Good news and bad news
The Good: I got a call back from the nurse within about 5 minutes. And normally I do, they are very quick with returning calls. I didn't feel it was an emergency since there was hardly any blood. I was just freaking out in a "what can this be" way. She had me come in, she didn't even try to diagnose over the phone so I was thankful. I saw a new doctor and she said that he's way to healthy for it to be anything other than a dairy allergy (or some food allergy but we're starting with dairy). Yes that's the good news, it's manageable and most likely nothing long-term.
The Bad: It's probably a dairy allergy. So really it's just bad news for me for now because this means no ice cream. She said to go hardcore for a few weeks, let it all clear out and then I can TRY to introduce soy to see if he can handle that. I guess the optimist in me (haha, me? Optimist?) looks as this as a good thing, I will definitely lose weight. No pizza, no ice cream, no decaf white chocolate mochas...although I can easily make up for the missing fat in hamburgers and french fries. She said any blood today could be from something I ate a few days ago. She looked at his hiney hole for any fissures and didn't see any. She even commended us on how clean and healthy we're keeping his bum and hole, said his skin was perfect. Oh she banned me from shoving a thermometer up his ass. She wasn't sure why I was doing that if he was pooping so regularly and that could have contributed to the blood. I thought he seemed like he was pushing in pain but she said that would probably be cramping from the food allergy. Makes sense since he really doesn't seem to have a problem pooping.
We went over what I ate yesterday and I didn't do as well as I thought. The PB&J I was planning on living off of isn't a good idea. She thinks I should stay away from peanuts for now to be safe(no Pad Thai either!) and the low-fat baked chicken patties I had can also be a source of hidden dairy. Strike 2. I checked the label but guess that's why it's "hidden." Also she recommended I try to avoid gas causing vegetables like broccoli, onion and cucumbers, both of which were in my salad yesterday. Strike 3! So today I'm considering my first real day of being dairy free. I think I did OK today! She thinks if anything it's a mild case since he doesn't have any excema or hives and he's gaining weight "like a champ" (he weighed 13lb 10.5oz) so he's digesting a lot of it. Which looking back last week, it looked like there was a rash on his trunk and arms and his skin was rough feeling there as well. I pointed it out to B since it was like that for a week. That day we had the bloody stool which is when I greatly cut back on dairy and his skin has cleared up. Hind site is always 20/20, I didn't put those 2 together until now.
I liked the doctor we saw today and I do like his doctor. I think I made them sound bad but they aren't really. Not saying they are the best but I feel comfortable with them. And the nurse is really nice and I will always get the doctors opinion anyway regardless of what she tells me. It was funny, when the doctor looked at his chart she said "Oh he's young! When I came in I thought he was 3 or 4 months old." Which reminds me that a lady said her son was really big for his age too like J and people always thought he was behind since when he was 2 months old people thought he was 6 months so they'd think "man why can't that 6 month old hold his head up yet." I never thought of that happening so hopefully we don't enounter any of that.
So back on track...I feel much better about things. Well it still sucks big time but I'm not so freaked out. My mom is lactose intolerant and my niece had to go on soy formula when she was a baby. Not necessarily a correlation but this doesn't sound like a complete irrational idea. But yea, still sucks.
The Bad: It's probably a dairy allergy. So really it's just bad news for me for now because this means no ice cream. She said to go hardcore for a few weeks, let it all clear out and then I can TRY to introduce soy to see if he can handle that. I guess the optimist in me (haha, me? Optimist?) looks as this as a good thing, I will definitely lose weight. No pizza, no ice cream, no decaf white chocolate mochas...although I can easily make up for the missing fat in hamburgers and french fries. She said any blood today could be from something I ate a few days ago. She looked at his hiney hole for any fissures and didn't see any. She even commended us on how clean and healthy we're keeping his bum and hole, said his skin was perfect. Oh she banned me from shoving a thermometer up his ass. She wasn't sure why I was doing that if he was pooping so regularly and that could have contributed to the blood. I thought he seemed like he was pushing in pain but she said that would probably be cramping from the food allergy. Makes sense since he really doesn't seem to have a problem pooping.
We went over what I ate yesterday and I didn't do as well as I thought. The PB&J I was planning on living off of isn't a good idea. She thinks I should stay away from peanuts for now to be safe(no Pad Thai either!) and the low-fat baked chicken patties I had can also be a source of hidden dairy. Strike 2. I checked the label but guess that's why it's "hidden." Also she recommended I try to avoid gas causing vegetables like broccoli, onion and cucumbers, both of which were in my salad yesterday. Strike 3! So today I'm considering my first real day of being dairy free. I think I did OK today! She thinks if anything it's a mild case since he doesn't have any excema or hives and he's gaining weight "like a champ" (he weighed 13lb 10.5oz) so he's digesting a lot of it. Which looking back last week, it looked like there was a rash on his trunk and arms and his skin was rough feeling there as well. I pointed it out to B since it was like that for a week. That day we had the bloody stool which is when I greatly cut back on dairy and his skin has cleared up. Hind site is always 20/20, I didn't put those 2 together until now.
I liked the doctor we saw today and I do like his doctor. I think I made them sound bad but they aren't really. Not saying they are the best but I feel comfortable with them. And the nurse is really nice and I will always get the doctors opinion anyway regardless of what she tells me. It was funny, when the doctor looked at his chart she said "Oh he's young! When I came in I thought he was 3 or 4 months old." Which reminds me that a lady said her son was really big for his age too like J and people always thought he was behind since when he was 2 months old people thought he was 6 months so they'd think "man why can't that 6 month old hold his head up yet." I never thought of that happening so hopefully we don't enounter any of that.
So back on track...I feel much better about things. Well it still sucks big time but I'm not so freaked out. My mom is lactose intolerant and my niece had to go on soy formula when she was a baby. Not necessarily a correlation but this doesn't sound like a complete irrational idea. But yea, still sucks.
posted by Mama C-ta at
6:15 PM
4 Comments:
my son had a spreading rash at about age 2 months i think, that started at the top of his body and spread down like a wave. no blood in stool. the dr. suggested to me to try quitting dairy. i didn't quit dairy, it was too hard (i wish i had!), and the rash went away after a while by itself.
then, the months of diarrhea happened from month 4 to six. no cause found. probably was the dairy, in hindsight. then at 6 months formula made him throw up.
and now at age 3, he may outgrow milk allergy by 5 or, never.
so, i think your chances are better of him outgrowing it if you quit dairy sooner rather than later. I so wish I had. but it is pain.
Dr. Wood, my son's original allergist who is now head of Hopkins allergy, told me allergy is inherited (who has any allergies in your family?) but not the specific way it expresses itself (for someone else in the family, it might be trees or cats).
Well, It does suck you have to cut out dairy but at least it'll be temporary:0) We'll find some great dairy free stuff to munch on for lunch when I get back from Oregon. Gianna was 14lbs at 2 months. J's right up there with her. I love it. She'll make him proud one day:0) Until next time.:0)
no ice cream?! aahhh!! the things we do for those babies :) glad that's all it seems to be, though.
I am so glad your feeling better. I tell you one thing. No matter WHAT if your worried and think something is wrong call his doctor. I remember feeling like I was dumb or they would think I was crazy when I called for small things but then I just decided to hell with it. That is what they get paid for! :)
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