My DD's are both allergic to cow milk protein, DD2 is reactive to soy, and DD1 oats. Both had issues with bananas and anything high in salcilytes. I put them on an elimination diet and we found alot of what they reacted through. We also saw an allergist whilst doing all of this. I followed the Fail Safe diet at first to rule out preservative reactions. I remember the first few weeks spending hours in the shops reading labels. It was very daunting.
We have not had dairy, cheese, anything in over 3 years now. We eat heaps of broccoli, spinach, sesame seeds (extremely high in calcium but also a high allergen food), and use multivitamens to help with calcium intake. Magnesium is very important when ruling out dairy, as it is what the body uses to absorb calcium and no matter what the foods calcium value is, without magnesium its not worth it.
My DD's both had reflux symptoms as well, my DD2 was 9 weeks old when I saw a Lactation Consultant who helped with going on an elimination diet and stopping dairy in my diet in order to breastfeed her. When she was 6 months and starting solids, we became very serious about the elimination diets and seeing an allergist. I suggest going through an allergist or dietician as MantaRay said. Its a hard journey, but much worth it!
It's odd though. I don't think it's cow's milk protien allergy because she was fine on her formula. the "reflux" symptoms settled at 5 months old or so and only seem to appear when she's teething. Maybe she was actually allergic to something in my milk that i ate for the 4 month period I breastfed. I have eliminated ALL preservatives and her behaviour improved. She seemed to have an incredibly distressing "come down" as whatever was in her system wore off. Was really heartbreaking to see and as a result i eliminated every number in her diet. She has only had one since and that was after eating a cracker a child gave her at a birthday party. I didn't even realise it wasn't one of the ones I brought with us until she was onto the last bite.
Also baffling is the fact that when she's on the lactose free milk her digestive system appear normal. No runny poo and no farty pants. it's only when i give her normal milk, cheese or yoghurt. unless it's something else removed in the lactose removal process?
Unfortunately I only know of one dietician within town and it's through the local hospital. none others are listed in directory. they might have an "allergist" I can be referred to within the hospital somewhere along the line though so fingers crossed.
I really appreciate everyone's input. the whole situation is quite baffling and new to me so any advice is appreciated!
There is a thing called secondary lactose intolerance, where as a result of some kind of "insult" (usually a bout of gastro or a large amount of a protein that you are sensitive to) the bowel lining is damaged and becomes much more sensitive to gas production. It should get better when the "insult" is fixed though.
Is the lactose free milk UHT? It may be that the UHT treatment (which is a more aggressive heat treatment than normal pasteurizing) alters the milk proteins in such a way as to make them less allergy-inducing for C. Try a tiny bit of UHT normal milk and see what happens!
You could also just give her lactose and see what happens - if you can get hold of the dummy pills from a pack of OCPs and crush a couple and see if they provoke a reaction.....They contain a few milligrams of lactose each - about the amount in a ml of milk.
KMN, funny you should mention gastro and a sensitivity afterwards. If I remember rightly DD had a bit of a tummy bug just prior to me noticing her reaction to milk.......... Might try a small quantity of uht milk and see if a reaction. The lactose free milk is UHT. now you've got me thinking. She definately had a reaction to something in my breast milk while breast feeding though and would vomit FOUNTAINS after a feed. It smelt rancid and burnt my skin where it contacted. felt like acid and left red blotches where it landed. I think I should see the dietician anyway though because I feel like I'm going in blind regarding her diet. been balancing it but I feel DD could eat more of certain things maybe. Probably the best time now to teach her to eat properly.
Does C cope with cooked milk - like lasagne sauce or that sort of thing? If she does then I think that you may have at least part of the answer - and then she can have dairy if it has been cooked (either as UHT or by you), which gives you a few more options.
Teaching her to eat well now is an excellent plan - just be prepared for her to sabotage that plan for a while in a few months time. My DS went from an eat-most-things 12 month old to the-only-vege-i-will-eat-is-peas 18 month old and is now slowly returning to a more orthodox diet!
hmmmm, last thing i made was chocolate custard (was DESPERATE for her to eat with teething). I think she handled it okay. I might have to try it again, well with a healthier option. Oh yeah and i discovered she hates sweets lol! Won't even eat pear because it's too sweet.
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