advice on detoxing

[360]

hi

i have been detoxing completely from dairy for nearly 2 weeks (though have been slowly cutting out dairy for a while) just wanted to know if the following is normal. the first few days i started to feel a bit better but then since then having been feeling more and more unwell as the days go by
symptoms are, sore throat, flu like symptoms, mouth hurts , nausea, no appitite and general crapy feeling,

so i just wanted to know other peoples detoxing from milk etc experiences

[matt]

could be detox effects, are you sure you've definately eliminated all sources? seems strong effect to still be getting. might just have a dose of the flu!


good luck, hope you feel better soon.

[Pam]

When you are detoxing from anything your body is bound to have a reaction. Have you cut anything else out too? (eg when I first went dairy free I didn't care for dark chocolate and couldn't drink tea with soya milk so the caffein also went).

I know that with caffein withdrawal it is very common to get a lot of headaches and feel generally bad and this is all the toxins coming out of the body. It might be that with milk withdrawal the body is able to release all the mucus that has built up and this could be causing the sinus and flu type symptoms that you are experiencing. Give it a few days and you should be feeling better - unless you do have flu! I don't remember having those symptoms myself but my toilet habits changed quite considerably!

[lyndamc]

For the last week I've had a virus which the rest of the family have had so I've been feeling rough any way, but previous to that I constantly felt drained
and 'under the weather. I feel as though I'm reacting to everything at the moment. I've been dairy free for three months, beef free, tomato free + msg free for two months. I'm still getting slight red patches on my face although nowhere as bad as it was. I suspect I may be reacting to eggs so I've cut those out for the last three weeks. But there must still be something so I'm considering cutting out wheat, but I also think if I do that, what'll be next for me to start reacting too.
My doctor is no help at all, he claims there is no such thing as food allergies. Have asked him if I can have blood tests to check my immune system but he refused.
I've started taking Probiotics (tablet form), no problems or changes so far, but can't decide if they're of any benefit, although my 'toilet habits', as Pam so politely puts it, have improved greatly! Does anybody else take these?? Or are they a no no for those who are lactose intolerant?

Lynda

[matt]

the trouble with the method you are using is that you could be cutting out food that you are fine with. i know i did the same. i avoid wheat but i'm not convinced i am intolerant to it. i'm just too coward to re-introduce. i don't think that there is a test for immume system level. and the tests for intolerances are not particularly accurate.

the best way is the total exclusion diet where you only eat food that is 99% certain you won't react to. i haven't the full list but it's stuff like rice and lamb. then after a few weeks you start to reintorduce to see what you react to. this is all best done with aid of dietician. you seeing one? if not ask to. your doc should agree to that. the other alternative is to only remove one thing at a time and see if the symptoms get better. then eating them again. bit hit and miss.

[ellsie]

If there is no such thing as food allergies why do the nhs privide doctors specialising in allergies in Leicester who have proved more than once that I have an allergy to milk? Your doctor is living in the past and I would try another doc or go back and pester him until he refers you. If it is a skin problem then get referred to a skin specialist as tthey will test for allergies and can do tests. Or refer you on to another specialist. Yes good idea....use your worst symptom to be referred and when you get there then push for allergy tests. Does that make sense?:bash:

[lyndamc]

I have three appointments at the end of Feb for skin 'patch testing' with a dermatologist who says that the problem on my face is 'atopic'. So I'll wait and see how those tests go.
I know I have a problem with Dairy, it's just getting Doctors to accept it.
Will have to go to Doctors to get referred to a Dietician, so will ask to see another Doctor rather than my own, and see if there is a 'believer' within the practice!
No doubt a trip to a Dietician will mean an hours drive like the three trips for the patch testing, which is ok, occasionally, but it gets expensive and a pain in the neck when the appointments are around school run times.

[ellsie]

Try asking the dermatologist for blood tests for milk wheat and eggs ' to rule them out' . I had my first blood tests done in Birmingham at the skin hospital or ask about exclusion diets there. They don't always offer blood tests as they are more expensive but you may be lucky. I was put on an an exclusion diet at the skin hospital too. If you talk about your other syptoms to them they may refer you to another specialist who knows more about other allergies. Dieticians to me though are a waste of time until you have pinpointed your problem as they have little power of their own.

I have 3 schoolchildren all in different schools so I always call to make sure I get an appointment to fit in with me and it usually does work! Gosh I sound like a pushy bitch. Did that happen before the allergy or not............;)

[JDArsenal]

I've just had a series of tests done and I have found out that on top of my dairy intolerance, I am now egg white and egg yolk, yeast (wine ???!!) and can you believe cashew nuts intolerant.......
I have found the last three years impossible - feeling ill everyday - migraines, stomach contractions, nausea so I will try to exclude all of the above from my diet and see how I go on......BUT I cannot believe how difficult it is:( - I thought dairy was tough...!
If anyone out there can help me with any suggestions I would be eternally grateful......

[matt]

what sort of suggestions do you want? hopefully, you'll feel better once you remove these things from your diet then it'll all be worth it and you'll feel happier.

if you need anything specific then ask away.

[Pam]

Treat yourself to some nice free from chocolate. If you don't like dark chocolate (Green & Black do very nice dark choc) you can now buy a few "free from" bars that do quite a good impersonation of milk chocolate. Most supermarkets sell them now on the free from aisles. Tofutti and Swedish Glace ice creams are very good (my hubby thinks vanilla swedish glace is better than most dairy vanilla ice cream) and Sainsburys do a couple of flavours of free from ice cream (I finished off a tub of toffee and walnut the other night). Alpro do some custard type desserts and also a carton of custard. Alpro and Sojasun do some lovely yoghurts too - all dairy free.

I'm not 100% sure about the ice creams but I know that the rest of the products are all suitable for vegans so will not contain egg. Hopefully you will find a dairy type treat that you like out of that lot.

[JDArsenal]

Thank you for your replies....
I don't really know what I am looking for - but just feel so alone in this - not knowing which way to go......didn't know I couldn't eat Mushrooms any longer...no bread - it really is frightening........

The idea of chocolate and ice cream sounds wonderful and I will definietly be going there....

[matt]

well you know you're not alone. it seems daunting but take things a small bit at a time. plenty of goodies out there for you still just a bit more hassle to sort out. ask for any help you need.
get yourself out to the health food shops/sainsburys and tescos etc when you have plenty of time and aren't hungry etc. take the time to wander the free from stuff and read the labels to see what you can eat and make some choices.

more hassle but you can make your own biscuits/ flat breads/ soda breads using ingredients that you check so can be happy with.

there are solutions to all the problems, just work out the question and ask.

[ellsie]

Once you have excluded all these things for a few weeks try a little of each one and see what your body tells you. Tests are good indicators but you can't take them as gospel. You may find there are some with no reaction or little reaction that you are prepared to live with.;)