fEEd me frEEly: February 2011

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Hello, we haven't seen you in a while....

I took Sam back to the allergist this week.

We hadn't seen Dr. Taylor since last May I think, so I figured it was time to redo some allergy tests and see if any new ones popped up. Mostly, I wanted to test for some seeds and nuts so I could add these to his diet without overly wondering if it was bad for him. Coconut and sesame were safe (he didn't have sunflower), so I'm taking it and running. Sure I'll still wonder if it affects his eos in his throat, because allergy tests don't tell me that for sure, but a negative allergy test makes me a bit more confident, even if it's a false hope. If I don't see any outward aversion than I'm keeping it. I think those muffins and ice cream made with cococut milk sound like a special treat for Sam he is going to love!

Thankfully everything else was pretty much the same. No new ones- still egg, dairy, and peanut- but egg was not as big of a reaction this time. On our next scope, I'm going to run some RAST tests again to look at the numbers; Taylor says the RAST tests seem to correlate better with eosinophilic disease. He is also going to an eosinophilic conference in San Fran, and he will let me know what New and exciting things they present.

So I'd say we're good here for now. Still eliminating the top 6 and Sam is happy and growing a tad. He weighs 23 lbs 12 oz! Thanks maybe to a little steroid run last month. But we'll take it.

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He is the sunshine of our home, a sweet, smiley, cuddly little guy who stopped growing at about 9 months. He has gained about 2 pounds in the last year, has gone through a lot of testing, and finally at almost 20 months we are getting some answers.Sam had his scope today, and the doctor said it looks like classic eosinophilic esophagitis. He has ridges in his esophagus with white plaques (which is the actual eosinophils you see). I asked if we could keep the adorable get-up. They kindly said no.

I was prepared for this, our primary doctor and the two GI doctors and allergist and new-found friend up the street had told me about it, said he looked like he had it, and wouldn't be surprised if he did. I did my research (which there's not much out there), and kind of knew going in what we were facing. In fact, I think I would have been disappointed if it came back showing everything was normal. This is something we can deal with, get under control, and help Sam live a normal happy life once we figure out what he can eat safely. It's an answer, and I am grateful for it, whatever it is. Now I won't say that answer didn't come with some emotion, anxiety, tears, and feelings of inadequacy. Following an allergen-free diet is overwhelming, even with a background in dietetics, and it was hard to decide where to even begin. Sam might eat a lot of food, but not a lot of types of food. He is picky. All of Sam's favorites are out: chicken nuggets, fish sticks, salmon burgers, noodles, sugar cereals, cookies, ice cream, yogurt, and my homemade wheat bread. And all of his dislikes were in: chicken, hamburger, potatoes, and veges. He does like rice and fruit, but after the first day he is already sick of it. He is DONE with rice chex. And I have not found any allergen-free sweet cereals.So I've been scouring the web. That was even more overwhelming, so I decided to dedicate a blog to all my favorite recipes, tips, and blogs I have found, so I don't have to try and remember where I found this or that. I hope this compilation can help others who are diagnosed with EE, as well, because there's not a lot out there on this disease. And it's hard to find recipes that are gluten, dairy, egg, soy, and nut free. Hopefully we will soon be able to cut that list down, but for now that's what we're doing.It's a roller coaster ride, and I'm sad and happy all at the same time. Sad for my poor little Sammy that's been suffering and can't have the foods that make him smile, and happy that we now know what's wrong and {kind of} what to do, and Sam will soon be a healthy little boy!