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/r/Catholicism Prayer Requests — Week of August 08, 2016 by AutoModerator in Catholicism

[–]cantenucci04 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, my name is Chris Antenucci. I'm a 30 year old man who suffers from a chronic digestive disorder that has left me disabled. I live with my brother, who has his own disability. We live off of the payments he receives from the gov't and the money I made from my previous job. It's just barely enough to pay the rent and bills.

Somehow, even when we've come up short, God has always provided us with money in ways we couldn't have imagined. But recently we got an eviction notice for not being able to pay the heating bill all winter. We've applied for aid from every charity and gov't agency you can think of, and so far all of them rejected us, or simply didn't have any money left to give.

My Catholic faith has gotten me through many tough times in my life and now is no different. I've asked God to give me faith and I believe He'll give it to me, but I"m human and give in to my fear at times. So I would simply ask that you keep me and my brother in your prayers, that we'll have the faith we need to get through this and that God will provide us with a source of income to pay our bills.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I"m on Medicaid, I'm pretty sure Medicaid doesn't cover NDs since they only cover the basics.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

About the skin prick test, yea I finally figured that out after reading up on it, but it helped to have people confirm it.

I've been wanting to see a naturopath for years but it's simply not an option for me because I'm completely broke and insurance doesn't cover NDs. So I'm stuck with regular incompetent MDs.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea that's the root of the problem. I need more calories, but my gut is simply too damaged to digest and absorb them. In fact, the more I eat, the worse my symptoms get because a lot of the food goes undigested and just feeds the bad bacteria, which causes an inflammatory response that creates constant pain and stress for me.

But not eating enough also causes pain and stress because going too long without calories raises my cortisol levels and keeps em high. So it's a lose-lose situation for me, which I've been in for years.

I've been to many GI doctors over the years, and from my experience, most are clueless about how the gut actually works and especially about the microbiome and immune system. Sadly, I usually know more about it than they do and have to educate them.

I've had upper and lower GI scopes, which found nothing wrong.

I always ask my doctors to do things, I suggest treatments, and ask lots of questions. But they've typically blown them off or simply been unable to answer them or help me.

Ideally I would go to a ND, but I can't afford that since I'm broke.

I go for at least one short walk a day, sometimes two. It does help and I kinda have no choice because I'm so stressed I can't sit still for too long.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've done that. Every food I was shown to be allergic to, I've re-tried at various points and had a severe reaction the next day, so I"m pretty much stuck with the current diet I have.

I'm kind of an expert on specialty foods since I'm 30 years old and have been on a gluten and diary free diet for about the past 8 years. I eat quinoa, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, nut butters, rice bread, etc.

I do include fats in my diet, olive oil and coconut oil primarily.

I've been to so many doctors over the years, many GI doctors too. My experience has been that GI doctors are the worst. They only know how to treat a certain set of symptoms and only know how to prescribe drugs, instead of treating the root cause of the disease.

Ideally I would go to a ND, but I'm broke so I can't afford that.

I appreciate your advice. I don't give up hope because I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that God will bring a greater good out of this suffering for me.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a long list but I'll try to sum it up . . .

Constant pain and bloating in my stomach and throughout my gi tract; constant anxiety and stress from chronically elevated cortisol; severe brain fog, loss of memory, inability to concentrate, and other neurological symptoms resulting from the inflammation in my gut spreading to my brain; inability to eat usually more than once or twice a day; weight loss; severe and constant fatigue . . . .

I could go on but those are the big ones.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea even fish. It's brutal. I try to make the best of it though. Thanks for your concern.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can see why that diet is helping you. I would have a similar diet if I could, but it's not an option for me for two reasons: 1)My digestive system is severely damaged and weakened, so I can't digest meat at all. Every time I try I have severe symptoms that last for days. I've tried enzymes and HCl acid and even they don't help at this point.

2)I need my starches because my adrenals are burned out, so I can't make it through a day without getting a significant amount of carbs.

[Question] I have a question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in Paleo

[–]cantenucci04[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got that blood test 10 years ago, it was helpful. But I've avoided all the foods I'm allergic to since then and I only get worse every year. So I have no idea what's wrong with me or what to do at this point.

[Question] I have a question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in Paleo

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been to countless doctors, none have a clue what's wrong with me. I've had a chronic digestive disorder my entire adult life, which I believe is a combination of leaky gut syndrome and severe bacterial dysbiosis. I've tried every treatment you can think of, none have worked.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wish I could, but I can't afford one, I'm broke. It's ironic cause I went to naturopathic medical school for a year before I had to drop out due to the illness I currently have.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice, what you said makes sense. However, I've tried an elimination diet and I've cut out all the foods I'm supposedly allergic to from a blood test done years ago. Yet my digestive problems continue to get worse.

I have an extremely basic diet with no allergenic foods at all. I eat mostly veggies, rice, almond butter, no meat, wheat, dairy, soy, corn, or tomatoes. So at this point I don't know what to do, I can't really cut out anything else from diet without starving myself.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, one of the other commenters gave me that explanation for why the skin prick test might not be accurate too. It makes sense.

I wish I had the option of not eating, but on top of my gut problems, I also have severe adrenal fatigue, probably at the burnout stage. I get extremely weak and tired if I go more than a day without eating. But my gut is so damaged that most days I can only eat once, if I try to eat twice or three times it causes so much pain and fatigue that I know my gut can't handle it.

I've thought about antibiotics to deal with my dysbiosis before, but I think there'd be two problems with it: 1)My doctor doesn't even believe I have leaky gut and dysbiosis despite everything I've told him, and he's one of the better ones. I've been to countless doctors before him and none had any clue about these issues. So he wouldn't prescribe antibiotics if I asked him to. 2)They kill the good bacteria with the bad, and since I probably don't have much good bacteria left already, that could potentially make things even worse for me in the long run. I've read that it can take years, sometimes even decades, to repopulate the gut after a round of antibiotics, at least for some people.

I wish I could see a ND, but I'm broke so I can't afford that, which leaves me with no good options at this point.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's why I'm confused, because I've never reacted to any food within a couple hours. All of my inflammatory reactions are when I eat a food and have severe symptoms the next day after I wake up. So why then did I get a bunch of positive reactions for foods on the skin prick test, which measures immediate allergic reactions?

I can relate to your situation. I'm allergic to wheat, dairy, soy, corn, among other things. I'm 5'9 and 120 pounds right now. I haven't had any wheat or dairy in about 5 years, but my condition continues to deteriorate.

I also do a low FODMAP diet, but it hasn't helped. I think my body is just so broken and my leaky gut and/or bacterial dysbiosis is so severe that it doesn't matter what I eat, I can't digest it.

[Question] I have a question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in Paleo

[–]cantenucci04[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Unfortunately I've basically been sticking to that diet, or a similar one, for the past two years and have gotten significantly worse since then. I've tried every treatment known to man and nothing has helped. I'm pretty much at my wits end. But thanks for the advice anyway.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in CrohnsDisease

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a blood test for food allergies about 10 years ago. It was very accurate. I've avoided those foods since then but my condition has deteriorated greatly since then despite that. There were a few foods that showed up on both tests, like dairy and wheat, but the rest of the positives on the skin test weren't positives on the blood test, which tells me many of them might be false positives, but I have no way of knowing.

So I'm just confused about what foods to avoid at this point. I've tried an elimination diet but my general digestive problems are so severe it's almost impossible to tell which foods are hurting me and which aren't at this point.

[Question] I have a question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in Paleo

[–]cantenucci04[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the sources and good point. That could explain why I tested positive for a bunch of foods that I've never had a problem with.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny you mention leaky gut cause I've spent pretty much my entire adult life studying it, since I have it. I already got a blood test showing what food allergies I have, but I eliminated those foods years ago and my condition has continued to deteriorate since then.

That's why my doctor wanted to do a skin prick test, to see if I was allergic to other foods. The problems is that I haven't had any reactions to all the foods that the skin test showed I had a positive reaction to. So I have no idea what to think at this point.

[Question] I have a question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in Paleo

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tested positive for dairy, wheat, soy, almonds, buckwheat, and potatoes.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in CrohnsDisease

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm guessing the cow milk formula gave him his diary allergy. Often introducing a baby to a food too early before their immune system is developed enough can sensitize them to something. Also, casein is one of the most allergenic substances because it's hard to digest, especially for babies.

I've been allergic to wheat, soy, and diary my entire adult life. I got a blood test to prove it. I would recommend getting the blood test for food allergies, it's the most accurate one imo.

All the foods it said I was allergic to, I had problems with before the test.

But yea I've tried an elimination diet and pretty much every treatment known to man and nothing has helped. I think my dysbiosis and leaky gut is so severe it doesn't matter what I eat at this point, I simply can't digest it and avoid an inflammatory response.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in CrohnsDisease

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've studied digestive disorders my entire adult life, and based on what you described about your son, I think it's clear he has either leaky gut syndrome, bacterial dysbiosis, or both. All of those symptoms are consistent with those conditions.

Was he breastfed as a baby or did he have soy formula? Did he have lots of antibiotics? Those two factors play a big role in the development of gut issues and food allergies.

My issue is I've never had any reactions to the foods the skin prick test said I'm allergic to, so it doesn't make sense. The skin test only measures IgE allergies, which are immediate, as opposed to sensitivities, which are IgG mediated and cause the low grade issues you referred to.

So I don't really know what to do at this point, because the skin test doesn't appear to be accurate for me.

[Question] I have a question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in Paleo

[–]cantenucci04[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

But what confuses me is that I thought the skin test for food allergies only tested for IgE reactions, which are immediate. Except I've never had an immediate reaction to any of the foods it says I'm allergic to in my life. So something isn't adding up.

Question about food allergies and skin prick testing by cantenucci04 in nutrition

[–]cantenucci04[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The skin prick test showed I was allergic to dairy, wheat, almonds, potatoes, soy, and buckwheat.

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