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!

Body Image and Self Esteem

As a parent I try so hard to instill self confidence and positive self esteem in my child, while at the same time avoiding arrogance.  I worry though about the effects of food allergies on his body image.  Food is the center of his universe, along with toys, of course.  But at the tender age of 4 3/4, it's apparent how much food means to him and how much I control his world.  He would so love to have a happy meal with chicken nuggets, which often leads to discussions about wisely choosing good fuel for his body and eating treats in moderation.  I can't expect him to comprehend this or that these discussions will diminish his cravings any.  I just wish I didn't have to come across as so over-bearing when it comes to food because I'm afraid of the long-term consequences.  If he was a girl I think the stakes would be even higher, as I can see how focusing so much on food could lay the foundation for eating disorders.

When I was a child my mother never let me have candy.  Nothing to do with food allergies, she was just watching out for my overall health.  Then one day I decided to take it upon myself, and at the age of five I was caught stuffing bags of jelly beans in my coat while my mom was grocery shopping.  It was an embarrassing situation for everyone, but I wanted candy DAMMIT!

I just want to avoid him feeling negative about food.  Food should be enjoyable.  The problem is that food has been a major safety issue and I know every ingredient that goes into his body.  I hate it.  I know we've come a long way and he's eating more foods, which I am  SO thankful for, but it's a slow process. And knowing what I now know, how can I ever let him eat "food" that contains anti-foaming agents?  The problem with being persistent is that once you learn the truth it's really hard to stick your head back in the sand.  *sigh*

Do you know what's in shredded cheese?

I made a rookie mistake the other day and learned the hard way that all cheese may not be cheese.  The string cheese that my son has been eating without issue is made from milk, enzymes, and salt.  However, the shredded cheese that I foolishly fed him consists of milk, enzymes, salt, potato starch, cellulose powder, calcium sulfate, and natamycin.  Turns out natamycin is an antibiotic used to treat fungal infections, and in the case of cheese it's to prevent mold.  Apparently it's also a medication for use in the eyes, and the possible side effects include:  Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue.)  Fortunately, it was just the hives and itching that my son experienced which were cleared up with a benedryl.  It's just so unbelievable all the crap added to food.  There's just not an eloquent way to put it.  We NAET treated for this "cheese", not because I want to continue feeding it to him but because it will be almost impossible to avoid at some point. I can see how this will be an uphill battle with a food as simple as pizza.  Each place will have it's own unique ingredients, with it's own additives added in. Why can't cheese just be cheese?!

One Step Back, 2 GIANT Steps Forward

And when I say GIANT, I mean G-I-A-N-T!  We're talking pizza.  Real pizza with real cheese with real crust and real sauce and pepperoni!  Yes, he finally got to have his pizza, and boy did he LOVE it.  He was sure to point out how the crust was so much better than the ones I've been making for him, and he's absolutely right!  It's not his birthday yet, but we since we've treated for yeast, gluten, wheat, cheese, milk, pork, and tomatoes we decided to do a trial run in case any further treatments are needed.  He ate a giant piece, and wanted more but we convinced him to save it for another dinner. He's had it two days in a row for dinner, and will again this weekend at a family party.  So far, so good!

The one step back was due to an unexpected allergic reaction over the weekend to a cracker that had some tamari soy powder in it.  It was really scary for about an hour as he started saying his lips were tingling and then small hives appeared across his forehead and his eyes and eyebrows turned bright red.  Fortunately a benedryl and ice packs took care of it within an hour.  Really brought back old memories of how things use to be everyday, sure does get the adrenaline going.  We're going to treat for the cracker and soy sauce at the same time.  He was rechecked for soybeans and soy mix, which he was fine to, but there seems to be something else lingering.

Cheese, Milk, and Grains Update

Continuing on with our NAET treatments, the kiddo treated for cheese on Monday and milk today.  He can't wait to try "cow milk" as he always refers to it.  We saw our main practitioner today for the first time in about 5 treatment, as there are two doctors in the office.  I asked her if we could revisit grains to check for individual grains because I knew he had been weak on buckwheat from past testing.  She proceeded to test for every grain vial imaginable, including things like spelt, amaranth, sprouted wheat, buckwheat, different rices, different corns, millet, barley, sorghum, and others that I can't remember.  Surprisingly my kid was strong to all of them, I honestly couldn't believe it.  As she was testing him using me as a surrogate I could tell my arm was very strong and she applied the same amount of pressure each time.  Then she tried milk, and I literally had no control over my arm.  Not only did it go completely weak, but I was use to her pressure from the grain testing and my arm went flailing into my pubic bone and about knocked the wind out of me.  I just started laughing because it's so weird!  And mind you, I'm not a weakling either--I've been working on doing pull ups lately and have conquered 6 in a row =)

Anyways, the good news is that we seem to be past grains.  My kid even ate some corn muffins made with wheat and egg today, as he's been doing well with the pretzels and oyster crackers.  I can't wait to make him a sandwich made from real bread or wraps.  I still have a list of about 30 items that he needs to be checked for, and once we're through all of those we can treat for nuts.  Because he's been anaphylactic to them in the past, we need to treat them last.  Basically get his immune system in tip-top shape first, then deal with the biggest trouble makers.

Kids with Food Allergies Starter Guide

Here's a free guide to parenting a child with food allergies published by the group "Kids with Food Allergies." To learn about coping with diagnosis, signs and symptoms, treatment, nutrition information, allergen avoidance lists and much more, click on the 'starter guide' link:  Kids with Food Allergies starter guide

Flowers & Pollen

For our last two treatments we moved away from foods and segued back to environmentals before the flower and pollen season really takes off.  It's been quite cold where we live, so I especially wanted to get these out of the way before we're forced to spend a beautiful day inside during the treatment period.

We've slowly been introducing wheat.  I found some Annie's pretzels that have a minimum amount of ingredients in them, so my son has been having a handful each day.  He also got to have some ostyer crackers from a restaurant, which was a big deal because I didn't have to tell him 'no' yet again.  Did I tell you we also found a gluten-free bumpy cake cupcake?!  It's incredible.  Even though we're introducing wheat, I'm still proceeding with cautious in case more work needs to be done, hence the 'gluten-free.'  Over the past couple of weeks I noticed that he had some purplish circles set in under his eyes, and his eyelids were looking a bit red.  At first I thought it was probably one of the new foods, but then I recalled that each March he looks like this.  I can look back at pictures from this time of year going back to when he was 10 months and he has huge shiners.  One of the office ladies commented on it while at our NAET treatment yesterday, which we treated for pollen.  By the time we got home the purple and red were gone, and a day later are still gone.  It's really amazing. This summer will be a true test of NAET, and I'm looking forward to it.

Children With More Severe Eczema Less Likely To Outgrow Milk, Egg Allergy

This link takes you to a story published by Medical News Today discussing the findings in a recent egg allergy/eczema study conducted by researchers from Duke, Johns Hopkins, Mount Sinai, National Jewish, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the University of Arkansas on over 500 children.

Children With More Severe Eczema Less Likely To Outgrow Milk, Egg Allergy