DD may have food allergies :o(

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carolm
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Post by carolm »

Zizzle, so you have tree pollen allergy going on, Zyrtec withdrawal and change to Allegra, and a strong probability of reaction to lentils and legumes-- all converging at the same time. :shock:

Like Tex said "good detective work". You definitely go through the research articles faster than I can keep up.
I hope your daughter is doing better. It's tough on us when it's our kids who are ill!

Is Benadryl not effective for these allergies? Just wondering.

Carol
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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

carolm wrote: Is Benadryl not effective for these allergies? Just wondering.
Hi Carol,
Yes, Benadryl would be effective for her allergies, but Benadryl must be given several times a day (too complicated at school) and causes significant drowsiness. Allegra and Claritin are least likely to cross the blood-brain barrier, and Zyrtec does not cause as much drowsiness as Benadryl. I added Zyrtec at night because the Allegra was barely touching her tree pollen allergies. She was miserable. Next year, I'll add Benadryl at night along with Allegra. Live and learn!
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carolm
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Post by carolm »

Zizzle, you are right... I forgot that Benadryl is not long acting. I take 50mg every night and Claritin in the morning. I know there were times I gave 25mg to my daughter at various times when she was growing up but again, it was probably only at night and during allergy season. It is effective but probably best given at night.

In fact I gave 1/2 tablet of Benadryl once or twice to my dog (a Jack Russell) when he had a flea-bite dermatitis and was absolutely miserable. It mellowed him so nicely I considered making it a daily thing. :lol: But I didn't.

Hope things improve quickly for your daughter.

take care.
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

Oh no. I'm running off to daycare to get my DS who soiled herself 3 times with D since naptime!! I'm betting we are dealing with "allergic colitis" but who knows. Any advice? SHould I give her L-glutamine? No gluten or dairy until she recovers? God, I hope she's not getting what I have!! :sad: I should note we've been weaning her off Allegra for several days. She's down to half a dose a day. And it seems she has a cold. Maybe a kid GI virus? I hope so!
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tex
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Post by tex »

Bummer for sure, but hopefully it's just a virus that's going around. Still, it might be helpful to avoid gluten and dairy for a few days to see if it helps. Do you suppose she might need more vitamin D to boost her resistance?

It's also interesting that it coincides with withdrawal from Allegra.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by Deb »

Zizzle, we've got some weird stuff going on around here. Stomach aches, D. I assumed it was a virus as DH had the same symptoms as I. I felt though that mine flared back into my MC after a very stressful week. All symptoms were the same as when I was in my active phase. I ate rice for a day and a half and things appear to have settled down though DH is still having some symptoms. It's been more than a week for both of us. I'm not sure what's going on.
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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

Hmmm, I hope it's a virus but food poisoning is a possibility too. She seems fine for now...
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Post by Deb »

We suspected food poisoning at first too as we both had symptoms. Then it would seem to get better only to return again. Strange.
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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

She just had D again. Not watery, but 80% undigested watermelon from this morning. Watermelon has a strange effect on my family, but we love it so. Gives me D, makes my son pee the bed royally if he has it with dinner (and he has plenty of liquids with other dinners without having this effect), and it comes out visible in everyone's stool. Is there such a thing as watermelon allergy or intolerance?
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Post by Zizzle »

Seems it could be sorbitol, mannitol, fructose or salycilates in the watermelon!
Another fruit off our list? Depressing.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/49578 ... -stomachs/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/45883 ... elons-ibs/

I sense a referral to a pediatric GI in our future. Is it worth testing for sorbitol and fructose malabsorption? Are these merely side effects of leaky gut or a life-long condition? Should I consider a full Enterolab work up on her too? I feel I should mention that she never complains of tummy pain or cramps, and she never looks bloated. She also seems to tolerate other fruits OK (except citrus), so it makes me doubt a sugar malabsorption issue.

She had pizza for lunch with oranges today. Maybe this was a histamine overload reaction? Should I already suspect gluten as the source of all these GI problems, or could it be innocent compared to everything else? Are mast cells to blame overall?
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tex
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Post by tex »

Zizzle wrote:Is it worth testing for sorbitol and fructose malabsorption?
Can anyone tolerate significant amounts of the sugar alcohols? I sure can't.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

Update...or lack thereof.

Yesterday was the long-awaited day for DD's skin prick food allergy testing. The night before, she developed 102 degree fever, 99.5 in the morning. I called the allergist's office and they made me reschedule to June 11. So we wait...

Two girls vomited at her daycare this week, apparently a 24 hour GI bug was going around. DD didn't vomit, but complained of tummy pain and made several trips to the bathroom with D. I've had a fairly massive flare this week, so I'm wondering if I got the bug too. I'm somewhat better, so is she, so we hope for a normal holiday weekend (without peanuts, lentils, peas or strawberries!)
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Lesley
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Post by Lesley »

As a watermelon ADDICT I sympathize with the sensitivity more than I can even say. I don't think I will be able to avoid it completely, but, as I said, and prepared to sit on the potty and eat it!

Bugs have been going around everywhere. Many people here have had D + nausea and vomiting. Seems to be all over. I hope it goes over for you guys fast, and you can have a good holiday weekend!
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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

DD finally had her allergy skin testing today to confirm the results of the RAST test and test for additional food allergies. The skin pricks confirmed all but the strawberry allergy (thank goodness, as I've been realizing tons of kids products are flavored with strawberry). She tested positive (3-4+) for peanuts, SOY, green beans, peas, lima beans, and lentils. Based on these results, we are to assume she is also allergic to the most common cross-reactive legumes, which are chickpeas and navy beans. We are hoping she can continue to eat black beans, red beans and white beans.

Luckily her reaction is mostly or all GI system based, hence the almost daily episodes of loose stool and urgency. The hives she experienced where while discontinuing Zyrtec, and the doc agreed she might have been having a rebound effect -- therefore a more severe reaction than we should normally expect.

She is OK to have soy oil and soy lecithin, and we can test soy sauce. The allergist has several patients who tolerate all 3.

I took DD to Trader Joe's after the test and she nearly fell asleep in the cart. I didn't realize what an impact this testing could have on her.

I'm hopeful we can get her stools back to normal by simply avoiding legumes. Of course, I just looked up a list of legumes and was stunned to see how many there are!! Acacia? Arabic Gum? Cassia? Locust trees? Mesquite? Carob? The locust tree and mesquite make me wonder if tree pollen allergies to these trees are the first step to legume sensitization.

I realize I am lucky to be soy-aware for myself. I cant imagine being a mom just starting out on a journey like this. Of course, this means no processed, fast food meats (burgers, chicken nuggets, etc), no school lunch, lots more questions at restaurants, etc. She won't need to sit at the peanut free lunch table, but she will need to be very self aware and only trusting of the foods I pack for her. I will carry Benadryl strips, but luckily we are not in Epi-pen territory.

What does the Paleo diet say about green peas, show peas, alfalfa, bean sprouts, etc? Are they all off limits?

Anyway, onward. Another day, another challenge we can handle. At least it's not celiac or MC (yet). :???:
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tex
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Post by tex »

Zizzle wrote:What does the Paleo diet say about green peas, show peas, alfalfa, bean sprouts, etc? Are they all off limits?
Yes -- all legumes, I believe.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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