Milk Allergies

[Mama2OneLilBoy]

Hi! My son is on soy formula b/c we (the parents, not doctors) determined he is allergic to anything with a little bit of milk in it. I have heard soy is bad for boys. Does anyone know anything about this? Also, are there any alternitves to soy? Do you think I should have him tested for allergies to anything else, just in case? Kind of confused now because we are trying to introduce him to new foods and anything with milk is out! Thanks!

[cathe]

moved to allergies forum

[circlemama]

It is possible to breastfeed allergic children. The mother simply eliminates the allergens from her diet. Any chance of re-lactation? I have read about soy formula/hormone problems for boys. I can't remember where.

[Drewsmom]

My boys both had problems with dairy. Most kids who have prob.s with dairy also have prob.s with soy as well. One thing to know is that all soy unless organic is genetically engineered too which I think in my personal opinion is a huge contributor to allergies....but that's a whole nother thread .

I really would look into alternatives to soy formula. If you can, the best thing would be to relactate and eliminate dairy and anything else he's allergic to from your diet. If not, then I really recommend "Alimentum" or "Nutramagent". Yes, they are expensive but they are the best kind of formula for kids with allergies and you are a lot more likely to help him not have further allergies in the future by going with one of these. You can find places on the internet that sell them cheaper than at the store. All of my friends whose kids have serious allergies use these and their kids have done very well. Good luck with your decision.

PS Read Dr. Sear's The Baby Book re: soy formula.

[courtenay_e]

Yup, I agree with pp's. If there's any way you can relactate, it would be the best alternative. The longer your child gets your breastmilk, the less likely it is that his allergies will become life threatening. If you're even remotely interested, call your local La Leche League chapter...please!

If not, how about donated breast milk? Many mamas will do it free of charge, if they have an overabundant milk supply. I completely fed my best friend's child for several months, while I was also completely feeding my son, because she was allergic to the same things ds was and her mama couldn't relactate (long story). Again, ask around your local LLL chapters. Technically, the Leaders can't help you find a milk source, but the other members may know of somebody who's nursing a milk allergic baby, who would be willing to donate.

Worth a try!

[kittywitty]

I am bf my dd who is 20 months and is allergic to milk. With my ds, they told me to stop bf because of his lactose intolerance, so I trusted them. This time I told them nope, kept bf and we are still going strong. She still has rxns sometimes, but she is much better than she would be on formula, as many soy ones are not completely dairy free, and do not offer the protection of breast milk.

I was actually just at the doc for dd's allergies, and he said that if she was not bf, he would request that I bf her and go off dairy, no matter what. And as she got older, then use the soy milks and such. So I would try to relactate and go off dairy.

But if you can't/won't, I would look around for mamas that are dairy free and would be willing to donate, or (last option)look at all of the formulas for one that is 100% dairy free. Formula is nasty stuff.

[JaneS]

The Weston Price foundation has appeared before Congress with evidence against soy formula:

All kinds of articles here:
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/index.html

See specifically "Soy-Based Infant Formula: Testimony to the US FDA"

[thepeach80]

I would never trust someone else's bm for my allergic baby, sorry. Alternaives are Alimentum or Nutramigen like someone mentioned, but they do still have dairy proteins in them. Only about 10% of milk allergic babies can't handle it, my youngest included. He's now on Neocate after a long year of bfing and weight issues and crying etc. He's doing well now and thriving and we're hoping to have him off it by 2. Thankfully our insurance covers it b/c it would be over $500 a month if not.

[Missy]

My son was also one who reacted to alimentum when my peds. insisted there was no way I could eliminate enough foods to continue bfing. Fortunately, we noticed how sick he was getting. The mamas on MDC gave me the knowledge and support I needed to pursue an elimination diet and find new doctors. Our son is allergic, among too many other things to count, dairy, soy and corn and continued nursing until he was over 3.5 years old.

If you can relactate, that's the safest option. Otherwise, you may have to look into Neocate or Elecare. The other hypoallergenic formulas like alimentum and nutramigen do contain some intact proteins.

Missy

[muttix2]

Why is soy said to be bad for boys?

[Mrs.PhD]

My dairy allergic DD never had soy formula (we found it at age 1 years old) and I was very happy about that when I read about the issue with very high amounts of manganese in soy compaired to normal formula or breast milk (DD was, and still is breast fed.)

One of the links that was listed before has an article about this topic, it is pretty easy to read. Here is an direct link to it. http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/manganese.html