Quick Self Allergy Test

Sorry, this is a wordy post, but had to share my experience. In the last post I touched on the subject that I found I had even more allergies than I previously knew about. I started the day by feeling the size of the lump in my neck. I do this regularly. I've had it for about a year and a half. The doctors wanted to cut it out and biopsy it but I had the strong feeling that I could overcome it naturally. The doctor who wanted to cut it out was clueless about gut health and how the whole body works together, so it was an easy decision for me to not return. After getting real strict with my diet and only eating Candida friendly foods that I believed were safe I really felt like I could heal myself. Well on this particular morning I still felt the lump there, yes, it has gone down significantly in size, (it used to be like the size of a gumball and now was about pea size) but I was frustrated it was still there after working so hard. I openly said, "God, why is this lump still there? What am I doing wrong? Please show me!!!" Then I went on with my day. That afternoon I was making a loaf of bread that I thought was working really well for my daughter and I. It was egg, dairy (cow), gluten, wheat, nut, nightshade and yeast free. When I was scooping the batter into the pan I decided to try a dab to see how it tasted. Who doesn't like to try dough/batter when they are baking? :) Anyway, I guess I was being messy and the batter dripped down my lip and went onto the skin below my lip. Not thinking much of it and I just wiped my lip and continued getting the bread dough in the oven. Not long after I felt my lip/skin getting itchy. A few minutes go by, and it is still bothering. I go to the bathroom and see that my skin is red, inflamed and it is still itchy. It hits me that something in the batter does not like me. Oh no! What can it be? I thought everything was safe that I was using. I do not like bland food. When I make food, I tend to go spice happy and add other foods that will give bursts of flavor. So my bread is no plain bread. My first thought was it was the goat yogurt I put in this batch (a newish food brought back) so I decided to put a dab of it on my lip/skin area that hadn't been inflamed by the dough batter. Nothing happened, so I proceeded to try the rest of the ingredients I had used. I gave plenty of time between each item to see if something would happen. Sure enough, when I came to ginger, my lip stung like crazy and my skin turned red. It didn't stop until I washed it off. When my skin returned to normal I continued with testing to see if there was anything else. (the gluten free flours, onion, garlic, other seasonings...) Cinnamon and oregano also reacted. I use oregano in EVERYTHING! I love it for flavor. I was not happy at all. At first I was thinking, God, I've already taken out soooo many foods and now this?! I gave up sugar, my seasonings were my replacement to get by and now I have to take these out too??? I felt like breaking down. I started to think if I had one more reaction to food I would completely lose it. It is NO easy task giving up all your favorite foods (favorite foods back then anyway) and then when you find out you react to things that are supposedly healthy, it isn't easy to take. My daughter was freaked out when she came home and saw I had an allergic reaction to cinnamon. She loves cinnamon and uses it often and we were both worried she would react the same way since we have so many of the same health problems. But praise the Lord she didn't react!!! To be honest I had a small pity party for myself. Then I realized God had answered my prayer that I had spoke that morning. When I asked why my neck lump was still there. He showed me! He had guided me to figure it out! How amazing was that?! I was filled with hope pretty quickly. The next day when Kaelyn asked if I was still sad and upset about the seasonings I couldn't have, I said no. I really felt like everything was going to be fine. I had a sense of peace that came over me and I didn't have any more negative feelings about it. God is good!
I had been shown a pretty simple way to test for allergies. Not sure why I didn't think of it sooner as when Kaelyn was a baby she would also break out in rashes from foods she ate that got on her skin first. We should have known right away to remove milk and egg from her diet right away when we saw those signs, but silly us, I think we were in a bit of denial and waited for official tests from the doctors that ended up showing what we already knew.
A ways into my own health struggles I really wanted my doctor to do allergy tests on me. She wouldn't. She said they are unreliable, that doing your own elimination food tests are a better route to go. I wasn't too happy at the time, because I wanted something fast and simple to tell me what I couldn't/shouldn't have. I had already done my own 2 week elimination diet of main food categories and knew several foods I responded poorly to. My doctor wanted me to retest all foods again but leave them out for 3 weeks and gradually reintroduce one at a time again. Well I got the same results by doing just the 2 week elimination and then gradually adding one back at a time. I can go into more depth on that process in another post if someone is interested.
Back to the easiest test we found, not saying it will work for everyone or for all kinds of allergy testing but it is certainly an easy one to try for a first stage test. Just mix a dry ingredient with a tiny bit of water and put on your lip and down into the skin below, no need to add water if it is a liquid. If you get a stinging and itching sensation that won't go away with red inflammation, you aren't reacting well to it and should remove the food for a good amount of time. Your body can heal itself so the good news is if it is a good healthy food that you are reacting to, in time you should be able to bring it back into your diet. Your gut health just needs time to restrengthen and heal.
Here is a picture of me about an hour and a half after one of my reactions, I think this one was from the oregano...

The inflammation had looked quite a bit worse but I didn't think to take a photo until it was going away. This is me in the all natural by the way, no editing, no make up... I hadn't even done my hair that day. Who has time for that? :) Really I don't care what I look like in the photo I just wanted to share my experience in hopes it will help someone else figure out their offending foods.

My learning doesn't end there. After my allergy testing experience I was a little worried about other foods I may be eating that I may be allergic to and not know it. Well, thank the Lord for his nudging in my life because he led me to the most amazing revelation. After Jesus died for us, he gave us His Holy Spirit to live in each and every one of us, right? And I guess I was originally thinking that was how He guides us, which is true but the part I was missing is just how powerful He is and ALL the things He can help us do. God is the most powerful, the number one HEALER and He lives in ME and you!!! It really hit me, I don't need to take anymore evil going on in my body. The Lord lives in me and can overcome it! I just have to believe, trust, and remember what all Jesus did for me (and everyone else) on the cross. I can allow my body to let the Holy Spirit overcome any sickness, disease, or other negativity in my body.  I don't know about you but that sure got me excited! And guess what, my neck lump is almost gone!!! So, so thankful! I strongly encourage you to turn to the Lord when you think a struggle in your life is too strong. Give it up to Him to overcome. I will go into more depth on my revelation soon.