Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The results are in...

…and they aren’t pretty. I took Brenden to get his patch test removed and read this morning. I thought he’d have a few show up positive, like the jelly and tomatoes. Unfortunately I was only partly correct. They pulled the tape off, which didn’t seem to cause Brenden any kind of discomfort, and the nurse started writing down plus signs. "Yep, there’s a positive. And another. And another." Um…ok. How many things do these people think one kid can react to? Apparently, almost all of them. So according to the test this morning, Brenden is allergic to:

Cow’s Milk
Soy Milk
Corn
Rice
Wheat
Oat
Barley
Rye
Peanut
Cashew
Banana
Peach
Pear
Tomato
Potato

He didn’t react to apple or, to my surprise, the jelly. They are still trying to decide if he reacted to oranges. So I asked the lady if he wouldn’t be able to eat this stuff, or if it just meant he couldn’t touch them. She had no idea. We go back in on Friday for another check and then the doctor will call me, hopefully before next week. I have no idea what they expect me to feed him. He can’t survive on jelly, apples and water alone. Right now, we're going to keep doing what we're doing until told otherwise.

I think his Allegra does more for him than we know. They asked me if he had outbreaks of eczema when he ate those things, and I told them I didn’t ever notice, and believe me I watch out for that. To me that says that he may be allergic, but not enough to keep him away from them.

Here is the photo from his back this morning. I labeled the dots so you can see which is which. The potato left a lot of starch on him, which is why it looks so bad. I promise it didn’t react THAT badly.


Anyone know of a diet that excludes all of those things? Will get him all the necessary vitamins and minerals? That doesn’t taste like cardboard? Anyone? Yeah…me neither. :(


3 comments:

Heather @CritterChronicles said...

Oh. Wow. At first when I saw cow's milk and soymilk, I thought, ok, well at least there's still rice milk. But then I saw rice (though it looked like that reacted less than others). Is there any way for you to know what he's more allergic to than other things?

Also, do you have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, or other natural food store nearby? They always have gluten free aisles where you can find products that are about as allergy-free as possible. Friends of mine who are on gluten-free diets can eat spelt bread in place of wheat and other grains.

If you're concerned about nut allergies, try sunflower seed butter. It's yummy, and a good alternative to tree nut butters.

You can use cauliflower in place of potatoes for a mashed side dish. I guess protein isn't out, right? So there's still chicken, beef, pork, fish, etc. And beans and legumes. Vegetables and other fruits, though :-( to bananas.

If dairy is a problem, Smart Balance makes a good vegan spread that tastes like butter and you can use in cooking. That's what we use, and it's really good. Also very easily found in Walmart. There's also goat's milk, which sounds really gross to me, but you can usually find if you look hard enough.

Poor Brenden. And poor YOU. Looks like you're going to be doing a LOT of reading of labels from now on. I hope the doctor gives you good news when you talk to him.

The Kellys said...

I knew I could count on you to have ideas! :) I had no clue where to start and I'm just waiting for new from the doctor. Tim's grandma has to eat a gluten-free diet so I will ask her what she does as well. I think she ate spagheti squash or something, although we don't know EVERY vegetable that he's allergic to. I feel like it's just going to keep piling up until he's in a bubble. :(

Truthfully, I think he reacts to these things when he touches them. He's eateen most of them and hasn't had any gastrointestanal issues, no stomach problems, no crazy outbreaks. So if I have to cover him in saran wrap to let him eat, so be it. I'll take that over limited his diet any day.

The Kellys said...

And I realize that my spelling and grammer isn't perfect today. SORRY! I'm tired and irritated. Not a good combo for typing.

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