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Food Allergy
staceyb76
member
Possible milk allergy, need advise UPDATE IN REPLY
staceyb76
member
in Food Allergy
About 3 weeks ago I noticed some blood in DDs diaper. I called the doctor on call and he said I should cut out major dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc) but that I did not need to read labels for hidden dairy and that butter would still be ok. He said to call back if the bleeding increased, but otherwise seemed to think she'd be fine. The bleeding was gone by the next day, before I'd really started cutting anything, but I did change my diet as he said. It did show up a couple times here and there, but never more than once in a day and then it was gone for like a weeks or so.
Yesterday, we had our 2 month check up and DD has only gained 7 oz since her 1 month weigh it. The doctor (not the one I had talked to) checked her stool and it tested positive for blood and she immediately said that we needed to get all the milk out of her system and put her on formula. She sent her for blood work since "she's been bleeding for 3 weeks and that could have done damage". So I feel like crap and start crying. The blood draw took 30 minutes and she screamed the whole time while I cried, but everything came back normal.
The doctor told me that since she'll be on formula I can eat whatever I want but to pump to keep up my supply. Now here's what I don't get, the formula she put her on is Nutramigen. Besides the fact that the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup, which I don't like, it says it's for lactose intolerant babies and one of the ingredients in casein. So if she is milk intolerant, wont this formula not fix it? Despite the doctors saying otherwise, I'm keeping dairy free, more than before since I was still eating little things with hidden milk, so that if this is it I can start breast feeding sooner, and I'm going to cut soy as well.
DD is fighting the formula bottles, only really eating them when she's starving. She slept horribly during the day yesterday, but that could have been because of the blood draw trauma, and didn't sleep as long at night as she had been. Mom and dad slept way less too because now instead of just getting her and laying back down to give her a boob we had to make up a formula bottle and then I had to pump. We go back to the doctor on Friday for a follow up, and to get her shots since they didn't want to give them to her yesterday so they wouldn't mess with her body while they're diagnosing. I'm hoping they'll just let me go back to breast feeding with my altered diet.
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Re: Possible milk allergy, need advise UPDATE IN REPLY
I am so sorry your LO is going through this. My LO was recently diagnosed with MSPI and I am on the elimination diet. My pedi recommended that I keep breastfeeding as that is the best source of nutrition for my LO as all formula is milk or soy based. I was told to cut all dairy and soy out of my diet, even hidden in foods. So basically I eat fruits, veggies and meats I cook myself. Over time I can reintroduce hidden dairy and see if that effects my LO. My pedi said if I didn't want to do the elimination diet she recommended using the formula Neocate as the proteins are broken down into single amino acids so there is less of a chance that it will upset my LOs digestive tract.
The casein that is in Nutramigen is hydrolyzed, meaning that it this milk protein is broken up or broken apart into smaller pieces (but not single amino acids like in Neocate), so it is less likely to cause a reaction with you LO. I am surprised the pedi suggested formula and stopping BF all together. The little amount of dairy that gets into BM seems much safer than switching to a milk based formula.
GL and I hope your LO improves!!
I personally think it's crazy that your dr is telling you not to BF. And since they told you to eat whatever you want while you pump, it even sounds like they have no intentions of you BF ever again. If your LO is not taking formula I would think it would be much more beneficial to continue BF, just cut out all milk and it will be out of both of your systems in a couple weeks.
Is your LO showing any other signs of a milk allergy? Blood in stool can be caused by other things too.
Even while giving formula you need to eliminate all dairy and soy (including hidden) from your diet if you want to go back to BFing. It could take up to a month to leave your system so you want to be clear when you resume. We decided to formula feed (alimentum) because DD was allergic to more than dairy I was unable to keep up with her sensativities... she was sick all the time.
It took a good 2 months on alimentum for her to really feel comfortable, though. The blood went away right away and the congestion slowly disapeared. But her eczema stayed fierce for a while. 2 months after dx is when we could see a clear difference in her eczema.
She is fighting the formula because they taste like crap. Just sayin. Many women still BF their babies even with a MSPI or a milk protein allergy ... even without using formula to transition. Good luck.
i pumped for 2 months while i cleared the proteins out of my milk. it was hard but very worth it. she was on alimentum (same as nutramigen w/ the casein) & still reacted to that w/ blood in the stool. we put her on neocate & that cleared her blood very quickly. i then started added a nursing session back in.
my recommendation would be to keep letting her bf at least once or twice a day so she doesn't forget how to. after 2 months not bf'ing- it took me almost a month to get her to relatch again. i did the diet until she was 8 months. i couldn't do it any longer. the good thing is i have a huge freezer stash from when i was only pumping.
She has a few of the other signs of a milk allergy, mostly congestion, but she occasionally had diarrhea and just in the past few days she's started spitting up, not a lot but she basically never did before. Definitely no colicy symptoms, she's happy all the time and she sleeps great. We had our first 8 hour stretch the night before going to the doctor and she had been consistently over 7 hours for the whole week before that. Last night she only did 6.5 which I know isn't horrible, but is definitely less.
I know it can take a while to get out of my system which is why I'm keeping up with it. It's not too much of a change now, since the only thing I had been eating with dairy is chocolate chips in my pancakes on Sundays (we've been using almond milk in the pancakes themselves) and a small amount of butter here or there when I'm cooking. Soy will be a little harder, but only if I take out the oil and lecthin which according to my research seems like it might not be necessary.
Allergic to soy, oat, egg, peanuts, and tree nuts
Sounds like you've done your research. I'd stop the formula and just continue to bf as you get your diet sorted out. If you want to bf for the long haul, it'll be best for your supply and for LO's latch to just keep bf'ing. Plus, switching to formula cold turkey can be hard on LO's stomach even w/o the issue of MSPI. That pedi is not bf'ing friendly, which is really unfortunate. Our pedi never once mentioned formula while we were in the midst of figuring out DD2's diagnosis and I was changing my diet. I am so thankful for that. The other pedi in the practice, however, mentioned formula each and every time we talked (she was usually the one who called with test results on DD2's stool, unfortunately).
The site www.mspimama.com is a great place for MSPI friendly recipes, the FAAN site has cheat sheets for reading labels for milk and soy free diets, and the site godairyfree.org is helpful as well (just be mindful some of the recommended products may contain soy).
It took about 5 wks of me being dairy and soy free before DD2's poop was completely back to normal. So just hang in there and give the diet some time. Also, make sure you read labels for everything - food, drinks, vitamins/supplements.
DD1: allergic to eggs & dairy
c/p 4/1/11
DD2: milk and soy protein intolerant, allergic to eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, bananas
MSPI Moms Check-In Blog
Oh my! Many of us have been through this- it is oh so frustrating at first. There has been a lot of good advice so far. I want to re-iterate- There is NO reason to stop breast feeding. Find a good pediatric GI immediatly. (and maybe a new pedi!) Most will tell you that you are better off going through an eliminiation diet and nursing your daughter to heal her gut at the same time than switching to formula. My GI said as long as I can handle the diet then I am doing the best thing for him. This journey didnt start for my little one until he was 2 months and excema was covering his body severely. From there It took about 2 months to get to a place where the LO was no longer reacting and I had found a diet with enough variety to not go crazy.
I started off eliminating dairy with limited results, then we went to soy, and then when things still werent right we eliminiated the major allergens- wheat, eggs, nuts, shellfish, citrus. The pediatric GI worked with me through this and encouraged my breastfeeding the ENTIRE time. We did allergy testing at 4 months and then I was able to add a few things back. I am still dairy, soy, gluten and egg free at 8.5 months. In the meantime, on the bright side, I quickly lost all the babyweight.
Yeah, I noticed it was corn syrup and not high fructose when I checked again after posting but it doesn't matter now because we are off the formula.
I made it to her appointment friday afternoon with her staying on her formula. They tested her diaper and it was negative for blood! They gave me the go ahead to go back to breast feeding, I neglected to tell them that I was going to do it anyway. They decided to do a weight check and she was 1.5 pounds heavier than Tuesday. Everyone seems to be in agreement that there was either something wrong with the scale Tuesday or she was put on it wrong. Since the blood in her diaper in addition to the low weight gain was the reason for the blood draw and the formula switch I can't help but wonder how different our week would have been if we had had an accurate weigh in on tuesday. But the good thing is that there was soy oil and casein in the formula, so I know those are at least safe for me to eat.