Stop nursing because of a protein allergy?

[rebbecky]

My DH and I have been back and forth with my DS's pediatrician now for the last 3 months, because of blood in his stool and frequent (green/mucousy) BMs. She said to stop eating dairy, then with no change to also cut out soy. After doing so things seemed to improve, but then there was a lot of blood (more than before), so we were then referred to a GI doctor. I was very upset after the appt bc he said they want to do a test (rectal scope) to see if it is a milk protein intolerance. He said if it is then I would need to stop BF because it is still milk protein even if I do not eat dairy, and that if I chose to keep it could cause a permanent milk allergy in DS instead of him growing out of it. Has anyone else dealt with this? I do not want to stop nursing as he is only 4 months old :'(

[hippiemombian]

I'm sorry that you and your little one are going through this. This may be a dumb question but have you removed all dairy sources from your diet? Maybe the babe has an intolerance to something else you're eating. Kellymom.com is a good website and has tons of helpful information for breastfeeding moms. I hope you get some answers soon!

[LLQ1011]

Yes, my sons poop has always been this way unit the last month and he is 7 months old but they are always green. I am surprised your doctors acted this way.

My pediatrician said that breastmilk digests really fast in some babies and green poops are totally fine as long as baby gains weight.

Then for the blood she had all sorts of reasons. They drool too much and it irritates their digestion because saliva is not digestible. He has a cut from pooping so much. As long as the blood was reddish color they didn't seem to care. I was more concerned than them.

I have had two diapers with quite a bit more blood than usual. (usual was a little mucousy blood once a day, the size of a dime.) then a couple quarter sizes twice.

I will say, now that my son is not drooling as much it has gone away entirely.  He also did have a little cut too.

My pediatrician said as long as hes not fussy, uncomfortable, with good vitals, gaining weight and meeting his milestones not to worry about it.

His first poop in the am was the worst. I figured it was from swallowing spit all night.

I'm sorry you have to go through this. I would get another pediatrician. Also other solids really helped. Rice cereal pears what ever always seems to help him digest his food. Maybe ask if you can try some cereal in the am and see if it helps.
 

[LLQ1011]

Oh and mine started at about 5 weeks.

[LLQ1011]

Oh and when I brought up a milk alergy they said that its very very uncommon and he would be in more distress. Then my dermatologist who saw him for a birth mark some how we talked about my concern and she went on and on about how milk is not good for people anyway and if she could just get her patients to stop drinking it their ailments might improve. Milk is for babies. We aren't really supposed to continue drinking it like we do.

[rebbecky]

Yes, I have completely cut out dairy and soy. However, the last episode with the most blood happen to occur when I accidently ate some chips with soy. I didn't realize until later that the ingredients said "hydrolized vegetable protein" and after calling the manufactuerer they confirmed that it was soy protein.
This is why I was confused by the docotor, because he claims that even if I cut out dairy from my diet that he could still have a "milk" protein allergy (meaning any milk, including mine) and that he would need a special formula. I have never heard of such a thing! A human baby being intolerant to human milk protein?! Here is the strange part, he said it would be a formula that is very expensive (no Alimeten) and that the proteins are hydrolzed so that they are broken down more. I say it is strange bc I thought of the soy protein I had just eaten and how it was listed as "hydrolyzed" in the ingredients list. Wouldn't that mean it would be okay then? Also, in regards to this special formula, it's the one that ins companies would not cover until a law was passed a couple of years ago (in TX at least from what dr said).

I am starting to wonder if it's just a conspiracy to get us using this stuff?! Lol

Also, he is a big drooler as well. Dr did say that if it is not a protein thing then it could be a cut and in this case no need to restrict my diet anymore. However, I donhave to say that my tummy troubles are better without dairy anyways!

[MichelleZB]

Originally Posted by rebbecky 

Yes, I have completely cut out dairy and soy. However, the last episode with the most blood happen to occur when I accidently ate some chips with soy. I didn't realize until later that the ingredients said "hydrolized vegetable protein" and after calling the manufactuerer they confirmed that it was soy protein.
This is why I was confused by the docotor, because he claims that even if I cut out dairy from my diet that he could still have a "milk" protein allergy (meaning any milk, including mine) and that he would need a special formula. I have never heard of such a thing! A human baby being intolerant to human milk protein?! Here is the strange part, he said it would be a formula that is very expensive (no Alimeten) and that the proteins are hydrolzed so that they are broken down more. I say it is strange bc I thought of the soy protein I had just eaten and how it was listed as "hydrolyzed" in the ingredients list. Wouldn't that mean it would be okay then? Also, in regards to this special formula, it's the one that ins companies would not cover until a law was passed a couple of years ago (in TX at least from what dr said).
I am starting to wonder if it's just a conspiracy to get us using this stuff?! Lol
Also, he is a big drooler as well. Dr did say that if it is not a protein thing then it could be a cut and in this case no need to restrict my diet anymore. However, I donhave to say that my tummy troubles are better without dairy anyways!

An intolerance to human milk protein is medically possible. But it is REALLY uncommon.

I'd say that if the doctor convinces you to switch to this special formula, you should DEFINITELY try your baby on it for a week or so while keeping your breastmilk supply up by pumping or something. Because what if there's no improvement from using this formula? You'll want to go back to breastfeeding, and you won't be able to if you milk has dried up.

[Bokonon]

I would consult with an IBCLC (board-certified lactation consultant) ASAP about this.  Pediatricians don't have much training in breastfeeding.

I also would NOT start any kind of solids until at least 6 months and baby's gut issues are resolved.  Adding in food will likely make the problem much, much worse.

Is overactive letdown a possibility?  Does baby sputter and choke during letdown?  That can often cause green, mucousy poop and bleeding.

[CrystalK83]

You may have already figured out this issue by now but I wanted to post just in case you are still having issues.  (You even got me to sign up for an account just so I could reply lol.)  Milk and soy are not the only protein intolerance that a baby can have.  My youngest daughter had a very similar issue.  When I cut all dairy and soy out of my diet and she was still having blood in her stool the pedi tried very hard to push me to switch to formula.  I decided to do an elimination diet instead.  It has been difficult for me but worth it.  I discovered that the problem was corn in her case.  It's in a lot more then you would think (as I'm sure you discovered with milk and soy).  We are both doing well now and I'm slowly adding food back into my diet.  I found out that corn syrup solids are a main ingredient in formula (even the hypoallergenic ones) so I'm very happy with how I managed the problem.

Hypoallergenic formula is regular formula based on cow's milk but further broken down then the regular stuff.  The theory is that if the proteins are broken down enough the body doesn't recognize it as an allergen and won't react to it.  For some babies it works but for others it doesn't.  For the babies who can't tolerate it there are elemental formulas that are supposed to be "super hypoallergenic".  They're even further broken down then the hypoallergenic ones.  Even that doesn't work for some babies though.

Having a true allergy to mother's milk is incredibly rare and is called galactosemia.  In nature if it happened all the time (without a formula option) the baby would die so it wouldn't make good biological sense for it to occur often.  It would also be apparent a few days after birth and your baby would be very, very sick.  Your baby isn't allergic to your milk it's something that you're eating that hasn't been figured out yet.  Best of luck.  I hope everything is going well for you and the baby now.  :)

[rebbecky]

Thank you for signing up so you could respond; it is much appreciated. I have yet to truly resolve the problem. So far, I have stopped giving Zantac (which helped right off the bat) and started us both on probiotics. This seems to be helping, but I am occasionally still seeing specks of blood (an improvement from the big globs). After reading about oversupply in the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (LLL book), I am convinced that this is how it all started. However, I do think there is still a protein that is bothering him other than dairy and soy. That said, I have to admit that I have still been eating things with soybean oil/soy lechitin bc I was under the impression that these were safe but I am starting to wonder if that is something I should cut out too.

My next thought is possibly when I eat peanut butter, because I read that is can cross react w/ a soy sensitivity since it is a legume as well. It also seems to coincide with flecks of blood, so I even though I LOVE peanut butter I am abstaining from peanuts for the time being (as well as the dairy/soy) to see if there is any improvement. If not, I will probably do the elimination diet and start taking out other things.

Some questions for you. How old was your daughter during all of this and how long did it take after removing the corn for you to see improvement? Also, did you have an oversupply in the beginning that caused problems? Thanks! 

[CrystalK83]

I did have an oversupply in the beginning and had to block feed to get it under control.  I think the oversupply is a result of having the intolerance though.  Her stomach would hurt so she would want to comfort nurse.  Then of course her stomach would hurt again and she would want to nurse more.  She was constantly nursing for the first few months.  This is my fourth baby and she nursed a lot more then the other three did at the same age.  Nursing that often made me have an oversupply which did not help matters any.

The blood didn't start showing up in her stool until she was a few months old.  I think it was around 3 months but I could be wrong.  I may not have noticed it until there was a decent amount also so it may have been there before that.  After I went on my elimination diet it took about 3 weeks for her to stop having blood in her stool.  It got dramatically better after a few days but it took a while for her insides to fully heal.  When I checked to see if corn was the problem I only ate 3 small spoonfuls.  My daughter had blood in her stool for a week and a half from it.  :(

I remember reading somewhere that some people still have reactions to the oil.  The reaction is to the protein so oil isn't supposed to be a problem because it's fat but sometimes little protein bits end up in the oil and some people are sensitive enough to react to it.  Cutting it out of your diet for a week to see how your son reacts might be worth it.  Since he's not having very much blood in his stool if that's the culprit it shouldn't take more then a week to see if it stops.  Then you just have to eat something with the soybean oil in it and see if he reacts to it in the next day or so.

Are you keeping a food journal?  It really helped me pin down what was causing the problem.