Food allergies part 2: Path to wellness

It's been a few weeks since my first post about our path to finding our about Kasons food allergies and how we are going to treat them.. We figured that Kason had several food allergies after getting several bouts of hives and eczema when he was a baby. Why they didn't test him till now makes me wonder why ? Why would they just treat the after effect of a breakout instead of investigate it. We left most of Kason's medical records that we copied with the speech therapist and I looked through them as well.. I noticed after reading through them that between the ages of 6 months to a year , Kason's health took a turn.. He didn't gain weight and he barely gained any height.. Why didn't they notice that? Why did we have to go through multiple infections and breakouts without further testing? Now I feel like I have been cheated out of what could have been a normal babyhood for Kason... He could have had clear skin and been able to smile when his mommy and daddy played and it would not have hurt. Now looking back his doctors never tried... They just gave him medicine to comfort him..

We finally did get into the doctors office and scheduled with an allergist and made sure that we had the options opened for us as we have never had them opened before. At first his pediatrician was talking immunotherapy. The thought of weakening my son's immune system made me mad. Why would I weaken what is protecting my son from getting another infection. The second option was even worse ( in my opinion) . We looked into allergy doctors and found one that would suit him to tailor to his needs.. While I am exited we are getting this far, I am also skeptical.. What if he never grows out of theses allergies? What will we have to do as far as diet? What is the next step for him? I spent the better part of three weeks after the original RAST. Test to figure out what we can do as far as food... I am already shocked with things I didn't know.. I was shocked to know there was so much out there that is marked hypo allergenic and really it isnt.

Well here goes to the two week wait!! I am ready to get some answers!!

Food Allergies Suck : Part 1

A  long time ago we started the road to figuring out what was the matter with my sweet boy. We would wake up and have to clean up bloody sheets from where he itched himself to the point his skin was raw. Well fast forward till now after all the problems , we finally have an answer. Little did I know that we would be faced with food allergies. I was always aware that his face would flare with certain foods, but never did i once think he had food allergies until a few months ago when a trip out somewhere became less than fun. I had fed Lil man some cookies from the mall. We decided shortly after leaving the mall that we would go out to dinner. After being there for a bit Lil man complained that his stomach hurting and that he felt like he was going to throw up. I took him ti the bathroom only for him to burp or say he felt better. I returned to the table and told the hubs we needed to leave. I packed up the remaining parts of dinner and started to walk to the truck. We had only gotten three steps out the door until i had to help Lil man throw up all over the place. His face was red and his cheeks had hives all over them. I knew then it was , and talked to the doctor. He ordered a test called a RAST test . Although he didn't order the Food panel our ENT was curious why he still had a lot of trouble after having his tonsils and adenoids taken out. Before we got the test results we had another episode which was the end of the stick for me. Kason ( lil man) ate peanuts out at the restaurant. We again started to notice the hives and the cough. It wasn't until he told me his tummy hurt that I realized that it was time to go. We got to the truck and his then clear cough sounded more raspy . As I sat there with him i noticed more and more that he needed to be given his inhaler and some Benadryl . We sat there with the cold air blasting and his mask over his face so that he could get as many puffs as possible. After a few minute his face started to clear and he started to able to breath. He became calm and started to smile and play like he did before. I was still in shock with what happened. I noticed however that he had the runs for a few days and broke out on his bottom with the same hives and had the poops to go with it. We discussed this and decided on a full panel RAST. We received the results a week later and went to an appointment to discuss it. The nurse came in and told us that she was glad we where there and there was a lot to talk over. She started off by telling me that Kason is VERY allergic to tree nuts and Peanuts and that we need to stay away from them and then asked for me to go pick up his Epi pen on the way out. She  also asked me to please be careful as well with pork and Soy. As i sat there my heart began to race because I was thinking about all the times that we had given Kason peanut butter or cookies with walnuts and pecans. It could have killed him!! Upon leaving i went to the pharmacy inside the doctors building and bought him a sucker ( just a sugar cane sucker) and sat and read through all the results. It amazed me how our bodies protect us from something that can hurt us and how a allergic reaction is only something that is protecting us from something harmful!! Now we are finally able to begin the steps to getting him well!! It has been too long!!