can general fussiness be a sign of a dairy sensitivity in a toddler?

[sasquatch]

Hi,

I am trying to figure out whether my 17 month-old son has outgrown his sensitivity to cow's milk.  He was very 'colicky' when he was born, and after I eliminated dairy and eggs from my diet, he settled right down (he was exclusively bf).  He can tolerate eggs now and goat yogurt, but I tried reintroducing cow's milk into my diet this week and he seems very cranky.  He still breastfeeds several times a day and through the night. 

I am wondering if this is just coincidence, teething, annoyance with the rain, etc., or if crankiness could be really be a sign that the sensitivity hasn't gone away.  He doesn't have any other signs that I can see.  Has anyone else had experiences with this?

Thanks so much!!!

[SweetSilver]

Yes, with wheat.  That's the short answer.

     My daughter had a severe milk allergy since she was an infant, so eventually she went to the allergist.  Everything but shellfish and milk were clear.  Then just around her 4th birthday she started getting moody, often lethargic, distraught, sometimes angry beyond expression, and violent.  Her nurse and I were baffled by this for a year.  It just so happened we had a follow up test at the allergist's, and a slew of new allergies showed positive.  Wheat was almost as severe as dairy.  After eliminating it, it would sneak back in or we would get lax (holidays, you know) and the next day she was a devil child.  Who knew?  Thankfully I stumbled on the solution, I don't think I ever would have guessed myself.

     Your experience sounds less dramatic, but behavioral changes are definitely an allergy symptom.  As an allergic adult I know how crappy a reaction feels.  If I didn't have so many grown-up filters I think I would have been behaving as she did.  Now that I think about it, I did.  I yelled a lot, cried a lot, had breakdowns where I felt I had nothing, nobody.  I chalked it up to being a mom of two very little kids.  But that cleared up, too, after my allergies were diagnosed.

     Trust yourself.   If you are guessing this is not "age appropriate", my experience says you are probably right.

[turtlemamameg]

When trying to figure out my dd's allergies using the emil diet, our dr told us that with young toddlers that irritability is often a very strong sign.  Maybe try eliminating it again from your diet and see if the crankiness dissipates.  You could always try again to see if it was just coincidence. 

I also know that there is a cognitive leap that happens sometime around 16 or 17 months that can also cause lots of crankiness, etc.  Since this type of irritibilty can be caused by so many factors at this age, it is really hard to know if it was the dairy or just some other way that your child is expessing his discontent... like you said, teething, the weather, change in routine, etc.

Good luck, I too am trying to figure out some possible food sensitivities and am having a hard time discerning between a reaction from an allergen or other possible causes, like just plain ole sensitive skin. 

[APToddlerMama]

Yes!  My son's number one sign of issues with dairy was he was cranky 24/7.  Unfortunately, I didn't figure it out until he was about your son's age.  He hit other people non-stop, cried, tantrumed, etc. and within 48 hours was a totally different child after we cut dairy.