I always wanted to be a mom. Finally at the age of 26 our firstborn came into our life. STOP THE BUS! It was NOT fun at all. Since he was born, he was the fussiest baby she had ever had. We would pass a vacuum for 45 minutes. to help calm him (so goes the old wives’ tale). Nothing worked. I stopped eating dairy while breastfeeding. Then we administer soy formula. The poor boy was miserable and Mom and Dad were there with him. At this rate, we were NOT going to have any more children. The pediatrician thought everything was “normal.” He had “colic.” Sorry I’m not a doctor, but I’d had enough kids to know this wasn’t just a fussy baby. At 2 years old I had had C. Diff and we couldn’t get rid of it. C. Diff is not typical in children. We were starting to see outbursts of rage, not typical tantrums. Her ear, nose, and throat doctor didn’t test her for allergies until she was 5 years old. It was then that I decided that I was his only defender in this world. He couldn’t trust what the pediatrician and ENT doctor thought was best for him, which was to continue drinking soy milk and accept his behavior. Many children are diagnosed with autism and I thought we were going that way. (I used to think Jenny McCarthy was a healer with her gluten-free hysteria, but soon I would totally agree with her.)
In my job I take care of several medical offices. On this particular day, I was telling the insides to one of the nurses and she felt that one of her doctors would be willing to see our son. After our first meeting, this doctor knew that I was a very concerned mother and agreed to go ahead with allergy testing at 2 1/2 years. On December 31, 2008, our son was tested for IGE (food allergies) and IGG (food sensitivities) using a very simple blood draw.
What did you expect the result to be? “Yes, we have found that your child is very allergic to dairy.” Which it was the result? When we saw our doctor for follow-up, our 2 1/2 year old son had quite extreme sensitivities (IGG) to DAIRY, WHEAT, SOY, and EGGS. His sensitivity to dairy was actually the protein casin. Her allergy to wheat was gluten protein. Wow, I was stunned, overwhelmed, and incredibly angry at all the doctors who didn’t want to believe this first time, Mom! We immediately eliminate all of the above from his diet. This was so difficult and extremely overwhelming. Over the next few weeks and months we found out. We find great resources at our local Whole Foods stores, Meijer grocery store, and even Kroger. Almost immediately, we saw a dramatic change in our son.
For the next 3 years of his life, we stayed away from dairy, soy, wheat, and eggs. Her breakfast consisted of gluten-free and dairy-free waffles or pancakes, some dry corn-based cereal, and of course, Rice Dream Vanilla Rice Milk. Bread was definitely the most difficult product to substitute. Many brands try really hard, but the bread just can’t be reproduced with rice flour, tapioca flour, etc. without being dense and hard. We use a lot of corn and rice pasta. We found Daiya Shredded Cheese to be our best alternative to it. We bought So So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt and we were good to go. I found myself crying at how incredibly different this (normal) child was with the diet his body required. What if he hadn’t been his advocate? What if I hadn’t fought? What if we had listened to the first doctor and never had the tests until we were 5 years old?
Last summer, at the age of 5 1/2 years, 3 years after his new diet, we suddenly saw some changes in his behavior and tantrums that were not age appropriate for a 5 1/2 year old. Again, we saw our doctor again and asked to be tested again. It was done on the spot at our request. Again, SHOCKER for mom! Our son’s allergies had really changed. There is a difference between sensitivities and true food allergies. He had always been sensitive to food. (Although not to downplay sensitivities, they can be extremely difficult to live with.) The new test results showed that we had crossed the line of sensitivities to true food allergies. Now he was truly allergic to corn. Well why not? His entire diet for 3 years in a row was full of corn. All of our wheat substitutes were corn products. HOWEVER, the best news was learning from this second round of testing that after 3 years of eliminating certain foods at the age of 5 1/2, he was no longer allergic to dairy or wheat.
So now, almost 6 years old, we are out of corn. Which seems very overwhelming to most, but when I encourage parents I tell them that all the effort of finding the food, produce, and extra money spent on groceries is worth having a HAPPY AND HEALTHY child. Right? So we are out of corn. Little by little we have reintroduced wheat and it seems that it is doing well. We have introduced dairy products but not pure milk. He still drinks rice milk and is still without eggs.
The point behind all of this is that you have to be an advocate for your children. You may not have an education in the medical field, BUT you know your children better than anyone. No one else is going to defend, defend or love your child like you. Keep looking for doctors until you find one who will listen to you and respect you as a parent. Talk to other parents about your struggles and experiences. I hope that one day my son understands how much I love him and how his life is different because of the fight I gave him.
