Possible soy and/or legume allergy???

I am a 44 year old female who went vegetarian a few months ago (March).  I began incorporating a good bit of soy into my diet as a result.  One night, several hours after eating soy I began to experience dizziness, palpatations, racing pulse, and chest tightness.  I thought I was having a heart attack and went to the ER via ambulance.  I exercise 7 days a week and have no history of heart trouble.  All checked out fine, other than my pulse was still extremely high the next day.  After a thorough heart check, a cardiologist suggested beta blockers, which I continue to take.  I continued to have these episodes and went to the ER 2 more times, only to be told it was most likely anxiety.  I was eventually put on Zoloft and continue to take 75 mg. daily.  I began to notice a pattern of when I ate soy-based products and awaking in the middle of the night with a racing pulse.  I would count about 120 beats per minute and experience a tightness in my chest.  This would typically happen anywhere from 4 to 10 hours after eating.  I have since eliminated soy proteins from my diet completely and have felt great improvement, however I had chili a couple nights ago and the same episode happened in the middle of the night.  I'm wondering if my allergy or intolerance transferred to other legumes.  Does anyone have similar experiences?  I am meeting with an allergist tomorrow because I want confirmation.  I understand I am not eligible for the skin test due to my beta blocker.  How long does it typically take to get blood test results back?  I would appreciate anyone's feedback or thoughts.  

[enzymelover]

Oh dear. Soy got you too. Yes, your symptoms most likely were caused by the soy you ate. The fact that you felt a lot of improvement after eliminating soy is a valid indication that the soy is to blame. Soy has a reputation for being an endocrine disrupter and for causing destruction of the thyroid gland. Your symptoms are typical for a thyroid imbalance (as well as other possibilities).

Soy is not a health food. It can cause permanent endocrine damage. And yes, you can become sensitized to other legumes after overdoing soy.
After my son's endocrine damage from soy infant formula (and subsequent soy food consumption), I found the book,  The Whole Soy Story  by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD., CCN   This book really tells all. All of my son's symptoms and blood tests made sense after reading this book. I only wish I had known before it was too late. You are lucky to have figured it out for yourself after only a few months. You must read this book.

Blood tests generally take from three to ten days, depending on the lab.
I wish you good luck.

Enzy

[FurballsMom]

I agree, soy is actually DANGEROUS.  Dr. Mercola talks about it, too.  I believe he actually had the video that was mentioned in the post above mine from that doctor, too, in his articles about soy..  Babies born to vegetarian mothers who eat all that soy are born with huge problems.  And, like you, the poor mothers don't know this is such a bad thing, until the babies are born.  Baby boys are often born with holes in their tiny scrotums that have to be surgically repaired immediately in order to prevent serious infections from occuring.  Baby girls are often hit with problems later in life rather than immediately.  But, the damage occurs equally to male and female from the endocrine disrupters.  I agree, get the book.

Dr. Mercola talks about the phyto estrogens in soy in addition to what was just said.  That in itself will cause huge issues.  He also explains the huge difference between the soy mass produced on the market and what is actually traditional fermented soy products, and why there is so much confusion from people being misled into believing all soy products would be so good for them, because it is marketed as health food.  It is NOT health food!  

The majority of soy sold on the market is also genetically modified (GMO) as well.  This, too, leads to the explosion in numbers of people with food allergies they never had before.  Soy isn't the only food that is GMO either.  It's maddening that Monsanto and other big companies are getting their way and pushing for more and more of the produce market--and, they aren't even required to inform people that their produce is GMO.  It isn't fair to do such a thing to the masses.  The majority of people have no idea this is happening or if they do, they have no idea that it is really very dangerous.  And, with peoples' budgets already so tight, this is bad because many truly can't afford to buy all organic produce to prevent the added problems caused by conventional growing that involves not only massive quantities of pesticides, but it also involves more and more GMO foods being grown as well.

This isn't good for the people who already have allergies either.

Stay away from edamame (Usually sold in the frozen foods section) because that is just another form of soy.  Some packages say so, but others don't.  Many people don't understand that this is actually a form of soy bean.

When I read stories like yours, I find out just how lucky I was to have gotten sufficient information before anything like that could've happened to me.  I personally am sensitive to soy, but I sure am grateful to not have a full blown allergy to soy.  Not that I seek it out to eat, but soy is in so many cosmetic products, including natural cosmetics.  If you see the word "tocopherol" leave the product on the shelf.  If it says "vitamin E", it is safer to assume that the source of vitamin E has soy and is actually tocopherol.  Again, leave the product on the shelf.  Soy bean oil is the basis for nearly all everyday cosmetics whether they are natural or conventional.  In fact, if it's conventional, you can count on it being made with soy.

A good soap that I know does NOT have soy in it that is natural is made by a company in Ashland, Oregon called Sappo Hill.  I use the one they named "Natural".  It is the fragrance free one.  It is the one I know to also be gluten free.  It matters when you're gluten intolerant as well to avoid gluten in your cosmetics.  This is one company I know and trust.  They used to use olive oil, but now they are using coconut or palm oil.  That's good, unless you're allergic to coconut or palm oil.  But, it is NOT soy.  They use no animal products, which also respects how vegetarians and vegans feel.  Here is the page:  http://www.sappohill.com/buyerguide.html

You will have to read the labels carefully.  Also, you have the right as someone with a severe allergy to ask for the INCI list of ingredents, if something doesn't seem right on the list of ingredients that is provided.  You have to right to question the source of all the ingredients used.  You need to do this with a soy allergy.  I learned this from someone else who used to be on medhelp.  Be very careful, because soy is pervasive and is everywhere--even where you least expect it.  It is even being used to make "environmentally friendly" plastics and foams for automobile manufacturing.  If people only knew the whole story, they would see that it is not environmentally friendly at all, and is likely to cause serious hardships for people with severe soy allergies.