Questions about highly reactive IgG egg results for my DS

[oaksie68]

Hello wise mamas – lllooonnnggg time lurker, first time poster to this forum.

I have a very long story that probably needs to be told, but I’m in crisis mode, and am looking for info, experiences, etc. from those of you who have had yourself and/or children test IgG positive for eggs. My son, who is 26 months old, just had an IgG test panel done through US Biotek, and the only thing that showed up highly reactive was egg whites and egg yolks (and the only other thing he showed mild/moderate on was for red grapes). This was not at all what I was expecting – he had been totally GF/CF until recently, (when I had let up on worrying about wheat in soy sauce, not freaking if he snatched a bite of his sister’s wheat bread, etc.) and I am CF and mostly GF ( I am breastfeeding).

My immediate question is: what is the likelihood that this could be a false positive? We eat/use LOTS of eggs, and I have not noticed any reaction (especially that would be considered commensurate with this kind of test result). The only potential symptom/issue I cannot otherwise explain for my son is that he has what I believe to be *mild* KP on his arms, and sometimes legs. (DH has a bit of this too). What symptoms/issues have you noticed in yourself/DC if you/they have an egg intolerance and/or tested reactive on an IgG test?

Since I don’t notice any overt reactions to eggs, what would your advice be for my son and me?

TIA for any info or advice!

[chellebee]

DS tested very high for eggs on that same test (as well as grapes!). We are going with the approach of eliminate and see. We're doing a couple weeks without the IgG reactive foods and then challenging it.

i guess I should add...I didn't notice any direct or immediate symptoms from eggs either, but we are working in general of a plethora of digestive/behavioral issues.

[mamafish9]

Yup, I'd eliminate and challenge, that would be the fastest way to figure out if it's true or not.

[kjbrown92]

I thought the same thing, when we received ALCAT test results for DS. But he eats eggs all the time. I eliminated them and then retried them and he sobbed for 2-3 hours the next day. Just inconsolable (he was 8yo at the time). I've trialed it again since, and he got a wicked stomachache. Then tried again another 6 months later, and he vomited 30 minutes after. So 2 years later, he still isn't having them. The only way to tell for sure is to eliminate and challenge.

[oaksie68]

Thanks for your replies and advice! I’m going to eliminate the eggs for myself and DS. It was just such a shocker to see that test result. I was blindsided by it; I had no reason to believe that he had any issues going on with any food – I was just getting a sense where he was with gluten and dairy, so I could see if I could cautiously add one or both into his diet. He’s a big boy for 26 months – 38 inches/35 pounds – so I have no idea when/how long the eggs have been an issue. Also, he’s really a sweet soul who seemingly behaves like a typical 2 year old – so I wasn’t even seeing a behavioral issue I was concerned with (unlike his older sister, especially at this age).

I’m going to be traveling on the East Coast for 3 weeks next month – I’m worried how it’s going to be going egg free on top of already being dairy and gluten free (I know I’ve got way less to deal with than many mamas here – I’m in awe with how you all deal with it!). I’m also worried how to replace those nutrients and calories in his diet, especially when travelling.

How long should we be egg free before we trial them? US Biotek recommended retesting in December. Should I wait 6 months? Should I wait to trial diary/gluten until we’ve been off eggs for a certain period of time? Should I wait to introduce dairy/gluten until after I trial eggs/retest to see where we stand on eggs? I’ll be having an appointment with the ND who ordered the test for my DS the week after next (she’s doing continuing education next week), so we’ll see what she has to offer in terms of advice.

Keep the experience and advice coming – I’m still kind of shell shocked and feeling so alone with dealing with diet restrictions – it’s been a lllooonnnggg 2 years!

(And keep your fingers crossed that my daughter’s IgG testing doesn’t yield any shocking results – should know in about 2 weeks)

[chellebee]

Maybe you could wait until you get back. I totally understand your shell shocked feeling. We had DS off just dairy and corn, but he defintiely wasn't100% still so we did that exact testing....welp, he came back very reactive to way more than we were bargining for!

As for how long...we're tentatively doing 2 weeks here unless we feel like we need more time to see results/get to baseline.

I am new to all this, so I could be off, but I thought that if you aren't eating a food it is more likely to throw a false neg on the test? DS was corn and dairy free before doing the test and those are the ONLY two major allergens that didn't come back highly reactive. I did trial dairy to see if we could get it back, but he had dairy 2x and it was clear to us that he can't handle it. Corn was eliminated a couple weeks before the test due to elimination and challenge so I *know* he has issues with that one. Just wanted to throw that in there as far as the gluten/dairy stuff goes for you.

[oaksie68]

Originally Posted by chellebee

Maybe you could wait until you get back. I totally understand your shell shocked feeling. We had DS off just dairy and corn, but he defintiely wasn't100% still so we did that exact testing....welp, he came back very reactive to way more than we were bargining for!

As for how long...we're tentatively doing 2 weeks here unless we feel like we need more time to see results/get to baseline.

I am new to all this, so I could be off, but I thought that if you aren't eating a food it is more likely to throw a false neg on the test? DS was corn and dairy free before doing the test and those are the ONLY two major allergens that didn't come back highly reactive. I did trial dairy to see if we could get it back, but he had dairy 2x and it was clear to us that he can't handle it. Corn was eliminated a couple weeks before the test due to elimination and challenge so I *know* he has issues with that one. Just wanted to throw that in there as far as the gluten/dairy stuff goes for you.

Yeah, I know that not eating the food can throw the test results – he has had some exposure to dairy, I guess, when eating out (just doesn’t eat anything obviously that has or is dairy) and has been exposed to lactose in various supplements, and has had wheat exposure through soy sauce, a stolen nip of his sister’s bread, etc. His results for soy and corn were no reaction, and these are in his diet on a regular basis– and whole wheat was very low with low exposure. For other allergens, he has not had any nuts or fish/seafood – those did not show a reaction either. I guess in a way I can use the results for dairy/gluten as a baseline?

This whole drama began when he was on IV antibiotic for 48 hours at 2 weeks of age for an infected umbilical stump, followed by a week of oral antibiotics. He had the typical diarrhea associated with antibiotics. I supplemented him with Culturelle during the oral antibiotics. For one week after the oral antibiotics, he had normal stools, and then he had his first green, mucous-y stool. I had been waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak, so that’s when I took dairy out of my diet, since it was the most likely culprit. DS continued to have green mucous-y stool, with the occasional speck of blood. So I had energy allergy testing (NEAT) done on both of us (DS at 2months, for me 2 months after that) – we both showed sensitive to dairy/gluten, as well as a few other things (couple of fruits, veggies, etc.)

After about 10 weeks to 2 months of STRICT avoidance of ALL dairy and ALL gluten (even trace), we both retested and tested clear of ALL previous sensitivities. It was at that point that I added some gluten back into my diet (and took/take digestive enzymes specifically for that and/or eat sprouted gluten grains), but continued to keep obvious forms of dairy out of diet (i.e. don’t worry about “hidden” dairy). I never noticed a difference in how I felt after I went off gluten and I didn’t notice any new symptoms after putting it back in my diet in limited amounts. Similar results after going off dairy (but don’t have as many ear/sinus issues as I did have, but that can be attributed to other things in my health history).

After we had the initial NEAT testing, he hasn’t had a green, mucous-y or bloody poop (so not for about two years). The only other antibiotics he has been on was about 1 year ago for MRSA (large abscess in groin area and spiked a fever) about 1 year ago (didn’t respond to home remedies – TTO, manuka honey, etc.).

So, anyhoo…..I guess maybe on my trip I won’t worry about “trace eggs”, but I won’t feed him eggs straight up, and I won’t bake with them either. That might be doable in the short term. And I’ll try to start cleaning up the diet and plan for a strict no egg diet after we get home. That could work…

Thanks for your continued input – it’s keeping me sane ;-P!

[chellebee]

that's when our issues started too--4 days of IV abx at 4 weeks old. Nothing like demolishing a virgin system, right? It stinks but I don't know that either of us had any other options.

Fingers crossed for you that you can get gluten/dairy back!

[Karen Chase]

I know this is an old post but in case someone new comes looking for information.  yes, IgG tests can sometimes be false positive.  However, the difference between IgG and IgE is the reaction time.  IgE is going to cause an immediate reaction - ie. most severe being anaphalaxis.  IgG has a longer half life and can build up in the system as well.  So you will often have reactions hours or even days later.  Sometimes mild, and gradually worsening as it builds in your system over time.  These foods often contribute to AD(H)D, cystic fibrosis, RA and even weight gain to name a few. I would suggest eliminating the food item and finding a nutritional substitute.