Did I mention we've been eating tons of pizza around here?  The other night my kid ate 3 pieces with pepperoni from a restaurant without issue, so maybe the processed meat treatment combined with heat worked?  However another night we were over a friend's house where he had a garlic breadstick, and his privates itched right after for a couple of hours until he fell asleep.  I wish I knew what was in the garlic butter.

We've been introducing more and more foods lately.  Broccoli, the once forbidden favorite, is now a common staple.  He's also been eating provolone cheese with his wheat wraps, and has done well with cornbread muffins and Trader Joe's version of Oreos made with wheat.  Recently we've treated for histamines, cow milk from home, chemicals (consists of detergents, soaps, and chlorine bleach), and today was lymph & lymph vessels.

After the first trial of milk that lead to a stomach ache, we treated with the actual milk and are slowly trying to reintroduce it again.  So far he's been able to tolerate a few sips without any issues, we'll get a better idea over the course of this week.

All of this hard work is paying off, he's grown a couple of inches this year and has put on some weight recently.  It's such a relief to watch him enjoy food.

Birthday Boy!

  

Happy 5th Birthday to my son!  We celebrated with LOTS of pizza.  For one party he had pizza from Whole Foods, as we're confident that he's doing well with the more natural stuff.  For the other party he had 2 pieces of Chuck E Cheese pizza, and did fabulous--I was shocked that there wasn't any itching.  We did skip the pepperoni just to be safe.   Check out his clear skin, it's wonderful!

After all the trouble with processed meat that he was having, we did a combination treatment for heat and processed meat.  We haven't tested it out yet.  He's also been eating yogurt every day for the past 4 weeks, and is tolerating pure cheeses (still some trouble with shredded that has additives.)  He's been persistent about wanting to try "cow milk" as he calls it, so we finally did yesterday.  There was no skin reaction as in the past, but he was almost in tears over a stomach ache.  I'm a bit disappointed as I even bought Guernsey milk as the proteins are easier digested by some than Holstein milk (A1 vs A2 proteins.)  And on another occasion he tried cottage cheese, and complained of his lip itching.  It's clear we have more work to do with milk.  I'm thrilled with his progress, I just wish it was faster.

Salicylates

It's been a few weeks since I've posted as we were out of town, and quite frankly I need a break from the allergy world from time-to-time.  Although it's impossible to fully escape it at this point, we're getting closer.  There were a few reactions while out of town.  It's clear that my son has an issue with processed meat as he reacted to conventional pepperoni and mild italian sausage.  He does fine with certain brands like Applegate Farms pepperoni and Whole Foods sausage, but breaks out in hives to the regular stuff.  I'm thinking there's an issue with nitrates, so that's on our list of things to treat for.  He also got a hold of a juice box with splenda, which he's never had before.  I totally detest artificial sweeteners, but I had left without his Honest Kids juice box and all the other kids had one so I caved--immediate hives.


The good news is that he ate plenty of broccoli without issue after I did a home treatment (we have a long history with broccoli, my kid's most favorite food in the world.)  I also attempted to treat him for blueberries and cumin which we have yet to try.


Our last treatment was for Salicylates, as they're natural chemicals found in most fruits, vegetables, and various other food and non-food items.  According to this WebMD site, Some people have a low level of tolerance to salicylates and may have reactions if more than a small amount is consumed at one time. Symptoms of a salicylate allergy vary but may include:

• Asthma-like symptoms, such as trouble breathing and wheezing
• Headaches
• Nasal congestion
• Changes in skin color
• Itching, skin rash, or hives
• Swelling of the hands, feet, and face
• Stomach pain

In severe cases, a salicylate allergy can lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction involving a severe drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and organ system failure. Avoiding products that contain salicylates is the best defense against an allergic reaction--I'm hoping NAET is actually the BEST defense!