Allergy test update
Miller238
member
Not good to say the least.
Peanut - positive. Levels are to the point he would expect her to anaphalax (no baseball games or planes he said)
Soy - positive. Levels are to the point he would expect her to anaphalax
Dairy - positive. Levels are to the point he would expect her to anaphalax
Green beans - positive. Her reaction was disturbing to him and we need to avoid ALL beans because of the related allergen in them. He thinks she could anaphalax.
Wheat - positive. This one was shocking to me.
So, can someone recommend a nutritionist for me? I need to establish a diet for myself. All I eat are beans and wheat items. He said at this point, that Kate has no other options for food and I need to keep BF. He wants to wait until our pediatric nutritionist appointment next week before making any decisions on her food intake. I don't even know what to think right now.
Re: Allergy test update
I don't have a nutritionist rec but we deal with dairy/wheat/gluten allergies in our house and your best bet is to go back to basics regarding cooking and food.
Avoiding the Green beans/beans you can try other veggies like zucchini, squash which are so abundant at this time of the year. You can cook Spaghetti squash and use it as an alternative to pasta, quinoa and rice are low allergen. Basically back to shopping the perimeter and eating the least processed foods.
It will be a lifestyle change but a lot of people have taken that change before you and it is possible, hopefully you will find a good nutrionist to help you.
Good Luck
I'm so sorry you guys have to deal with all of that. Hopefully a nutritionist can give you some good pointers for your diet and the pediatric nutritionist can help you figure out where to go from here on Kate's diet. Do you have an epi pen? I don't know if a baby that young can have one but as soon as she is old enough make sure there is always one with her.
My mom is allergic to wheat, soy, corn, rye, eggs, milk, coconut..... She eats spelt bread (it's very yummy, tastes like wheat, but more nutty), uses rice milk instead of soy/cow's milk. They also make pasta out of spelt, which holds up better and has more taste than rice pasta. You can find 100% canola margarine.
You also have to read every label. Things are so well hidden in foods, that you can't assume something doesn't have it. Health food stores are great places to find alternatives, and many have cookbooks and resources. I know my mom also uses a gluten-free cookbook b/c a lot of the recipes avoid the things she's allergic to.
I'll try to think of her other tricks too. I grew up with half of our family with severe food allergies, so even though it wasn't me, I know the struggles of finding foods. Don't worry though, it gets easier once you figure out what works for you and what to substitute.
ETA: I also have the best wheat and dairy-free chocolate cake recipe, I still make it for myself. If you want it, let me know. GL with everything! I know how hard it is in the beginning when you are trying to figure out what the heck to eat.
I am so sorry that the tests didn't give better results. I'll say a prayer that she begins to outgrow some of the allergies as she gets older.
FWIW, I work with a woman here at Children's Hospital that has a daughter with the EXACT same set of allergies. It was rough coming up with foods for her to eat for a long while because most food contain either wheat or soy. She is 3 years old now and growing out of some if it. I believe she recently was allowed to start eating soy, which opened up tons of food options for her.
If you would like more information about who she saw at Children's let me know. I am sure she would be willing to share baby food tips as well.
andrea dot lindsay dot cooley at gmail dot com
wow sweetie I am sorry. I wish I had a recommendation for you=(
We have the same pedi right?
Savannah
Callista
Baby Trail Blog
"Someday we will look at our babies and know it will be worth it. If it was easy, we would not have had our babies, the babies we were meant to have." From Amy052006
Yea, I believe we do. I need to get the results faxed over to them. A few of them aren't too keen on having a baby of her age seeing an allergist. That is frustrating!
Thanks so much for the recommendations. Wheat and beans have been my diet staple since I have been avoiding dairy and soy. I will have to look for spaghetti squash. I have never had it!
Yep! We have had one since she was three months old. They are called Epi-pen Jr.
Thanks so much for your suggestions! Is your cake recipe nut and soy-free too??? I would love the recipe if so! And what is spelt and where can I find it?
YGM!
You can get spelt flour and bread at any health food store. It also freezes, so you can stock up. It comes in both brown and white (like whole wheat and white bread). Oh, my mom also eats a lot of goat cheese, it comes pasteurized and both in soft and hard cheeses. She substitutes that in a lot of things. Lots of normal recipes can be substituted with things, sometimes if it's baking it takes a couple tries with the alternate flours to get right.
The cake recipe is soy and nut free too, I'll PM you with it once I dig it out of my files. I know my mom would be happy to answer any questions you have too. I can forward on any questions you might have. She and my sister were diagnosed more than 20 yrs ago, so she's been at this a while.
Oh Jenna, I'm sorry. I know this isn't news you wanted to hear.
Spelt bread is usually in the freezer section of the organic part of Kroger. I'm sure Whole Foods has it as well.
As for recipes etc, I'd check out Adkins diet for some ideas since they do a lot of no-carb cooking (the spaghetti squash as pasta is a classic example)
Tyler Anthony arrived on 9.21.09
The Chronicles of Justin and Tyler
I would be careful with spelt bread. I don't think it's entirely wheat-free... I know I can't eat it, and I have a gluten allergy.
Bob's Red Mill has a wonderful bread mix called Homemade Wonderful bread mix that I buy at the grocery store. I don't know if it contains soy or not, but you could look at their website for information.
Like others have said, you have to read every label very carefully.
Don't forget potato chips (not bbq flavor), instant mashed potatoes (there are brands that are marked gluten-free, and you make them with water- just check the ingredients list for soy), grilled veggies with rice...
It actually is a derivative of wheat, but fine for people with wheat allergy. It still has gluten though like a lot of other grains, so it doesn't work if you have to go gluten free. Millet is another bread that is an alternate to wheat and gluten free. Rice bread tastes like paste even though it's another option.
Photos courtesy of Jen Rose Photography
A good allergen free bread that doesn't taste like paste and has a nice consistency to it is Udi's. I get it from Jungle Jim's and DH and DS2 love it. It's one of the best breads we have tried, the best being Genius bread but that is only available in my native England
Geez! Just had to chime in and offer my big thumbs down to that news as well. She's going on my prayer list!
Mom to Lily Gayle 4.25.06 Charlotte Kathleen 3.27.09 Samuel Thomas ~8.4.12~