Allergy Type Symptoms

[BuzzBoy]

My wife has had 4 incidents in the last 4 months where she suddenly developed severe lower abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, redness on her skin, swelling in face, burning feeling throughout body and tightness in her chest. Her blood pressure drops to where she almost passes out.



She carries an epi-pen that relieves the swelling, burning and redness, but not the intestinal problems.



She has been tested for allergies (skin and SAIGE) and she comes up clean. She has had a 24 urine and tryptase that has come back normal for Mastocytosis.



She had an upper GI that showed a healed over ulcer in her duodenum plus a possible one in her stomach. She has tested negative to H-pylori in both the serum and breath test.



3 of the 4 attacks have come either during or shortly after her menstrual period.





We are running out of ideas, can anyone help?

[giggy]

I have read that a person can be allergic to hormones.

[giggy]

You might want to read this...





THE ALLERGY CENTER  







Hormone Allergies







Hormone allergy is a type of allergic reaction experienced by women from before puberty to old age.



It is a heightened reaction to the normal function of hormones.





The most common disorders associated with hormone reactions are:



Endometriosis Migraine

PMS Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Asthma Weight Gain

Arthritis Loss of short-term memory

Fibromyalgia Diminished sex drive

Skin problems Depression (mood swings)

Less scalp hair Dry skin (neck down)

Increase in facial/body hair Oily skin (neck up)





This phenomenon seems clear to the women who experience it, but it is not widely recognized by their physicians.



And while there are many journal references to the connection between hormones and symptoms, I am aware of only one recent textbook that actually suggests a hormone allergy. That book is Endometrium & Endometriosis (1997). In the final chapters, Drs. Mabry, Konetzki and Mary Lou Balweg (President of the American Endometriosis Association) discuss their research and experience treating endometriosis as though it were in some part a result of a hormone allergy. In the final chapter, Mary Lou Balweg discusses the effectiveness of treating the allergic factors.



Dr. Kresch, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Stanford Medical School in Palo Alto, California, has suggested that addressing the hormone allergy of his patients has allowed him to deal with their endometriosis problems without surgery in a majority of patients.



And there are several recent papers describing "Premenstrual Asthma."



A significant recent acknowledgement of Hormone Allergy is found in the January 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine. This article is titled "Differential Behavior Effects of Gonadal Steroids in Women And In Those Without Premenstrual Syndrome."



Skin Problems

It is well known that as we age our skin changes. Older women experience bruising on their arms, dryness from the neck down, oiliness from the neck up, wrinkles and ‘age’ spots.



Younger women may experience "acne" or red spots on their face, scalp, bosom and upper back. Often I see unusual hair growth called "hirsuitism." In one case a twenty year-old woman was shaving twice a day and the hair on her head was so thin you could see her scalp in all areas. She also had coarse, long hair on her arms and legs and a thick thatch of hair on her bosom. Her doctor had found all of her hormones to be "within normal limits."



The prototypical post-menopausal little old lady is bald headed with chin whiskers, a mustache, thin, dry skin and a cranky personality. (I know this isn’t always true and it certainly doesn’t describe my dear, sweet, old mom or yours; but, I need to make a point.)



Menopause is defined as the end of ovulation: no more eggs. Fairly profound changes begin to take place and they accelerate as the years go by. You are no longer fertile. You are out of warranty, and nature is going to get rid of you. Menopause is characterized by a low level of estrogen. Low levels of estrogen are DANGEROUS.



Recent studies have shown that the addition of estrogen can save your life. The number one cause of death in women is Heart Disease. (Let’s remember that when your "medically-informed" but logically-challenged friends tell you the dangers of the "bizarre" low-sugar diet and hormone supplements I’m going to suggest might be harmful.)



ESTROGEN can:



Reduce your risk of heart attack by 80%



Reduce your risk of stroke by 80%



Almost completely eliminate osteoporosis



Soften your skin and reduce wrinkles and bruising



Reduce depression (Harvard Women’s Health letter, Sept. 1998)



Prevent or reverse Alzheimer’s Disease



Improve memory



Improve driving skills and motor tasks





I see hormone allergy causing skin problems in little girls of eight or nine and most commonly in early teens and ladies from about thirty-five to forty-five. Each new generation seems to begin menstruation a little earlier than the last. I think I see a much larger percentage of female allergy patients than men because their hormone cycles are much more pronounced from puberty through menopause.



I suspect this has always been true, but I believe the reason for the increasing magnitude of the problem goes once again to the increase in hypersensitivity (hormone