Today, I was a mad woman cleaning out my pantry, getting rid of more junk and I don’t have that much to rid. I am at a lost for my 2 year old son, who has a ton of food allergies and food sensitivities. Just when I thought I had it under control, his skin breaks out in eczema, his diapers get worse again and it is driving me batty. Tuesday morning I had to take him to a new doctor because his stools have changed so much that it is alarming. In case you are not a mom, I apologize, but for moms, those poopy diapers tell a story on what is going on the inside of their little bodies. Color, odor, consistency all means something and even I am at a lost on what I should do.
I have done various tests for my son. IgG test, which was told it was about 50% accurate in diagnosing food sensitivities *sighs* no conclusive enough for me since he was still having issues. Finally saw a medical doctor that does non invasive testing, which is great and it has helped me and my daughter, who we both sat still through it, but for my son, we got a few new ones, but we couldn’t complete the whole panel. A previous stress assessment test conflicted, but at least he was able to tolerate the entire test and it showed sensitivities to everything it feels like, including fruits, all nuts, peanuts, soy, gluten, dairy, coconut, egg, corn…need I go on? And what kills me is that he really can’t have a banana or applesauce, foods that are so good for us, he can’t have right now, so I need to really, really take charge of our health.
What drives me so batty is that I have to call every single company to find out if there are any corn derivatives in their products. Forget emailing anyone….I just got one today from Happy Baby Foods that all of their stuff is corn and gluten free, unless corn is stated on their labels. But out of all the non-dairy milks out there, he can only drink Hemp Milk and out of all the hemp milk brands that ALL contained corn derivatives, but Living Harvest, changed their formula this month and is now corn free, but I still don’t know if I have a batch that is corn free yet. Yes, this is driving me batty.
So Tuesday, we got some more blood work done, I requested a Vitamin B12 since he eats no eggs, dairy and little meats, it is concerning for me. I read this fantastic article that morning about B12, here is the article. You see, a B12 deficiency effects the nervous system and digestive track. Given his Sensory Processing Disorder and all of his tummy issues it would make sense. The doctor said he would order it, but has yet to see a child with a deficiency this young. Well a call from the doctor this morning showed he had high levels of Vitamin B12. I am glad I asked as common side effects of having too much is insomnia (hello 3am wake ups for an hour or so), skin rashes (yes, even eczema) and loose stools. But he said we still have to proceed with the other allergy and stool testings he recommended. I had no idea why he was getting too much, since B12 comes from dairy, eggs, and meats. He is egg and dairy free and eats meat, but about a couple times per week by choice. It then dawned on me, perhaps Nutritional Yeast, a great source of vegan protein that is high in B vitamins, such as B12. I am still thinking….
So while he was napping I went though my pantry and took out all the foods with ingredients that neither of us could eat, (founds a couple of expired stuff..yikes!). It was not much, but I feel better. And as I am doing this, I am cleaning out closets, sorting clothes that are too big for me, too small for the kids, got rid of all the small pieces of toys, can you see I am ready to start the summer on a lighter load?
So now what? We go back next week for his yearly check up, but we are to follow up with a Total IgE allergy test and stool test. And a couple more since I’ll have to hold him down for another blood draw. I just want my little guy to feel better.
Yummy!
Today, I was a mad woman cleaning out my pantry, getting rid of more junk and I don’t have that much to rid. I am at a lost for my 2 year old son, who has a ton of food allergies and food sensitivities. Just when I thought I had it under control, his skin breaks out in eczema, his diapers get worse again and it is driving me batty. Tuesday morning I had to take him to a new doctor because his stools have changed so much that it is alarming. In case you are not a mom, I apologize, but for moms, those poopy diapers tell a story on what is going on the inside of their little bodies. Color, odor, consistency all means something and even I am at a lost on what I should do.
I have done various tests for my son. IgG test, which was told it was about 50% accurate in diagnosing food sensitivities *sighs* no conclusive enough for me since he was still having issues. Finally saw a medical doctor that does non invasive testing, which is great and it has helped me and my daughter, who we both sat still through it, but for my son, we got a few new ones, but we couldn’t complete the whole panel. A previous stress assessment test conflicted, but at least he was able to tolerate the entire test and it showed sensitivities to everything it feels like, including fruits, all nuts, peanuts, soy, gluten, dairy, coconut, egg, corn…need I go on? And what kills me is that he really can’t have a banana or applesauce, foods that are so good for us, he can’t have right now, so I need to really, really take charge of our health.
What drives me so batty is that I have to call every single company to find out if there are any corn derivatives in their products. Forget emailing anyone….I just got one today from Happy Baby Foods that all of their stuff is corn and gluten free, unless corn is stated on their labels. But out of all the non-dairy milks out there, he can only drink Hemp Milk and out of all the hemp milk brands that ALL contained corn derivatives, but Living Harvest, changed their formula this month and is now corn free, but I still don’t know if I have a batch that is corn free yet. Yes, this is driving me batty.
So Tuesday, we got some more blood work done, I requested a Vitamin B12 since he eats no eggs, dairy and little meats, it is concerning for me. I read this fantastic article that morning about B12, here is the article. You see, a B12 deficiency effects the nervous system and digestive track. Given his Sensory Processing Disorder and all of his tummy issues it would make sense. The doctor said he would order it, but has yet to see a child with a deficiency this young. Well a call from the doctor this morning showed he had high levels of Vitamin B12. I am glad I asked as common side effects of having too much is insomnia (hello 3am wake ups for an hour or so), skin rashes (yes, even eczema) and loose stools. But he said we still have to proceed with the other allergy and stool testings he recommended. I had no idea why he was getting too much, since B12 comes from dairy, eggs, and meats. He is egg and dairy free and eats meat, but about a couple times per week by choice. It then dawned on me, perhaps Nutritional Yeast, a great source of vegan protein that is high in B vitamins, such as B12. I am still thinking….
So while he was napping I went though my pantry and took out all the foods with ingredients that neither of us could eat, (founds a couple of expired stuff..yikes!). It was not much, but I feel better. And as I am doing this, I am cleaning out closets, sorting clothes that are too big for me, too small for the kids, got rid of all the small pieces of toys, can you see I am ready to start the summer on a lighter load?
So now what? We go back next week for his yearly check up, but we are to follow up with a Total IgE allergy test and stool test. And a couple more since I’ll have to hold him down for another blood draw. I just want my little guy to feel better.
Yummy!
Jasmine, you and the whole family are in our thoughts and prayers. I feel for the little guy and reading this gives me new motivation and energy to get back in control of our little girls issues. I hear the same things in your story that we seem to deal with but at times I feel like I’ve just given up since it can be so overwhelming.
I’m thankful for all the information you put out, it helps us tremendously. We should set up another appointment to chat! Keep up the amazing work. Your little guy and the rest of the family is blessed to gave your determination.
Thank you Leasa for your sweet words. I would love to get together again soon!
I read this last night on FB and couldn’t get a post in to you until today. I completely feel your pain! My little guy turns two on Saturday and I feel that we’ve made strides, but just aren’t there yet. We were surprised in Nov of last year with a 2 night hospitalization, then an asthma DX then peanut, tree nut, dairy, soy, gluten issues. There is still a missing link. I agree about the diapers, they tell something is wrong. I need to check the B12 as well, we are vegetarian and he doesn’t consume dairy. He does eat some eggs. We have a great asthma doc and allergist, but I think I need a better pedi. Sometimes its beyond frustrating because I don’t know where to turn. Regardless, TOTALLY feel your pain and understand the depths of where you are coming from 🙂
Cindy
It is so good to hear about other moms in the same boat! At least we can stick together and share our stories! btw, my husband is from Ohio. 🙂
Coming back to follow up on this comment 🙂 Too funny about the Ohio connection. We lived in IL before we moved here 🙂 Too funny 🙂 We are working to figure out this gluten thing. He’s gluten free, it isn’t showing as an allergy in blood or skin test. But when ingested he gets a rash and some hives. He does carry one of the celiac genes. Allergist is thinking early celiac. I along with you probably wish there was a clear cut answer, but you are right at least we can stick together! 🙂 Cindy
oh my gosh, I have been giving him foods once a week that he cannot have and he breaks out in eczema, so far, almonds the worst flare up! It was almond milk yogurt. The allergist has called per other doc request to go in and do a scratch test. I told them that I don’t want to waist my time with the scratch test…well we go in next month…we’ll see. Yes, we will stick together!! Bananas, Apples and pears is a no go for him too, it makes me sad!
Hi Jasmine.
My two year old daughter also suffers from extreme food allergies (I think we stopped counting around 40 or 50 foods, including most fruits and veggies, corn, dairy, soy, pork, wheat, nuts, etc). All of our allergists and pediatricians and nutritionists have told us that food allergies are very under-understood. Many food allergy tests are also very inaccurate at detection. After watching her grow so little over the last 12 months (she dropped from the 10% to substantially below any growth curve), we decided to search for something to treat, not just manage her allergies. A friend suggested looking into her friend–a NAET practitioner. She’d treated her own daughter’s food allergies with NAET. The last two months with NAET treatments have been LIFE CHANGING for my daughter. She’s gone from 18.6 pounds to 20.4 and added almost 2 inches in height. She isn’t sick with every meal. NAET is definitely different–it combines acupressure and kinesiology to help the body reduce and even remove the food sensitivity. No steroids, scratch tests, needles, allergy medications, etc. At that point, we had tried everything else, so there was nothing to lose in trying something a little different. I was a little skeptical at first (some of my relatives still aren’t sure what to think about it, but they can’t argue with the results) but my daughter is a completely different child and now almost has enough hair to put in a bow! There are practitioners all over the world (can be located through the NAET website). And the NAET treatments have actually cost LESS than all the doctors’ treatments (our 20 NAET treatments so far combined cost what we paid for ONE scratch test at the allergy clinic) . NAET practitioners can also teach you how to self-test your child for food sensitivities at home. Now, before introducing a new food to my daughter, I can check to see if it will cause a reaction before she spends the day sick. In case you’re interested in learning more, I pasted a link to the main website. NAET is starting to gain ground and recognition.
http://www.naet.com/Patients/patientshome.aspx
Best of luck to you and your family. Food allergies are a very difficult and they take their toll on you. We’ve been so blessed to have come across NAET and that it’s been working for our daughter!
My friend has recommended this too. I actually took a closer look at it and found two doctors that do this within my area and definitely going to look into it further. Thank you so very much for sharing this and your story. I am excited to see how this can help all of us!