At the age of 59, I was having trouble with hives and worsening asthma. I had an inkling that I had problems with some foods since I was a child but had never followed it up. I have now (with support from an allergist in Adelaide) completed the RPA's 6 week Strict Elimination diet and am now doing the Challenge Diet - I am up to the MSG challenge.

I have been amazed at how the elimination diet has changed the way I eat - I thought I would never get through it but I did so with flying colours.  During the elimination diet I had a week long withdrawal period.  I found I was intolerant to pears which are a staple of the elimination diet - this all made it very interesting. But I persisted by getting through week by week.

I am finding the challenges just a bit harder, especially when we went to Sydney for a week.  So far I have found that I am intolerant to wheat and salicylates and am hoping that's it!

But I have learnt that you have to be organised, write a diary, have the required food on hand - I do tend to treat it as a project which will end in the long run.  I know that there are plenty of people that have been through this process but I am very proud of myself and intend to keep on going until the end.

UPDATE:  I have completed the Amine challenge - unfortunately I reacted very strongly: stomach ache, itchy, hives and very tired - another intolerance to add to the list!
Doing the strict elimination diet helped my asthma and my occasional hives/itchiness enormously. It is only since I have been on the challenges that my itches and hives have come back - this has helped me to determine what I am intolerant to.  I previously had no idea that what I was eating was causing my asthma so this was a big wake up call for me - Jenny, South Australia.