Our Story with Food Allergies and Intolerances

5 weeks after my oldest son was born, I was wearing my regular jeans. I was a little confused to be honest. I’d read “in those books” that I should give myself up to 9 months to get back to my pre-pregnancy rate.

So why was I back in my favorite jeans so quickly?

Ryan was a screamer. From day 1. I read book after book, scoured mom forums, asked questions, sought out advice from others who’d been in my shoes. But I still fell short of understanding why he cried so much.

Was it colic?

Not at 6 months old.

Was it gas?

Not after trying Mylicon drops, one bottle a week, for a few weeks.

Was it diet?

Didn’t seem to be…after removing dairy from my diet, he still screamed. And screamed.

There was but one thing that helped. To carry him in the front carrier and walk. And walk. And walk.

I walked up and down the hallway in our little apartment in the Dominican Republic to keep him from screaming. From day 2. (Because I was too exhausted on day 1 to do anything but just hold him.)

See why I was back into my regular clothes so quickly.

Fast forward a year and a half. We’d moved back to the US and I’d made our first pediatrician appointment and walked in with a laundry list of questions and concerns. Within days of that appointment, Ryan was being evaluated for a number of things. Including food allergies.

First test came up inconclusive. So I continued on my quest of figuring it out myself with elimination diets, stool charting, etc. Just when I thought I’d figured it out, something would change.

Fast forward another year…we find ourselves at the GI doctor. I thought that seemed a little much, but I guess it made sense since I couldn’t figure it out myself with the elimination diets. She ordered a scope/endoscopy. Again, I thought that was a little much, but I consented.

The scope showed that Ryan had eosinophilic esophagitis. The fancy diagnosis for “you’re eating all the wrong foods, so your esophagus is inflamed and swollen, and it hurts to eat anything.”

See why he was screaming. From day 1.

His hyper-sensitivity to foods started at birth. And see why he was only calm when he was being carried upright (his little tummy wasn’t refluxing.)

*sigh*

We found ourselves again in the allergist’s office the next week, this time for a different kind of testing…they decided he need to have the “patch testing” done to test for “delayed reactions” since the original skin test and blood tests didn’t show anything. His patch test showed allergies to dairy, rye (but not wheat?), ham, lamb, turkey, fish, potatoes, and pears.

Armed with this new knowledge of food allergies and intolerances, I easily figured my middle son also had some food sensitivities. And have been able to deduce my youngest son’s allergies and intolerances as well.

Tyler (now 2) also had some weight gain issues as an infant (not gaining 1 lb from age 4 months to 9 months)…we ended up seeing the feeding team, allergy team, OT feeding specialists with weekly weight checks and more. We’ve narrowed his list of allergies and we’re thrilled to have figured it out so quickly. He is now thriving on a diet free of the foods that his body disagrees with.

Our current list of foods we avoid…

Ryan  – Dairy, Soy, Potatoes, Rye, Turkey, Lamb, Ham, Fish and Pears

Charlie – Oats intolerance

Tyler  – Dairy, Soy and Almonds

Myself – Soy (causes adult acne) and mild lactose intolerance

We’d love to hear your story…to grieve with you and celebrate with you!

Erin