Multiple allergies = the end of breastfeeding?

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

DD2, 5mo is currently ebf.

Through illumination diets I have cut out dairy, egg, soya and wheat and she seems a little better. I have been free from all four allergens for > a month.

However stool sample analysis for DD shoes an inflammation, which GP says means she is still reacting to something and she needs to have a hypoallergenic formula (Neocate), this was also advised by consultant at the hospital before the still was sent for analysis but I ignored as thought ebf was best and DD is a bugger at taking a bottle when I've tried in the past.

Does the result have to be the end of breastfeeding? Could I each a diet completely free of all known allergens? What would this entail?

Or do I need to stop breastfeeding and move to formula?

I think I already know the answer, and need hand holding really. I'm not ready to stop breastfeeding. DD is not (emotionally) ready to stop breastfeeding.

Where do we go from here?

[ilovepowerhoop]

would mixed feeding be an option so that you still did some breastfeeds?

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

The thing is she is reacting to a food allergen which is coming through in my breastmilk.

[ilovepowerhoop]

I got that, but just though if you cut down the amount of breastfeeds you give then you will lessen the exposure to the allergen but still get to do some breastfeeding

[ilovepowerhoop]

and no, I dont think you could eat a diet free of every allergen as you can potentially be allergic to anything

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

Ideally though they want her to have zero exposure to the allergen to lessen the risk of long term damage.

Just tried giving her a bottle of formula. She doesn't know what to do with it and is desperate for the breast .

[ilovepowerhoop]

does she have other symptoms too?

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

She is a little 'fussy' and gassy and has offensive smelling nappies.

When I was eating the aforementioned allergens she was being sick, congested, screaming in pain and had rashes.

She has these symptoms occasionally now, but not to the extent they presented before.

[eragon]

ask this question of your consultant , rather than the gp

if this is a bowel problem and gut could still be healing rather than it being a new intolerance, a month isn't that long in my opinion. I think 6-8 weeks is more of a standard time frame because gut is in use all the time and cant rest.
Perhaps AllergyUK may be able to help with info here. might be worth a phone call to help line.

if this a ige allergy problem then normal ige testing can be done in from of blood tests or skin prick tests.

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

Thank you eragon I am going to make an appointment with my GP tomorrow and push for an urgent referral to speak to the consultant. Or at least see if the GP can liaise with him.

What you say about the bowel still healing is very interesting, I'll ask my GP tomorrow about it.

I will also push for blood / skin prick tests but have been told before they can only be done if allergy is anaphylactic, which DD isn't.

[lavendersun]

My daughter was allergic to dairy (which became anaphylactic), egg, wheat, peppers and various other things from very early on.

I sort of worked it out myself when she was about six months old and gradually eliminated everything. She had blood tests at 12 months old which confirmed the big ones and skin prick tests a bit later on.

She was ebf until about 10 months (born v perm). It was really hard but we managed (she was neutropenic and I felt it was one of the few things I could do for her at that time). I remember using egg replacer and rice flour a lot, surprisingly I was very slim for about three years until she stopped bf! Interestingly I still don't tolerate dairy very well after cutting it out for so long (was fine before).

I bet you could pay for the blood tests if they won't refer you if that is an option (we were fortunate enough to have private healthcare).

Whatever you do will be absolutely fine, you can only do your best.

I might still have the allergy cook book I used - please pm me if you are interested and I will dig through the garage! I would be happy to post it to you.

Lavender

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

Thank you lavendersun that is very kind of you.

It sounds like you have had a tough journey. How are your DD's allergies now?

I will look into private allergy testing.

It's amazing how much emotion is tied up in breastfeeding.

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

Oops just noticed an embarrassing error in my OP, I meant elimination diet, obviously.

Illumination

[lavendersun]

It was horrid at the time but she is now 8 and about 4ft 8"!

You are right about the emotion thing - she didn't actually get breastfeeding until five months old and I pumped every three hours for five months until she did - when I look back I wonder how I did it. It was so important to me at the time, she was very poorly.

Allergies sort of ruled our life until about seven months ago (dairy is in absolutely everything and you learn not to trust anyone unless you can read the packet when a blue lights trip to hospital is involved) when she went on a clinically managed re-introduction (her IgE levels had dropped enough to allow it) - like the one Cambridge did for peanut allergy.

She was "cured" within four months - we no longer have an epi-pen, been on our first skiing holiday with her, etc., etc.. It is so nice for her, she got to the age where she realised she was not allowed so much.

[lavendersun]

Should have said that egg and wheat were outgrown by aged 3. Dairy was the big one, still have a few obscure ones (easy to avoid vegetables).

Her consultant thought that the dairy reaction was too severe to be outgrown but thanks to the v clever people who do these things the trial worked.

We have to make sure that she eats a certain amount of dairy every other day to avoid regression.

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

Wow that's amazing, I am so glad your DD is cured of the dairy allergy and the majority of the other ones. It sounds like she's thriving now. It must have been tough for her when she became aware of the impact a limited diet had on her life.

And it sounds like you did a fantastic job with all that pumping - I am in awe! You should be very proud.

YY about not trusting anyone and reading packets.
When I was BFing DD1 who had a CMP allergy a chef at a local restaurant told me I was fine to eat the buttered veg as there's no milk in butter .

[ChangeIsNear]

Hi OP,

My DS also has multiple allergies, dairy, wheat, soya and egg. We breastfed until he was 1 and after that just gave coconut milk, which he didn't really have at all, and we had to supplement with calcium tablets.

If your breast milk is harming her tummy essentially, then probably best not to. If it is not harming, even then, I would introduce at least one bottle of hypo formula a day so that your LO gets used to it and can drink that once you stop breastfeeding, whenever that is. Nutritionally the hypo formula is alot better than just say koko milk.

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

ChangeIsNear Thank you for your reply, I hope your DS manages to overcome his allergies, how old is he? And has he had a trial introduction of any of the allergens?

I actually sought a second opinion yesterday from my GP and it was agreed that I should continue breastfeeding, and there is no urgency to introduce formula as long as I am happy eating a limited diet - which I am.

The GP agreed that the cause of the inflammation could be the bowel still healing, but if it is an allergy to something he said that the fact she is not presenting any other symptoms indicates it may not be a severe allergy and having breastmilk and being exposed to an allergen is still better than having formula.

[greenbananas]

Silence, I'm glad you have had good advice from your GP this time. It sounds like breastfeeding is totally possible for you, and will be the best thing for your baby.

I breastfed DS1 for ages (think years rather than months!), despite his mulitiple food allergies. It isn't easy living on a restricted diet, but I was (and am) more than willing to do it. In any case, it truned out to be very good practice for cooking and meal-planning when DS got bigger and started to eat the family food.

DS is now 5, nearly 6 year old and has grown out of some of his allergies. He is having baked egg and milk carefully reintroduced under care of specialist - I never thought we would get to this stage, but we have! He is still allergic to a lot of things, but life is getting much easier now.

I recommend keeping a food diary of what you eat, so that if your baby does react you will have some clue about what might have caused this.

Also, you really do need to see a good specialist. If you call the Anaphylaxis Campaign, they can direct you to a website with a list of good paediatric allergists who have proper clinics and good resources. You can then ask your GP to refer you.

(Until recently, we saw a local paediatrician who has an interest in allergies. She was lovely, and I have no complaintts about her at all, but she was not able to provide the same level of care as a big clinic. Her last letter said something like "It seems your DS is not growing out of any of his allergies at the moment, so I will see him again when he is six". For the last 8 months, we have been travelling sixty miles to the nearest clinic on the Anaphylaxis Campaign list, and in that time DS has had more blood and skin prick tests, passed a peanut challenge, and started introducing baked egg and milk. Wahey!)

Hope all goes well with your little one, and I am so pleased for you that you are able to carry on breastfeeding. Breastmilk is 70 calories a tablespoon, is a complete and balanced food designed for human babies, and is stuffed full of antibodies and other goodies that can't be replicated in formula. When DS1 was tiny, and I worried so much about not being able to feed him a balanced diet, it was extremely comforting to know that he was getting so much nutrition from breastmilk, and that I could carry on for as long as we needed to.

[greenbananas]

Oh, and not being able to have blood and skin prick tests unless your baby has shown signs of an anaphylactic reaction - that is complete rubbish!

Your baby has shown clear signs of allergy. It would be silly, and not at all child-centred, maybe even dangerous to wait for an anaphylactic reaction.

If you see a different GP, you will hopefully be given more accurate information, and get the referral that you need.

[ItWasMyOwnSilence]

Thank you green for such a thoughtful and helpful answer.

Hopefully within the next month or so we'll be see again at the hospital. If I don't feel we are getting an appropriate level of care I'll pubs for a referral elsewhere.

That's interesting about the pinprick tests - thank you!

I am so glad your DS has grown out of most of his allergies -stories like yours give me hope. And YY to my diet being 'practise' for what DD2 may potentially have to go through.

I will have a look at the anaphylaxis campaign - thank you.