Miss Peregrine Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Finally got referral to allergy for DD10. She gets hives, red, itchy eyes, etc. I took her off of dairy at the beginning of the month and that lasted 2 weeks. I am horrible at it. Anyway, she goes in for an initial consultation on February 8. If I strongly suspect a dairy allergy should I try to eliminate again or just keep things the way they are. Will it make a difference in what the doctor can see/ascertain as to whether or not she needs further testing? Side note- Why does allergy require a referral? Our PPO does not require referrals for anything, except, I recently found out, allergy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 My allergist wants me to keep things the way that they are.....he and my rheumatologist want to see me at "bad". Also, did they give you the list of meds you can't take prior to the appointment? There are many drugs that will invalidate allergy testing, including some "stomach" meds. I'm not sure why an allergist needs a referral. Our PPO doesn't require it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 WIth our insurance, we have two choices. You can go to the one where you have minor but then you have to keep going back to the primary care physician to get your referrals. Or you can have the kind I have- no referrals needed for any type of physician (except for behavioral med after 12 visits) and only for a few rare procedures. I have a deductible and co pays until we reach 1K per year. We always reach it in late Deember or early Jan (our year starts in Oct) so it is worth it for my sanity to not bother with the other system. I am fairly certain we would end up paying 1K anyway, just take longer but have a lot more hastles. (That is because the medications have the same copay whether you are on the restrictive system or the loose system and they are up to 25 a prescription and we have lots of prescriptions,) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Ok. So I found out that is the medical groups that want the referral and not our insurance. Dumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 We have a medical system like that here too, so I drive 45 minutes to avoid the hassle and save a ton of money. :) Keep everything the same. I was told that if I would get more accurate results if I had some of the offending foods in my system. That was a yucky week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 My allergist wants me to keep things the way that they are.....he and my rheumatologist want to see me at "bad". Also, did they give you the list of meds you can't take prior to the appointment? There are many drugs that will invalidate allergy testing, including some "stomach" meds. I'm not sure why an allergist needs a referral. Our PPO doesn't require it. We have a medical system like that here too, so I drive 45 minutes to avoid the hassle and save a ton of money. :) Keep everything the same. I was told that if I would get more accurate results if I had some of the offending foods in my system. That was a yucky week. All right. DD will be very happy. She is very irritated at the very thought of being allergic to dairy. I noticed a big difference in her coloring those two weeks. After she started eating again she conceded that I am probably right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Sounds like you're going to get some answers soon. I'm not sure why allergies require a referral. My guess is that it may be a liability thing since food allergies can be dangerous. I don't think it really matters whether she is on or off the food. If she's on dairy, I suppose the dr will be able to see her symptoms, but I imagine they would do testing anyway just based on your report. If they do the skin prick or the RAST (blood test), which are the most common allergy tests, the results will be the same regardless of whether the food is in her diet at the time of the test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 We had to get a referral too, and also they said for Ds to be off all allergy Meds for two weeks prior- he goes next month and he is going to be sooo miserable that two weeks. And of course, I am going to be more miserable from dealing with him! We've tried random elimination diets, etc over the years, but never any real change in his symptoms. Finally going for real allergy testing is a relief, I had to get off the "maybe it's ----" wheel. I can't figure it out, I guess that is what an allergist is for! He is also having sinus surgery next week, but the constant sinus infections are a result of the allergies, so that won't be a fix if we don't tackle the allergies too. I'm so sick and tired of my poor kid being so sick and tired! Heres hoping we both get some answers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 We had to get a referral too, and also they said for Ds to be off all allergy Meds for two weeks prior- he goes next month and he is going to be sooo miserable that two weeks. And of course, I am going to be more miserable from dealing with him! We've tried random elimination diets, etc over the years, but never any real change in his symptoms. Finally going for real allergy testing is a relief, I had to get off the "maybe it's ----" wheel. I can't figure it out, I guess that is what an allergist is for! He is also having sinus surgery next week, but the constant sinus infections are a result of the allergies, so that won't be a fix if we don't tackle the allergies too. I'm so sick and tired of my poor kid being so sick and tired! Heres hoping we both get some answers! Yes, it will be nice to know. It has been years, I'm ashamed to say. She does take zyrtec off and on. I will make sure she stays off of it. Hope you get answers, too. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessicamcc Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 We had to get a referral too, and also they said for Ds to be off all allergy Meds for two weeks prior- he goes next month and he is going to be sooo miserable that two weeks. And of course, I am going to be more miserable from dealing with him! We've tried random elimination diets, etc over the years, but never any real change in his symptoms. Finally going for real allergy testing is a relief, I had to get off the "maybe it's ----" wheel. I can't figure it out, I guess that is what an allergist is for! He is also having sinus surgery next week, but the constant sinus infections are a result of the allergies, so that won't be a fix if we don't tackle the allergies too. I'm so sick and tired of my poor kid being so sick and tired! Heres hoping we both get some answers! I totally understand! It's like a big guessing game! I have kept PAGES of food diaries. I think he must be having some delayed reactions that are throwing us off. We are getting a series of tests starting mid February. Ihope for you, and for the OP, that you get the answers you need soon. It's too much of a yoyo for these poor kids! :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Take care, Jessica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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