Occult blood in stools = allergies, for sure?

[HeatherB]

For a baby with mucousy stools and occult blood found in them, is it absolutely, for sure a sign of allergies? I keep hearing the mucous could be something else... but the blood? FWIW, it's all microscopic, nothing I've identified with the naked eye.

I'm starting a rotation diet to try to identify allergens but just want to make sure that really, truly is what it must be.

[crystleyz42]

You've eliminated oversupply and over-active let down as a possibility?  My LOs had stool like that (plus screeching diaper rash) before I got my oversupply under control.  It was the classic foremilk/hindmilk too much-sugar-irritating-their-tummy issue.

[HeatherB]

I'm addressing likely oversupply, as well. But my understanding is that might cause some symptoms but not the blood in the stool. Am I right that the blood indicates conclusively that it's an allergy? Or could it be something else?

[bean-e]

I don't know if the blood it is a sign of allergy for sure.  What I know is that dd cannot have soy.  If I have soy in my diet, then there is going to be blood in her stool as well as acid reflux.  

DD had green mucousy and sour smelling stool for a long time.  I thought it was my oversupply of bm and tried all sorts of ways (eg. eating bunches of parsley) to lower my supply.  Nothing helped with my oversupply until I got dairy out of my diet.  I also eliminated a bunch of other foods at the same time and noticed an improvement in dd shortly after. 

It's been a while since I've reintroduced dairy into my diet as it does not seem to impact her as much as it used to.  The curious part is that my milk supply increases whenever I have hard cheeses.  

[HeatherB]

That's really curious that dairy could cause oversupply. I seem to recall hearing that elsewhere, though, too. I'm going dairy-free for 5 days to see if it affects her, but also working on pumping and block feeding to try to counter oversupply. I am curious to see what happens!

[crystleyz42]

Block feeding is what worked for me.  My IBCLC said that women that have my 'condition' (overactive let down and oversupply) often have to permanently block feed.   I actually like it--- I don't have to worry about switching sides  halfway through a nursing session or rolling over in the middle of the night!!  I can just put babe to breast and let him do the rest of the work until he's full.

I think there might be some confusion with respect to oversupply and dairy.  There is such a thing as 'lactose overload' which is when baby gets too much sugar (foremilk) in their gut from mom's oversupply.  But, it's not related to an allergy -- it's just a gut irritation.  Allergy is an autoimmune response to the protein of the cow's milk -- whey or casein.  When a baby has lactose overload, it's not an allergy b/c the immune system isn't involved -- only gut irritated from the excess sugar (lactose).

[crystleyz42]

BTW -- kellymom says blood in stool could be oversupply:

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bloodystool.html

Occasionally, blood in the stool may be due to breastmilk oversupply. Per Dr. Jack Newman, bloody stools in some babies have been eliminated completely by resolving mom's oversupply. This can be done by following the usual management procedures for oversupply; it can also be helpful to use breast compressions to increase the amount of fat that baby gets while nursing. See Can a baby be allergic to breastmilk? for more information on oversupply causing blood in baby's stool.

[tanyalynn]

I guess I'd start to wonder, though, why there's oversupply.  I took me forever (after my son was weaned at 21 mos, in fact) to realize that my oversupply (which wasn't huge) was probably related to eating the foods I was intolerant of.  Some people seem to have undersupply for the same reason--I mean, their bodies react in a different way, but the cause is the same. 

Heather--I don't think you can know what's going on with you two until you just do the trial-and-error experimenting.  And remember how cross-reactive dairy and soy are if you eliminate dairy. 

[crystleyz42]

I agree about the trial and error idea.  My oversupply is under control, but I'm still on the hunt for the allergen that is making sleep so rare around here.

BTW -- oversupply (and presumably under supply, but I'm not as well versed in that arena) is related to the amnt of glandular tissue that mom has in her breasts.  It's more common in the second born, since the more we nurse, more glandular tissue our bodies create.  Our bodies manufacture glandular tissue throughout pregnancy and lactation.

[tanyalynn]

I think that my oversupply was worse in my 2nd because I was more nutritionally depleted.  I was almost surely intolerant of the same foods back when I nursed DD--and she's intolerant of them as well--but my body was coping with it better, but the demands of pregnancy, then nursing then pregnancy again really depleted me.  Some people have managed over and under supply by changing their diets, I think by affecting prolactin levels. 

[HeatherB]

I am fascinated that so many components could, in whole or in part, contribute to the very same problem. I'm trying the two-pronged attack of dealing with oversupply/OALD and going off dairy. Hopefully we can whittle out what's what and get her tummy in better shape.

I had posted about the BFing and weight gain issues in another thread, not thinking they could be so possibly intertwined as they are. If anyone cares to see more about what's going on, the thread is here:
http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1293600/10-week-old-ebf-low-weight-gain#post_16209057

Thanks to all!