Living with MSG sensitivity

[Sassafras]

Living with MSG sensitivity is not easy.  It is one thing to be sensitive to this toxin, it is another when you are trying to find or create meals without MSG and other excitotoxins.  I can tell a person to read labels and give suggestions on what not to eat and what to use instead of, but to actually DO IT is sometimes a different story.

Back in 2000, I made a decision I DID NOT want to get sick again.  A half bag of Doritos or a salad with ranch dressing with croutons or instant hot chocolate or Ramon noodles or crispy chicken tenders with a must have sweet and sour sauce ARE NOT WORTH a migraine headache and nausea and vomiting and diarrhea.  And even though I made this vow NOT to eat MSG and other excitotoxins, I still occasionally had a reaction because I didn't pay attention to labeling, and I still ordered something WITHOUT asking the waitress or manager first, or I ate it anyway because I figured the reaction wouldn't be that bad.  And every time I made bad decisions, I paid for it with bad health. 

I am not going to say that I have not had a reaction for X number of years.  I still get a migraine and have other reactions, but they are less frequent because I am taking less risks. 




Maybe someone can share with us their experience with "Living with MSG sensitivity".  I am sure there are many people with similar stories or at least more interesting.

Share yours story today.
_____________________
Just Me
Sass

[sculptr]

I will share, and introduce myself,  as this is my first post.  My name is Michele and I believe that I must have been fighting this battle since childhood.  I am highly sensitive to MSG and all the other nasties, to the point of potentially going into a coma if I consume too much of them (i was borderline at one time, nobody could wake me).  The reason that I say I believe I've been fighting this since childhood is that I had a hard time paying attention in school.  I have a high IQ and nobody could figure out why I didn't do better with my studies.  Just to give you a general idea of what I'm saying, I'm now 54 years young, so it has been a looooooong battle.  I used to get hives, space out, get stomach aches, and very bad migraines, all before the age of 18.  My mother cooked healthy meals but used veggies from a can, etc, and we all know how hard it is to avoid MSG when you DO know to look for it.  So I have consuming poison for a long time, as we all have.

About four years ago I started getting extremely drowsy "for no reason".  I would sleep for days and days, getting up only to eat (consume more poison) then back to bed.  The neurologist couldn't find any concrete reason and diagnosed me with narcolepsy.  I could literally fall asleep standing up (still can) or even riding my bike (yep, still do it but I haven't yet fallen!).  I was given Ritalin to help, but when I have a bad attack even Ritalin doesn't work.

I finally figured things out myself when I was feeling great for a week, no sleepiness, no headaches, no balance problems, etc... I bought a box of powdered donuts, ate one, and fell asleep immediately.  The light bulb went on!  I started writing down the ingredients of everything that I ate and comparing the ones that made me feel bad.  I noticed MSG in many forms although I didn't know at the time that it was all MSG.  Finally I looked up MSG on Google and came across a ton of information that literally saved my life.

I still have a lot of trouble with neurotoxins, but not because of lack of education.  I seem to be more and more sensitive to these toxins each day.  Before, I was ok with regular shampoos, toothpaste, lotions, etc, but now I am going to have to start being picky with those, too.  I also have a horrible addiction to Coke Cola, which I'm trying to overcome.  And I used to be able to eat a couple Dove dark chocolates each day but they must be affecting me now, so out they go.  I'm hoping to find some chocolate and drink recipes (maybe on here?) to replace these things.  I'm starting to have a battle with drowsiness again, which isn't acceptable!  Life is too short to sleep it away.

I'm glad to be here, and hope that everyone will participate and tell their stories, too.  Thank you Mick & Sassafrass!

Warmly, Michele

Maybe someone can share with us their experience with "Living with MSG sensitivity".  I am sure there are many people with similar stories or at least more interesting.

Share yours story today.

[misfitguy]

Michele,

Your story needed to be shared so others can realize that they don't have to accept bad health, simply because the medical industry says it is OK because we have medicine that will fix it.  I am sure many will be able to relate to it in part if not in whole and their "light bulb" may just twinkle a bit.  I am a chocolate fiend.   After being diagnosed with diabetes,  I had to give up what I thought of as a health food and a life line to my better being.  I found Russell Stover Sugar Free chocolates and thought I had died and went to heaven.  I ate a lot of them before Sass pointed out the maltodextrin.  Chocolates are safe as long as there isn't any maltodextrin, carrageenan, inverted sugars.....  I stopped because, daily, the food industry changes their ways of labeling so as to confuse us.  They surely aren't trying to inform us.  Sass says Snickers is OK for her and she can have an occasional Three Musketeer.  The only drink I know that is safe, and doesn't have high fructose corn syrup, or aspartame, or inverted sugar is water.  On the other hand, the rule we have about water is, if there is an ingredient list, then it isn't water.  We drink a lot of coffee, some tea and a lot of water.  

We only have one computer with us and Sass needs to get on line to fix the website issues, so I thank you for joining and hope we see a lot of you.

Keep up the good fight

Mick

[truejeans]

I found a useful protocol for MSG detoxification when a person is exposed/ingests it that works even better than Benadryl. It was in a doctor's health newsletter in the Q & A section, but I don't remember which one. The protocol said to take 400mg Magnesium (such as Mag.Citrate) and 1000mg of Pyruvate or take a dose of Dextromethorphan (a cough med) before exposure and 6 hours after exposure. This has helped me avoid &/or get rid of a Migraine much faster. 

[Sassafras]

I found a useful protocol for MSG detoxification when a person is exposed/ingests it that works even better than Benadryl. It was in a doctor's health newsletter in the Q & A section, but I don't remember which one. The protocol said to take 400mg Magnesium (such as Mag.Citrate) and 1000mg of Pyruvate or take a dose of Dextromethorphan (a cough med) before exposure and 6 hours after exposure. This has helped me avoid &/or get rid of a Migraine much faster. 

Truejeans,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Forum!!!     

I did a little research on Pyruvate and Dextromethorphan via Wikipedia and found some interesting information.

I have some rules when searching out new excitotoxins, chemicals, and ingredients to avoid or be aware of for future reference.  One of my rules is, if "hydrolysis" is used, then avoid the item like the plague.  Reminder: Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, Vegetable Protein Concentrate, which is hydrolyzed, and Autolyzed Yeast Extract, just to name a few, are created by the way of a method called hydrolysis.  (Autolyzed might have a description of autolysis, but if you read farther, hydrolysis is also mentioned.)  As a side note, there are a lot of ingredients that exist through hydrolysis. 

Pyruvate fits this rule.  Wikipedia's explanation of Pyruvic acid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyruvic_acid  Read the section titled "Chemistry".

Another rule is , if there are way too many side effects caused by the item, then avoid it.  When you read the list of side effects you might be surprised to find they are similar to those of MSG and other excitotoxins.

Dextromethorphan fits this rule.  Wikipedia's explanation of Dextromethorphan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextromethorphan


Truejeans, how often do you detoxic?  If these items work for you, then great!!  Although, I don't think I will try it anytime soon.  I try not to depend on Benadryl to solve my reactions problems.  I take it if I accidentally get a whammy of migraine/other symptoms cause by digesting MSG and/or other excitotoxins.  If a person is relying on medication to solve their problems, then doctors and the medical industry are going to be very happy.  They couldn't be happier to give people a pill to mask symptoms rather than tell them to avoid MSG and other excitotoxins.  Besides, MSG and excitotoxins are so ingrained into our food system, it would be difficult to tell a person what to eat and what not to eat to be safe and symptom-free.


Short Story:
My husband and I are in Las Vegas right now, and this morning, Mick and I went to a restaurant that we have ate at before and they seemed to be able to cater to my needs.  But not this time.  CoCo's Restaurant cooks everything on the same grill, so the spices in the breakfast potatoes would contaminate eggs, hash browns, french toast, pancakes,... everything.  And the waitress let us know that the manager said there are other ingredients from other things cooked on the grill so it would be impossible to cook something for me and guarantee I wouldn't have a reaction.

We ended up going to Denny's down the road.  I know what I can have there and not get a reaction.  When we were traveling down the Vegas Stripon our way back to our motel room, Mick mentioned that it would be impossible to get a meal anywhere there and expect to be okay.  With all the people milling around from shop to shop and deciding to grab a quick bite to eat before hitting the next shop or attraction, it would be absolutely impossible for any of the restaurants to cook any of the meals themselves.  That means it is all pre-processed, pre-spiced, and pre-seasoned.  AND THAT IS A BIG NO-NO!!!


I am speaking to everyone when I say this:  Let me tell you from experience, it is hard to eliminate MSG and other excitotoxins from your diet.  In doing so, you are going to not eat some of the foods you love.  But if you don't eliminate these harmful poisons from your diet, if you rely on remedy-like, masking medications, then there is still going to be brain cell death that eventually will become something serious like Huntington's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Fibromyalgia, Epilepsy and the list goes on.  Sometimes these diseases start early in life and there is no way to stop them because the damage has already been done, but there is reason to believe by eliminating MSG and other excitotoxins, the diseases can be slowed.

For me, I did at one time rely on Benadryl, but now I don't take it with me everywhere I go anymore.  That's because I do the research on the ingredients in foods, I ask questions, I know what to look for.  EVERYONE who has a sensitivity to MSG and other excitotoxins have to be committed to the elimination of these deadly ingredients.


OK, I got a little off track with this post, but it's important to learn how to live WITHOUT MSG, not figure out a way to get through the symptoms.  Don't eat the bad stuff!!! That is how you do it!!

Keep up the good fight, truejeans and everyone!!

_____________
Just Me
Sass

[Yellowbird]

Hi there!
We just found out yesterday that my 8 year old son has an MSG sensitivity. He doesn't feel sick but he gets headaches and has huge mood swings. We are new to this and the thought of fighting this MSG battle seems so daunting. It makes sense though. He is my only child who also carries extra weight and he is constantly "hungry". We don't have junk food or a lot of snack food around the house but to find out it is in chicken stock and protein shakes blows me away. We do eat out maybe once a week or once every two weeks and that seems questionable also.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thank you,
Christy

[misfitguy]

Christy,

Welcome to the Forum.  Since I don't know what you have read, I am going to tell you why this section of the Forum exists.  My wife, Sassafras, suffers from what we call ESS (Excitotoxin Sensitivity Syndrome) and through our own research in the late 90's and early 2000's, we were able to eliminate most of the symptoms she suffered.  She is also a web builder and we decided we should share the information we had gleaned with others with the hope that the more voices that are aware what was causing their misery, the louder it would become.  She built a site called Say No To MSG which, if you haven't found, you should go and read.  http://www.saynotomsg.com  It has a vast amount of information.  It covers those things you should avoid, but also why they exist and how they are being used.  It explains why the medical and pharmaceutical industry is not a place we can expect to get help from and why the food industry uses it in their products.  Basically, when you get done reading, you will feel alone in your plight, and will become aware that the only way you can beat this syndrome is through label reading and dedication to the fact your son should never again ingest any excitotoxins.  Also, go to the Ingredients list pinned in this section under "Ingredients to Avoid".  Print it and memorize it.  It is the only way.

I have been thinking about what an 8 year old likes to eat and I agree with you, it is going to be very difficult.  One of the challenges you face is to convince your son not to eat these items so he can avoid his headaches of episodes.  He needs to avoid any flavored snacks.  Potato chips are safe, for instance, until you put a flavor on them. Absolutely no diet pops or diet items.  They all use fake sugars and there is no fake sugar that your son will not react to.  No flavored water, flavored milk and most ice creams.  Ice cream manufacturers have started using carrageenan in their products as a binder, which suggests that the ingredients have changed so drastically from milk and dairy products, which combine naturally, to other items that do not combine without a binding agent.  No soft serve ice cream is safe.  Most salad dressings are unsafe.  I used to say all Ranch dressings should be avoided, but the food industry is starting to put out salad dressings that do not contain any excitotoxins.  You have to read the label.  By the way, you can't believe claims like "No MSG added" such as you find on Campbell's soup cans.  They do add autolyzed yeast which is worse than msg.  Most prepared foods must be avoided, such as Ramen noodles (it's the flavor packet, the noodles are OK), Mac and Cheese in a box, canned soup, frozen entrees, frozen finger food, most things that are pre-breaded, pre-sweetened cereal, salad fixings in a bag and so much more.

We are here to help you.  Please ask questions, read all you can, convince your son these are poisons and, remember, he will never be healed from this sensitivity.  If you email us your snail mail address, we will send you a laminated pocket card you can carry with a list of excitotoxins that you need to avoid...Free. 

The last thing I need to mention is even though it is your son that is reacting to the excitotoxins, everybody is being affected.  When we eat them, we kill brain cells.  Yep, that is what I said, we kill brain cells....every time we eat them.  So none of this stuff has any nutrional value and it causes all of us damage.  Time to get angry, wouldn't you agree?

Keep up the good fight

Mick Zellar

[ChinaMommy]

I just today found this website. Thanks for starting it. Just in the past 6 weeks I realized that I have developed an allergy to MSG. I have never had any type of reactions before. The first reaction I had I thought I was starting with the flu. My whole body ached, so much so that I went to the immediate care center. I had eaten Chinese food the night before, but didn't think anything about. I had eaten it many times before and not had a problem. While at the immediate care center they tested me for the flu but it came back negative. I was shocked. I thought for sure it was the flu. By midnight that night I was fine. I still didn't connect it with MSG. This happened again 2 weeks later after eating Chinese again. That's when I began to realize that it may have had something to do with what I had eaten. I decided to be more careful and stay away from Chinese food and read labels. Then one day for lunch a couple weeks ago I had chicken fingers from Chick Fil A. Sure enough the next day I was sick. I went to their website and saw that their chicken fingers contained MSG. (I love Chick Fil A) Their grilled chicken sandwich doesn't contain MSG and didn't bother me. I think the MSG is in the breading. All of this is so new to me and I'm trying to learn as much as I can but it can be a bit overwhelming! I'm just wondering if my reactions are similar to others. From what I've read it seems like it affects people very differently. My symptoms usually start 12-18 hours after I've eaten and last about 12 hours. The only symptom is that I ache all over (every square inch of my body aches) and Advil does not help much at all. I have sometimes even run a fever with it. But I don't actually get sick or ever have any type of stomach problems, (just the aches very similar to what you would feel like if you just got hit by a semi)  Just wondering if anyone else has similar symptoms or reactions.

Thanks again for this site - it has already been so very helpful to me.
Barbara

[misfitguy]

All of this is so new to me and I'm trying to learn as much as I can but it can be a bit overwhelming! I'm just wondering if my reactions are similar to others. From what I've read it seems like it affects people very differently.

Barbara,

Thank you for joining Misfits City Forum.  This section is dedicated to MSG and other excitotoxins simply because we discovered many years ago that my wife, Sassafras, suffered from ESS (Excitotoxin Sensitivity Syndrome) which is much more than MSG but includes hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, autolyzed yeast, fake sugars and many other chemicals the food industry has begun to use to flavor enhance, bind and synthesize our food with.  I suggest you go to our MSG site, http://www.saynotomsg.com and read all that is there, particularly the page that gives you a list of ingredients you need to avoid.  Print it out and refer to it when you read labels.  You can also email us at saynotomsg@yahoo.com with your mailing address and we will send you a laminated pocket card we give to those that join the forum, which is very useful when shopping or when asking restaurants what ingredients are in their foods.

We are not aware of any cure, so once sensitivity comes about, your only solution is to avoid excitotoxins in your food, your shampoos, your hair conditioners, your tooth paste and anything you use on your skin.  There is a list of symptoms that people can get from ingesting excitotoxins on our say no to msg website.  One question I would like to ask you is if you get headaches (this is the most common symptom and many people relate them to something other than excitotoxins).  Please ask any questions that come up.  We will gladly try to help you any way we can.

Keep up the good fight

warmly,

Mick Zellar

[ChinaMommy]

Mick,
I do get a headache along with the all over body aches but its definitely not a migraine. I've always heard that bad headaches were one of the main symptoms, but that's never been one of my symptoms. And I guess the best way to determine if this really is a reaction to MSG is to eliminate and to just really watch and read labels well. It's been a week since I've had a reaction. The last 3 that I had I could trace it to MSG that I had the day before. Any other suggestions - do my symptoms sound like it could be a sensitivity to MSG and all other excitotoxins? Thanks, Barbara

[misfitguy]

Barbara,

You have the answer.  Read labels and learn what each of the components are.  Doctors or nutrionists can't/won't do it for you.  The food industry won't warn you.  The pharmaceutical industry will sell you a pill.  But, bottom line, you will be the decider for your health.  If you have a reaction, figure out what you ate in the past 48 hours that would cause it and add it to your list of items to avoid.  We have done a lot of that work in eliminating reactions in Sassafras, but the food industry is forever changing.  In fact, Sassafras had a headache yesterday and woke up with a bad one this morning and started throwing up.  She wasn't able to keep anything down until late afternoon.  We had to cancel a dinner invitation because of it.  So in spite of our expertise, they still will get her once in a while.  We are investigating what she ate in the past 48 hours and hopefully we will find what caused her symptoms.**(Look at notes below).

Your symptoms could easily be caused by excitotoxins.  You mentioned you get headaches, but not migraines.  Headaches are caused, they just don't happen and simply because they aren't in the migraine category doesn't mean they are not chemically induced.  Some other common symptoms would be light sensitivity, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, lethargicism, flu like symptoms and many more, as we list on our website.

If you have time, please read these two essays on our saynotomsg website.

http://www.saynotomsg.com/culture.php   and   http://www.saynotomsg.com/business.php   and just for fun, I'll throw in  http://www.saynotomsg.com/basics.php

Let us know if you have any more questions.  We are here to help you.

Keep up the good fight

Mick and Sassafras Zellar

**We figured out what caused Sass' reaction is a new lipstick she had purchased.  When she tried to discover the ingredients that are used, though she did find a list, they were vague and useless.  Cosmetics do not fall under the same rules of labeling as food products.  But this was a good discovery and underlines that anything we come in contact with or ingest, not just food products, may have excitotoxins.  Last year, Sass had a reaction that was caused by a waterless hand cleaner she used and later ate some snacks with her fingers. 

[Jmdepeal]

Happy to have found this forum! After years of constant headaches, stomach problems, and fatigue, I decided to have a food allergy test done. When the results showed an intolerance to MSG I began paying attention to the times I felt my worst. I've been cutting out as many forms of MSG as I can, but it sure is tough! I began feeling better almost immediately, but also feel the affects much quicker when I "cheat" or don't realize MSG is in something I eat. It's great to see a site like this that's so informative and supportive.

[misfitguy]

Happy to have found this forum! After years of constant headaches, stomach problems, and fatigue, I decided to have a food allergy test done. When the results showed an intolerance to MSG I began paying attention to the times I felt my worst. I've been cutting out as many forms of MSG as I can, but it sure is tough! I began feeling better almost immediately, but also feel the affects much quicker when I "cheat" or don't realize MSG is in something I eat. It's great to see a site like this that's so informative and supportive.

Glad you found us and thank you for your information. Everytime somebody joins the forum and posts, it shows other readers that they aren't the only one suffering.  I am pretty much convinced that most people wouldn't be at this forum because they were casually surfing the internet.  They are here because they or some one close suffers from symptoms of excitotoxins.  Notice I use the word excitotoxin instead of MSG. I do so because there are over a hundred chemicals that will cause you distress and MSG is only one of them.  Anything protein that is hydrolyzed or anything that is autolyzed is even worse than MSG.  A lot of the binders used such as carrageenan, xanthum gum, etc will cause reactions.  All the fake sugars, and there are many, cause reactions.  And it is not just found in our foodstuffs.  Carrageenan is found in toothpaste, hydrolyzed protein is found in hair conditioners and some shampoos and some of the skin creams use a hydrolyzed protein to enrich the skin but they will cause distress in people that suffer from MSG reactions.  Most of the medical industry and nutrition industry deny that these additives will cause us problems.  The "health" industry even sells autolyzed yeast products in a powder form to increase muscle production and of course headaches.

Read labels and stay healthy.

Keep up the good fight

Mick Zellar