Took G to retest for her dairy allergy today

LSU628

and she still tested positive. And on top of things, she asked us why we stopped using the Elecare formula and had started on the almond milk. I told her my pediatrician told me to and she just shook her head. Needless to say, she gave me the name of a new pediatrician to try.  If your LO has a dairy allergy, how long did you stay on the hypo-allergenic formula?

kabarbanel

Aww no allergies here but sorry to hear she still has it!

blueyez09

Our Pedi just informed me to keep LO on Alimentum until 15 months then we'd address "milk" options then.

EDIT: LO has a dairy Allergy

bwralc

My daughter has a dairy (milk protein) and banana allergy.  We never used a hypo-allergenic formula with her.  I breastfed till 12 months (being dairy free myself) and then she had soy formula until 14 months when my Pedi suggested I just move over to Soy milk.

Does your DD have other allergies that would warrant needing the hypoallergenic formula?  If so then I can understand but most people wean off of formula at this age and go to some sort of milk alternative.  I think your Pedi is right (I'm not a Dr.) by switching her over to a "milk" at her age.  I don't see the need to continue on a formula unless you felt your DD wasn't eating well balanced meals, had problems gaining weight, or had allergies to all of the milk substitutes.  Maybe someone else could shed some light on this but it kinda surprises me that your allergist would suggest keeping her on the formula.

Also post this over on the attachment parenting board.  It is unwritten that that board has all of the allergy mommas on it, since the bump won't create an allergy board for us mommas.  They also have a weekly Monday post with allergy Moms.  Maybe they know something I haven't heard.

Also wanted to let you know that most dairy allergies are outgrown by 5, so as sad and frustrating as it is she will hopefully outgrow it by then.  I think it's 89% outgrow by 5?  Not sure on the exact statistic but it's high.  Feel free to page me if you ever need to vent about allergies. 

LSU628

bwralc:

My daughter has a dairy (milk protein) and banana allergy.  We never used a hypo-allergenic formula with her.  I breastfed till 12 months (being dairy free myself) and then she had soy formula until 14 months when my Pedi suggested I just move over to Soy milk.

Does your DD have other allergies that would warrant needing the hypoallergenic formula?  If so then I can understand but most people wean off of formula at this age and go to some sort of milk alternative.  I think your Pedi is right (I'm not a Dr.) by switching her over to a "milk" at her age.  I don't see the need to continue on a formula unless you felt your DD wasn't eating well balanced meals, had problems gaining weight, or had allergies to all of the milk substitutes.  Maybe someone else could shed some light on this but it kinda surprises me that your allergist would suggest keeping her on the formula.

Also post this over on the attachment parenting board.  It is unwritten that that board has all of the allergy mommas on it, since the bump won't create an allergy board for us mommas.  They also have a weekly Monday post with allergy Moms.  Maybe they know something I haven't heard.

Also wanted to let you know that most dairy allergies are outgrown by 5, so as sad and frustrating as it is she will hopefully outgrow it by then.  I think it's 89% outgrow by 5?  Not sure on the exact statistic but it's high.  Feel free to page me if you ever need to vent about allergies. 

Thanks for the tip on the AP board. She recommended staying on the formula for an extended period b/c she said that children with milk allergies can also develop allergies to soy and/or almond b/c the proteins are very similar in composition. The later the LO is exposed, the lesser the chance of developing the allergy. 

Boizmom

Z has an appointment with his GI Dr this week.  We will be discussing Goat milk for him.  It is more easily digested then cow's milk.  It has less lactose, the proteins are different, it's most similar to human milk.  I think it's worth a shot.  My soon-to-be 4 year old has been on Soy Milk since he was an infant, I wish I had known about Goat milk with him.  Z has been on Neocate and his Pedi wants us to switch him to milk, but we're going to do what the GI Dr says to do.

bwralc

Boizmom:

Z has an appointment with his GI Dr this week.  We will be discussing Goat milk for him.  It is more easily digested then cow's milk.  It has less lactose, the proteins are different, it's most similar to human milk.  I think it's worth a shot.  My soon-to-be 4 year old has been on Soy Milk since he was an infant, I wish I had known about Goat milk with him.  Z has been on Neocate and his Pedi wants us to switch him to milk, but we're going to do what the GI Dr says to do.

My Pedi highly recommended staying away from Goat's milk 1 in 2 kids with milk protein allergy will be allergic to Goat's milk.  However, ask your pedi and your GI doc for their opinions.   I was too scared to try it, b/c DD's allergy is so severe.

bwralc

LSU628:

bwralc:

My daughter has a dairy (milk protein) and banana allergy.  We never used a hypo-allergenic formula with her.  I breastfed till 12 months (being dairy free myself) and then she had soy formula until 14 months when my Pedi suggested I just move over to Soy milk.

Does your DD have other allergies that would warrant needing the hypoallergenic formula?  If so then I can understand but most people wean off of formula at this age and go to some sort of milk alternative.  I think your Pedi is right (I'm not a Dr.) by switching her over to a "milk" at her age.  I don't see the need to continue on a formula unless you felt your DD wasn't eating well balanced meals, had problems gaining weight, or had allergies to all of the milk substitutes.  Maybe someone else could shed some light on this but it kinda surprises me that your allergist would suggest keeping her on the formula.

Also post this over on the attachment parenting board.  It is unwritten that that board has all of the allergy mommas on it, since the bump won't create an allergy board for us mommas.  They also have a weekly Monday post with allergy Moms.  Maybe they know something I haven't heard.

Also wanted to let you know that most dairy allergies are outgrown by 5, so as sad and frustrating as it is she will hopefully outgrow it by then.  I think it's 89% outgrow by 5?  Not sure on the exact statistic but it's high.  Feel free to page me if you ever need to vent about allergies. 

Thanks for the tip on the AP board. She recommended staying on the formula for an extended period b/c she said that children with milk allergies can also develop allergies to soy and/or almond b/c the proteins are very similar in composition. The later the LO is exposed, the lesser the chance of developing the allergy. 

hmm.  I've heard this I just figured that since my DD tested negative for Soy allergies and since we extended formula until 14/15 months that we were ok.  I will look into this more.  Thanks for the information!

LSU628

bwralc:

LSU628:

bwralc:

My daughter has a dairy (milk protein) and banana allergy.  We never used a hypo-allergenic formula with her.  I breastfed till 12 months (being dairy free myself) and then she had soy formula until 14 months when my Pedi suggested I just move over to Soy milk.

Does your DD have other allergies that would warrant needing the hypoallergenic formula?  If so then I can understand but most people wean off of formula at this age and go to some sort of milk alternative.  I think your Pedi is right (I'm not a Dr.) by switching her over to a "milk" at her age.  I don't see the need to continue on a formula unless you felt your DD wasn't eating well balanced meals, had problems gaining weight, or had allergies to all of the milk substitutes.  Maybe someone else could shed some light on this but it kinda surprises me that your allergist would suggest keeping her on the formula.

Also post this over on the attachment parenting board.  It is unwritten that that board has all of the allergy mommas on it, since the bump won't create an allergy board for us mommas.  They also have a weekly Monday post with allergy Moms.  Maybe they know something I haven't heard.

Also wanted to let you know that most dairy allergies are outgrown by 5, so as sad and frustrating as it is she will hopefully outgrow it by then.  I think it's 89% outgrow by 5?  Not sure on the exact statistic but it's high.  Feel free to page me if you ever need to vent about allergies. 

Thanks for the tip on the AP board. She recommended staying on the formula for an extended period b/c she said that children with milk allergies can also develop allergies to soy and/or almond b/c the proteins are very similar in composition. The later the LO is exposed, the lesser the chance of developing the allergy. 

hmm.  I've heard this I just figured that since my DD tested negative for Soy allergies and since we extended formula until 14/15 months that we were ok.  I will look into this more.  Thanks for the information!

It's all very confusing and overwhelming. We stopped the formula at 12 months, per our pedi's recommendation. The allergist wanted us to stay on till at least 18 mo. Honestly, G has tolerated the almond milk well, and the Elecare was costing me an arm and a leg and caused me a lot of anxiety since I had to order it online. Almond milk isn't cheap, but it's WAY easier than stressing about my next shipment of formula!

Boizmom

bwralc:

Boizmom:

Z has an appointment with his GI Dr this week.  We will be discussing Goat milk for him.  It is more easily digested then cow's milk.  It has less lactose, the proteins are different, it's most similar to human milk.  I think it's worth a shot.  My soon-to-be 4 year old has been on Soy Milk since he was an infant, I wish I had known about Goat milk with him.  Z has been on Neocate and his Pedi wants us to switch him to milk, but we're going to do what the GI Dr says to do.

My Pedi highly recommended staying away from Goat's milk 1 in 2 kids with milk protein allergy will be allergic to Goat's milk.  However, ask your pedi and your GI doc for their opinions.   I was too scared to try it, b/c DD's allergy is so severe.

Interesting.  Everything I have found in my research on goat milk says the opposite.  That goat milk does not contain the same complex proteins as cow milk does which is what causes most protein allergies.  It's also easier to digest because of the smaller protein molecules and thinner fat molecules.  It also has less lactose then cow milk.

But like I said, I will be consulting his GI about it.  He already nixed putting him on Soy milk and almond milk.  (He has a severe allergy to oats, we're afraid to try anything in the nut department and the GI said soy would more then likely make his GERD worse.) 

bwralc

Boizmom:

bwralc:

 

Interesting.  Everything I have found in my research on goat milk says the opposite.  That goat milk does not contain the same complex proteins as cow milk does which is what causes most protein allergies.  It's also easier to digest because of the smaller protein molecules and thinner fat molecules.  It also has less lactose then cow milk.

But like I said, I will be consulting his GI about it.  He already nixed putting him on Soy milk and almond milk.  (He has a severe allergy to oats, we're afraid to try anything in the nut department and the GI said soy would more then likely make his GERD worse.) 

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you.  I just wanted to show you where there is some information about it.  I hate when there is conflicting information out there and it leads all of us to different points.   I may definitely be wrong about this, my Pedi and I agreed that staying away from Goat's milk was the best for my daughter's situation but it may be a solution in your situation. These are also just websites and not hard medical facts so I'm definitely just showing you some of them to show you what I'm talking about.  

Here is one resource that I was linked to from Kelly Mom.  https://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/milk-supplements.html#goat (you have to scroll to the bottom to get to this link) The link sent me straight to this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12882742

Here is an allergy website:

"a few studies have suggested that goat?s milk is less likely to cause allergies than cow?s milk. But Ohio allergist Dr. Julie McNairn, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, doubts that this is true. She says the proteins triggering allergy to cow?s milk are very similar to those found in goat?s milk."https://healthslate.com/diet_nutrition/poring-over-facts-about-milk-cows-goats-soy-almond-rice-and-hemp/

and another:

"The milk of other animals is usually not an acceptable alternative. Goat's milk is no less allergenic to someone with milk allergy than cow's milk and shares essentially the same protein structure. Goat's milk has a degree of cross-reactivity with cow's milk so it is often not tolerated by children who are allergic to cow's milk." https://www.treatallergies.com/dyn/333/Cows-Milk-Allergy.html

 I've actually only found through the internet that if you have a lactose intolerance that goat's milk can be a substitute for cow's milk but not a milk protein allergy.   Just make sure you check with your Pedi.  I know they used to recommend goat's milk in the earl 90's for milk allergies b/c there was no alternative but now they usually recommend another milk substitute such as soy, almond, hemp etc.  I hope you find a alternative milk soon whatever it may be and let's hope all our LO's outgrow this soon