O's almost daily belly aches continue, despite being completly dairy free for 2 months. Removing dairy has made a huge difference in his constipation; no more days filled with tears & a dozen or more attempts at pooping. No days on end w/o pooping followed by a giant explosion! Now, he poops every day w/o even thinking about it. It is so wonderful! However, he still complains nearly every day that his belly hurts. Most complaints occur in the morning & evening, he rarely complains at school. He does seem to complain a fair amount in the late afternoon too, though not as much as before bed. The pain seems to be fairly well divided. About half the time it is in his "up belly & all the way up the pipe" & the other half of the time it is in his "low belly". "Up belly & pipe" make me think his reflux is acting up (he hasn't been on meds in 1.5 years), but the "low belly" doesn't seem to go w/ reflux. We are frustrated, confused & want to help him!
His 4 year check up is next week & the belly aches will be topic number 1. I'm thinking we may need to go back to the pedi GI, a 4 year old shouldn't be having such belly issues! I wish that pulling all dairy had solved this too!
Monday, June 6, 2011
RAVE: Vermont Nut Free Chocolate
I just want to give a shout-out to an amazing company: Vermont Nut Free Chocolate! I discovered them shortly before the holidays when I was looking for a way to do the baking & candy making I had so enjoyed as a child. I ordered their candy melts, cocoa powder & chips. I was pleasantly suprised with their prompt delivery & even more so by their taste. The candy melts are far superior to any other candy melt I have ever tasted! The cocoa powder & chips cook just like the ones at the grocery store, but taste much better. Everything I have made with Vermont Nut Free Products has earned rave reviews. I have even turned several people w/o PN & TN allergies on to their chocolate, because the taste, texture & consistency are far superior!
I have ordered several of their candies, chocolate covered pretzels (yum!) & Tannabar granola bars too. I have been very happy with all of them.
Thank you Vermont Nut Free Chocolate for making such tasty & safe treats!!
http://www.vermontnutfree.com/
I have ordered several of their candies, chocolate covered pretzels (yum!) & Tannabar granola bars too. I have been very happy with all of them.
Thank you Vermont Nut Free Chocolate for making such tasty & safe treats!!
http://www.vermontnutfree.com/
Desperately Missing Reeses!
I was very excited to find Suncups at my local natural market this weekend. I was even more excited to try them tonight, after a crazy day at school. EPIC FAIL! The sunflower taste was overpowering. All I could taste was that roasted sunflower kernel (which I enjoy) taste, blah. I miss Reeses! Is there anything that actually taste similar?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Seeing results already!
O has been completly dairy free for just 2 weeks & we have already seen a huge improvement in many of his symptoms! No more daily tears about headaches! No crying & trying to poop for days on end! No coughs! And, something I hadn't even linked, energy & mood! It had just become normal to me that O would come home from school, say "I don't feel up to anything" & lie down on the couch for an hour before playing. He hasn't done that once since going dairy free!! I never thought he lacked energy or was in a bad mood, but apparently he did & he was. Who knew? What a great bonus, a happier, more energetic kid, yay! We are so glad we decided to try dairy free, it certainly seems to be working!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Going Dairy Free
According to the ENT & O's sinus CT scan, his sinuses are chronically inflammed & infected & show signs of an allergic reaction. According to the allergist & a brand new baby batch SPT, he isn't allergic to anything (haven't we heard that before?. Ahhhh.....back to the drawing board (AGAIN) we go! After doing some research of our own, we discovered that there could be a link between all of his sinus issues, cough, headaches, stomachs & his dairy intake (he still doesn't drink cow's milk, but he does eat things like goldfish, cheese, butter etc).
O was diagnosed with a milk & soy allergy at 8 weeks old. We followed a strict dairy free (including caisein) & soy free (including lethicin) until he was 18 months old. From 18 - months till 2.5 years we still followed a dairy free diet (though not quiet as strict). Around 2.5 - 3 years we began introducing small amounts of dairy, though he never tolerated cows milk, ice cream or yogurt. He did grow to love cheese, sour cream & goldfish! His initial sinus/cough symptoms began at 6 months, when he also began solids. The symptoms have continued to get worse, as he has continued to add foods to his diet. Could there be a link? It kind of makes sense to us, so we have decided to go back to a completly dairy free diet for O in hopes that we will see some improvement in some of his symptoms! We don't have anything to lose!
O was diagnosed with a milk & soy allergy at 8 weeks old. We followed a strict dairy free (including caisein) & soy free (including lethicin) until he was 18 months old. From 18 - months till 2.5 years we still followed a dairy free diet (though not quiet as strict). Around 2.5 - 3 years we began introducing small amounts of dairy, though he never tolerated cows milk, ice cream or yogurt. He did grow to love cheese, sour cream & goldfish! His initial sinus/cough symptoms began at 6 months, when he also began solids. The symptoms have continued to get worse, as he has continued to add foods to his diet. Could there be a link? It kind of makes sense to us, so we have decided to go back to a completly dairy free diet for O in hopes that we will see some improvement in some of his symptoms! We don't have anything to lose!
Monday, March 14, 2011
How We Became Nut Free
We became a nut free family in a rather unusual way. O had been diagnosed with milk & soy allergies at 8 weeks old. We were told that there was no reason to suspect a nut allergy & follow the new AAP recommendations of introducing nuts at 1 year old. I finally worked up the nerve to try nuts when O was 22 months old. He coughed, wheezed & developed a rash. I was told to try them again at home. He coughed, wheezed & developed a rash. We were sent for allergy tests. O tested negative to peanuts (PN) & tree nuts (TN) on both the skin prick test (SPT)/scratch test & the blood test (RAST).
Our allergist decided to have him do an in office challenge. Prior to the in office challenege (IOC) he was given a SPT with the fresh peanut butter (PB) that would be used for the challenge. The nurse claimed the test was negative, though I STILL think he had a small reaction. We preceded with the challenge. The IOC starts with a miniscule amount of PB on a tongue depressor (so small that it is almost impossible to get off the tongue depressor). Every 15 minutes the amount of peanut butter consumed increases slightly. After the 3rd dose, O began reacting. His skin got very red & blotchy, he began grabbing at his throat & tongue. Thankfully, the nurse immediately gave Benadryl & stopped the reaction. Despite having tested negative to everything, he clearly reacted & was diagnosed with a peanut allergy. The allergist recommended that we also assume he has a tree nut allergy, since we can't accurately test for it unless we do an IOC. O's PN & TN allergies were diagnosed in March of 2009.
Until O was diagnosed, I ate peanut butter every morning (except while pregnant, I was too sick to eat anything). After his diagnosis, I would still eat the occasional Reese's or something when I was at work. In an attempt to get healthy in the fall of 2009, I began eating Kashi & Luna Bars. I had an evening snack one day & headed to bed. As I lay there, I felt my throat swelling & had increasing difficulty swallowing. I felt like my heart was barely beating. My head was killing. I had to call my husband on the phone b/c he was still upstairs & tell him to give me O's Epi-Pen (Jr) or take me to the ER. We went to the ER & I was given several meds to stop the reaction. I was told I would likely never know what caused it. I went to work the next day, feeling tired from a long night in the ER, but fine. While driving home, my throat began tighting again, my head & stomach began throbbing. I drove myself to the ER, was again given meds to stop the reaction & sent on my way. I saw my PCP the next day & she advised me to avoid the top 8 until I had an allergy test. Several weeks later I went for an SPT & was again told that I may not find out the cause of my reactions. Luckily, I did find out!! I tested positive to peanuts & tree nuts in October 2009, at 29 years old!!
Our allergist decided to have him do an in office challenge. Prior to the in office challenege (IOC) he was given a SPT with the fresh peanut butter (PB) that would be used for the challenge. The nurse claimed the test was negative, though I STILL think he had a small reaction. We preceded with the challenge. The IOC starts with a miniscule amount of PB on a tongue depressor (so small that it is almost impossible to get off the tongue depressor). Every 15 minutes the amount of peanut butter consumed increases slightly. After the 3rd dose, O began reacting. His skin got very red & blotchy, he began grabbing at his throat & tongue. Thankfully, the nurse immediately gave Benadryl & stopped the reaction. Despite having tested negative to everything, he clearly reacted & was diagnosed with a peanut allergy. The allergist recommended that we also assume he has a tree nut allergy, since we can't accurately test for it unless we do an IOC. O's PN & TN allergies were diagnosed in March of 2009.
Until O was diagnosed, I ate peanut butter every morning (except while pregnant, I was too sick to eat anything). After his diagnosis, I would still eat the occasional Reese's or something when I was at work. In an attempt to get healthy in the fall of 2009, I began eating Kashi & Luna Bars. I had an evening snack one day & headed to bed. As I lay there, I felt my throat swelling & had increasing difficulty swallowing. I felt like my heart was barely beating. My head was killing. I had to call my husband on the phone b/c he was still upstairs & tell him to give me O's Epi-Pen (Jr) or take me to the ER. We went to the ER & I was given several meds to stop the reaction. I was told I would likely never know what caused it. I went to work the next day, feeling tired from a long night in the ER, but fine. While driving home, my throat began tighting again, my head & stomach began throbbing. I drove myself to the ER, was again given meds to stop the reaction & sent on my way. I saw my PCP the next day & she advised me to avoid the top 8 until I had an allergy test. Several weeks later I went for an SPT & was again told that I may not find out the cause of my reactions. Luckily, I did find out!! I tested positive to peanuts & tree nuts in October 2009, at 29 years old!!
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