Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Allergic to starch?

An interesting thought I had today. If the Klebsiella bacteria proliferates in our system when we feed it starch, and the "bug" creates its problems with those having AS or HLA-B27 pos, then would it not be safe to say that this would be a "starch allergy"? That is if I can show that diet and results are directly related (at least to me). I hope to plan to test a flare with a dose of starch when I get stabilized.

I have been trying to help others understand who have absolutely no clue of AS get a handle on what happens to us. It would seem easier on the layman's ears to hear it is an allergy to starch.

Or is this already understood, and I am just late to the party?

I just find that "allergy" is WAYYYYY too positively connotative to what happens when I flare.

...aside from the "deathly allergic" descriptor that a lot of people freely throw around.

My explanation to others depends on their level of interest.

If they are really genuinely interested in understanding what I'm going through, I'll try to explain the nuances between a 'traditional allergy' and the joy that is my life. I'll frequently be asked whether it's anything like Celiac and explain to them what I understand to be the differences. Since I get diarrhea of the mouth easily, those conversations are fun, and it's also interesting to hear their stories of afflicted love ones; that can definitely put things into perspective.

However, if a kind person asks me why I'm intently studying the ingredients... if the person exhibits a "crap-I-just-put-a-nickel-in-the-juke-box"-face early in my monologue, I will spare them the details. I'll tell them it's exactly like a starch allergy, with the exception of the bone fusion, the shin splints, the achilles tendonitis, the irisitis, the kidney stones, and the inability to sleep, sit, or walk without being in pain. They normally leave me alone after that.

In all seriousness, my Reader's Digest explanation is that I have a type of arthritis that gets triggered from starch. Unfortunately, this invariably leads to "Rheumatoid Arthritis?"...

Freddie

The easiest thing for lay people is to say you have food allergies that trigger arthritis. Technically, I don't think there's anything actually called a 'starch' allergy in the medical world. Doctors generally only accept IgE mediated reactions as allergies. Generally, what we have might be called an intolerance instead of an allergy.

I looked back on my skin prick allergy testing. I had mild reactions to some foods, nothing significant enough to be called a true allergy.

4 of the foods are starchy ones:
Corn
Peanut
Bananas
Pecans

So that's interesting. I can't tolerate corn starch even in a medicine tablet. I get pain in my eye even though I don't have iritis.

The other two were coconut and mushrooms, those are histamine containing foods.

I didn't react to other starchy foods like rice, buckwheat, other nuts. But skin prick tests are not very reliable for the kinds of problems we have. But it's interesting it picked up some of the foods if only in a mild way.

My allegist concluded that I have a gastrointestinal problem.

Thanks everyone for your input to my question. I see that an allergy in the medical sense is different from a literal sense, if that makes sense.

I will save the long winded explanations for those who really care, and those that don't, I'll just save my breath.

John

I agree with Freddie,

I explain at level I think they are interested and what they may understand. I have never used the food allergy description... always thought someone would respond, "OH really.... how can you be allergic to all starch".

Tim

I just tell them I'm on a diet! They really don't care then cuz I'm already thin! I always get the deer in the headlights look and it tickles me!!

I have to say tho that Freddie hit the nail on the head!! Funny!

We can say that it is a intolerance, an allergy, can count as the bacteria feed and that active our disease, we can…

It gives equal, we will almost always be mistaken to do something that they do not understand.

Also those were mistaken decades ago that dealt celiaquía with a diet without gluten.

Greetings.

Another idea would just to say that you are doing a low carb diet that helps reduce your pain. So many people do low carb diets these days like Atkins, South Beach, the Zone, etc.

NSD, of course, is different than any of those diets, but people might be able to understand that.