FPIES diarrhea??

[jtcarter14]

I have two older kids that had FPIES (I always used to call it a dairy intolerance, and the allergist called it protein entercolitis), and their only symptoms that I ever noticed were diarrhea and eczema. Then little dd came along a little over 2 years ago. She had severe colic that seemed to be from dairy. Then she seemed to outgrow it at about 18 months. Meanwhile, she's always had loose stools and sometimes diarrhea. It occurred to me about two weeks ago that she might/probably have FPIES to dairy also, so I cut dairy out of her diet. For the first two days, she had more solid stools. We also avoided an excess of fruits that week which I thought may be contributing to the loose stools. After those first 2 days, it's been back to loose again.

Does that indicate that dairy is not the problem? Or is that just how it goes?

Or are loose stools still normal at 25 months?

I know my main concern should be with her health if she really does have a problem with dairy, but with these loose stools, her diapers leaks poo every morning which is obviously really frustrating.

Thanks,

Jessica

[scsigrl]

What you are talking about sounds nothing like "typical" FPIES.  It usually involves throwing up and a shock like state after the episode. It very well may be a dairy issue esp. if you say she had issues with it in the past.

I would not say loose stool is normal.  Have you tried a really good probiotic?

[jtcarter14]

Ok, I was just going by what I read on the web as far as FPIES now being what they call protein entercolitis which is what my other kids had with diarrhea as the only diagnosed symptom. The dr. did say that shock was a risk, but thankfully we never encountered that.

Probiotics - she's only had the dairy variety lately. Do you know of any good ones that are non-dairy? As of yesterday, she's having one soy yogurt per day. We live in a small town, so our selection of probiotics is pretty slim. We did give her a *really* expensive liquid one they had at Walgreens when she was an infant. We're on a much tighter budget now...

Thanks!

[scsigrl]

I swear by Custom Probiotics.  After 4 years, my DS was having normal BM's within 3 days of starting them.  Truly changed things for us!  They are very $ up front but work out to about $10/month.  They were willing to send a sample too before we ordered (it was about 3-4 week supply). Not sure they still do that but it is worth asking.  They are in CA but ship Tuesday-Thursday or something like that so they aren't sitting out for days at a depot.

[changingseasons]

Did you replace her dairy intake with soy, or was she eating soy all along? If you replaced with soy, that might be why her poops got better and then worse. Soy is another very common allergen, so I would consider cutting that out too.

[jtcarter14]

We have not had a strict avoidance of soy, but she's never had a problem that I know of. She had soy formula for a very short time as an infant, and it didn't seem to change anything. I just started the soy yogurt as I was trying to avoid dairy.

Also, I forgot to mention that she usually has a raw bottom with every dirty diaper. So I should have realized sooner that something was wrong. I'm pregnant and slow to put two and two together lately!

[jtcarter14]

Scsigrl,

The Custom Probiotics website looks overwhelming with so many choices. Can you tell me which one you used for your DS?

Thanks!

[jtcarter14]

I just changed another diaper. It was so terrible. Total diarrhea, and her bottom is severely raw. It's been 2 weeks without dairy, and all I can think of that she's eating more of is wheat. In fact, I think it's little wheat flakes from her cereal (Kashi Autumn Wheat) that were stuck all over her bottom. There was a time when she was younger that I thought wheat might be a problem, but at that time I decided it wasn't. Where can I go for ideas on what she can eat if she can't have dairy or wheat? I was trying to take it easy on fruit too since it seems to contribute to loose stools.

Jessica

[scsigrl]

Poor kiddo :(

There lots of rice and other grains if it is just wheat you are avoiding (vs. gluten) and dairy.  What exactly do you need wheat free subs for?  Also, if (and I am not saying you should) but if you suspect something like Celiac, you need to test before removing gluten.  If you suspect a wheat issue other than that, carry on!

For DS we use the 6 strain powder.  I put it in some water with a little org. syrup and they both chug it down.

[jtcarter14]

Could she be having withdrawals from wheat? She has not been herself at all the past couple of days. She's frequently screaming, crying, gagging (never done that before), and even clutching the wheat cereal box with all her might...

I'm also overdue with our next child, so it could be that she senses that. Just wondering.

[jtcarter14]

Oh, and what's the longest it might take for her bm's to become normal if wheat was the culprit?