Okay, so LO has eczema and did have watery green stools. The gastro put him on Neocate for two weeks, which was a disaster. He wouldn't eat it, lost weight, and I got mastitis from all the pumping, which has reduced my supply. I pulled the experiment after a week and went back to breastfeeding but only after I started a nut-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free diet. He still has eczema but his stools have radically improved after two weeks of that. I talked to the gastro today who wants me to continue this diet for a year? WHAT? Shouldn't we just try to figure out what he is allergic to of the four substances? Is this standard protocol? This whole experience has me raging against the medical establishment so talk me down.
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I have ZERO experience, but *surely* there's a better way to go about it than completely eliminating all 4 of those allergens for an entire year!! What do you even eat? Meat, fruit and veggies?
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Elimination diet is so tough, I commend you for trying it because I was a dropout (soy/milk.) I would defientely see if they can order an allergy test, however when we were going through everything (egg & nut) they said at such a young age the results can lend to false positive/negatives. We were able to get answers though and then followed with blood work to see how bad the allergy was.
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@raintreebee: I did an even more strict elimination diet for 9 months (no dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, fish or nuts). When LO was 9 months she started to out grow some of her intolerances and I was able to slowly add things back into my diet. It was definitely tough, but for me, totally worth it.
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@MamaMoose: Oh my goodness - were you crazy healthy by the end of that? Or are there sneaky cheats...? Haha
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@swurlygurl: Pretty much meat fruit veggies and rice. Though it sounds like the OP can eat wheat too which would have added a lot of options for me (crackers, pasta, etc).
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@swurlygurl: I don't know if I was "healthy" but was SKINNY. You basically don't snack because everything that's a snack food has one of those ingredients. Between the limited calorie intake and the excellent calorie burning from nursing I was hot
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@raintreebee: A year, seriously?! I mean I have multiple food allergies and it is tough. Might it be possible to add back one category in a controlled rotation until you find the culprit?
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@MamaMoose: Where you unable to eat out at all? I had a cousin just eliminating soy, and that alone made it difficult to eat out because a lot of prepackaged seasonings (like restaurants tend to use) have some sort of soy product in them.
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@MamaMoose: Wow that is amazing. I was so glad he responded well to the diet even though I am still eating wheat (although the doctor mentioned she may have me cut that too for his eczema).
@swurlygurl: yes, that's pretty much it! and certain kinds of dark chocolate! good thing is that I am losing the baby weight, albeit slowly.
@LuLu Mom: yeah, he might be too young for those tests right now (he is 3.5 months but maybe in a couple months they will do them.Thanks all. I think we are going to go for a second opinion.
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What I would suggest is getting the eczema all cleared up, even if it means eliminating even more things. Then try adding them back in, one at a time, and seeing if there is a reaction, taking into account that it can take up to three days from when you ate it to when the reaction shows up. (This is based off having to eliminate egg with my first LO (for abou 14 months), then having to eliminate dairy, soy, chocolate and nuts with my second LO, also for over a year.) It can be rough but you do get used to a new normal after a while.
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@swurlygurl: Yes but it was pretty limited. I could only eat a nicer restaurants where I knew everything was prepared with fresh ingredients and could be customized.
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I was given the same advice as you. That before a year allergy testing is totally meaningless. I've just started reintroducing into my diet and my son is almost one. Good luck!
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@raintreebee: My LO is 7.5 months and I have been on an elimination diet for close to 6 months now. Originally our pedi said I could challenge some things at 6 months, but my LO continues to test positive for blood in her stool (it is microscopic at this point, but apparently there)...so now my pedi wants me to wait until at least 9 months and would prefer a year. So sounds like this may be somewhat standard.
Like @MamaMoose, I am on an insane diet. No milk, soy, nuts, tree nuts, eggs, corn, and recently gluten. It is very likely that LO is not sensitive to all those things though, so I totally understand your frustration. Honestly, I can say that it may have been worth it up until now because my baby was clearly miserable early on and she has been thriving ever since I started this diet (even with the positive test results). BUT, I have decided that after 9 months, if she hasn't started to outgrow some of her intolerances, I will probably wean her to formula. I love nursing but this diet is starting to drive me nuts and I don't know how much longer I can handle it, honestly.
@MamaMoose: Your story makes me optimistic about my own LO outgrowing this. Thanks and kuddos to you!
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@catlady: You can do it! The only thing my LO still struggles with is straight eggs. For example, I can't give her scrambled eggs, or she'll throw up. But she can eat a cake with egg baked into it. The LARGE majority of babies out grow their intolerances by a year. That's why most pediatrician don't go to the trouble of allergy testing. Feel free to wall me if you ever have questions or need encouragement. I know how tough it can be sometimes!
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Elimination diet is SO hard. When I found out that DD was mspi, I cried the entire day. I found out when she was 2 weeks so I've been dairy/soy free for 3.5 months now. She just started having green poop again recently after I accidentally had French fries that were fried in soy oil. It's been 2 weeks and she's had 3 yellow poops in a row, so I'm hoping I won't have to eliminate more because it's so difficult.
My ped said that we would reevaluate her sensitivity at 6 months,but I'm starting think I'll probably have to eliminate until she's ready to wean off BM.
Chili's, Applebee's both have great allergy menus. I've heard Maggiano's Italian is good about catering to allergies. But yeah, eating out is near to impossible with an elimination diet.
Good luck! Everyone has said that I've lost weight, so I guess that's the positive side to it?
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You ladies are so amazing!!! Inspiration for sure.
Btw, is coconut considered a tree nut?
@spaniellove: that's what I'd figured they'd do??
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@Baby Boy Mom: The allergist said that eczema is only food related a quarter of the time, so it's possible this is not a food allergy. Guess I could eliminate more to see. What's next after wheat?
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@raintreebee: I think an allergist would be a good option for you, both in terms of testing and counseling you on what you can eat. I've found that with food allergies and avoiding several allergens you have to make almost all of your own food with very few exceptions when you find eateries (usually independently owned) that you can trust. And even then you can never let down your guard. About coconut - for food labeling/liability purposes it's labeled a tree nut because many people who have tree nut allergies are also strangely allergic to coconut (like me), but technically it's a drupaceous fruit.
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@spaniellove: We saw one who didn't think he had any food allergies. Lol. Basically we saw four docs (two pedis, one gastro, and one allergist) and they all disagreed. I have been making all my own food. I hate it. I am not a cook, and I live in NYC, the land of small kitchens, restaurants, and takeout! Arrgh. I feel for you--at least this isn't lifelong.
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@raintreebee: I'm not sure, but I think the Kelly mom site has a list. The thing is that it is a reaction to something, although it could be environmental- so that would mean making sure it's not something like soap or laundry detergent. I'm sorry, it's so hard with the babies because all you can really do is trial and error. It took MONTHS for us to figure everything out with my youngest. And by that point he has started outgrowing some of the sensitivities. One random thing for us was pesticides on fruit, if you can believe it! Hang in there!
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@raintreebee: I will tell you that my LO outgrew his dairy sensitivity at 6 months, which I read is very, very common.. something about their gut "closing"? At any rate, even those couple months were hard and I don't blame you for exploring other options!
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