Anyone change all food in the home b/c DC allergy?

[Nu_Mommy_2003]

DD was diagnosed with an egg, wheat, barley, and milk allergy. Her allergy is so bad that I have to carry an epipen. I'm having a hard time with my other children feeding her items she cannot have. She fights them for it, have a tantrum over it, and even grabs then hids and eat it.

So today I decided to elimination egg, wheat, barley and milk out of the diets of the whole house. That way there will be no arguing over why one can have something the other cannot.

Anyone else turn the house upside down for one of their childrens allergies? How did the family react??

Please tell before I give away all our allergic foods.

[lilgreen]

Ds1 (and I) has celiac disease. When we found out, we didn't change much except load up on food that he can eat. Slowly, however, our cupboards and fridge have become almost entirely gluten-free. H hides some crackers that he brings out after the kids are in bed and he and ds2 eat wheat toast int he morning, but otherwise we have become a gluten-free house. It has been about 8 months now since his diagnosis.

btw... we started immediately making gluten-free dinners and did all our baking gluten-free from the first day of his diagnosis.

And, fwiw, I'm vegan, so almost all of our dinners and baking are gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free. I don't get many complaints

[mtn.mama]

Yes. I don't have other kids... at the time it was just me, dh, dd, and my mom under this roof. And I seriously turned the house upside down. I filled 5 rubbermaid totes with food to begin with, and then a few more cardboard boxes.

Then I put a ban over the household. Other members could eat what they wanted away from home, if they were careful to not bring residue home. In the beginning it was cow dairy, all gluten, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oats, black pepper, preservatives.

Wheat and dairy are hard ones because they're in everything or so it seems. Turkey often has milk injected into the meat, soy sauce and barbecue sauce and soups often have wheat in them, french fries sometimes have both wheat and dairy... of course the list goes on.

This started 8.5 months ago for us. Now we have gotten some foods back but most of the food I threw outside won't be coming home again. Its just the way it is for our dd's safety, until such time as her allergies relinquish. It seems like her wheat allergy is decreasing, we can tolerate egg yolks but not whites, and have been eating raw organic cow cheddar... so there IS hope.

And don't go anywhere without your epi pen and benedryl! I can't say it was an easy transition, but it worked out and now we don't miss the stuff. Trying to go out to eat is a different matter...

[joybird]

You betcha. There's no way I'm risking cross contamination of gluten after all the effort (and money!!$$) I put in to keep us GF. I don't have other kids though, so that makes it easier.

Sometimes dp will cook a pizza or something when dd and I are gone for a few days, and you should see the trouble I give the poor guy for it. It's just easier to keep it all out and not have to worry.

[4Blessings]

Of course we did! We also don't let any of our children play with rat poison, loaded guns, etc....!!! Milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts could be just as deadly for our child.

Remember that it is your job to keep your child reaction free. Do what you need to do to make that happen. Over time your comfort zone and needs will change. However, when the child is young and doesn't completely understand the danger I feel that it is important to keep their home a safe place.

[Nu_Mommy_2003]

Thanks ladies! I just feel bad fo the older kids but DH said they'll get over it with time. This morning my DD was scream for a bagel and the older kids said "no no, we cannot have those anymore, right mom?" I just nodded and thought I need to find a bread alternative quick.

[lil_miss_understood]

My ds's allergies aren't life-threatening, thankfully, but I gave away so much food in the first few weeks that my sister-in-law half-joked to her boyfriend that she was going grocery shopping when she came to visit me. Bear in mind, I'm a serious food hoarder and usually have a 3 month "emergency" supply of food.
After giving away the vast majority of our food, I got down to a few things which we still had (last of the margarine, 1/2 container of sour cream) and I've used those up as quickly as I can to get rid of them. They won't be finding their way back into the fridge though.
DH, DS and I are adjusting to the diet change with minimal problems (still having problems with bread, but I vow to get it right!).