Home › Forums › Feeding Issues › MSPI › Food Challenge?
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April 22, 2008 at 1:15 pm #50686
Anonymous
InactiveHi All…
I posted a panicked, rambling posting a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve got my wits together better now, so I was hoping for some opinons/recommendations from you all! Oh, and sorry this is so long… 🙂A few weeks ago we attempted to lower Dagney’s Axid dose from 2/day to 1/day. On the 2nd day of that, her reflux seemed to kick up again. She was crying, pointing at her mouth, and then w/in 20 mins of giving her the Axid, she was fine and ate/drank like normal. Before that, she had been on Prevacid 30mg/day (10mg/3xday). Around 1 year we moved her to 10mg 2/day. Then around 13 1/2 months, (October) we transitioned her to soy milk, and about 1 or so month later, (around Thanksgiving) we started doing hidden dairy, then a few weeks later we started on yogurt (she doesn’t eat yogurt really anymore, doesn’t seem to like it). After all of that, in late January, we took away 1 prevacid dose and replaced it with Axid. She seemed fine. Then at the end of February, we took the last dose of Prevacid away and replaced that with another dose of Axid.This is when things start getting iffy. Right at the same time we took the Prevacid away, she became an extremely picky eater. She’s limited to 1 fruit/1 veggie, and will NOT even look at new stuff (unless it’s cookies or cereal). (She will eat macaroni, rice, chicken nuggets and meatballs too, so her calorie intake is fine…) BUT, she was also just about 16 months then, when everything starts going crazy, and there were sinus infections/colds thrown in the mix too. SO, not sure if that’s from the Prevacid or not.Well, this last attempt at taking away 1 Axid dose (so she would just be on 1 dose/day) is when we had that problem I described at the start. Well, since then, seasonal allergies have also kicked in, and she seemed to be refluxing more than ever (she NEVER refluxed when she was on Prevacid–never gulped up anything or complained of pain, or tried clearing her throat, or was picky about ANY food). She’s still now on 2 doses of Axid/day, and now she’s also on CLaritin and Benadryl. Everything seems to be back under control, we haven’t heard any refluxing for a week or so now.I talked to the Pedi a few weeks ago, and he wanted us to eliminate all soy and dairy and see what happened. I was reluctant and did not do it. I called him last week about allergy testing and when he left a message yesterday, he was still bringing up the food challenge. I talked to him today, and he said that seasonal allergies/teething will aggrivate the reflux, but the reflux itself is caused by a food intollerance, and you can do testing via skin or blood, but the best test is still the food challenge. I mentioned how it all seems to be under control, and he suggested taking the Benadryl/Claritin out of the mix and see what happens then. I also have a call in to the GI, to see what they have in mind. I am reluctant to do the food challenge, just because it seems like a big step backword, and now I’d have to start really reading labels again and get on my MIL again about what she can/can’t give her to eat. I’d also hoped that she would be all straightened out food-wise before the 2nd one came along, but now I’m starting to doubt that!!Now, I need some real opinons/honest suggestions. What would you ladies do? Would you do the food challenge? Do you think that being on the Prevacid when we did the food transitions could have masked some intollerances, and the 6ml of Axid/day really is the difference between pain and no pain from acid reflux for her? Any input is appreciated. I’m not planning on doing anything until at least Friday. I guess I can start with taking Benadryl away, and see what happens then. (She was having allergy symptoms and reflux issues while just on the Claritin, so I assume if the reflux is still there and we take the Benadryl away, it should pop up again…) Thanks in advance.dfb05 2008-04-22 13:23:35 April 22, 2008 at 2:55 pm #50695InactiveWell here are my personal thoughts. Being that I just went to the ped today for Cooper’s allergies b/c the zyrtec/benadryl root isn’t working for us. I would not take her allergy meds away. You know she allergies (seasonal) and things seem to be at their peak right now so I wouldn’t dare take her allergy meds away. If I did take something away it would be the Benadryl, but I would have to think really hard about it before I did it. I might try the food challenge. I would guess you would only have to do it for a few weeks and since she is being so picky about what she is eating then I would guess that the label reading part probably isn’t that big a deal. I might cut out either dairy or soy and then cut the other out. Maybe not do them both together or did the doc recommend both? I know how difficult this is. Cooper’s sleep is our only issue right now and I really don’t think it is reflux related as I don’t hear any refluxing, but I feel it is totally allergy related, but I still don’t think I am going to wean his meds any further than I have unless our new med makes a huge difference in his sleeping. This is all so confusing… There needs to be a “dummies” book about all of this.
April 22, 2008 at 3:06 pm #50698InactiveHey Denise. I meant to reply to your earlier post about this, but somehow forgot to. Sorry! What a puzzle, huh? I totally understand how you feel about not going backwards when you have come so far. Ben has had some serious diarrhea lately, and I’m thinking it’s the milk, but dh refuses for us to go back and take it away. It’s so hard to know what to do.
Since she is only eating a few things anyway, would taking out the milk products really be a big deal? I know it feels that way, regardless, but how many things that she is eating contain milk?I can’t decide if you should try cutting milk/soy out at the same time or just one at a time. If you do it at the same time, it will be more difficult menu wise for you and her, but probably save time in the long run… and if you did then one at a time, she could still drink her soy milk for a bit while you are cutting out the dairy, but then the trial would probably take longer… ugh… I wish i knew what to tell you.The seasonal allergies really, really make the reflux a problem.. and I will say that Claire’s reflux flares up a bit each fall and spring.. and, as far as I know, she has never had any problems with food intolerances. I’ve read somewhere that allergies make the body work harder, so that while it is focused on fighting what she is allergic too, other “issues” may become more severe or flare up because the body is focused on something else. Makes sense to me, but who knows…Let us know what you decide. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!April 24, 2008 at 4:06 pm #50801InactiveMy first question: do you know for sure that it’s seasonal allergies? Milk/soy intolerance or allergy can often produce symptoms that look like seasonal allergies. It is quite common for kids who have problems with milk proteins to get a runny nose, nasal congestion, dark circles under the eyes, congestion leading to ear infections, etc. GERD will often flare up as well with milk/soy intolerance or allergy.
This is just my opinion, as a mom of 2 kids who can’t tolerate milk, but I think your ped is right on. The only way you are really going to know if it’s the milk/soy or not, is to stop them both (usually 6 weeks is recommended, then re-challenge) AND stop the allergy meds. If she continues to have allergy symptoms and GERD, then you know that isn’t just a reaction to milk/soy. If either (or both) the allergy symptoms or GERD stop, then you have a pretty clear answer as to what the cause is. After 6 weeks, you could then re-introduce milk or soy one at a time, spaced 2 weeks apart, and watch for reactions. -
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