So I bought a thing of digestive enzymes. I had a gift certificate for the Gluten-Free Mall, so I bought a cheap thing of enzymes. I know brands matter, but so does money, and this one was free free free, and I would have waited to buy them if I had to pay. It was worth a shot!
The pills came on Friday. A reminder: these were supposed to cure my food allergies. Supposedly I should be able to eat anything with them because they’d break down the offensive proteins before they could affect me. Here’s what happened:
Trial 1: As soon as I got the bottle, I took 2 pills and ate a bowl of cereal – half Lucky Charms, half Total Raisin Bran. No problems!!
Trial 2: We celebrated by ordering 2 large pizzas (pepperoni/pineapple and sausage/banana pepper – I’d forgotten what went well on pizzas). I took 3 pills and summarily stuffed myself with 4 giant pieces. Oh yeah, and 2 small cookies. It was heavenly!! I took one more pill after I finished because I ate so much, but I had no intestinal issues and no neurological issues! It seemed to be working like a charm. About 3 hours later I got just a hint of brain fuzz (overwhelming sleepiness and inability to concentrate), but I was impressed.
Trial 3: Saturday I took 2 pills and ate 2 pieces of cold pizza for lunch, then we went to Costco and I ate all the samples! Oh the excitement! And still just the gentlest murmur from my body in protest. Still going strong.
Trial 4: Sunday friends came over and brought brownies, so I had 1.5, with 2 pills. No problemo.
Trial 5: I had a big wrap with 3 pills at a training meeting, and the floor fell out from under me. Everything came back. My intestines felt like they were all contracting at once, my brain felt like it was expanding and floating, and to top it all off, I threw up a little. Still, 8 hours later, my abdomen still hurts. One of the worst reactions I’ve ever had.
Conclusion: none. A few ideas —
-I got a very cheap, unproven formula of digestive enzymes, and they all work differently. Enzymes may still be the answer, just not this brand.
-Maybe the enzymes never worked, and it took my body a while to build up a threshold to react to.
. . . and that’s about all my ideas. Back to the drawing board.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmm. I wonder… I don’t know many people who can process a lot of pizza/junk food, even if they don’t have allergies. Especially if they were eating very well, and suddenly switched diets. Maybe the enzymes will let you ‘cheat’ every once in awhile? Maybe starting slow will let the body adjust and catch up… Don’t know! Sounds like heaven, though.
It has been heaven! And I do think I went a little overboard that first week. I haven’t had a problem since then, which is wonderful. I think I should stop using them for a little bit though, because they’re interfering with figuring out what exactly I AM allergic to! We’re starting to look at it as a possible long term solution. Well, solution is a little too grand . . . a coping mechanism. A way to be “normal” (ish).