Got our RAST results back...

[Shelsi]

And they were all negative. We did a vegetable panel (for the corn mostly), dairy, eggs, wheat, shellfish, fish, peanuts, and nuts.

I'm not really surprised since all her reactions have been gastro-intestinal so far but honestly I just wanted something to show up just so I'd have "proof" when dealing with doctors, kwim? It's not that big of an issue except for the corn thing. At some point she'll need meds and then I'll have to fight to get a corn free med.

I guess our next step might be the skin prick test. The RAST was through our regular doctor. I think I'm going to wait until the new year (no point in paying down the deductible right now, kwim) and then we'll go to a pediatric allergist and go from there.

I really want to find out what else she is allergic/sensitive to. I'm scared to try new foods with her.

It prob would have shown up on the RAST if she was ana to anything right?

[momma_c]

sorry to hear the RAST was of no help to you, are you sure it is allergies you are dealing with and not an intolerance? it is such a guessing game and an exhausting one at that... what i can tell you from our experience is that when my son's first RAST was done soy did not show up as an allergen however we knew he was allergic to soy, it has however shown on his most recent RAST from last week.
his ana allergens milk and eggs have shown up on both tests however.

the one piece of information i did find interesting that our pediatric allergist shared with me was that the lab used for the testing can have an affect on the results. she felt that the results we received the first time may have not been very accurate, and well they weren't since soy did not show up. the test we had done last week was through the lab she works with and all of the allergens were showing worse than they were on the original tests, so i am not sure if that was really the lab or his allergens changing.

anyways, good luck to you!! dealing with these dr.s really can do a number on us mommas, eh?

[Shelsi]

Yeah it seems like no one really wants to help me figure it out. Like just because she doesn't stop breathing it's no big deal, kwim? When they called with the results they left a message on my phone saying everything came back negative and to just call them if I had any questions. So no follow up. No different testing offered.

They def could be intolerances, especially since they seem to present as gastro-intestinal things.

She's 15 mos old and I've been trying to figure out her sensitivities since she was 4 mos old. I went on a TED and I've been adding things back in ever since. Some things she reacts to very strongly through my breast milk and so she's never ingested herself (corn, eggs, dairy, and wheat). Other things I can eat and it doesn't seem to bother her but she reacts to them when she eats them (avocado, peas, peaches, lima beans, olive oil). Her whole butt looks like someone took a blow torch to it and she bleeds from it. It's horrible looking. When she was younger and only on breast milk she would also start having this nasty projectile spit up and excema.

Oh and if she's reacting to something she doesn't seem to absorb anything. She still poops 5-10 times a day like a newborn. If she's reacting to something sometimes the food she eats (even the safe stuff) will make it's exit in as short as an hour later. I think the only reason she's growing at all is through breast milk, but she's still not on the charts at all for growth.

I just don't understand why no doctor I've ever taken her to ever seems to care? It's so discouraging.

[ASusan]

I thought I read somewhere - maybe here? - that they won't be positive on a RAST unless SOME of the offending item is in their blood? (or some reaction was in their blood)? So if you've been a super-careful avoider, then the item may not turn up on a RAST?

OK, lots of question marks here, but maybe someone can help.

DH didn't get a positive RAST to dairy. We had given it up 5 months earlier. But if he gets a lick of butter (in something cooked in butter, for example), his cheeks are flaming within seconds.

[Mrsboyko]

We went strainght to the skin prick test. It was kinda rough, but it gave us the answers we were looking for (and more) very fast. SInce she was only 12 months and we had been careful about soilds till that point, the RAST would not have shown a reaction for the reasons stated above. We are considering doing the rast now at 2 y/o because she is still reacting to something in her diet and we can't figure out what it is.

[Shelsi]

:: Ok well now I'm mad! I know the doc was family practice and not an allergist but shouldn't he have realized the RAST wouldn't work since we avoid all those foods??

Getting her blood drawn for this RAST was a debacle. It was HORRIBLE. The lab person was terrible. We had to hold her down screaming. They couldn't get enough blood from one arm so they had to do her other arm as well. It left a huge bruise. Then we get a call a few days later to tell us they didn't get even half the blood they needed so we had to come back in. We went to another lab, who was better thank God, but again they had to do both arms. It was just awful.

Now I'm just fight'in mad. Why do I even bother with these stupid doctors?!

I'm gonna go eat some chocolate.

[Mrsboyko]

You can do a modified skin test at home if you want. We almost did because i was getting desperate.

Get some of that bandage stuff that is clear and all stick, no pad (do you know what i mean, second skin?)
Take a little of the food you suspect (for dairy use plain yogurt). Dab it on her back somewhere she can't reach and place a piece of the clear bandage stuff over it. Do the same to yourself on your inner arm or somewhere else hairless (you are the control kinda). Give it at least 20 mins up to an hour, then remove the patch.

If the area is red and raised, it is a positive reaction. If not, then it is negative. you also need to compare the area to the patch w/o food on it, she could be reacting to the patch itself, KWIM? This will not give you how severe the reaction, though the faster the raised area appears can lead to some conclusions.

At the docs office they do basically the same thing only they use liquid allergens (foods) and have little prongs that break the skin a little to introduce the food deeper. And they don't use patches because the allergen is in the skin, not ON the skin, KWIM?

[Chinese Pistache]

Shelsi, the spt showed dd was allergic to corn and dairy, but the blood test which we did around the same time showed nothing. We also had a whole bunch of other intolerances to fruits, vegetables and seeds that didn't show up on the rast or spt (well, the spt only tested the big 8 plus corn). We had to figure those out with a food journal.

If you're dealing with gastro stuff, maybe you'll have more luck with a ped GI doctor. My friend just went to one when her ds was reacting to dairy through her and then, to dairy and soy when she switched him to formula. The GI doc told her that they they're seeing this all.the.time now and they don't even bother to scope (because it's invasive), they just put them on the hypoallergenic formula. I know Kathy in this forum has had success with GI docs.

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by Shelsi

:: Ok well now I'm mad! I know the doc was family practice and not an allergist but shouldn't he have realized the RAST wouldn't work since we avoid all those foods??

Getting her blood drawn for this RAST was a debacle. It was HORRIBLE. The lab person was terrible. We had to hold her down screaming. They couldn't get enough blood from one arm so they had to do her other arm as well. It left a huge bruise. Then we get a call a few days later to tell us they didn't get even half the blood they needed so we had to come back in. We went to another lab, who was better thank God, but again they had to do both arms. It was just awful.

Now I'm just fight'in mad. Why do I even bother with these stupid doctors?!

I'm gonna go eat some chocolate.

I'm not SURE what I wrote was accurate - hence all the ????. Don't blame your doctor too fast. I brought up this issue with our Fam Doc, who ordered our RAST, and he thought what I said was a little strange, explained why, and I can't remember what he said.

That's why I was hoping someone else would come along and confirm with links, or deny.

For us, RAST was a starting point, because we DID have a lot of positives to it (half the foods tested were positive). So, it MIGHT have been worth it. But for you, the RAST negatives just mean that you have to keep searching, so it seems like the PITA blood draw(s) were for nothing. I don't believe they were. I'm really sorry.

[kjbrown92]

I was trying to write a reply about pediatric GI docs when my computer froze! I have had good luck with both GI docs I went to (one for each child). The one I went to for DD2 (she was 13 months old at the time) said she could scope her if I wanted to, but she knew that she'd see lesions and she didn't want to put her through it unless I wanted her to (which I didn't). She said I didn't really need her though (I had already done all the elimination diet, food journal thing and I caught all her triggers (I thought at the time). She said to stay off the offending foods for at least 6 months and then trial them one at a time. And if I needed any help with reintroduction, to just call her. I wouldn't need an appointment. I thought that was really nice. At the time she only had about 20-25 foods, and the doctor said it was very balanced and fine for then. Since then we've had the ALCAT test, and she got some foods back into her diet, and lost others.

[k9sarchik]

I had the RAST test done first. I don't want to do the skin prick tests until DS is older because I remember what I went through and they are not fun.

I mainly did the RAST to see if there was some really serious foods to avoid and found them easily.