understanding test results for 3 yo ds

[Michigan Mama]

So, I knew ds has multiple food allergies, and we decided it was time to get some sort of formal testing - dr sent us for a RAST blood test. My understanding is that can give false negatives. Does it ever give false positives or is the issue that it's not always sensitive enough?

So he came back with plenty of environmental allergies and lots of food, too. Almost everything we tested.

On a scale of 0-6, these were his results:

wheat 2
corn 1
pea 2
peanut 6
soybean 2
almond 2
tomato 2
orange 2
potato 2
apple 2
chicken 3
milk 3


And these are only the things we tested. I mean, how many other things would come back positive if we actually tested them?? I also believe he's allergic to onions, just based on observation. I feel a little overwhelmed. Like some of these I knew (like dairy, peas, peanuts, potatoes). But chicken? Apples?

So now he has even more allergies than I suspected, plus he's 3 and picky. So even when I find something he can eat, doesn't mean he will. Like last night I made falafel and he liked it for 2 bites then didn't want any more. I don't see totally eliminating all of these things because I just plain won't know what to give him. Is the key just to having lots of variety? Rotation diet? I've never even felt like I had enough options to do a 4 day rotation.

Please, I guess I just want to make sure I understand the results and the implications. And some encouragement please.

[kjbrown92]

Have they said anything about doing a scratch test to determine if the positives are really positives?

If you only have those to take out, you have plenty of foods to do a rotation diet. We're avoiding 30-40 foods for DS and DD2 (not even the same foods), including wheat (all gluten actually), corn, soy, almond, orange, potato, apple, chicken, and milk (we can actually have peanuts, peas, and tomato, though peanuts and peas are only allowed on rotation every 4 days since DS reacts mildly to them). Think of all the foods you CAN have: turkey, pork, bison, beef, salmon (and all sorts of fish), green beans, carrots, celery, lettuce, peppers, kale, spinach, lots of vegetables, melons, citrus, make a list of all the things you CAN have and the possibilities seem endless. I know. When we got the list, I thought UGG, what are we going to eat. Then I looked at the ones we could eat, and started figuring out what to make with what we could have. Two years later, we're still rotating a lot of the foods, and I'm still coming up with new recipes and combos. Look at the recipe threads for inspiration.

[Michigan Mama]

so weird - I thought for sure I posted a reply yesterday. Must not have gone thru!

Anyway, you're right about looking at what we can eat and go from there. I've gotten frustrated in the past looking for recipes because it's hard to sort though what's safe and what's not and what he'll actually eat!

Anyone wanna come over and plan my menu for me? Then convince my ds to eat it? LOL.

I think I"m just still in the state of mourning. LOL. guess i JUST NEED to suck iT UP AND DeaL with IT. can you tell he's playing with the caps lock key? hahaha.

oh and he's want this smiley:

[kjbrown92]

Here's some ideas to get you started...
buckwheat waffles with sausage or bacon
hot buckwheat cereal
cream of rice
Rice Chex with rice milk (or hemp milk?)
Swedish meatballs (meatballs in gravy) over rice or rice noodles
roast turkey (then make broth with the carcass)
pot roast with roasted or mashed or baked potatoes and gravy (thicken with sorghum flour and/or sweet potato flour)
mini meatball soup (turkey meatballs in turkey broth with rice noodles and steamed broccoli)
baked salmon with sauteed spinach (a favorite of dd2 since she was a little over 1yo)
ham roll ups (this is just safe deli turkey)
roast turkey roll ups (deli turkey with mashed avocado inside)
be careful about cross contamination on deli slicers (ask for a clean one if you can)

[IngaAnne]

I remember feeling completely overwhelmed when we got my son's RAST tests back. Your feeling of mourning was exactly how I felt a few months ago. At 8 months old, E scored 5&6s for wheat, peanuts, & dairy and 3s for eggs and soy ... and that's about all he was tested for. He did test negative for tree nuts, but due to his high peanut score they asked us to avoid all nuts just in case. Since I'm breastfeeding, I had to cut all his allergens out of my diet, as well. It's a big change, but the good news is that he's improved so much since we figured out what was bothering him (no more clawing off his own skin).

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe in infants it's uncommon to get false positives, but in children it's actually very common. Have you noticed your son having issues with all of those foods? Maybe our allergist isn't the norm, but she encouraged us to feed E-man a wide variety of foods and beyond his major allergens (wheat, nuts, dairy, eggs), which we were to completely avoid, not to stress unless we were noticing obvious side effects. Adequate nutrition was definately a concern. Honestly, I don't want to test my son for other food allergies unless we notice he's consistantly uncomfortable. Hopefully, some of your son's tests were false positives, but it's hard to know without more testing. You and your son will get used to the altered diet. I have found a lot of help here. I hope you do, too!

My son is much younger, but here are some foods he and I enjoy:

- Turkey Burgers (ground turkey, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots and seasonings). I roast the extra veggies for a side. You can use rice or quinoa for another side.
- White Chili (ground turkey, white beans, seasoning) and roasted brussels sprouts. I use a sprinkling of brown sugar to make them sweeter.
- Black Beans. My son adores them! He has them plain or mixed with rice noodles or avocado and other veggies.
- Rice Noodles (Tinkyada brand) with veggie puree for sauce. He loves the creaminess of smashed avocado, but I've also used blended broccoli or beans with success.
- I also make my own pancakes and baked goods with homemade flours (Lundberg rice + $20 coffee bean grinder). Enjoy Life brand has some good chocolate and chocolate chips.

Good luck!

[Michigan Mama]

Thanks so much mamas for the support. I really appreciate it. I have an impatient baby atm, so I'm going to read the posts again later, but it helps to know I'm not alone. kwim?

[Saucepotsmom]

re: understanding test results for 3 yo ds

Check out this website: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/
It has a support forum, recipes, and other really useful information about allergies. I have found the forum to be a valuable source of information.
My suggestion for one of the things your son CAN eat (presumably): quinoa (a grain-like seed). It's one of those "super foods" - it has all the essential amino acids, some fat, a bunch of iron .... It has a mild taste, and a texture somewhat like couscous. You can probably find it in health food stores and maybe some grocery stores.

[sbgrace]

The kids with food allergies forum linked above is fantastic.

There is a 50% false positive rate with allergy tests. If you're not seeing symptoms with some of those foods there is a good chance it's just a false positive. The allergist should help you figure that out. I can tell you our allergist also does skin prick. Any RAST of 2 or lower and you're not seeing clear symptoms is a food challenge. Although if my son had a large wheel on skin prick and a RAST of 2 our allergist feels it's likely a true positive.

His peanut is unlikely false though and that's a very high number. You need an epi pen ASAP and get any peanuts out of the house. Look at labels/call to make sure you don't have peanut cross in foods.

[Michigan Mama]

nak - going to go back & check the link & info mamas. ty!!!!

going to do an elimination of the listed foods for now and see how he does. and going to get a blood test to see if gluten is an issue. i hope not.

thanks again!