Sophia Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 My youngest has always been a challenge...cried endlessly as a baby, prone to horrific tantrums:eek:, and just plain moody. To top it off, he regularly (about every 3-4 months) has some sort of intestinal bug that results in vomiting and diarrhea. I always thought it was just a virus or normal childhood thing since yes, he will pick up food from the floor and eat it (while ignoring what he has on his plate, mind you...argh!) but yesterday dh suggested he has some sort of food allergy. This is new territory to me, how do I even begin to investigate that without involving doctors and tests (we're self-pay)? Just eliminate one thing at a time? How soon would I see a change that would tell me I was on the right track? Thanks for any help you can give Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I think you would put him on an "elimination diet" for a time and then add things in one by one and keep records of how his behavior or health changes. Google "ellimination diet" to get a better understanding of what it is - it's very limited and I don't know how welll it will work with a child that age that is picky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamapjama Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I'm sorry you are experiencing this. It brings back memories. You could try eliminating one or two foods at a time if you think there is one particular food that you suspect. But in the long run this can take more time than cutting back to a small amount of safe foods and adding a new food every four days. Pretty much the same way you did when he was an infant. Elimination diets aren't easy, but I think they are worth it. And everything in that "food family" should be removed. Check for hidden ingredients. My child would wake in the middle of the night and scream like a drug addicted person for toast. After one bite of the toast he would go back to sleep. He had "toddler diarreha" forever. I ended up taking him to someone trained in natural medicince. She performed something called EMT on him. It showed that he was sensitive to wheat, eggs, dairy, chicken, legumes and a few others. After three treatments with her, the diarreha stopped and he was able to eat these foods. He is still a very active child, but the treatment really did make a world of difference for us. It was covered under our medical plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgm Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Keeping a food diary that includes the amounts (estimated) of what he eats and when can be helpful. One of my children turned out to be allergic to Red Dye 40. He had eczema almost from the beginning and always had hives a few days after a bday party, but we didn't figure it out until preschool gave him a drink with a lot of Red Dye 40 and he broke out in hives instantly. Checking back, we found that the infant vitamins and the icing on birthday cakes both had Red Dye 40. He's a sunnier child now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 The most common food allergy is dairy. It can take upwards of a month to get all the dairy out of his system--I forget why that is, but it is. So that would be my first suggestion: No dairy. No cow's milk, hard cheese, cottage cheese, yoghurt, nada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 food allergies are no fun. My son had dairy and egg as a baby/toddler. He supposedly outgrew them but while he tests negative to dairy if he eats any he's a bear and in the bathroom all.day.long. !!! He just recently tested positive to peanuts and his soy test was pos. for skin but negative in the RAST. For now I have to let him eat it and just keep watching for signs that it's a problem. I would call the allergist and get a price list. Full testing is expensive. But if you could just get the top 8 allergens skin tested you would then know which ones to blood test. Food elimination can be tough b/c you have to know what foods to eliminate. The Food Allergy Network used to have an allergen sheet with all top 8 allergens and their code names listed. I don't know if that is still online or if you need to get it from a Dr. You would have to eliminate one food item at a time(dairy or peanut or whatever). There are tons of sites online that outline food elimination. It is a much slower process. The other thought is that it's not a true allergy but an intolerance. True allergy would involve stomach issues, behavior issues and breathing issues. If it's an allergy you need an epi pen. If it's an intolerance you need to be patient with the bathroom issues ;-) There should be some other symptoms too. I found the dark circles under the eyes to be my most reliable symptom of allergies. Just the other day BOTH my kids woke up with 'shiners' and I was panicked to figure out what they had eaten. Especially since the youngest has no food allergies. But they did not eat the same foods the day before...and then we figured out it had to be the pool chlorine they got in their eyes. Symptoms are there for allergies and intolerances....really start keeping a log. Food, chemicals. Playing outside for instance may be a trigger...pollen is aggravating something...so many possibilities. Our recent allergist visit was to retest dairy and egg. They tested peanut and soy to rule them out and I was shocked when they tested positive. My son is 7.5 and getting new allergies! But I would have paid out of pocket for the results. Seriously call around and see if a Dr can't work with you. Try to get the top 8 allergens tested. And do a food/pollen/chemical log before you go to have some evidence of what you are thinking. I remember the allergist laughing when I said my son was also allergic to our pets at 9 months. He said kids aren't allergic to pets that young. But when we took a 2 week vacation 2000 miles away and no pets...his nose stopped running for the first time in his life. He tested him to pacify me and had to apologize when it was highly positive!!! Trust your gut, keep records, and find a Dr that will work with you on payments. Skin testing in the office would be the first start. The blood tests can be expensive but like I said...we had a positive to soy but negative on blood...and if it were easier to cut out soy we would just b/c of that skin result. But since we already avoid dairy, egg, gluten(for me), peanut...I can just deal with the soy and if the symptoms don't go away we know what to eliminate next. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 An elimination diet is likely what a doc would tell you try first anyway. We deal with food allergies too. My allergic child has always been a picky eater too. A young child can't express that a food is making his mouth itch, he'll just refuse the food (and look for scraps under the table:lol:....btdt with mine). An elimination diet is eliminating all possible allergens, getting to a point where he is clear form all symptoms. Then adding in one possible trigger food at a time to see which foods cause the symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertechmom Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 We went thru this. Our allergy test showed nothing because it wasn't IGE allergies ( what causes shock and hives). It was Iga and IGg allergies that caused stomach problems, crying, screaming, etc. for us and don't show on the typical food allergy testing. Our allergist put us on food trials. Keep a detailed journal of everything and every morsel your child eats. Record things like moods, crying, temp, bowel movements (including color, liquid, firm, soft, watery - You would be amazed at how a certain color or consistency pinpoints a type of food sometimes). Because we were shooting in the dark, we went all the way back to plain food only. Plain chicken, plain simple veggies. The most basic of food that has the least chance of having any problems. HE said to keep that diet until bowel movements were normal and behavior was normal. It took about 2 months. Then we started with what he called the most obvious culprits. Eggs, Dairy, Wheat/gluten. He said to eat the same thing, prepared the same way, from the same brand (different brands have different ingredients and can skew the results because it may be the dye or one simple thing that your child reacts to instead of the target food) for one month. So we did scrambled eggs prepared the same way for a month. When that showed nothing, we went to dairy (one type of ice cream that only had three ingredients) and then when that was cleared, we moved to wheat. One type of bread with the least amount of ingredients and least amount of chemicals I could find. The eggs and dairy had all ready been cleared so those were okay in the bread. Within 3 weeks, she was back to her "old" self. Then we had to determine if it was just wheat or the larger culprit gluten. We had to try rye and barley in the same method. By that point, we were being refereed for Celiac testing to see if we had Celiac (autoimmune response to gluten) Dairy is a hard one because you can be lactose intolerant or have the allergy or be "intolerant" to milk proteins or have any combination. Lactose is typically very watery with a green tint while the allergy can produce hives, shock, breathing issues, and the intolerant leaves you suffering in the bathroom for hours. Wheat/gluten is horrific because it is everywhere and in everything and requires checking ingredients and a lot of times how it is processed because they don't have to label ingredients used in the processing of a food item. I rarely will use any product that isn't marked gluten free unless I know for 100% sure it is free and clear. It is a bear to uncover but once you do there is no doubt. The dye issue is also a lot of fun since it shows up in so many different ways from violent behavior to crying jags to skin problems to hives and so on and dyes are in a lot of stuff. Good luck with it. Once you uncover the culprit, it is a relief to finally see the kid that emerges. It's like watching a butterfly dry his wings and take flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertechmom Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Oh and the entire house did this. Crumbs and cross contamination can create issues depending on just how sick the kid is and skew all the results. I treated everything like a severe peanut allergy. One possible molecule was one too many. So we all ate this diet. And uncovered other food issues with the other kids that had been missed.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in Jax Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I'd start by eliminating the foods he craves to see if those are the problem. Often, we crave foods that are the problem ones. For example, my son used to crave the bread/gluten and dairy. So, his food cravings were bread, pasta, mac and cheese, breaded foods, ice cream, cheese, etc. Once we eliminated those foods, he got calmer, happier, and slept more soundly. His constipation ended. If you google elimination diets, you can find specific information about the kinds of things to try. This book may be helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Kid-Friendly-ADHD-Autism-Cookbook-Gluten-Free/dp/1592332234 HIH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Sophia, We're not self pay, but our insurance is crummy so we're paying for every test until we pay $2000, and then we ONLY have to pay %20.:glare: But, it's worth every penny. I have been chasing this rabbit for YEARS! Two years ago I went through her pediatrician and it was a waste of my time. She was diagnosed as Lactose intolerant (which she is), but because the RAST showed everything "not allergic," we were told she wasn't allergic to anything. Fast forward 2 years, she is on antihistamines 24/7 year round, she has unexplained diarrhea and stomach cramps even when there is NO MILK AT ALL, and now she has acne, and mood swings like you wouldn't believe. Not to mention that everytime she eats fruit she breaks out in a rash and her throat swells up. I finally bypassed her Dr. (who continues to tell me the RASTS don't lie), and took her to an actual allergist. We had the skin test yesterday and soy came up positive. It's what my hunch was, but I couldn't get her pediatrician to listen to me (even though she commented the acne on her skin looked like a soy reaction). We have a couple more tests to run, including another RAST. The difference is, the allergist is looking for the cross pollinating allergens to single out the soy. It's possible that while the Soy RAST won't come back positive, whatever cross pollinates with soy will, and that's why she's reacting to soy (I know. . . It's all greek to me too). At any rate, she told me that eventually we probably will eliminate soy, even if the RAST comes back negative. I wish I had taken her to an allergist 5 years ago when all these problems started. I've tried eliminating foods (soy, wheat, milk), but the problem I found is, they all seem to run together! So, what was making her react? The soy, the wheat or the milk? Since she's lactose intolerant, I cut all milk products out of her diet EXCEPT for the lactose free milk (we never drank soy milk) and she still had the stomach problems. The only time she didn't was when I bought things that were "allergen free." That's how I knew it had to be the wheat or the soy. Once I know which one and I eliminate it, I've been told I'll see a HUGE improvement. She won't have to be on antihistamines all the time, she won't have the gastrointestinal issues she has, and her skin should clear up (not to mention some of the mood swings). So, I say all this to support calling allergists and interviewing them. Look for allergists that are willing to cross test and look beyond the RAST. All the allergy tests have false positives and negatives, which is why it's important they look at the group as a whole, not just the one food. Also, bargain with the allergist since you're self pay. The first set of blood tests would have cost us over $200, but our insurance won't let them charge that. We paid $40. You should be able to negotiate like that too. Good luck and Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briansmama Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Picky eatikng is often a sign of food sensitivities/allergies. Some kids instinctively know that food makes them feel bad so they avoid it. Testing is often inaccurate. Some tests only pick up full-blown allergies, while your ds may have sensitivities that are causing his symptoms. My understanding is that an elimination diet is most accurate. Often, the parents are able to see a correlation between certain foods and behavioral/physical responses in the child better than any test can measure. Good luck! We've been there and it's tricky at first, but totally worth it to eliminate the offending foods and help your dc get back on track and feel better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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