Hidradenitis Suppurativa Support Group
Hidradenitis suppurativa (hi-drad-uh-NIE-tis sup-yoo-ruh-TIE-vuh) is rare, long-term skin condition that features small, painful lumps under the skin. The disease manifests as clusters of chronic abscesses or boils, sometimes as large as baseballs, that are extremely painful to the touch and may persist for years with occasional to frequent periods of inflammation,...
Hey everyone,
I've been dealing with HS between stages 2-3 for about 10 years now. Like all of you I've been to a million doctors, who threw antibiotics at me and told me that there is nothing I can do.
Well...
I was recently recommended that I visit what is called a Naturopath. These are doctors who go to 4 years of medical school and then additional schooling for holistic medicine. I live in NY, and this is not an accepted practice by the insurance companies. Therefore, no insurance covers the visits, so they end up being very expensive.
However, I met with the doctor and he told me that he was going to test my blood for allergies through 2 tests: IgG and IgE. These are basically the less understood allergies of the human body that take place over weeks and months.
We all know that there is insufficient research for HS, as well as autoimmune diseases in general. After reading The Hidden Plague by Tara Grant, and then researching IgG and IgE, I figured it was worth a shot to see what this naturopath can do.
Well...I got my results back 2 days ago. The doctor's eyes widened as he looked at the results - and then he said "You, my friend, have the most severe dairy allergy I have ever seen." Sure enough he shows me the results, and all the dairy categories were off the charts. I am also allergic to bananas. [I wish I could post images or screenshots, I would show you all what the results look like]. He also said that because my levels are unusually high, that my mother and father must suffer from the allergy as well.
So there it is - I have an allergy to dairy, NOT lactose intolerance. 2 separate things. I have only started eliminating these foods from my diet 2 days ago, so it is going to take time to see the results. So it is a bit premature of me to say this, but I feel like screaming, "Hallelujah, we found the answer!!". I wanted to post this, because I think that everyone in this forum deserves to know the information I have been struggling to find for the past 10 years.
I hope all of you with HS take the time to research all this info, and then hopefully seek out a naturopath and get tested.
Good luck everybody :)
I've been dealing with HS between stages 2-3 for about 10 years now. Like all of you I've been to a million doctors, who threw antibiotics at me and told me that there is nothing I can do.
Well...
I was recently recommended that I visit what is called a Naturopath. These are doctors who go to 4 years of medical school and then additional schooling for holistic medicine. I live in NY, and this is not an accepted practice by the insurance companies. Therefore, no insurance covers the visits, so they end up being very expensive.
However, I met with the doctor and he told me that he was going to test my blood for allergies through 2 tests: IgG and IgE. These are basically the less understood allergies of the human body that take place over weeks and months.
We all know that there is insufficient research for HS, as well as autoimmune diseases in general. After reading The Hidden Plague by Tara Grant, and then researching IgG and IgE, I figured it was worth a shot to see what this naturopath can do.
Well...I got my results back 2 days ago. The doctor's eyes widened as he looked at the results - and then he said "You, my friend, have the most severe dairy allergy I have ever seen." Sure enough he shows me the results, and all the dairy categories were off the charts. I am also allergic to bananas. [I wish I could post images or screenshots, I would show you all what the results look like]. He also said that because my levels are unusually high, that my mother and father must suffer from the allergy as well.
So there it is - I have an allergy to dairy, NOT lactose intolerance. 2 separate things. I have only started eliminating these foods from my diet 2 days ago, so it is going to take time to see the results. So it is a bit premature of me to say this, but I feel like screaming, "Hallelujah, we found the answer!!". I wanted to post this, because I think that everyone in this forum deserves to know the information I have been struggling to find for the past 10 years.
I hope all of you with HS take the time to research all this info, and then hopefully seek out a naturopath and get tested.
Good luck everybody :)
I think i will make an appointment with my doctor to get some tests done, there's no harm in finding out whether or not this applies to me as well, but it's worth looking into at least.
Thank you for sharing your findings :D I really appreciate it
I think it's so so so important to keep researching these things, and not trying something stupid without medical knowledge. I'll try anything as long as there's a blood test somewhere that says I need to. Even if it doesn't do anything for HS, it's making me healthier in other ways.
So far haven't seen too much change. It's only been 5 days, it's going to take at least a month.
For info, everybody should look at all the information on this website: http://stevenenninger.com/
Find a doctor who does understand the importance of food allergies! The testing can be expensive but it depends how much you get. and what kind. There are skin tests, blood tests, etc.
Look for an allergist who uses drops under the tongue as a treatment. Allergy shots are outdated. If you have a food allergy, just don't eat whatever it is.
You can test YOURSELF for food allergies using the Elimination Diet. It's a pain in the neck but it is FREE and the best possible way to find out what is making your immune system go crazy.
I understand that we with HS are desperate to get rid of this disease, but I think one should be very cautious around these types, as they work with treatments for which there is no scientific basis.
Can we get an update to this? Get any flare ups after eliminating banana's and dairy products?
My naturopath is running some more tests on me including a neurological test.
But so far, I've been breaking out a lot on my face, and have been getting cysts on my neck, upper legs, and chest.
Very frustrated. My parents took the allergy test and both are allergic to dairy and bananas. Although the results are pretty clear, if it is not causing my HS, the. I really am not sure how my dairy allergy is manifesting itself as far as symptoms. I am going to keep working at it with my doctor, but right now I'm pretty depressed. It's been over 2 months and I haven't seen any radical change.
Don't lose hope.. I know what you're going through..
Found it kinda weird that you thought your trigger was banana and dairy. I eat at least 2 bananas per day and I don't limit on dairy even though I'm lactose intolerant.
Looks like you've had enough.. read my post and see if you're willing to test it out.. I've been free from any major breakouts ever since I started the routine.
i'm sorry to hear you are depressed. I hope to help by letting you know what worked for me. Everyone is going to be different but Through the elimination diet I found my trigger to be white potatoes. I have not had chips, fries, baked or mashed potatoes, hash browns etc for over a year. my flare ups have been very very minimal and are gone in 3 days. I also take 90mg of tumeric daily and if i feel a flare up coming i definitely don't forget. I have also tried Braggs natural apple cider vinegar..usually 1/2 oz per day. It is awful but through my worst breakouts it really made a difference . I hope some of this helps.
I don't know how you specifically changed your diet to eliminate dairy, but similar to ronid's post, try eating "whole foods". Foods that are not processed so that you know exactly what is in them and see what happens (ie grilled chicken breast, green beans and potatoes or organic spaghetti with meat/marinara sauce-stay away from the vodka sauce as it has cream in it). If you're already doing that, perhaps its another trigger like the nightshades that have already been mentioned, eggs or gluten or a combination of those. The tests are not infallible.
Wishing you luck!
It sounds like you've been ripped off, which is what one would expect from a practitioner of holistic medicine.