Anyone have a Nightshade intolerance?

[Squirt]

No, I'm not talking about the inflammatory forum member of a few months back...

I've been having odd digestive problems which have become pretty unsettling for the past few years- symptoms similar to ibs but not as bad as most people describe. Somehow, I stumbled across food intolerances/sensitivities and I'm really believing that I might have a problem with members of the nightshade family: Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers of all kinds, eggplant, and tobacco.

I finally put a few things together after being suspicious for a few months that eating tomato products several days in a row would end up in an upset stomach. At first I attributed it to acid. Raw tomato, particularly, does this. I thought for a while that something was wrong with the Aldi diced tomatoes I was adding to many many meals.

The I realized that potatoes bother me too. I had to eat a big baked potato all by itself on two different occasions in order to recognize how they speed up my digestive tract and give me funny rumbles in my stomach after I eat them and when I awake the next morning. Here I thought that crab legs were bothering my stomach intermittently (I'd have to use the bathroom within an hour or two.) Turns out I sometimes have baked potato instead of sweet with my crableg meal, and it's the same sensations I get as when I eat a potato.

Green peppers I've never been able to handle. Metallic taste, burping, and if I eat a ton, gas.

Smoking a cigarette (when I did) used to make me run for the bathroom.

I've ordered IgG allergy tests, and will get blood drawn for them as soon as the kit comes in. I hear they aren't 100% accurate, but I'm still interested in the results.

Some people say nightshades also cause arthritis. Wouldn't you know it, I have "traveling" pains in joints or areas I've fractured long ago. They'll hurt every day for weeks or months and then be gone. It would be terrific if I'm not crazy and if these foods are the cause. I can live without them if it means my guts and joints can be normal again.

[shoiji]

I doubt you are crazy. On some of my posts I have mentioned a food sensitivity to nightshades.

I figured it out about a year ago. For me I will break-out in acne, start itching, and my mood will change. Fortunately my doctor understands and does not think I am crazy.

I basically read the ingredients for any processed food I might buy. (regular fritos are just water, corn, and salt if you need junk food) I can have nightshades once maybe twice a week without things getting bad. I just think of it as a treat when I eat the stuff. Which is usually two or three times a month.

I have not been tested. I just kept a food journal and showed it to my doctor.

Sometimes I can't help but wonder if all the genetic engineering and polution has changed the way plants and people react to each other. That plus the saying you are what eat seems to apply.

Good luck with figuring everything out. I had to stop researching because I was afraid to get psychosomatic (sp) with what I read.

[shortcake]

Are you sure it's not IBS? Not everyone has it to the same degree. I have it really bad compared to others I have heard of. It is very different from one person to another. Symptoms vary also. For instance with IBS you usually have both constipation and loose stool, however I never get constipated. My doctor laughs when I tell him side effects I get from different medications. For instance I became anemic last summer and the iron pills would make my IBS flare up sooo bad I was in constant diarrhea. He couldn't believe it, I should of been very constipated with the amount of iron I was taking but it had the opposite effect. I think you should get checked by a specialist to make sure everything is OK on the insides. I know it's unpleasant but important. Do you get pains or spasm's (don't know if that is spelled correctly?) That's the basis explaination of IBS the intestine starts to spasm. Hope you figure out the problem and get better soon.

[Squirt]

I do plan on getting checked out. I was going to go to a doctor first, until I read about how most doctors basically write off ibs and don't try to look for a cause. Have you read many ibs stories and forums? People's symptoms and what makes them go away are all different! That's what makes me believe that it is not a disease in itself with one cause. I'm going to act on any response from the blood tests first and see if I get any changes.

No, I do not get the pain and spasms except on very rare occasions, I do not fit the Rome criteria for it (I believe.) And I don't get constipation. What happens is that I get an unavoidable urge to go (often diarrhea) and that developed anxiety symptoms which in turn reinforced the urges at inappropriate times. My brain managed to work the two in together into quite a package. I've worked out most of the anxiety, but I still have some tummy issues. If I drink coffee, I'm done for. The stupid thing is that I've been drinking coffee almost every morning so I get my business done for before the day starts. Stupid, I know! I've cut that out almost completely as of 2 weeks ago.

I guess what it comes down to is that I don't trust a normal doctor to take diet seriously, or at least curiously, and I don't want to go to some quack who is entirely on the other end of the spectrum. So in other words, I don't know where to start when it comes to getting help from a professional.

It is causing little pain to cut the nightshades out in order to see what happens, especially when I'm almost certain I've linked cause and effect.

Thanks for the info and tips.

[acidcookie]

I don't doubt your intolerance one bit! I once did what was called an elimination diet, which is basically to find out how you react with certain foods by isolating them so you know what to stay away from. The book I was reading grouped the foods in their families and I specifically remember reading about the nightshade family. You can be allergic to anything. Also, such an elimination diet is an alternative to getting tested for the allergy.

[Squirt]

Thank you. I've read that an elimination diet is more reliable than blood tests. I might look for a book. I have a sister who experienced terrible migraines which were originally attributed to her career. After medication didn't do the trick, she was put on an elimination diet and they disappeared. I have no idea if she identified trigger foods, but the original simple diet made her migraines go away entirely.

This has been difficult for me to grasp, as I've always been an eat anything, do anything kind of person. I've had a hard time believing that my body can't handle anything I throw at it, and that's probably why it's taken almost 4 years to start to figure this out. Maybe it's been longer than that, as I recall having reactions sharing a meat-and-potatoes diet with a boyfriend at the age of 20. At the time, I thought it was nerves as I was a shy kid... Who knows?? I will be so happy if I can identify the cause and eliminate it.