Saturday, June 30, 2007

Allergies

Carty-Lardy.

I knew I didn't dare say too much, last night, once Carter fell asleep. Sure enough! He woke up at about one and needed another treatment. His daddy was up and gave it to him. (And he was fired up to see his daddy too!) These kids, and I for that matter, rarely see him these days. He's been so busy with our house.

He slept fine for the rest of the night. He's napping now and hasn't been wheezing as much today. Thank goodness! Hopefully, it'll be downhill from here. Why do these things always happen at the end of the week/weekend?! :) (Literally, they always have, for us. I just have to chuckle because it's so ironic). We don't have health insurance so the Emergency Room is NOT an option. Cart's doctor was awesome though (I've only seen her twice) but she gave an 11 month prescription on the Albuterol!! (And several months on the Pulmicort). So nice - as we won't have to run-in every time he has breathing issues. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that. (Although, I need to call the pharmacy as they accidentally changed it say only a few refills).

Carter's allergies: He's allergic to peanuts. He's broken out in hives after all three contacts with it (in the form of peanut butter/and one time, a store bought cake). All three contacts were accidental ones too!! He seems to have some type of allergy to raspberries as he's broken out in hives after eating raspberry jam. Strawberry is fine though. I'll have a confirmation on that one soon - he just ate Nikayda's whole sandwich...made with raspberry jam. (It was sitting on the table waiting for him her). He hasn't had it for awhile...so we'll see what happens!

And he's allergic to dairy. This one, I'm very positive on just like the peanut allergy. Any and every time he's had milk since he turned a year old, he has THE worst bowel movement (to put it gracefully) you will ever and I mean EVER see or smell. Just awful! I do give him cheese and yogurt because Dr. James said they're processed differently and may not affect him as much. They don't. So long as they're in moderation. The other day I gave him too much cheese. (It always shows in his diaper the next day).

Sometimes I think I should do more research and change his diet more. Even take him off of wheat. But how do I begin to do this?! He's such a picky eater as it is. (He really is). He's always had these breathing problems (since he was about a month old). Dr. James had suggested taking him off everything, including dairy and wheat, when he started eating solids almost a year ago but I didn't want to go through the hassle. It probably still wouldn't be such a bad idea. Since he started eating (even when he started on baby food), his nose started running and hasn't stopped. I keep thinking, if there was something else I could do...

When you're baby/child has trouble breathing, you want to do everything you possibly can!

Edited to add: He had no reaction to the raspberry jam, this time! I'm so glad. One less allergen for him!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wheat is harder than I ever realized. Do you know how many things it's in? Things like licorice, soy sauce, .. stuff you would never even suspect. Much like corn, which is in absolutely everything that's processed.

I don't know what he eats, so it's hard to offer ideas, but spelt and rye are typically less problematic than wheat. Spelt bread for example. I've made it and it's really good. You can find brown rice pasta, or even lentil pasta, but they're specialty items so not always available - and unfortunately, more expensive. Re. dairy, you can also try goat or sheep products - maybe not for milk but for cheese. Which you might be able to find more easily than I. ;-)

Unfortunately, the easiest way to go off wheat is to mostly use whole foods in cooking, and if you have a picky eater, it would not be easy.

Junkyard Jennifer said...

Thanks Eliz for the tips! I'll keep that in mind.

Sue said...

Bennett is on Rice milk because of lactose intolerance. Last year when he had a scope down they did a Celiac biopsy..negative for true allergy but he does have a wheat intolerance also. Gets the same bowel troubles with both. If we watch what he eats, he does fine.

Junkyard Jennifer said...

I should try the Rice milk. He's had Soy but I'm not sure if it's much help. And I know it's an allergen. I keep thinking I should stop giving him soy butter on his sandwiches.

I just need to figure out *what* to give him! I'm planning to look more into all of this stuff once things settle down around here and I have my life back. (...Or so I'm *hoping* I'll have it back)! :)