[BeantownBaby9]

9mo old DS who has struggled immensely with gastro issues and reflux finally got a confirmation from our new pedi GI that he definitely has allergies, via the blood found in his stool. I am so happy we finally have a diagnosis, I started crying happy tears in the office. But at the same time, I know the road ahead may not be easy and will take a lot more research and dedication. So I am here.....

Couple questions for you all. We were put on CFSFCornFEF diet, but not wheat. Previous IgE rasts came back negative, but the GI didn't seem to know much about IgG/IgA tests or how to interpret the results. I have a test kit from Alltess and am doing a blood draw tomorrow. Will this likely show what I should and should not eat, and I can base my elim diet based on these results, rather than trial and error beyond our above restrictions? He didn't say I need to do a 4 day rotation OR really do a food journal, but should I? What other suggestions do you all have? Thanks so much! Looking forward to getting to know this little group (though I wish the circumstances were different)

 

[mtn.mama]

I would cut out gluten on top of the recommendations, and definitely keep a food journal. The IgG testing won't be 100% accurate, its likely to have alot of false positives.

Glad you're finding some answers... I hope to hear your LO is feeling better soon.

Lisa

 

[lil_miss_understood]

I disagree that the IgG testing is likely to have a lot of false positives. I'd be more concerned with false negatives, honestly... but each of us has different experiences with different laboratories, and Alletesse is not the company from which we ordered tests...
I completely agree with cutting out gluten and keeping a food journal.
And just to clarify for anyone coming after us- the abbreviation you used IS casein, soy, corn and egg free, correct?

 

[BeantownBaby9]

yes Jacqueline, spot on, those are his allergies.

I am still BF-ing.....should I eat the exact same as DS at the same time, or is there a time delay for this stuff to get into breastmilk. I am just wondering even with journaling and keeping a very close eye if he gets a food from BM that I pumped, or even fresh, how will I really ever figure this out. My dh wants me to ask if we should just do Alimentum to make finding the allergies easier (essentially cutting me out of the mystery). Oh and what labs did you all use for your tests?

 

[kjbrown92]

Breastmilk is sooooo much better for the baby than formula. And they can be allergic to the formulas as well, and then where would you be?

Yes, you need to take it all out of your diet as well. There is a delay getting into and out of your milk, and you need to take that into consideration when looking at the food journal, but I'm not sure if you should keep one journal with both your and the baby's food in it, or two separate journals... I'll have to think about that one.

There's a recipes sticky at the top of the page in case you're looking for ideas.

We used ALCAT for our intolerance testing (2 false negatives on DS, 1 false negative on DD2).

The top 4 seem to be dairy, gluten, soy, corn, so I would definitely take out gluten out as well. I think egg is 5th so that's a good call. Then after a week or two if you're still not showing improvement, take out one more thing at a time for 5 days before taking out another (other likely culprits, nightshades - tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, eggplant; legumes - peanuts, beans, peas; citrus).

 

[BeantownBaby9]

well, I think I might crawl into a hole. We just got back from the blood draw at the pedi and they weren't able to get ANYTHING. 6 sticks, hands, feet, arms, and NOTHING....he has no blood. so now I don't know if I will ever get this IgG panel fulfilled. I am going to try Quest on Monday....is there anything besides water that I can do to prepare him for the test to make his veins better?

Pedi gave me alimentum and thought that was the best course of action. Hubby agrees. I don't know how much longer I can fight him off

 

[mtn.mama]

Can you go to a hospital/children's hospital for the blood draw?

 

[kortner]

Ugh! You must feel pretty stuck with both your ped and DH wanting to switch to formula. I am confident that breastmilk is the best possible thing for my little one, even if he does have food intolerances. BM has so many things (immune factors, essential fatty acids, cholesterol) that formula does not and is more easily absorbed (esp. important for food intolerances/allergies).

If you do decide you want to try formula (and personally I would not) keep pumping!

I would suggest getting the IgG testing for YOU. That is what helped us initially, and then we were able to find more foods that were bothering DS when he started some solids - it was easier to see what it was when he tried it directly. I cut out a lot of what I saw him react to as well, because I knew they weren't foods I digested well either.

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps...

 

[lil_miss_understood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeantownBaby9 i am still BF-ing.....should I eat the exact same as DS at the same time, or is there a time delay for this stuff to get into breastmilk. I am just wondering even with journaling and keeping a very close eye if he gets a food from BM that I pumped, or even fresh, how will I really ever figure this out. My dh wants me to ask if we should just do Alimentum to make finding the allergies easier (essentially cutting me out of the mystery). Oh and what labs did you all use for your tests?

Yes, you should eat the exact same as DS. There should be nothing in your diet that's not in his. Eating it at the same time would allow for easier tracking down of problematic foods, I think, although there is a delay in how long it takes for things to get into milk- between 3 and 12 hours. I would avoid pumped bm, if at all possible. There are a lot of moms here who had to dump stashes because they'd been eating food their dc was allergic to at the time it was pumped. I know that doesn't make it any easier to let the white gold go, but...

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeantownBaby9 well, I think I might crawl into a hole. We just got back from the blood draw at the pedi and they weren't able to get ANYTHING. 6 sticks, hands, feet, arms, and NOTHING....he has no blood. so now I don't know if I will ever get this IgG panel fulfilled. I am going to try Quest on Monday....is there anything besides water that I can do to prepare him for the test to make his veins better? Pedi gave me alimentum and thought that was the best course of action. Hubby agrees. I don't know how much longer I can fight him off

I'm sorry that the blood draw didn't work out. I agree with pps that it's probably best to try to get it done at a children's hospital. I have no advice on how to make the draw successful, sorry.
I strongly disagree with switching babe to formula. Alimentum contains both casein and soy in both formulations (ready to feed and powder) and the powder also has corn. There has been more than one mom who has switched her baby to formula only to have to fight to get them back to breast when the formula makes things worse. FWIW, DS1 (who has a dairy allergy and was bottle fed at the advice of a physician) did better but not great on both Alimentum and Nutramigen.
I also agree with kortner about getting yourself IgG tested. In our experience on this forum, the reason babes develop intolerances is because of their mom's leaky gut, caused by her eating foods to which SHE is intolerant. If you have a leaky gut, the food you eat is getting into your milk and your dc is being exposed to it while their gut is still leaky.