Hello

[hollyanne]

Hi everyone,

So I am thrilled to have found this forum. I only recently discovered that HFI is a thing because I decided to research if there is any medical reason why I hate sweet fruits/foods. Ever since I started solid food as a baby I have hated sugar, fruits, baby food, tomato paste, and sweet vegetables (like kumura, pumpkin, carrots, parsnips, corn). After my parents had another kid who reacted the same way to sweet foods (now I have three other siblings with the same dislike for sweets) they realized it must be genetic so they stopped trying to make me eat sugary foods, although I still had to eat sweet vegetables and some fruits. They've been really great about it, and very supportive but I know I also seem fussy when I love some foods and find others 'too sweet' even though other people don't find them sweet at all...I can always tell if something has sugar or fructose in it. I get stomach cramps/nausea after eating small amounts of fructose-high foods, I always struggle with fatigue and lethargy, and I had definitely had failure to thrive as a child (was so tiny at 13 people would sometimes ask if I was almost old enough to start school soon). Now I avoid foods containing fructose as much as possible but I still feel like I'm being super fussy and I should just 'get over it' and people think I'm ridiculous to not eat fruit/sweets. I also don't mind a couple random sweet things (like sherbet, and those fizzy candy bracelets) which is weird. They just don't taste 'sweet' to me compared to chocolate or cake.

People always assume I'm really picky and I feel very stupid and rude saying 'oh i don't like chocolate' or 'no thanks, I don't want cake'  and 'no I'm not off sugar for dieting reasons'. I am 20 now and I really want some answers to why I am like this: hence researching HFI.

For those of you who have been diagnosed, how long did the process take? And, reading a little about my journey, does it sound like I have HFI?

Thanks for your time!

[colormist]

Welcome to the forum and I'm glad you found your people and had supportive family members!

To me, it does sound like you have HFI. You will feel your best if you completely eliminate fructose-added and fructose having foods. I rarely have issues with my energy levels now that I get enough protein and am fructose free.

For me, the process took a few months. I had to request a geneticist referral from my primary care doctor. Convincing the geneticist has more difficult, but thankfully he humored me. It took a month to get the results back and the geneticist apologized. Not much else has changed since. I make sure to let doctors know my condition and make them research any new medications to make sure they're safe for me to take. I do take a multivitamin, because a lack of veggies can be an issue.

Good luck on your journey! Please feel free to ask us any questions or keep us posted on you diagnostic adventure! Sometimes doctors can be a challenge, but dentists should love you!

[ukbill]

I would be surprised if you were not HFI.

1st thing you need to realise is that Nothing you have been told about "healthy diets" relates to you or your siblings.

We have a safe foods list which is out of date I am afraid but is still a good place to start.

All Fructose is Toxic and poisonous to us. 4g a day is the maximum safe limit before liver damage is going to start.

AS newly (self) diagnosed you need the following
1/. Liver function test.
2/. Genetic test for HFI.
Both are easy if you live in the UK but unfortunately the American system is less helpful.. shall we say?

Everything you have been told about healthy eating is safe for us.. nothing. It is not like the advice (eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day) is in anyway truthful anyway.

The main intent of that message is to reduce the number of ultra processed foods you eat by 5 items a day.
Being HFI means you will hardly ever eat any pre-prepared food anyway.

Can you cook? because this is a key thing for all HFI'ers to live safely in the modern world where just about every food item has added sugar (to make you eat more than you would normally eat).

Food cooked from fresh ingredients is so much healthier and good for you than manufactured foods (like fast food burgers).

It is unusual for more than one child to be born with HFI (the risk is 1:4 ) given both your parents will have to be missing at least one gene responsible for metabolising Fructose.

Is one of your parents also having problems with sugar and fruits?

This is most likely going so deep you will currently be lost.
You have found a great resource here if slightly iffy in some of the posts made 15 years ago. We have learnt a lot recently and are learning more all the time.

Keep smiling because soon you will feel better than you have ever felt in your life!