Evolving allergies???

[Oskars mum]

Hi all, great site...nice support!

I have a 13 month old boy called Oskar. We found out he was allergic (or intolerant-what is the difference?) when he was 2 months old. I wanted to supplement breastfeeding with the bottle for the last feed of the day (so I could get some sleep and my husband could do some feeding). We gave Oskar some formula at 11pm and at 6 when I went to feed him he was puffy, couldn't open his eyes and covered in a very fine rash. It happened when we tried again a month later.

People told me that it might have been formula specific and to try other things. I tried those petit filous things a few months later. He vomited it up, but no rash or puffiness. I tried a different formula, again vomitting but no rash. Also during breast feeding Oskar would fuss and not feed if I'd had a lot of milk in my diet. His poo was often green and mucousy.

At 8 months I stopped breastfeeding and we went to see a dietitian. Oskar was put on Wysoy and has been fine on it up until 2 weeks ago.
He started vomitting again. We thought it was just a tummy bug, but after 8 days of vomitting (he was happy in himself) we tried omitting the soy formula and he stopped vomitting. We tried it again and he vomitted again!

Is it possible to develop an allergy?

We are giving him rice milk now but I worry about his fat and calcium needs as a 13 mth old. I can't give him any cheese, desserts are limited and the ones I can make with rice milk will be low in fat.

Any ideas?

Thanks++

[rebecca c]

You have been having a difficult time.

I will have a go to answer to some of your points. An allergy is a different kind of immunological response in which the body produces antigens (sould be the wrong word) which try to fight the invading substance most allergies can be tested for. An intolerence is more subtle and works on different levels many of which the doctors still dont understand - it cant be tested for although one member (pink fairy) has been genetically tested for lactose intolerence with a new kind of test.

It is quite common to develop an allergy or intolerence to soya after a period to using it.

I have been speaking to a dietician at Guys because I have the same calcium and fat issues. She suggested I increase rice milk with added calcium. (the increase made me ill too) You could try small amounts of goats or sheeps milk but if he does not react dont give him too much as he is more likely to develop reactions if you do.

If he is taking solids there is also calcium in green leafy veg, white and brown flour, figs (also fish with bones and some nuts but these arent much good for a baby.

I was lactose intolerant as a baby too. But they only kept me off milk for a while and it has caused me problems most of my life.

[Copper]

Hi Oskars mum. I was born with lactose intolerance and I have had a problem on and off throughtout my life. I am now 51 and can only tolerate a very small amount of lactose in my diet.

Rebecca has covered most of the things that I could say. Pam is likely to be of more help as her daughter was on Wysoy but she was ok. I think Pam has said in the past that there is another baby milk that is not dairy and not soya. I think that some doctors are reluctant to prescribe soya based milks like Wysoy as they can lead to the problem that Oskar now appears to have. Hopefully Pam might see this early tomorrow morning.

[Pam]

It seems to be a trend now for doctors to prescribe a hypo-allergenic formula milk to prevent this sort of thing happening, unfortunately I can't remember what any of them are called. It seems that a lot of babies develop an intolerance to soya when it takes over as the main milk.

You need to see the doctor again and probably ask for a referral to see a dietician. You may be prescribed hypo allergenic formula which I am told smells and tastes foul and takes some getting used to. You will probably also be recommended to rotate the types of milk that you use so that you don't set up any more intolerances. You could try oat milk, potato (Vance's Darifree), pea protein (White Sun), nut milks, chuffa milk (Tiger white) etc.

Hopefully the soya intolerance will be a short term one and you may be able to re-introduce it in moderation in the future.

Do push your doctor for help, although you probably won't be offered any testing. Most tests are not particularly reliable for intolerances so go by your experience and instinct. Try to keep a diary of reactions too, it will help your case with the medics.

[pinkfairy]

Yes I agree with Pam about keeping a diary. Take it with you to all your babies appointments. Sometimes you can have an intolerance to other things when you first change your diet. I know when I was first diagnosed I was told to limit my wheat intake as the LI would cause wheat intolerance for a while.

I am going to see the specialist on Feb 1st so I will ask about links with LI to soya intolerance for you.

Jane

[Bet]

One of the hypoallergenic milks is called nutramigan and there is another one called something like prestigamal? - both powered milks. As Pam says they are pretty foul and so theres probably a good chance your son will reject it.

Calcium Sandoz is a calcium supplement which is often prescribed by doctors for children who are not getting enough calcium into their diet - either the doctor or dietician should be able to prescribe this for your son.

My daughter who is nearly 6 now is intolerant of milk and soya so if you need any advise just ask!

[tigerlily]

We have been were you are now!!! Eden was diagnosed at 8 months and now is just over 2. Many doctors won't prescribe WYSOY for the exact reason that an allergic child may then go on to develop a soya intolerance or allergy (been there too). I would ask your GP to prescribe PREGESTAMIL...Eden has tried them all (!!!) and that is the best-tasting one of the lot, believe you me!!! Otherwise you are looking at wallpaper paste taste!!! Be firm with your doctor as many GPs are reluctant to prescribe these expensive formulas. I would also ask to be referred to a dietician.
Rice milk is not adequate for a child under the age of 2 - not as the main milk anyway.

GOOD LUCK!

Vanessa.

[tigerlily]

P.S. Since you mentioned his poos, has he had any gluten-rich/wheat-rich foods yet? Eden has problems with gluten and had a lot of problems with her poos when she still was eating gluten. Worth keeping in mind IF the diarrhea shouldn't clear.

Vanessa.

[Oskars mum]

Hi again
Thanks everyone for all your ideas. I have been seeing a dietitian, they say its rare for a child to develop a reaction to soy if it was previously ok. Going by your messages, I think they are wrong. We have tried Nutramigen which smells like old potato peel and doesn't taste much better. You can guess what Oskar thought of that. I will ask about pregestamil. I have since found out you can get flavoured hydrolysed formulas too which may be more successful. Does anyone know what they are called? Do you think I should try the soy formula again to check if he still has a reaction? Oskar eats gluten products, I thought he was ok with them...
Thanks!!!!

[tigerlily]

Hm, interesting! We were told straight away by Eden's dietitian that a child/toddler with a dairy allergy is at a high risk of developing a soy allergy/intolerance - some within a very short period of time (in Eden's case 10 months). I personally wouldn't chance it with WYSOY.

The hydrolyzed formulas with added flavor can cause a whole new set of problems as they contain other ingredients that are not really that great for allergic babies/toddlers (I read that in Tracy Hogg's THE BABY WHISPERER). I personally wouldn't chance that either.

I used to try to "conceal" the unpleasant taste of the PREGESTAMIL (keeping in mind that it's the BEST OF THE LOT!!!) and mixed it in with cereal/porridge etc. It workded quite well and Eden ended up liking it! Here's to hoping the same will happen to your son!!!

Keep us posted.

Vanessa.

[matt]

not saying whether these are good or bad as i don't know but i think this is what you are looking for:
http://www.meadjohnson.com/professional/products/nutramigenlipil.html

hope that helps but i'd consult dietician and proceed via them.

[Ruth]

our dietician suggested mixing the milk with a bit of strawberry nesquick or crusha syrup. When I questioned the high sugar content, she said that it wasn't an issue with these children/babies because they're usually so underweight anyway!

[rosaC]

My son is lactose intolerant and has been from birth. He also reacts to soya and goat. The only thing that works for him is lactose free cow's milk. He went on Mead Johnson Enfamil Lactofree from about 3 months and that worked.