Update & A Few Questions

[dkelm]

The blood test results came back. Matt is anemic and has a Vit D deficiency. So the Dr. will fax in a prescription for that today. We are still waiting on his stool samples. Also, the iga blood test was elevated, but they didn't give me a number. I think all the other tests were fine. They want me to keep Matt on the formula (Elecare) and our Upper GI/Small Bowell Follow-through is still scheduled for Thursday. Keep with the no dairy/no soy for now and if in a week we aren't seeing any improvements the doc will probably schedule the endoscopy and biopsy. We'll see. They'll call me when they have his stool results back.

So one of the other concerns the Dr. had was it could be a milk or soy allergy. Well, I can't find much on milk or soy allergies. Do those allergies also cause Vit D and Iron deficiencies as well as the higher iga level? Plus, Matt was fine on breast milk and didn't start having problems until shortly after we started giving him solids. I do know from experience that a dairy allergy will cross over into the breast milk; but what about soy?

I know this is not a dairy/soy allergy forum, but I'm wondering if anyone has experience with those? I truly do not feel that Matt has a dairy allergy - but then again I'm fairly ignorant on food allergies - this is all very new to me.

[StephanieL]

While a milk and soy allergies don't directly cause Vit. D and iron to be low, if you are suspecting Celiacs that could be cause the malabsorption. Also, being dairy free can cause Vit. D diff. because that is one huge source of Vit. D (the sun is the best for it but with people slathering sunscreen kids when they are out they don't get enough with sun exposure these days).

Does he have a red ring around his anus? Sleep issues? Loose BM's? These things can point to dairy issues. Also, there is a large percent of people with Celiacs who do have problems with dairy.

My children were both breastfed but had issues with dairy from the beginning. Once I cut dairy (and a ton of other allergens) from my diet, the kids issues went away. Since you are suspecting Celiacs, I would start there. If you cut gluten (after all the testing is done) and you are still having issues, I would cut dairy and soy. If the Celiacs blood work and biopsy (if you choose to do it) come back normal, I would also cut dairy and soy. In ALL forms.

[T.H.]

I don't believe the allergies would cause vit D and iron issues, but then again, if your son's response is inflammation, then the gut is often inflamed, and that might affect absorption, so possibly?

They don't affect IgA levels, to my knowledge.

Plus, Matt was fine on breast milk and didn't start having problems until shortly after we started giving him solids. I do know from experience that a dairy allergy will cross over into the breast milk; but what about soy?

I believe quite a few allergens can cross over into the breastmilk, including soy, however, it's at such low levels that if your son is only moderately allergic, he might not have reacted to anything that went into the milk. I know my son - also with milk allergies at that age - reacted to milk in the breastmilk, but he REALLY reacted when he got milk that wasn't filtered through me.

The dairy allergy - you'd be amazed at what they can do, argh. My son had no hives, no rashes, no extra diaper rash, zip. His was mood. He would cry and cry and fuss as an infant. As a toddler, he would go into these uncontrollable rages. His tantrums were 1-2 hours long when he had dairy. 5-15 minutes long when he's kept off of dairy. It's bizarre, but it happens every time, and I've met many people whose children had many mood based issues to foods they were allergic to. And some of the children had no outward signs of allergies, but it was still damaging their bodies, and they found out about the allergies almost by accident. Usually it was due to long term inflammation and would lead to things like multiple ear infections, for example.

As to where dairy can be and soy can be, it might be worth your while looking at a good allergy site for that, one that lists everything. I was amazed where dairy was. The juice in cans of tuna fish, any processed meat (hot dogs, sausage, etc...), most non-dairy products (non-dairy means less than a certain percentage, but isn't dairy free). It was all over the place! Soy I think is rather the same.

And all that said? If you are checking out food allergies and you really don't feel like your son has one, I'd say trust your gut. So far, I've had doctors think my kids do or don't have certain conditions, and so far, whenever that didn't feel 'right,' it has turned out that my gut feeling was correct, and the doctor was not.e

[Roda]

My son reacted to many things through my breast milk. He really reacted to dairy. He would cry and scream from colic if I consumed any. He also developed hives that I could trace back to me consuming something with pecans in it. So as a result I was dairy free, tree nut free, and I went rice and oat free because when I would feed him cereal he would have a rash so I wouldn't eat them either. Funny thing was that I didn't know at the time that I was eating gluten light. I ate alot of fresh meats, fruits and veggies. After his sensitivities began going away I started eating things again and boy about four months later all heck broke loose for me. He was fine though. He outgrew all of the things he reacted to. I do watch him and his older brother for signs of celiac and have had them screened.