As mentioned in my last post, Micah had an allergy appointment at Bethesda on Monday. He definitely reacts to milk (hives around the mouth), and a few weeks ago (maybe back in September?) he ate a cashew that the girls left out and broke out in hives all over his mouth and trunk. The milk reactions go away fairly quickly and without me needing to give him anything, unless it is actual real milk that he drank because unnamed parties forgot to take their cereal bowls off the table *cough*. Then I give him a bit of liquid benedryl, and that reaction clears up right away too. I gave benedryl for the cashew, and the hives cleared right up. He never had any sort of wheezing or anything, so that was good. But at his last well-baby appointment, the doctor gave me a referral to the allergy clinic. Anyway, we have been avoiding milk and nuts!
The appointment was at 1:15, and I should have guessed how long it would take when we had to park on the 8th floor of the parking garage (the top floor), and there was only one elevator working! I ended up carrying Micah and the stroller down all 8 flights of stairs, since I realized it was going to take approximately forever waiting for the elevator. Actually, I didn't do it all by myself--I had a ton of offers from kind gentlemen to help, and one guy brought the stroller down a few flights (until I felt bad for him and told him I would just catch the elevator at floor 4--but that was taking forever, so I launched out again), and another guy carried it down the last 2. Anyhow--a bad omen, LOL.
One thing that took so long is that since Bethesda is a teaching hospital, we actually saw not 1, not 2, but 3 doctors! They were all extremely nice, but it does add up! They decided to do a skin test for casien (a milk protein), milk (with all the proteins), cashews, and peanuts. I had been giving Micah peanut butter at the beginning of the summer, and he didn't seem to be reacting, but then as the summer wore on, he just got progressively itchier, and his eczema flared up. I couldn't tell if this was related to the peanut butter or not, but I decided to go back to sun butter anyway. But that's why they were testing for it.
Micah was a pro throught he testing, most likely due to him having a lollipop to suck on, LOL. Nothing popped up like Caleb gets--humongous wheals almost instantly--but Micah definitely got wheals for the whole milk and the cashews. Not the peanut one though, and not the casein, although that is pretty meaningless--we still have to avoid milk! After we talked to all the doctors again about those results, they sent us off to have some blood drawn for a RAST test. There they tested for other tree nuts, along with some other stuff. Some ladies from the pediatrics clinic did the blood draw, and let me just say they were amazing! Micah didn't like having the rubber tourniquet thing around his arm, but they got the vein on the first try, filled up 3 vials with no problems, and got out of there in a jiffy! In fact, with both the skin test and the blood draw, Micah behaved considerably better than other members of the family who have had these same things done at older ages *cough*. It was a 2 lollipop-bag of fruit snacks-bag of teddy grahams afternoon though, LOL.
The second doctor said he'd call in 2-3 weeks, whenever he gets the blood results back. I was just glad to get the appointment out of the way before the baby is born!
The only problem with the appointment taking so long is that Nathan was supposed to have his Spanish III class at 3:00 at the McC's house. Whoops! And I was in a place where I got no cell coverage, so although he tried to call several times, I could never actually talk to him, and I couldn't make any outgoing calls. Eventually, when we moved to the blood draw room, I got a small signal and he was able to get through. By then it was 3:10 (and I obviously hadn't even left yet, LOL), so I told him to call Christine and see if she could come get him. As soon as I hung up with him, Christine called, wondering where he was, so she headed over to pick him up, thankfully. I'm so glad we live close by! The clock was broken in the exam room where we were, and I just lost track of time, as I doled out snack after snack and tried to keep Micah entertained, LOL. When we finally could leave, the traffic was bad, so we didn't actually get home until 4:30--time to pick up Nathan! Whew--that was a long day, especially with Rivendell the next day! But we made it. The appointment didn't give any real new information, but it is good to have everything documented. I'm still hoping that since Micah doesn't have as violent a reaction to milk as Caleb did, that he will outgrow his milk allergy a lot earlier than Caleb--like at age 2 instead of age 9! Anna outgrew her milk allergy at 2, so there is precedent. In the meantime, I am back in the milk avoidance routine, sign. It was a lovely 2 year break though!
Showing posts with label allergies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label allergies. Show all posts
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I have so much to be thankful for. We only have 3 more Thanksgivings with everyone all still living at home, most likely, so I've been reflecting lately on how thankful I am for these busy years, and for how much fun we have at home with everyone here.This picture was taken as Bob was still carving the turkey, so it looks like we had an uneventful meal of delicious food. In reality, we had a more exciting afternoon. It actually started last night when we went to a Thanksgiving dinner at our church. The meal was part of a weekly outreach that our church has to Hispanic students at a local high school, a taste of a traditional American Thanksgiving meal. Church members brought various dishes. We brought dressing, cranberry salad, and apple pie squares for 25. It was fun! Nathan reported that he could understand a lot of the Spanish.
There was a lot of food left over, and our pastor's family was going out of town, so we were all encouraged to take some of the left-overs. There was a little bit of my dressing left over, but not enough for us all to eat today, so I decided to take some of this other dressing. I didn't eat any of this dressing, but it looked pretty similar to mine, and I didn't think another thing about it, which turned out to be a colossal mistake.
I had a not-too-stressed morning cooking, since I had already made the cranberry salad (I saved enough for us out of what I made for the potluck), the mashed potatoes, and the dressing. We had brined the turkey Wednesday night, and we decided to try cooking it with the convection oven. It was WONDERFUL! We cooked it with the breast down, and it was so moist and juicy--delicious! And even though it was a 25 pound bird, it only took 3 hours to cook. I also made sweet potato casserole, rolls, and garlic green beans. It all came together, and we were ready to eat around 2:00.
As I was dishing out plates, and we were all getting ready to pray, Caleb started holding his throat and saying he didn't feel well, like he had eaten something he was allergic to. I asked him what he had eaten, and he said nothing, so I started thinking about what else could be irritating his throat. I gave him a Benedryl when it became obvious he was getting more uncomfortable, but I still couldn't figure out what had happened. After a few more minutes of complaining, I went upstairs to get his Albuterol and Flovent for his puffer. As I was getting it, I heard Nathan ask Caleb if he had eaten any dressing. It turned out he had nibbled on some. It also turned out to have chopped walnuts in it, which was what Nathan had discovered when he looked at it carefully. Argh!! Walnuts are Caleb's biggest allergen on his prick tests! His throat was feeling more swollen, so I got out the Epi-pen, but Caleb got all agitated and didn't want me to give it. I felt like his panicking was making everything worse, so I told him to just calm down, and I wouldn't inject him. Bob took him off to the ER, which is only a few miles away, where they gave him a shot of epinepherine, LOL.
So Thanksgiving dinner ended up being a bit of a let-down for us all. Jonathan and the girls really didn't eat much at all, I think because it's hard to see someone else have an allergic reaction like that. I finally did eat after Bob and Caleb left, but my plate was pretty cold, and it was hard to enjoy it, since I was feeling so incredibly guilty for not thoroughly checking the dressing. And poor Bob and Caleb--they didn't get to eat until they got back, hours later!
We did have the McCs come over for dessert, and they were still here when Bob and Caleb came back. The kids all watched "Cars 2" while the adults visited, so that was a nice quiet activity for Caleb, poor guy. I was very glad to have them over, because I think otherwise I really would have obsessed about being careless.
And obviously I have gotten complacent. Ironically, at the dinner and at most potlucks, Caleb only eats my stuff, or things he is sure are safe. But since I was the one bringing home the other dressing, and serving both dressings in the same bowl, he didn't think about being careful here in his own house! We actually have quite a few people with nut allergies in our church, so it really didn't occur to me that there would be chopped walnuts hiding in anything. I guess I figured that nuts would either be really obvious, like in the pecan pies, or that there would be a sign, like at other church potlucks where people have brought dishes with nuts. To be honest, I just really didn't think about allergens at all, which was a huge mistake. Since Caleb outgrew his milk allergy last year, I've gotten careless because nuts are in general so much easier to avoid, and have so much more publicity than milk allergies. But clearly I still need to be really conscious, so today I am really, really thankful for ER doctors.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Anticlimactic Allergy Appointment
This morning Caleb and I trekked back over to Walter Reed for another follow-up allergy appointment (after his big anaphylactic scare before Christmas). This time we brought samples of all the food he was eating at lunchtime--pepperoni pizza from this local restaurant, fresh pineapple and grapes, and decaf Folgers coffee. I thought he was going to eat them in an oral challenge-type thing, but as it turned out, the doctor just wanted to use those things to prick Caleb's back. So the tech made a slurry of the dry coffee, and for everything else just stuck the pricker in the food, then stuck it in Caleb's back. Caleb had prick tests done back in July, on his forearm, and he was a basket case! He moaned, wailed, and otherwise carried on. I am thrilled to say that this time he just laid there and read a comic book! Yay!
And he didn't show any positive reactions to anything, which was not that surprising. He had a tiny wheal by the pineapple prick, but it evidently wasn't big enough to be called a positive reaction. But he's had all those food many times before without any problems. He has had mild reactions to fresh pineapple before, but only when he's had a ton of it in the previous days. So I think my theory of him being sensitized by the exposure to his friend's pets the day before the reaction is probably the best one, and I expect it is the pineapple that was the culprit.
So with no positive reactions, the doc sent up over to the lab to do a blood draw for a RAST test. We'll see if anything shows up there, and based on the results, they will bring Caleb back in for an oral challenge. Hmmm . . . I really don't know if I want to make yet another big trip out to Walter Reed in the next few weeks! But we'll keep on avoiding fresh pineapple for a little while more, I guess.
One interesting thing was this pediatric doctor who was shadowing our allergy doc. He was seriously the tallest man I have ever seen in person--he had to duck to go through doorways! Our allergist is not a short man by any means--probably 6'1" I would say. He almost came up to this other doctor's shoulders! When we were sitting in the waiting room before our appointment, I heard some tech asking who "Doctor So-and-so" was. "You can't miss him. He's the really tall guy in the black navy uniform" was the response. And as soon as I saw him, I realized he was obviously the guy being discussed! Definitely not someone who blends into a crowd of uniforms!
And he didn't show any positive reactions to anything, which was not that surprising. He had a tiny wheal by the pineapple prick, but it evidently wasn't big enough to be called a positive reaction. But he's had all those food many times before without any problems. He has had mild reactions to fresh pineapple before, but only when he's had a ton of it in the previous days. So I think my theory of him being sensitized by the exposure to his friend's pets the day before the reaction is probably the best one, and I expect it is the pineapple that was the culprit.
So with no positive reactions, the doc sent up over to the lab to do a blood draw for a RAST test. We'll see if anything shows up there, and based on the results, they will bring Caleb back in for an oral challenge. Hmmm . . . I really don't know if I want to make yet another big trip out to Walter Reed in the next few weeks! But we'll keep on avoiding fresh pineapple for a little while more, I guess.
One interesting thing was this pediatric doctor who was shadowing our allergy doc. He was seriously the tallest man I have ever seen in person--he had to duck to go through doorways! Our allergist is not a short man by any means--probably 6'1" I would say. He almost came up to this other doctor's shoulders! When we were sitting in the waiting room before our appointment, I heard some tech asking who "Doctor So-and-so" was. "You can't miss him. He's the really tall guy in the black navy uniform" was the response. And as soon as I saw him, I realized he was obviously the guy being discussed! Definitely not someone who blends into a crowd of uniforms!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Allergy Follow-up
Back on Dec. 22 Caleb had a scary allergic reaction, and we never could pinpoint what caused it. He had a follow-up appointment at Walter Reed this afternoon. We saw a different doctor, as well as his resident (intern? I always get mixed up, LOL). They were both extremely nice, and they went and consulted with the doctor we saw the last time, who set up Caleb's milk challenge, as well, so we had many minds considering this problem! They all agreed it was pretty unlikely that it was the coffee.
In thinking over the situation the past few weeks, I came up with a few more differences that might have made a difference. For one, Caleb ate a slice of pepperoni pizza that was left-over for lunch that day. We had gotten it from a local restaurant the night before, but he had only eaten pineapple/ham pizza that night. Also, Caleb ate the last of a fruit salad with lunch. The salad only had fresh pineapple and grapes to begin with, and by the time Caleb ate it, there were only grapes left. But they would have been sitting in pineapple juice, and he has had issues with fresh pineapple before. Nothing like this reaction, of course, and only when he ate a lot of it on subsequent days, but still . . . he is a little sensitive to pineapple. Maybe, combined with the increased sensitivity from the dog and cats he was exposed to all day the day before, it was enough to trigger a big reaction?
So we have an appointment for Feb. 28, and we are supposed to bring in some fresh pineapple/grape fruit salad, a slice of pepperoni pizza from that same restaurant, and some of the Folger's coffee, like he was drinking that day. They will do some skin tests and have him eat the stuff and see if there is any reaction. I'm thinking there won't be, and we'll just have to be content to not know exactly what the problem is. But who knows--maybe something will show up.
In thinking over the situation the past few weeks, I came up with a few more differences that might have made a difference. For one, Caleb ate a slice of pepperoni pizza that was left-over for lunch that day. We had gotten it from a local restaurant the night before, but he had only eaten pineapple/ham pizza that night. Also, Caleb ate the last of a fruit salad with lunch. The salad only had fresh pineapple and grapes to begin with, and by the time Caleb ate it, there were only grapes left. But they would have been sitting in pineapple juice, and he has had issues with fresh pineapple before. Nothing like this reaction, of course, and only when he ate a lot of it on subsequent days, but still . . . he is a little sensitive to pineapple. Maybe, combined with the increased sensitivity from the dog and cats he was exposed to all day the day before, it was enough to trigger a big reaction?
So we have an appointment for Feb. 28, and we are supposed to bring in some fresh pineapple/grape fruit salad, a slice of pepperoni pizza from that same restaurant, and some of the Folger's coffee, like he was drinking that day. They will do some skin tests and have him eat the stuff and see if there is any reaction. I'm thinking there won't be, and we'll just have to be content to not know exactly what the problem is. But who knows--maybe something will show up.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Another Unsolved Mystery
We had a bit of a scare today with Caleb. He had an allergic reaction to something, and we really can not figure out to what he reacted. He had his usual cereal and soy millk for breakfast, and then for lunch he had left-overs--things we have had the past few nights, and with which he has had no problems. He had a slice of pizza, as well as a "chicken packet", which is basically chicken and celery mixed with a little bit of cream cheese and baked in a crescent roll with bread crumbs on the outside. Both things have milk products, but he's had a lot of stuff since he passed his milk challenge, and he has had zero problems whatsoever. The only thing somewhat unusual was that he had some coffee (Folgers decaf) during the course of the morning. He's had coffee before though, and not had any problems.
So at around 1:00, he came to me and asked if his eyes were swelling up. I told him they looked red. He also said his throat was hurting. A little while later, his eyes were definitely more puffy and watery, and he said the "lump" in his throat was bigger, making it hard to swallow. I gave him a chewable benedryl pill, figuring it was an allergic reaction. He took a second pill not long after, and he laid on the couch for a few minutes. I had a chiropractor appointment at 2:15, so I was preparing to leave and drop Nathan and Luke off at the L's on my way, so they could play Wii with Amanda. I kept checking on Caleb, but the benedryl were not really stopping the reaction at all. His eyes were really puffy and red, with bumps around them and his mouth. More worrisome, the lump in his throat was getting bigger, and he was having trouble swallowing, along with some wheezing. Fortunately, Bob was home, so he ran Caleb over to the closest ER, which is about 5 minutes away. We didn't give him the epi-pen, but I was prepared to. If the hospital wasn't so close, we definitely would have.
They got him right in and gave him an epiphenephrine breathing treatment, as well as starting a steroid IV drip. Then we all started trying to figure out what possibly could have been the problem. The weird thing is that the reaction didn't start with him eating something. There was no tingly mouth, or any other warning symptom. Pecan is one of his highest allergens, and he accidentally ate a bite of a cookie with pecan in it back in August, but he right away had a tingling tongue, so he didn't eat any more, and he took a benedryl. That stopped the reaction pretty immediately, and all he had was a bit of an upset stomach. This was such a more violent reaction, and to have it come on just out of the clear blue sky was very unsettling, to say the least.
One other possible factor is that yesterday he spent the day at a friend's house. The friend has 2 cats and a dog, all of which Caleb is allergic to. Last night he told me he needed his inhalers because he was wheezy, and he had to take them twice. He does have a pattern of having more severe food reactions whenever he is having some environmental reaction--like he's already sensitized, so everything is worse. Still, this was a lot worse . . . and with no clear trigger. Scary.
Anyway, he is doing fine right now. We have to make an appointment at Bethesda tomorrow (and hopefully get the ER visit cleared with his PCM and Tricare), so we'll see if they have any insights. I'm not holding my breath though! We're praying for no more excitement tonight, LOL. He looks fine, albeit very pale, with circles under his eyes! Here he is showing off his IV bandages.
In other news, this is the first picture on our new camera! Our other camera, which we got 5 years ago this month, has been having some problems, so we knew it was about time to get another one. I really wanted another Canon PowerShot, since our last one is so easy to use and has been remarkably faithful. So that's what we got--a PowerShot SD 1300. Last night I got it out of the box and charged up the battery so we'd be all ready for Christmas. It works fine, and it is nice that I am already familiar with the buttons!
So at around 1:00, he came to me and asked if his eyes were swelling up. I told him they looked red. He also said his throat was hurting. A little while later, his eyes were definitely more puffy and watery, and he said the "lump" in his throat was bigger, making it hard to swallow. I gave him a chewable benedryl pill, figuring it was an allergic reaction. He took a second pill not long after, and he laid on the couch for a few minutes. I had a chiropractor appointment at 2:15, so I was preparing to leave and drop Nathan and Luke off at the L's on my way, so they could play Wii with Amanda. I kept checking on Caleb, but the benedryl were not really stopping the reaction at all. His eyes were really puffy and red, with bumps around them and his mouth. More worrisome, the lump in his throat was getting bigger, and he was having trouble swallowing, along with some wheezing. Fortunately, Bob was home, so he ran Caleb over to the closest ER, which is about 5 minutes away. We didn't give him the epi-pen, but I was prepared to. If the hospital wasn't so close, we definitely would have.
They got him right in and gave him an epiphenephrine breathing treatment, as well as starting a steroid IV drip. Then we all started trying to figure out what possibly could have been the problem. The weird thing is that the reaction didn't start with him eating something. There was no tingly mouth, or any other warning symptom. Pecan is one of his highest allergens, and he accidentally ate a bite of a cookie with pecan in it back in August, but he right away had a tingling tongue, so he didn't eat any more, and he took a benedryl. That stopped the reaction pretty immediately, and all he had was a bit of an upset stomach. This was such a more violent reaction, and to have it come on just out of the clear blue sky was very unsettling, to say the least.
One other possible factor is that yesterday he spent the day at a friend's house. The friend has 2 cats and a dog, all of which Caleb is allergic to. Last night he told me he needed his inhalers because he was wheezy, and he had to take them twice. He does have a pattern of having more severe food reactions whenever he is having some environmental reaction--like he's already sensitized, so everything is worse. Still, this was a lot worse . . . and with no clear trigger. Scary.
Anyway, he is doing fine right now. We have to make an appointment at Bethesda tomorrow (and hopefully get the ER visit cleared with his PCM and Tricare), so we'll see if they have any insights. I'm not holding my breath though! We're praying for no more excitement tonight, LOL. He looks fine, albeit very pale, with circles under his eyes! Here he is showing off his IV bandages.
In other news, this is the first picture on our new camera! Our other camera, which we got 5 years ago this month, has been having some problems, so we knew it was about time to get another one. I really wanted another Canon PowerShot, since our last one is so easy to use and has been remarkably faithful. So that's what we got--a PowerShot SD 1300. Last night I got it out of the box and charged up the battery so we'd be all ready for Christmas. It works fine, and it is nice that I am already familiar with the buttons!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Huge News!
Caleb PASSED his milk challenge today!!! How exciting!!
So we got up bright and early, leaving our house at 6:15. We could have left at least 20 minutes later because we got there to Walter Reed by 7:15--there was absolutely no traffic! But you never know-the traffic reports I heard while driving said there had been accidents on the BW Parkway as well 270 that tied things up, so that could have happened on 495 as well. Better early than stuck! Once we parked in the garage, I laid back and closed my eyes for 20 minutes while Caleb chattered on about every single thing that passed through his brain, LOL. Oh well, it was somewhat restful!
We got into the clinic, and he received his first "dose" of milk, just 10 cc, at 8:15. I brought chocolate milk, thinking that he might like the taste of that better than regular milk, which he has never had. He squirted the first dose in from a syringe, and nothing happened. He got a progressivly larger amount every 15 minutes until he had 5 doses (a total of about 8 ounces). Before each dose the doctor and the resident who was with her would check his vitals, skin, and mucous membranes. Everything kept looking good! Caleb did his schoolwork in between doses, and I talked with the doctor and resident, who stuck around the whole time, or read.
Finally, 15 minutes after the last dose, we went out to the waiting room, where we had to sit for 2 hours to make sure no late reaction developed. The whole time Caleb had been sneezy and snuffly, but he was like that when we started. It's the crazy ragweed! He and Nathan have been having a hard time with it, for Caleb mainly because he's been unable to take his Zyrtec for the past week as he prepared for this challenge. I and the doctor also were a little apprehensive that his sneezing would mask a true reaction, but he never got worse or seemed to sneeze more or anything. Several people had asked me why I didn't move the trial until after ragweed season was over. I figured that if he passed now, then we could truly know that he had outgrown the allergy. Any other time, and I would have wondered. His seasonal allergies have always tended to make him more sensitive to his food allergy triggers, so I didn't want him to pass in, say, November, but then have problems in March with milk when the pollen count started to rise!
Waiting the 2 hours was the hardest thing for Caleb! Once he finished his schoolwork, he was fidgety and not really interested in reading. We had a snack, but I was ready to go home too, LOL. Eventually we were cleared to go, and Caleb was cleared to have milk! We finally got home around 12:30, so it was definitely a long day.
I still am having a hard time grasping his being free to have milk! Dealing with his food allergies has been a way of life since he was 7 months old. I remember coming home crying from his first allergy appointment, where he had tested positive to wheat, eggs, milk, and peanuts--everything they tested him for except soy--and thinking, "No one will marry him!" He never really reacted to wheat, so we added that back in first, at about 18 months. By 3 he had outgrown his egg allergy, and I thought that really made life easier! But when he hadn't outgrown any of the nut allergies or even shown any signs of outgrowing the milk one by 5, I had pretty much assumed they was there for life. I really never dreamed it was possible that he would outgrow the milk allergy! He's 8 1/2!
I think it will be a big adjustment for him too. When you have never at all eaten anything remotely cheesy, and in fact you know that it (used to) make you very sick and wheezy, then . . . it is a little bit hard to want to try these formerly forbidden foods. He was okay with the milk, but I think it was because it was almost like taking medicine--all measured out in a syringe or medicine cup. I offered him an M&M from my trail mix (only almonds, no peanuts!), and he was quite hesitant to try it. Finally, in the car when we were almost home he decided to try it. I asked him why he was so hesitant, and he said, "I'm just really afraid I'll react." I told him that he had already had WAY more milk than was in an M&M, but he was not totally convinced, LOL. He eventually did eat it, but he was not all that impressed. "I like Skittles a lot better." LOL!
Also, he's grown up only eating soy substitutes for things--like soy ice cream and soy yogurt. I am not a huge fan of either (well, especially soy yogurt), but he loves them! It's all he's every known! And they taste NOTHING like stuff made with milk! So I think it will be a challenge for him to get used to eating cheesy/milky stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if I don't have to separate stuff out for himstill, at least for a little while, as he makes the transition. Actually we really don't eat all that much stuff with dairy in it anymore, so it will be more the odd soup and casserole recipe that I still use. Wow, I will be able to look at cookbooks with a fresh eye! Going out will be where it is the nicest. Not having to worry about where milk is hidden is going to be huge. Like I said, I still can't wrap my mind around it! I'm sure I'll still be saying, "You can't have that, Caleb" just out of habit!
After our big and early morning, I came home and collapsed in bed for a nap! I was so exhausted! I think it will be an early night for Caleb too. He kept waking up in the middle of the night. I remember him coming into our room at 4:00 and me telling him to go back to bed, that I had my alarm set! He was a little anxious for the whole thing to be over and done with!
The reason I am having all this time to type out this long post is that Bob took all 7 kids to Nathan's football practice, and I am alone in the house! Yes, he is a saint. I love the sound of silence. But instead of screwing around on the computer, I should be doing something productive . . .
So we got up bright and early, leaving our house at 6:15. We could have left at least 20 minutes later because we got there to Walter Reed by 7:15--there was absolutely no traffic! But you never know-the traffic reports I heard while driving said there had been accidents on the BW Parkway as well 270 that tied things up, so that could have happened on 495 as well. Better early than stuck! Once we parked in the garage, I laid back and closed my eyes for 20 minutes while Caleb chattered on about every single thing that passed through his brain, LOL. Oh well, it was somewhat restful!
We got into the clinic, and he received his first "dose" of milk, just 10 cc, at 8:15. I brought chocolate milk, thinking that he might like the taste of that better than regular milk, which he has never had. He squirted the first dose in from a syringe, and nothing happened. He got a progressivly larger amount every 15 minutes until he had 5 doses (a total of about 8 ounces). Before each dose the doctor and the resident who was with her would check his vitals, skin, and mucous membranes. Everything kept looking good! Caleb did his schoolwork in between doses, and I talked with the doctor and resident, who stuck around the whole time, or read.
Finally, 15 minutes after the last dose, we went out to the waiting room, where we had to sit for 2 hours to make sure no late reaction developed. The whole time Caleb had been sneezy and snuffly, but he was like that when we started. It's the crazy ragweed! He and Nathan have been having a hard time with it, for Caleb mainly because he's been unable to take his Zyrtec for the past week as he prepared for this challenge. I and the doctor also were a little apprehensive that his sneezing would mask a true reaction, but he never got worse or seemed to sneeze more or anything. Several people had asked me why I didn't move the trial until after ragweed season was over. I figured that if he passed now, then we could truly know that he had outgrown the allergy. Any other time, and I would have wondered. His seasonal allergies have always tended to make him more sensitive to his food allergy triggers, so I didn't want him to pass in, say, November, but then have problems in March with milk when the pollen count started to rise!
Waiting the 2 hours was the hardest thing for Caleb! Once he finished his schoolwork, he was fidgety and not really interested in reading. We had a snack, but I was ready to go home too, LOL. Eventually we were cleared to go, and Caleb was cleared to have milk! We finally got home around 12:30, so it was definitely a long day.
I still am having a hard time grasping his being free to have milk! Dealing with his food allergies has been a way of life since he was 7 months old. I remember coming home crying from his first allergy appointment, where he had tested positive to wheat, eggs, milk, and peanuts--everything they tested him for except soy--and thinking, "No one will marry him!" He never really reacted to wheat, so we added that back in first, at about 18 months. By 3 he had outgrown his egg allergy, and I thought that really made life easier! But when he hadn't outgrown any of the nut allergies or even shown any signs of outgrowing the milk one by 5, I had pretty much assumed they was there for life. I really never dreamed it was possible that he would outgrow the milk allergy! He's 8 1/2!
I think it will be a big adjustment for him too. When you have never at all eaten anything remotely cheesy, and in fact you know that it (used to) make you very sick and wheezy, then . . . it is a little bit hard to want to try these formerly forbidden foods. He was okay with the milk, but I think it was because it was almost like taking medicine--all measured out in a syringe or medicine cup. I offered him an M&M from my trail mix (only almonds, no peanuts!), and he was quite hesitant to try it. Finally, in the car when we were almost home he decided to try it. I asked him why he was so hesitant, and he said, "I'm just really afraid I'll react." I told him that he had already had WAY more milk than was in an M&M, but he was not totally convinced, LOL. He eventually did eat it, but he was not all that impressed. "I like Skittles a lot better." LOL!
Also, he's grown up only eating soy substitutes for things--like soy ice cream and soy yogurt. I am not a huge fan of either (well, especially soy yogurt), but he loves them! It's all he's every known! And they taste NOTHING like stuff made with milk! So I think it will be a challenge for him to get used to eating cheesy/milky stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if I don't have to separate stuff out for himstill, at least for a little while, as he makes the transition. Actually we really don't eat all that much stuff with dairy in it anymore, so it will be more the odd soup and casserole recipe that I still use. Wow, I will be able to look at cookbooks with a fresh eye! Going out will be where it is the nicest. Not having to worry about where milk is hidden is going to be huge. Like I said, I still can't wrap my mind around it! I'm sure I'll still be saying, "You can't have that, Caleb" just out of habit!
After our big and early morning, I came home and collapsed in bed for a nap! I was so exhausted! I think it will be an early night for Caleb too. He kept waking up in the middle of the night. I remember him coming into our room at 4:00 and me telling him to go back to bed, that I had my alarm set! He was a little anxious for the whole thing to be over and done with!
The reason I am having all this time to type out this long post is that Bob took all 7 kids to Nathan's football practice, and I am alone in the house! Yes, he is a saint. I love the sound of silence. But instead of screwing around on the computer, I should be doing something productive . . .
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Potentially Exciting News on the Allergy Front
Caleb had an allergy appointment on July 27 where he had a skin test, as well as a blood RAST test. Although he was still very sensitive to the tree nuts (esp. walnuts) and peanuts, he hardly reacted at all to the milk. So we were waiting for the results of his bloodwork. The doctor called, and his levels have dropped from Jan. 08, when he was last tested! His milk RAST score was 1.27 back then, and only 0.54 in July! Since it has dropped and is fairly low (lower than <.35 would be best, though) and since he hardly reacted to the skin test, we are going to do a milk challenge! That's where we bring in a serving of milk to the clinic, he drinks a tiny amount, he is observed, he drinks some more 15 minutes later, he is observed, he drinks some more . . . you get the picture. After he drinks 5 doses of milk (providing he hasn't reacted to any of them), then he is watched for another 2 hours just to make sure he doesn't react later. If not . . . then he passes, and he is considered to have outgrown his allergy!
Now I know he still has a really good chance of reacting--about 50/50 with that RAST score, the doctor said. Frankly, I can't really wrap my mind around the possibility of Caleb not being allergic to milk. That has driven my cooking for 8 years now! With him gone this week, we are having a real "Dairy Fest", making all the recipes I used to make but haven't made in years. I can't imagine being able to cook whatever I want and not having to worry about adapting recipes for him, or taking stuff out, or whatever. If he has outgrown the allergy, he probably still won't like cheese and milk, LOL. Oh well. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, if we need to.
The more immediate bridge to cross is: how on earth are we going to get to Walter Reed at 8:00 in the morning on Aug. 25?!?! That just seems like an absolute impossibility! Caleb and I will have to leave by 6:00, I think.
So the possibility is there for exciting news. Actually, it is exciting to realize that Caleb's milk allergy has decreased enough that we are even trying this! I'm not sure how his other numbers compare to his previous test, but I don't think they are getting much lower. For the record, this time his walnut number was 10.3, his pecan number was 8.79, and his peanut number was 6.37. That pretty much matches the size of the wheals for his skin test too, as far as comparing the 3 allergies. I'll let you know what happens! Pray for no accidents or bad weather on the morning of Aug. 25!
Friday, June 01, 2007
Allergy Appointment
Caleb had an allergy appointment yesterday with the allergy doctor at Bethesda. He last saw an allergist in June 2004, right before we moved here. For the last year and a half, I have been asking his pediatricians for a referral to the allergist, but they wouldn't give me one. "He won't do anything", is what they kept saying. Finally the doctor we saw in March gave us one, and praise the Lord, I was even able to make the appointment for while my parents were still here, so I didn't have to bring everyone.
The doctor was very, very nice and helpful. He saw us at 12:45, and we didn't leave until right around 3:00. Since Caleb's records were lost in the move (grr, don't get me started . . . the military doesn't trust us to carry our own records to our next duty station, but they have no problems losing them), he wrote up a detailed history of Caleb's allergy symptoms and issues, starting with his 2 month well-baby appointment, where we first noticed the eczema on his head. This took quite a while, and I was so glad not to have all the other kids bouncing around, not to mention needing to be nursed! That would have been slightly distracting!
After the long history, he decided what he would test Caleb for. There were 22 things, both environmental and food. Caleb didn't like the pricking at all, but he was a real trooper. As soon as the nurse finished, he started scratching his back, so I knew he was already reacting. When she lifted up his shirt after 15 minutes, his poor back was a mass of big red welts. Of the 22 things, I think there were only about 4 things that he didn't react to, and most of the reactions were greater than 4 cm. So he is NOT allergic to mold. And cedar trees and cashews. Other than that, it was pretty much positive, as far as common Virginia trees, grasses, dust, cats, dogs, and the foods that we already knew about--milk, peanuts, pecans, and walnuts--go. The walnut reaction was the biggest, about the size of a silver dollar, but they were all pretty big, to be honest. Hey, he's got allergies! LOL
After the nurse wiped off Caleb's back and put a steroid cream on his back, we went back in and met with the doctor again. He sort of tweaked the medicines we're giving Caleb now, and he told us some things to do for the dust mite allergy, like getting dust mite proof covers for the mattress and pillow, washing his bedding once a week, and having him out of the room when vacuuming. He actually likes to vacuum, so he will probably be disappointed that he can't do that anymore. I know I am!
While we were talking again, Caleb's eyes were getting really red and itchy, and he started sort of crying quietly. Finally he leaned over and whispered, "I don't want to come back here anymore." It was so sad! The doctor realized the steroid cream on the back wasn't cutting it, so he got some benedryl for Caleb, and then he started feeling better, poor guy.
As the doctor and I were talking about all of this, he said, "I can't belive that you have been just floating around all on your own for so long, trying to manage all of this!" I was so glad to hear him say that (especially since he went on to say that I had been doing a great job, LOL), because that was really how I have felt--like I had to be the one to figure out when I needed to ramp up his meds to manage his seasonal allergies and keep him from wheezing, etc., and without even really knowing what it was he was allergic to! I have felt very isolated, and it is so nice to know that I have someone on my team now. The doctor gave me his card and told me I was "family" now, and if I need another appointment for Caleb or have questions or whatever, I call this number directly. Woohoo!
The doctor was very, very nice and helpful. He saw us at 12:45, and we didn't leave until right around 3:00. Since Caleb's records were lost in the move (grr, don't get me started . . . the military doesn't trust us to carry our own records to our next duty station, but they have no problems losing them), he wrote up a detailed history of Caleb's allergy symptoms and issues, starting with his 2 month well-baby appointment, where we first noticed the eczema on his head. This took quite a while, and I was so glad not to have all the other kids bouncing around, not to mention needing to be nursed! That would have been slightly distracting!
After the long history, he decided what he would test Caleb for. There were 22 things, both environmental and food. Caleb didn't like the pricking at all, but he was a real trooper. As soon as the nurse finished, he started scratching his back, so I knew he was already reacting. When she lifted up his shirt after 15 minutes, his poor back was a mass of big red welts. Of the 22 things, I think there were only about 4 things that he didn't react to, and most of the reactions were greater than 4 cm. So he is NOT allergic to mold. And cedar trees and cashews. Other than that, it was pretty much positive, as far as common Virginia trees, grasses, dust, cats, dogs, and the foods that we already knew about--milk, peanuts, pecans, and walnuts--go. The walnut reaction was the biggest, about the size of a silver dollar, but they were all pretty big, to be honest. Hey, he's got allergies! LOL
After the nurse wiped off Caleb's back and put a steroid cream on his back, we went back in and met with the doctor again. He sort of tweaked the medicines we're giving Caleb now, and he told us some things to do for the dust mite allergy, like getting dust mite proof covers for the mattress and pillow, washing his bedding once a week, and having him out of the room when vacuuming. He actually likes to vacuum, so he will probably be disappointed that he can't do that anymore. I know I am!
While we were talking again, Caleb's eyes were getting really red and itchy, and he started sort of crying quietly. Finally he leaned over and whispered, "I don't want to come back here anymore." It was so sad! The doctor realized the steroid cream on the back wasn't cutting it, so he got some benedryl for Caleb, and then he started feeling better, poor guy.
As the doctor and I were talking about all of this, he said, "I can't belive that you have been just floating around all on your own for so long, trying to manage all of this!" I was so glad to hear him say that (especially since he went on to say that I had been doing a great job, LOL), because that was really how I have felt--like I had to be the one to figure out when I needed to ramp up his meds to manage his seasonal allergies and keep him from wheezing, etc., and without even really knowing what it was he was allergic to! I have felt very isolated, and it is so nice to know that I have someone on my team now. The doctor gave me his card and told me I was "family" now, and if I need another appointment for Caleb or have questions or whatever, I call this number directly. Woohoo!
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