. I figured it was the lovely African Dust! WRONG. Through researching my symptoms on the “net” I realized that I have food allergies/intolerance to foods that have “histamines” and “tyramine” in them. NOW, this is the answer as to why there are so many foods I cannot tolerate, and why I start itching when I eat something with nitrates or nitrites, or when I get a migraine with MSG, etc. Why don’t doctors tell the patient about the “root” cause? This would have saved me 6 years of the 23 years I have been trying to understand why my food list is so limited! I found out that Parmesan grated AND egg whites AND my chocolate kisses are three (3) of the foods with the highest counts in histamines and maybe tyramine! These were 3 main staples of my “Limited Diet” – (Chicken breast (organic), Lay’s Lightly Salted potato chips, Almond Breeze drink, E-nerG yeast free bread, potatoes (buttery only), eggs (3 to 4 a day), and Follow Your Heart Veganease (no dairy, eggs, soy, gluten) and for a treat Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses. I still can have potatoes and eggs but only the yolk!
Through my research I discovered that unbleached flour and egg yolks do not have histamines. I was convinced I could make some cookies (the cake flopped) and be safe because unbleached flour and egg yolks do not have histamines or tyramine! I forgot to mention that I am also Celiac (no wheat or gluten, etc) and the gluten free flour is made with corn and I cannot do corn, so I decided to give the flour one more test!!! Boy those peanut butter cookies were so darn good and of course I indulged in those puppies for 2 days straight!
The outcome of that fun trip was to have a wonderful night of Vertigo (Meniere’s) and the next day a great Migraine (Meniere’s) and lovely Fibromyalgia flareup! BECAUSE people who have Fibromyalgia and Meniere’s have to stay on a strict low sodium and low sugar diet! Otherwise, you will be the recipient of Vertigo (Meniere’s) and a Migraine and the Fibromyalgia will go in to high gear!
When this happens, I do not have the energy level, nor the desire to do anything. This is just not me! So I am back to my limited diet, happy that maybe in the next 2 months or so the rebound reflux will go away and I can manage with Gaviscon or some Tums. Anything but an acid blocker (Zantac) or a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI)! So far I have reduced the amount of Zantac from 2 a day to 1 a day and now I have made it 48 hours without one. I learned the hard way – one cannot go cold turkey on getting off Aciphex or Zantac. This time I am weaning myself off of Zantac 150’s slowly. Maybe I have learned something this summer. Now to try to use all the will power in my being and not stray from my “cheap date diet”
I think I have now vented and feel so much better, especially if you made it all the way through this “special post”!
Have a great day! Next Post coming up – Grammy Squares, Circa 2016, Ms Potts, and Dresden Heaven!!!! The fun things in life!
Chopin - A Passionate Quilter From Texas 
A complicated post to understand but my goodness what problems you have had. No fun with such a limited diet but to keep from suffering, something you have to do.
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Basically I a chemical sensitive to binders in medications and have a lot of food intolerances or sensitivities. They cause different effects on my system. Celiacs are people who cannot tolerate wheat, oats, barley and most grains. I cannot eat fiber, wheat, oats, barley, cow’s milk products (I.e cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, etc) That is why we always laugh and say I am a “cheap date”. Eating prepared food is 100% out, so I do not eat out. As I get older, things get worse, I was able to find a list of foods that show the histamines or tyramine that is natural occurring in those foods. This makes it very easy now – just check the list and stay away from those foods. Now I do not have to test anymore! This is a positive. This is why we take the RV when we go somewhere – so I can stick to my special diet.
Do not worry – it has taken me years to understand all of this and why I do not have the enzymes to digest certain foods. It was Greek to me when I realized I had a problem.
Thx for the support.
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I’m glad you’ve figured out what the problems are, now you can hopefully get some relief from the problems. And hopefully get your stamina back. Blessings, Gretchen
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Thx Gretchen. It was an eye opener when I stumbled on this information. Makes it easy for me now – just check the list and no more “food” testing and putting up with the side effects!
I think I will really bounce back after a “getaway”!
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I know this is an older post, but I found it through surfing quilting links. I’m a quilter…but I also have the same tyramine/histamine problem! I get terrible headaches from tyramines, and the histamine problem manifests itself in all sorts of ways, including restless leg syndrome, eyes swelling shut, bladder issues, itchiness–a varied and weird list. I discovered my problem about seven years ago, so I’m pretty good at avoiding histamines and I’ve found several things that help me: DAO, D-Hist, Quercetin, Stinging Nettle, Vitamin C. These help with the food sensitivities when taken before the meal. The DAO really works with accidental or unavoidable tyramines, so I highly suggest that one! Benedryl is sometimes effective in the evening, but I haven’t really worked out why it only works sometimes–it doesn’t really work with the food-generated histamines or tyramines, but it does work when I have stirred up histamines by excercise (maybe my fragile mast cells? Gah. It’s hard to be your own doctor!) Anyway, my ancestors are from Texas and Arkansas, so we may share a genetic link where all this weirdness comes from, although I am most definitely not related to Chopin (wish I was, he’s my favorite composer, but I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. My sister was a professional pianist, though). So interesting to find someone with the same issues. I don’t have the fibro, but I remember seven years ago being quite lethargic and depressed before I discovered the histamine/tyramine problem. My sympathies! I know what it’s like. I cook every meal at home.
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