Newbie needing advice about YorkTest...

[Nats]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to this site but have been reading a lot of the threads and from everyone’s symptoms I think I have an intolerance to Dairy/Lactose! I’m not 100% sure and before I go “cold turkey” and cut all dairy products out of my diet I have been advise by a friend to try out York Test www.yorktest.com (http://www.yorktest.com/) can anyone give me any advice?

Thanks
Nats

:confused:

[Copper]

Welcome to the site.

I listened to a radio program recently which talked about intolerances and allergies. The experts said there were no tests that were reliable except those for lactose intolerance and coeliac.

You can get the lactose intolerance test done on the NHS if you hassle your GP enough. It does involve drinking a known amount of lactose solution and hanging around the hospital for a period of time.

The experts on the radio said they listen to the patients and then suggest the following:-

1) remove the suspect food from the diet for a period of time, I think it was 2 weeks

2) put the suspect food back into the diet

I know that the York test are expensive and although I have many intolerances I have not had any tests. I have found my problem foods by following the suggestions 1 and 2 above.

My lactose intolerance was finally self diagnosed when I had to take some over the counter drugs for my catarrh. I felt really sick within 2 days and then discovered that there was lactose in the tablets. I then realised that my sickness from birth - 2 months, age 7 to 9 and then when I was on the pill for a few months could all be explained by an intolerance to lactose.

The problem with this intolerance is to work out how much dairy you can tolerate. Only the very intolerant can't cope with lactose in tablets, so I am told.

If I were you I would try a dairy free diet for a couple of weeks and then see if you feel better. If you do then put dairy back into your diet, if you feel ill again then it is a dairy problem. If removing dairy does not improve your health then it is back to the drawing board!

The main problem foods are dairy, wheat and or gluten, eggs. Most of us eat these foods on a daily basis.

I hope that this helps. If you need help with the dairy free diet do ask as we can help. You will not starve on a dairy free diet :)

Let us know how you are getting on.

[rebecca c]

Hi Nats

welcome to the site. I have multiple intolerences and suspect I have coeliac disease. I have not had any tests for intolerences and decided the york tests would be a waste of money after speaking with allergy consultants, an NHS dietician and my GP. I dont regret this decision and have found out my intolerences by eliminating them from my diet - although this has taken several years as I have slowly discovered I cant tolerate any gluten at all and if I use iodine near my face it combines with the gluten to make my face swell up.

I cant tolerate much lactose, the small amount I am having in my asthma tablets at the moment makes my tummy worse so I take a fibre supplement for this!

[Bookworm_25]

I think in one way it is easier for me as I don't knwo what I have missed out on. I was evry luck that my Mom was a cook and therefore when I was younger and there were so few products (and the bread was bure white and like rubber!!) I still ate very nice food! I learnt to cook as a defence mechanism against the rubbish out there!

Also there are no low fat versions or healthier versions of anything so I create my own!

It is hard work at first but eventually the fact that you will feel so well with it, it makes it worth it!

So many helpful people on here, willing to offer advice and share information! It would be worth you looking at the coeliac sociaty, thogh you will have to do the ame as me and combine the two lots of information! I am considering creating a place to look at and swap info for coeliac and dairy free combined but not for a while, I need to research it first and hopeully there will be one created before that!!!!

There are other allergy testing availeble, holland and barratts, chinese medicine etc but as I was diagnosed medically as a baby, not sure how good the are!

Good luck!