Intolerance Question

[Kamagrian]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for posting so much so far! I'm not usually this pesky, but (a) I'm new to this and (b) I have a storming case of insomnia, so I'm thinking too much!;)

Another thing I've noticed since giving up dairy is that my long-term IBS symptoms - particularly trapped wind, which is great to joke about but horribly painful! - seem to have settled down a lot. They're not completely gone, just much less troublesome. Because of this, I've started to wonder if perhaps I've had a low-level intolerance to dairy all along, but it's taken my forced abstinence (I'm recovering from a fairly serious bout of pancreatitis) to alert me to it.

How have others handled the question of how to determine whether there's an actual intolerance present? I know the York Test has been used by some, but it's fairly expensive - is it generally possible to get some tests done on the NHS? If you've had medical intervention around intolerances (rather than outright allergies, which I'd hope get recognised a tad more easily by doctors!), what happened and how cooperative did you find the medical professionals around the subject?

Hope nobody minds me asking so many questions! I'll go back to the corner now. :D

Gill x

[matt]

goody someone else up at stupid o'clock. been online since 3 but just come to the site. mines early rising is yours not going to sleep or getting up early?

don't worry about all the posts.

intolerances: classic sign of dairy intolerance is the wind and bloating. you do't digest the lactose and it basically goes off in you releasing lots of gas!

docotrs are how long a peice of string. some are good some bad bepends on their experience with the problem. some tests available but remember that all tests rely on you have been taking the product, body makes anti bodies to the product and that's what they find. so if no product you get false negative.
easiest way is elimination diet. eliminate product does the symptoms go? then later you reintroduce, do the symtoms restart? most doctors will accept this. sometimes you can get dietician to help to sort out. i'm sure you could get refernce after pancreatis.

[Kamagrian]

With me it's lack of getting-to-sleep due to annoying insomnia made worse by troublesome pain - you'd think the 'interesting' opiate painkillers would knock me out, but I'm a stubborn old redhead. ;)

If I'm feeling brave I might mention the dairy thing to the doctor when I see him later, or maybe next week as life is one long run of medical proddings and pokings at the moment! Thanks for the advice though - it's useful to get some personal (as opposed to generic website) information on this. :)

Ugh. Couldn't cope with getting up this early to work. I'm the least morning person in the world. I usually can't manage more than a syllable without at least 3 mugs of strong tea. Have a good day!

[cnc]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, getting my lactose intolerance accepted by the doctor was fairly simple and she actually contacted the consultant dietican on my behalf and he said that symptons I was showing were as a result of lactose intolerance (even though textbooks will say that things like excess mucus aren't a sign, but according to him they are) and then I was told to avoid all dairy. So basically in my case it was finding a nice doctor (who unfortunatly isn't my own doctor :( ) and the the consultant used the list of symptoms and the differences that were already present from being dairy free to decide that that was my problem! Sorry if this is all a bit rambled, if it doesn't make sense I apologise and will try to explain it again-if required!

[Copper]

I was advised by my GP to take some over the counter decongestant tablets a few years ago. They made me feel so sick that I had to give up taking them. I discovered that they contained lactose. I then realised that I had always had lactose intolerance from birth. Obviously this problem had come and gone over the years but is now here to stay :( My childhood was spent feeling sick every night for weeks weeks on end.

I told my GP about the tablets and that I had lactose intolerance. He said that the intolernace was a transient thing. One day when I need to see him again I will insist he reads my stack of notes and he will understand my problem. I did see a locum once who admitted she knew nothing about the subject and could not read my childhood notes as they were not on the computer. She was very young needless to say.

[linny]

I was told by my GP that the NHS don't do intolerance tests so I did a York Test. I think you have to be pretty lucky to get an allergy test round here. I know someone with an allergic 3 yr old that is fighting to get some tests done.

Kamargrian - if it's any help opiate tablets make me feel a bit strange but seem to wake me up too! :w00t1: Codeine makes me float but eventually I drift off to sleep. I've taken Co-proxamol for so long I don't think they affect me now - but they do make me hungry. :o

[paranoidangel]

I've had intolerance tests done on the NHS. At the time I knew I was lactose intolerant and later worked out I must be intolerant to wheat too. These tests didn't pick either of those up, so I don't think much of them.

When I initially went to my doctor to tell her I thought I was intolerant to something she told me there was only any point doing tests if I was getting ill constantly. Which I was at the point when she did the tests (although she reckoned it was IBS - although did suggest tests before I insisted).

[cnc]

I was told there was no intolerance tests on the NHS, so whether they've stopped doing them now I don't know...

A lot of things like allergy tests are on the Postcode Lottery as such, which is ridiculous...

Linny the only painkillers that made me sleep were the paracetamol and ibruprofen that I was on (the dose prescribed was above what it says on the packets :unsure:) I think that was due to the sheer amount of drugs I was being pumped full of- couldn't think properly the whole time I was taking them!

[Kamagrian]

I didn't get around to mentioning the intolerance thing to the doctor earlier, as he was too busy telling me I'd got to spend more time off work and resting. :( I swear if I watch any more daytime television, my brain will dribble out of my ears...

I get very annoyed about the NHS postcode lottery thing - it's so disgracefully arbitrary and I can totally understand why patients with threatening illnesses like cancer move house in an attempt to access better treatment.

I have no idea what the situation is up here in Scotland at the moment, having only moved here in August, but so far I've had pretty good (if surprisingly frequent!) experiences with medical services. Hopefully I'll get a reasonable response when I finally feel brave enough to ask the questions! I can't really afford the York Test at the moment - are there any other relevant tests (e.g. just for dairy and so on) that might be cheaper? Us charity managers don't get paid a fortune. Perhaps I should sell out to the Evil Moneygrabbing Corporations instead. :naughty:

The painkillers I'm on are dihydrocodeine - apparently they metabolise to morphine in the body. I can actually tell when they're starting to kick in by the itching on the end of my nose!

Thanks to everyone who's commented on this - I really appreciate the contributions.

[matt]

you should be better off in scotland as they are better than england nhs. more funding per person.

i get the look from my gp as i've been written offa s completely barking and all probs are therefore psychosomatic in their eyes. ok so i am nuts but i'm fairly sure that my probs are real.

i gave up on daytime tv and got into open university instead. work? that'd be fun or atleast a change.......

[cnc]

I try and avoid the GP at uni (having said that I very rarely get to see the same one twice- not that useful in my opinion, I've never actually seen the doctor I'm registered to!!)
Is there a shortage of GPs in Scotland or not? If not, just keep moving doctors!
Gill whereabouts in Edinburgh are you?
Daytime telly is quite depressing I agree, but it makes a change from lectures, I'm sure you could find something else to do whilst resting instead of watching daytime tv!

[Kamagrian]

Doesn't appear to be a shortage here - I had no problems getting registered, and I've had very good care from my doctor so far, so hopefully that'll continue. I live in the Leith area of Edinburgh, about 10 minutes' walk from Leith Shore. Lots of wonderful pubs and restaurants I can't eat or drink much in at themoment! ;)

Matt - I've studied with the OU before, and may be doing a level 3 60-point course next year, funded by the charity I work for. I have good memories of insomniac nights spent with my head stuck in large books about Artificial Intelligence and Database Management, in my geek-girl days...

Claire - Yeah, there are other things I can do than the evil daytime TV thing. Unfortunately I'm so low on energy right now that I tend to fall asleep if I read more than about 2 pages of a book, though! I'm catching up on various online forums, watching DVDs and playing the odd boardgame, all of which are about the level of my consciousness at the moment. :wacko:

Gill x

[cnc]

Ah I know the Leith area of Edinburgh- have spent some some time in the area due to relatives living there. Is a very nice area- remember having chips on Leith Shore when I went there.:eat:

I think online forums are a better way of spending your day than watching daytime tv (although there is a quiz on channel four at the moment, so can pretent I'm doing something educational!!)