Allergy Clinic

[Anonymous]

I got a call on Friday from the allergy clinic at the childrens hospital that they have a cancellation on Monday morning . So we only had to wait 4 months instead of six! The appointment is for an hour and a half and runs right through Tyler’s morning nap so hopefully he sleeps in the car. Not sure exactly what they are going to do, but I am going in with my list of questions ready. Funny thing is that he has been doing really well with his solids lately! Should be interesting to see what they have to say. The allergist we are seeing is actually a ped GI doc as well as an allergist so he is supposed to specialise in babies that have allergies related to the gut. I will post after our visit and let you know what we find out.

[Anonymous]

That’s great news Amber!!! Hurray for cancellation lists! Also glad to hear that you have found some foods that he can tolerate and that he’s been doing well with them. Good news…and good luck on Monday. Keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Great news! Definitely keep us possted and also glad to hear he’s been dong well with his solids lately.

[Anonymous]

Well we are back from the allergy clinic and everything went well. Tyler tested negative to all his skin tests so at least he doesnt seem to have any life threatening allergies. The doctor was a little worried about his weight gain and wants us to increase the calories in the Elecare and try and increase the solids as well. He said we can try wheat, soy & fish after 12 months but no dairy or egg until 18 months, no nuts until 2. He also thinks he should grow out of it by the time he is 2 or 3.

He also thought that some of the reactions that he had probably werent real allergy type reactions. He said that for example the reaction that he had to sweet potato was probably due to the fact that it has a high calorie content and this might have upset his stomach but it would have been something he would have gotten used to if we had of continued.

The only thing I wasnt happy about was that he wants us to wean Tyler off his Losec. He said that his reflux is due to his food allergies and that once they are under control then he shouldnt need the Losec. We have tried to reduce the dose a couple of times before and he was unbearable to live with. We are supposed to do it really slowly over a couple of months but even then I dont know. I guess we can only try and see what happens. Our normal GI doc was happy with his dose so Im not sure why he has a different opinion. Should be an interesting experiment – I would love for him not to be on medication, but Im not sure he is ready just yet.

So overall a good visit, we need to go back in 3 months to follow his progress.

[Anonymous]

By the way, when I was there, I heard the receptionist on the phone telling someone that it was a 12 month wait to see the doctors in the allergy clinic! I think our health system is giving the Canadian system a run for its money!

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear all his skin tests were negative and that you can try some
new foods after 12 months! Let us know how the losec weaning goes and
good luck.

Crazy – 12 month wait?!

[Anonymous]

Good news overall Amber! Regarding the losec, I would think twice about weaning at this point. Follow your gut. If he said that he should outgrow the allergies by around age 2, and that the reflux is form the allergies, then doesn’t it follow that you shouldn’t wean until sometime into his second year? He’s really not on a very high dose, and since it won’t harm him, I would do what you think is best. The last thing you need is for him to have pain again and for eating to become a problem. (I’m not trying to be pessimistic, I just don’t like it when docs who aren’t GI’s tell us to take our kids off the losec… easy for them to say, they don’t have to live with them!) If you do decide to wean, on the other hand, at least it will be very slowly, and good luck. Keep us posted. BTW, I really hope that your healthcare doesn’t get as bad as ours, but you’re right, 12 months wait does give us some competition!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a good appt. The only thing I would say about weaning from the losec, is that when we weaned Dylan from the Prevacid. The day or two after the lower dose, Dylan was refluxing and fussier, but then he adjusted. It was like the rebound effect that his body was trying to make the acid we were turning off, so once there was a lower dose, his body made more than it should, and then evened out. So maybe, if you try to wean, go down a couple of mgs at a time and stay there for a few days, even a week or so, in order to let Tyler’s body adjust. Then you will really know if he is ready or not……

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I reduced his morning dose by 2.5mg, and that is all I am going to do for now. We are still trying new foods, so if he does have reactions, then he will need the Losec to help with the reflux caused by the allergy. The allergist was a ped GI, but I think alot more conservative than our regular ped GI doc. It is annoying though when you get conflicting advice.

The allergist also seemed to think it was unlikely that he was allergic to apple or pear, so I gave him some apple this morning…big mistake. He bottle intake went downhill with each feed after the apple, he cried all afternoon wouldnt eat his dinner and then vomited after his bath (he hardly ever vomits). When I put him to bed, he was burping up vomit and crying. . I have got to learn to go with my own instincts, who cares if he doesnt have any fruit except banana. We are having a day off from new foods tommorow I think…..

[Anonymous]

Amber, sorry to hear that reacted to apple. Hope he feels better soon. Just shows that mommy knows best…

[Anonymous]

Sorry as well that he had such a bad reaction to the apple again. You
got it – who cares if he has no fruit but banana – they are healthy and
he likes them!

Hope the lowered Losec dose works well and that Tyler is feeling better today.

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