Test results

Well, it's been a while since I posted... honestly, things have just been overwhelming and a little depressing lately. We're still losing foods; DD can no longer tolerate any grains whatsoever. After eating buckwheat for a year and a half, she's suddenly reacting to it.

We've done a whole bunch of testing in the past few weeks. So far, we've gotten back IgE (skin prick) and ELISA results (IgG/compliment-antigen test through Sage Labs.) In the coming weeks we should get results from our celiac gene test, OAT, and comprehensive stool test. We're seeing a new allergist, who we like, and a new environmental medicine doc for the alternative testing. We might see a GI doc soon as well, although I'm a little hesitant because I know they'll want to scope her to look for damage, and I'm not sure I'm ok with getting my 2 year old put under. :(

IgE (positive) results: almond, beef, chicken, coconut, corn, cow's milk, egg white, egg yolk, pea, peanut, pork, rice, rye, salmon, shellfish mix, soybean, tree nut mix, wheat

IgG (positive) results: barley, BHA, blueberry, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cherry, chili pepper, coconut, dill seed, duck, garlic, gelatin, gluten, grapefruit, hazelnut, honeydew, lamb, lemon, lima bean, millet, oat, orange, peach, pear, pinto bean, pumpkin, raspberry, red #40, rye, safflower, soybean, squash mix, strawberry, sunflower, sweet potato, swordfish, tomato, trout, watermelon, wheat, white potato.

As you can see, it's a little overwhelming. We go back to the allergist in a few months for more testing, am I'm positive that we'll get a longer list then. (We tested as many as they could fit on her back, and she reacted to almost all of them!)

My goal for this month is to get serious with a rotation diet. Since we have so few safe foods, this means that I'll have to incorporate some mild-reaction foods... but hopefully in the long run, it will help. I will also try to come back later this week and write a bit about rotation diets!


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*update: Shortly after I published this post, I got DD's celiac gene test results, and.... NO CELIAC!! Yay! (The test can't tell you if you have celiac, only that you are predisposed, but it CAN tell you if you don't have it if you don't carry any of the genes.) She does has two other genes showing gluten sensitivity, but we already knew that. :)

The Unhealthy Truth: How our food is making us sick - and what we can do about it

by Robyn O'Brien

I urge everyone out there with children- with OR without food allergies- to read this book. Robyn really covers a lot of important bases of how our current (American) food supply is literally making us sick, and how that relates to food allergies. She covers topics such as:

• food additives- colors, preservatives, etc.
• genetically modified foods
• antibiotic and hormone laden meat and dairy
• the truth about soy - the dangers of eating soy, especially for a food-allergic infant!
  
• the revolving door (and corruption) between the big food and big pharma companies (Monsanto, notably) and the FDA
  
• the relationship between a major food allergy nonprofit (FAAN) and its corporate (big food AND big pharma) sponsors like Kraft

She also has an extensive book & web resource list, as well as tips for busy parents to help make the switch to healthier foods easier.

The things she uncovers in this book are at time horrifying, although sadly, not surprising for me after all the research that I've done in the past year. This is just another reminder that our grocery story dollars are political. When we spend money on food, we are casting our vote. The longer people continue buying this "fake" processed food full of chemicals and carcinogens, the longer it will be produced (and subsidized by our tax dollars!) It's time to cast your vote for healthy, fresh, local, nutrient-rich food for your family!! Especially for food-allergic children whose diets may be limited, it's important to get every possible nutrient from the food we eat.

Robyn also has a website where she shares tips and information about her book, as well as her AllergyKids website with food allergy safety products, information, and a food politics blog.

Months 21-24

June - September 2009

Sorry blog followers... I know it's been a really, really long time since my last post. Life has been a little crazy with a flooded apartment, buying a house, moving, cleaning, etc.

I promised a reader months ago that I would share what we're eating these days. (Just remember that what works for us definitely might not work for you!) Here are some of our regular foods that we eat:

• lamb
• fish **we've been eating this regularly for months, but it's out for now- see notes below
  
• buckwheat
• coconut/palm - coconut milk, coconut oil, palm shortening
• safflower oil
• cocoa (plain baking cocoa with no other ingredients)
  
• grapes/raisins
• blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
• zucchini and other types of summer squash
• broccoli
• carrots
• beets
• green beans
• peas
• potatoes (although I try to limit them as they are a nightshade and inherently inflammatory)
  
• swiss chard
• cabbage
• garlic
• tomatoes (this one is still on the fence)

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but those are things that we eat daily/weekly. We've tried all sorts of new produce this summer and discovered that most local/organic veggies are ok, while fruits are definitely out. We did yet another banana trial because that one's been on the fence for a while (and DD loves them!), and after 3-4 trials I'm finally giving up and calling it a fail. We also tried an organic plum, and DD had spots around her mouth within minutes.

We also recently did an egg trial (our 3rd) with local eggs from free-range chickens. It is impossible to find local eggs that haven't been fed *any* grains, so I was hesitant to try them... but they are a great source of protein and cholesterol that we could really use in our diet, so I gave it a shot. (Our previous trials were also with local chicken & duck eggs.) At first the trial seemed to be going good. Her previous symptoms with eggs were mostly behavioral, which are always difficult to discern- are they from the food trial, or just a toddler having a bad day? So with this trial, we had a few more tantrums, a couple potty accidents (which is always a reaction sign for us), sleep disturbances, and by the 5th day, blood in stool. :( So eggs are definitely out for now.

Overall, things are better and worse for us. Better, in that DD seems to be outgrowing some of her intolerances (delayed-reaction allergies) as her body heals and gets stronger. Worse, in that she seems to be having more frequent IgE (anaphylactic) reactions, and we seem to be getting mystery reactions that are hard to pinpoint to any one thing.

Last weekend we had some friends over for a bbq. At the same time that they arrived, we started one of the bbq's to cook some burgers. (We have 2 bbq's- one for our safe food, and one for everything else- particularly beef. The bbq we started was for the beef.) Within minutes of the guests arriving and bbq lighting, DD's face started getting blotchy and itchy, and stayed that way for hours. We still don't know why. Was it something on our guests? Was it the fumes from the charcoal and/or lighter fluid and/or beef? Either way, it makes me nervous that she is so sensitive that she is reacting to fumes in the air. :(

Another frustrating mystery - We've been eating fish regularly for months now. Surprisingly, DD has tolerated everything we've tried, and loves it. I was thrilled as this is a great source of protein and omega-3's. We tried halibut first (from Costco- so definitely a risk of cross-contamination from other fish/shellfish). Fine. Then salmon, also from Costco. Also fine. Then I started buying salmon from the farmer's market- all wild caught Alaskan, from a local company. We tried the sockeye, then the coho. Both delicious and tolerated wonderfully. Then 2 weeks ago, I went to buy some more at the market, and all they had left was pink salmon. It was the last fresh salmon of the season, and a great price, so I bought 2 whole fish. We chopped them into individual servings and froze them so that we could enjoy a little each week. That week we ate our first piece. DD got a little blotchy around her mouth, which was concerning, but I wasn't sure if it was the fish or one of the vegetables we were eating (that were from a different than usual source.) Well, we ate another serving of the pink salmon the other night, and same thing. DD was shoveling it in as fast as she could... within 1 minute of her first bite, I noticed some pink at the corners of her mouth. Within 3 minutes, it was fully blown blotches and she was starting to scratch. She also got very sweaty and had an obvious rise in her body temperature. These 2 symptoms together are a definite sign of anaphylaxis. Here's what she looked like at that point (it's hard to see in the picture, but some of the blotches were starting to raise):
I immediately gave her some homeopathic apis, which seemed to stop the reaction from getting worse. Then I mixed some vitamin C (about 1,000mg) and pascalite clay into some raw honey and gave that to her. That helped the reaction die down a little, and within the hour it was completely gone. (Please keep in mind that although this treatment worked for us, you should always consult your allergist for an emergency action plan. Had the reaction gotten any worse, we would have used benedryl and/or our EpiPen.) Very frightening reaction, as it was so fast, and definitely worse than the time before (as is common with ana reactions.)

I am completely stumped about this latest reaction. Why would she be fine with halibut, sockeye salmon, and coho salmon... but not pink salmon?? I have an email in to the company to see if this salmon was processed any differently, etc. but for now we're off fish. :( I will update later if I hear back from the company.

Hope everyone is having a great week with no food reactions!!