Life With Patrick....and his allergies, too.

Patrick's Food List!

2009-07-18T09:35:00.005-05:00

I recently typed this up for some family and friends, and thought I'd share it. God has answered so many of our prayers. You can see Patrick's diet has improved by leaps and bounds! Thank You God!

Patrick is allergic to Eggs and Milk. At this point we do not feed him things with wheat or gluten in them.

When buying foods that are ok for him to eat, it's important to check the labels, even if you don't think it has the "bad foods" in it. Also, we don't feed him foods that have been processed in the same facilities as eggs and milk.

We buy his foods at various places, including Herb Mart, Kroger, Whole Foods and Walmart.

(in no order....sorry!)
Cherries
Snap Peas
Bananas
Rice
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Broccoli
Kiwi
Peaches
Raspberry Sorbet
Cranberry/Blueberry Sorbet
Chick Fil A Waffle Fries
Carl's Natural Cut French Fries
Chick Fil A Fruit cups
Kelloggs John Deer Fruit Favored Fruit Snacks
Welch's Mixed Fruit Fruit Snacks
Kellogg's Fruit Snacks various flavors (cherry, strawberry, mixed berry)
Fruit Leather, pretty much any flavor
"The good life" berry snack bars
"The good life" Chocolate chips
Rice cakes
Apple/Cinnamon little rice cake snacks
Corn flakes cereal
Rice chex cereal
Corn Chex cereal
Various hot cereals
Ginger ale
Sprite
Caffeine free root beer
Grape soda
Orange soda
Blue Sky natural soda Root Beer
Blue Sky natural soda Lemon Lime
Grape juice
Blueberry Juice
Pear Juice
Cranberry Juice
Cranberry-Grape Juice
Goat's Milk
Goat's milk cheese
Goat's milk yogurt (plain, blueberry or strawberry)
Blue or Yellow corn chips
Corn Taco Shells
Potato
Sweet Potato
Peas
Corn
Asparagus
Green beans
Yellow squash
Carrots
Lettuce
Celery
Blackberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Pear
Plum
Apple
Strawberry
Orange (?)
Avocado (?)
Gluten/Wheat/Dairy/Egg free Waffles
Gluten/Wheat?Dairy? Egg free pretzels (Glutino brand, I believe)
Maple Syrup
Honey
Salt Pepper
Cinnamon
Apple sauce
Dum Dum suckers
Smarties
Marshmallows
Peanuts
Peanut butter
Jelly's that are like his fruits he eats (It's okay if they say "Natural flavorings" or might have pineapple in them, even though he doesn't eat pineapple right now)
Cranberries/Craisins
Raisins
Grapes
Cashews
Almonds
O.R Natural Simply Salted popcorn (no butter)
Red Jello
White Rice Bread
Wheat/Gluten Dairy Egg free Spaghetti noodles
Tomato sauce
Creamed corn from a can
Evaporated Goat's milk
Jelly Beans
Mangos
Papaya
Pork
Beef
Turkey
Chicken
Cod
Food combined meals:PB&J
Grilled Cheese (cooked in oil)
Spaghetti
Hudock Soup
Tacos (no seasoning on beef)

One Year Later

2009-04-04T08:41:00.003-06:00

Since my last post a little brother has been added to our family! Patrick is loving having Nicolas here! We have been watching N's skin with interest, to see if there will be any similarities. So far he has very dry and sensitive skin. No terrible troubles with eczema. We thought so at first, when he had very bad newborn rash and acne, but it has cleared up for the most part. I have found though ,that both boys seem to have very bad seasonal allergies. Their eyes water, noses run (and N gets very congested) and their skin gets red.

In other news, things are going well! We have re-introduced many foods that were taken out last year. Patrick has had some bouts with eczema, but James reminded me that he had bouts while on the elimination diet as well. Also, James feels very strongly that a little eczema is worth a healthy balanced diet. Also, it seems that at this time last year, Patrick was having LOTS of trouble with seasonal allergies (I didn't fully understand that that was what was bothering him then, but I see it now....) as well as having hive breakouts occasionally. Well, this time this year, seasonal things are still bothering him, heat bothers his eczema, BUT The good news is that he doesn't have very many hive breakouts, and when he does, we often can say "That's because we kissed him after eating something with egg in it" (still happens - just happened yesterday, although they were not huge nasty hives, just little things with red around them) or "that's because he scratched his skin a lot" (makes him get a rash sometimes, including hive-ish looking things. So that is encouraging! Patrick is also doing amazingly well handling the urge to scratch his itchy skin. James has taught him to "pat" it instead of itch, and P remembers and does that all the time. Also, we've found other ways to deal with it. Sometimes we use a very mild cortisone, sometimes we have a bath, sometimes we wash the affected areas with cool water and sit by a fan. Patrick also enjoys using little frozen "boo boo bunny" things to help with his ouchies.

We are on about a 5 1/2 day rotation now! Praise the Lord! Such a difference from the beginning!
Here's the foods he can eat now!:

Turkey
Turkey Bacon
Cod
Beef
Chicken
Pork

Grapes
Kiwi
Blueberries
Bananas
Papaya
Mango
Cherries
Cranberries
Raisins
Plum
Pear
Orange
Peaches
Raspberries
Blackberries
Watermelon
Cantaloupe

Celery
Lettuce
Corn
Green Beans
Broccoli
Squash
Carrots
Snap Peas

Sweet Potato
White Potato
Brown Rice

Peanuts
Cashews
Almonds
Unbuttered Popcorn
Wheat/Gluten Free Pretzels

Blue/Yellow Corn chips
Corn Tortillas
Corn based Taco shells
White Rice Bread
Almond Butter
Grape Jam
Brown Rice Cakes

Dum Dum Suckers
Smarties Candies
Sprite
Root Beer
Grape Soda
Ginger Ale
Marshmallows
Raspberry Sorbet

Goat Cheese
Goat Yogurt (Plain)
Goat's Milk
Rice Milk

Several different Hot cereals
Perky O's (wheat etc. free cheerios)
Nutty Rice cereal
Toasted Rice Cereal
Corn Flakes

Honey
Salt
Pepper

Any Juice of fruits he eats

Update

2009-01-03T15:47:00.002-06:00

Obviously I've stopped doing the weekly ones/food journal :) I feel it's probably "ideal" to do them, but it's a lot to do, and adds stress. So, unless the need arises again, I'll just give occasional updates.

A lot of good things have been going on, and we have "high hopes" for the future!

First off, his eczema has been doing so much better. I've been using Eucerin on his arms and legs and occasionally other spots as needed, and it has kept his skin so smooth and nice! I'm thinking the eczema was majorly irritated by his skin getting dry. I'm very happy about this blessing from the Lord.

We also added back in Chicken, without any noticeable flare ups of eczema or hives. Today we re-introduced beef for the first time since it was taken out of his diet. so far so good.

He is doing fine with the Nutty Rice cereal, Mango's, Blue chips and Watermelon, too.

New Foods include: Popcorn (simply salted by Orval redenbacher) Pears, Cherries, Papaya, Organic brown rice cakes and Cashews.

He has had so few hive breakouts in the last two or so months, it's very encouraging. He does seem to get red/little spots from time to time, especially around his eyes. I have now decided it's seasonal a lot of the time.

He now has a four day rotation plan. We hope to find a new allergy doctor soon, and have him re tested for egg, milk and then tested for gluten. We also feel that we need to start looking into introducing him to some carefully pre-studied "town" food (for going out to eat) and also becoming braver about allowing other people to prepare his food.

That's about it for now! We still covet your prayers as we go down this road. Happy New Year!

Food Journal - Week 30

2008-10-30T15:31:00.002-06:00

Eczema has improved this week.

So far I've tried his new cereal once again, chips again and also Mango today. So far so good on everything. He also had another sucker on sat after our bank trip.

He is sick with a runny nose etc. He had strange spots in his mouth, some pimple type things on his face, then on the tops of his feet. I took him to the doctor to see if he had strep, which he didn't. Just allergies or a bug. James isn't feeling well either.

Food Journal - week 29

2008-10-30T15:26:00.004-06:00

His normal three day rotation continues. I have not edited it yet. t

his week was very rough with eczema....at least I guess it was that - I wondered if it was a reaction to the chips or watermelon or pear juice. I plan to try all again, and see if the same thing happens.

Patrick was in a lot of pain one day after I had tried various creams on his eczema. I used some cortisone once or twice. I tried using Eucerin. It seems to do ok on his arms or legs, but not other places. I also tried Auqaphor. It doesn't seem to bother him, which isn't too much of a surprise, since we used that on him all the time when he was younger.

Once this week I tried a new boxed cereal on him. I didn't see anything bad come from it.

He still isn't taking his supplements. His stomach problems have improved. not sure if it's due to that (two of his supplements have xylitol in them, which bothers James' stomach) however, then we had the eczema break out - however, the weather changed this week too, so it could be winter allergies or the cold weather.....)

Food Journal - week 28

2008-10-14T11:03:00.003-05:00

Monday, October 13th, 2008
Perky O's, rice cereal, Raisins. Supplements. Grape Juice

Raisins for snack.

Pork burgers, Peaches, Rice. supplement.

Raisins. Peaches.

Pork burgers, broccoli, corn. No supplements.

Tuesday
Hot cereal, rice milk, Pear juice, supplements. bananas. One blue corn chip. (new food)

Cod, kiwi, blueberries. more blue corn chips.

Banana/blueberry "ice cream"

Cod, lettuce, carrots.

Rest of week: We continued to add in chips. His eczema is acting up, and his eyes seem to be bothered by seasonal allergies as well, so it's been a little hard to figure out what is what. Also we had another medical scare, but all seems well with that now. As a result, we are taking a break from the supplements for a bit, to see if that changes anything.
Neck rash came again, a little worse than before, but went away w/o any cortisone or benadryl.

also, on the weekend we just decided to go ahead and let him try something else new - and not so healthy :) He had his first sucker! Tangerine flavored. He looked so cute eating one, just like any other kid! All three of us went into Kroger's sucking on our suckers :) He seemed to do ok with it.
AND we visited Mimi's house again, after not being there for 14 months. Last time we visited, he had some trouble, due to the cats probably. well, Mimi has been working for months, making her cats move outside and getting rid of cat hairs - and she did a great job! What a sacrifice. We visited for several hours, and Patrick did great! It was emotional for me, because both times we've been there in the last year (once to mimi's, once to J&R's, he had a problem of one kind or another) but James was so supportive, and God's grace is enough! Praise the Lord!

Food Journal - Week 27

2008-10-09T10:48:00.001-05:00

Week 27 went well.

We are still trying out watermelon some this week, and added some pear juice and another supplement (his new enzyme - which he doesn't seem to be allergic to-yay!!)

We also started back up all his old supplements. So now (hopefully) every day he gets:

Morning: acidophilus, vit. C (BioFizz), glutaloemine, and half/whole enzyme

Lunch: Half/whole enzyme

Evening: vit. C (BioFizz) glutaloemine.

His exzema acted up again. He got some strange "splotches" sometimes looking like scratches, on his arm. I ended up doing cortisone one time, which helped clear it up some.

The three day rotation continues, sometims w/ some variations depending on circumstances.

It looks like this:

Day one:
buckwheat cereal, rice milk, raisins.

Pork burgers, Rice, Peaches.

Pork, Broccoli, Corn.

Snacks consist of raisins or peaches, usually.

Day two:
Hot cereal (corn, sorghum etc.) Rice milk, banana. Or Banana "ice cream"

Cod, Kiwi, Blueberries (or banana/blueberry ice cream)

Cod, lettuce, carrots and/or snap peas.

Snacks consist of bananas or another one of his fruits.

Day three:
Rice cereal, rice milk, almonds. or Smoothie w/ rice milk/raspberries/bananas

Celery/Almond butter, Cantaloupe, Grapes, Almonds.

Sweet potato, Rice, Green beans.

Snacks consist of almonds or one of his fruits.

Extra foods that need fitted in, or add a fourth day:
Grape Juice
Pear Juice
Watermelon (still not 100% sure about this one yet, but i figure i'll add it in and see how he does each time with it)
Perky O's (still not 100% sure about his one either, but the same as watermelon I guess)
As far as breakouts, we are seeing a lot less/or a lot less worse when it does happen. It really seems to mostly happen now when he comes in contact with something w/ egg in it. Also, he gets various little "neck rashes" from time to time, but they usually clear up on there own, and aren't severe. Praise the Lord!

Food Journal - Week 26

2008-09-29T18:16:00.003-05:00

I didn't get last week recorded, but Patrick is continuing on his three day rotation food plan. Some days we have allowed him to eat something not on the menu, though.
Having a "schedule" is going well. It's nice to always know what he is supposed to eat, instead of guessing.

Last week we introduced grape juice, and it went well. We also tried some different kinds of cheerios, called Perky O's. They have different ingredients, obviously. We are continuing trying them this week, and plan to try watermelon and possibly a new supplement as well.

His rashes are doing better. I ran out of Melaluca detergent for awhile, and it was around then that he got a lot of exzema. I now have more M detergent, and his skin is doing better. Not sure if that is the reason why, but I think it does help. His neck still gets some red rashes occasionally, but nothing severe.

Seasonal allergies or a bug is going around, as well as him getting a molar - which I'm hoping is the reason for his recent night wakings.

Food Journal - Week 24

2008-09-17T10:01:00.004-05:00

Monday, September 15th, 2008
B - Banana, Rice milk, Raspberry smoothie (w/ supplements) Raisins. Rice cereal.

S - almonds.

L - Almond butter, celery, Green beans, Cantaloupe.

S - almonds.

D - Rice, Sweet potato, grapes. Supplements.

Notes: woke up crying in the night. Not sure why. Some coughing. gave him z - cough and clariten. (about 1:20 am)

Tuesday
B - Buckwheat cereal, raisins. Rice milk. Supplements.

S - Raisins.

L - pork, peaches.

S - raisins.

D - pork, Broccoli, corn.

Notes: house was sprayed for bugs today. We left for a lot of the day, and didn't notice any reactions when we got home. He did get some bites on his leg/foot from something, probably an ant. It looks kind of bad, but hopefully it will not get infected like last time. We were nervous about spraying the house, yet the ants were really bad, inside and out, as well as other bugs.

Wednesday
woke up crying this morning. not sure why. early this morning he was due for another dose of clariten, but we didn't give it to him. gonna try to stop giving that to him now, unless his cough or something gets worse. so today is the first day in abou a week to be able to really tell how he is reacting to food - unless of course seasonal allergies come in to play. They are really bad right now.

B - Hot corn cereal, Rice milk, banana. Almonds (he seemed hungry still, so I gave him some, even though it's not an "almond day"

S - almond.

Notes: His skin is dry. I have been putting lots of stuff on his crotch area, but I am going to try putting nothing on it, in hopes it will help it. I'm also going to look into some fragrence free lotion to maybe help w/ the dryness.

I'm feeling worried and frustrated about his speech. He is talking lots, but he has also started just using "inflections" of his voice, in the way we do for saying things like "come sit over here." perfect voice inflection, but no words. He also gets so high strung about things, I worry sometimes he may have autisim. Also, it seems often he says something, and I don't know what he means, which is frustrating for us all. Tomorrow someone is coming out from ECI to evaluate him. I'm nervous about what they will tell me, and also anxious to know what they think. Please pray it goes well, and that they can help him.

Also, James and I are going to have a talk about his diet, hopefully tomorrow - and his animal allergies. Pray that goes well. There are some issues we need wisdom about.

Thoughts

2008-09-09T10:55:00.002-05:00

I feel like I am understanding Patrick's allergies a bit more. I used to think every time he got a rash, he had eaten something that bothered him. Well, now I understand how sensitive his skin is, and how allergic he is to eggs.

And also seasonal allergies seem to bother him a lot.I believe some of his rashes (if not a lot) are related to things like that....someone eats a sandwich with mayo on it and touches him - then he breaks out from the egg......seasonal allergies are bad, so he breaks out, or has itchy eyes etc. etc.

Also, he gets nasty heat rashes, so those have confused me in the past, too. I'm embarrassed to say that even mosquito bites have confused me before, I think!

His diet is still limited, although it has and is growing. It hurts my heart though to see him not able to partake of things. So many things. When we go out to eat and he eats his packed lunch - when we sit at the dining room table eating something different than him.....He will sometimes look at what we are eating and say "Ow" meaning that, if he ate it, he would get an owie.

I hope I'm not being too hyper. in some ways I am the more hyper of us two. James would probably try more things, except that he doesn't want to stress me out.I am afraid to try more things. Also, Patrick is very sensitive, and if he ate more than one new thing in a day and broke out, it would be hard to determine what did it.

Also, I get scared about him having a bad reaction. With his most severe, he didn't reach the point of having breathing difficulties before they treated him, (he may never have reached that point either) but it was so traumatic for him and for us, just as it was. Watching the hives pop out all over his forehead, then seeing him so sick and so very red......It has left an impression on me. But I must be careful not to be ruled by fear.

Food Journal - Week 23

2008-09-09T10:45:00.004-05:00

Monday September 8th, 2008
B - smoothie w/ rice milk, bananas, raspberries. Supplements. Raisins.

L - Pork, Rapberries, Grapes, Banana, Little bit of Cantaloupe.

D - Banana, Almond Butter, Celery, Carrots.

Notes: His cough is really bad, so he is on Z-cough and Clariten.

Tuesday
B - Buckwheat cereal, Rice Milk. Raisins. Supplements.

L - Banana/Blueberry "ice cream" and lettuce. (new food for week)

D - Pork, Broccoli, Green Beans. Almonds.

Rashes: Red rash on neck is worse again. It hasn't required any medicine though, yet.

Wednesday
B - Buckwheat cereal, Rice Milk, Raisins. Supplements.

S - Raisins.

L - Pork, Broccoli, Corn. Lettuce.

S - Raisins.

D - Pork, Rice, Peaches. Supplements.

Thursday
B - Corn "hot cereal" Rice Milk. Bananas. Supplements.

S - bananas

L - Cod, carrots, lettuce

S- banana

D Cod, blueberry/banana ice cream, kiwi. supplements.

Friday
B - Rice Cereal (new food) Rice milk, Almonds. Supplements.

S - almonds

L - Almond butter, celery, green beans, cantaloupe

S - almonds

D - Rice, Sweet Potato, Grapes. Supplements.

Saturday
B - Buckwheat cereal, Raisins, rice milk.

S- raisins.

L - pork, broccoli, corn.

S - raisins.

D - pork, rice, peaches

Sunday
Banana/blueberry ice cream, banana.

L - banana, Cod, blueberries, kiwi

S - banana.

D - Cod, Carrots, Lettuce. Supplements

NOTES: This week Patrick has been on Clariten, so I wasn't really able to tell how he reacted to new foods - at least nothing small that is. I guess if he would have reacted badly, I would have been able to tell, even w/ the clariten.

Also, his skin has been having a lot of trouble this week. His crotch area is red again and itchy, and his arms (where they fold inside at the elbow) and legs (under side where they bend)
It looks like eczema. His neck has been blotchy/spotty and itchy some, too, as well as a few little things that have come and gone on his face.

Also, this week, about mid week I started a three day rotation plan. I think I'm supposed to put all like foods on the same day, so I made mostly snack oriented "days" - like raisin day, banana day and almond day. Rice is something he gets every day, via the milk at least. Also, he gets different food (minus the rice) each day, and doesn't get it again until that day comes again on the rotation schedule. This helps me a lot, as I used to not always remember what he ate before, what he should eat today - and I wouldn't always think of it ahead of time, thus not have enough time to cook it - so I'd go with whatever was easy. He has done pretty well w/ the schedule, although sometims he misses eating whatever he wants.

Another thing. on one of the days he eats zero meat. I have noticed two different times that he melts down easily the following day, before he has lunch (and meat) which makes me think he really needs some meat, at least for breakfast the day following his "no meat day". Or perhaps I could find some more filling stuff to give him on his no meat day.

Food Journal - week 22

2008-09-05T09:22:00.003-05:00

All the same foods as he usually eats, rotated around throughout the week.

New foods: (started last week some) Snap Peas and "mighty tasty hot cereal" w/corn and sorghum and buckwheat.

He seems to do alright with the new foods. I've wondered some about the new cereal, as one day (the next day after tryin the cereal) he got some hives, but they were light, and cleared up pretty easily. later that day while playing w/ no shirt on, the affected area got read and bothered looking, but again cleared up easily.

Old food problem: a few weeks ago after eating lentils, he got some small/light hives. they cleared up on their own in a little bit. Wednesday evening he had lentils again, and got similar looking rash while eating them. I guess that means he can't handle them very well. I may give them one more try, as they are a great addition to his diet, but I'm not sure.

The neck rash continues to go and come.

He developed a cough and lots of sneezing this past week. The doctor said ragweed is really bad, and these things are allergy related. She wants me to put him on a months of various things, (liquid something, nasal spray, robitussin) but I'm not planning on using them unless he gets really uncomfortable.

I notice his eyes getting slight splotches/dark circles under them - also allergy related. It is a bad time for allergies right now, which makes the introducing new foods/wondering about old ones bothering him much harder. Seasonal allergies seem to affect his skin as well as his insides/eyes/ears.

Other note: about two weeks ago he started limping again. after various doctor visits, bloodwork, xrays, we were sent to a podiatrist, who wants him to go for a consultation to scottish rite. One doctor mentioned taking him to an immunoligist (sp?) for his allergies, and another doctor said that she probably was thinking his limp COULD be related to his body being messed up from his allergies etc.

Food Journal - Week 21

2008-08-26T07:35:00.003-05:00

Monday, August 25th, 2008
B - Buckwheat cereal w/corn/hot and tasty cereal mixed in (for testing) Rice milk, Raisins. Supplements.

S - Banana

L - Pork burgers, Green beans, Carrots

S - Bananas.

D - Pork burger, Grapes, Raspberries. supplements.

Tuesday
B - Corn Hot cereal. Raisins. Supplements. Smoothie W/ Banana/Blueberries/Rice milk.

L - Rice, Celery, Almond Butter

D - Rice, Sweet Potato ??? Supplements.

Wednesday
B - Banana/Peach "ice cream", Raisins. Supplements.

L - Almonds, Peaches, Blueberries, Pork.

S -Raisins.

D - Pork, Sugar snap peas, Carrots, corn. Supplements.

Thursday
B - Buckwheat cereal. Raisins. Banana. Rice milk. Supplements.

L - Cod, Grapes, Cantaloupe.

Friday through Sunday
same foods, rotated.

Rashes:
I belive seasonal allergies are bad lately. This seems to affect Patrick. Possibly in these ways listed below:
his neck has itched him some. He gets heat rashes sometimes, and sometimes a strange splotchy rash on his neck that will come and go. It isn't raw like some of the ones he gets, but more similar in the way his "raw" ones used to look. It itches some, too.

Saturday I took him shopping to walmart with me. His neck and eye bothered him a little, but I figured it was seasonal. At the end of our trip, he started to really rub/itch his eye and neck. Soon thereafter, his eye got a little red inside, and then his neck and eye broke out in a very red/a little hive-ish, and itchy rash. I gave him benadryl, and it cleared up. I thought at first it was seasonal, then I thought perhaps he touched something that a person with egg products on their hands had touched - then itched it into his neck and eye.
Later that day he got a spotty/splotchy itchy neck rash similar to what I mentioned above, and was very upset. After a bath and some time it cleared up.

note: we are changing his schedule around, to going to bed later and tryin to sleep in later (because of james' new work schedule) so this may be the reason he was so cranky.

Food Journal - week 20

2008-08-18T21:09:00.005-05:00

Monday, August 18th, 2008
B - Buckwheat cereal, small amount rice milk. Raisins. Supplements.

S - Banana.

L - pork burgers, Broccoli, Canteloupe

S - Bananas. Sprite.

D - Pork burgers, Sweet Potato, Raspberries. Supplements

Tuesday
B - Banana/Peach "ice cream" (Frozen fruit through juicer) Supplements. Raisins.

S - Banana

L - Rice, Lentils, Celery, Almond butter.

D - Pork burgers, Green beans, peaches. supplements.

Rashes: Some spots after lunch, possibly due to the food being all over his face. they went away on their own in a little bit of time.

Wednesday
B - smoothie w/ water, bananas, blueberries, supplements.

L - 1 pork burger, grapes, blueberries.

D - Pork burgers, Broccoli, Corn. Supplements.

Thursday
B- Buckwheat cereal, Raisins. Supplements

L - Banana/Raspberry Smoothie. Celery & Almond butter.

S - Banana/Raspberry Frozen fruit "ice cream"

D - Pork burger, Sweet Potato, carrots. Supplements.

Friday
B - Banana/Peach Frozen fruit "ice cream" Raisins. Supplements

L - Pork, Cantaloupe, Grapes.

S - Raisins.

D - Pork, Green beans, ??? Supplements.

Saturday
B - Buckwheat cereal, w/ a little of corn cereal sprinkeled on top for testing. Raisins. Supplements

L - Almonds, Pork, Celery and Almond butter. Raisins?

D - Cod, Sweet potato, carrots. supplements.

Sunday
B - rice milk, banana, peach smoothie. supplements. Raisins.

L - Bananas, Cod, Peaches, Blueberries. Sprite.

D - Banana, Almonds, Cantaloupe, Rice.

New Food....I think. And No Journal for last week...

2008-08-11T17:13:00.002-05:00

Last week I did not keep track of what Patrick ate. He did however add in a new food: Kiwi.
He seems to do ok with it, although I'll keep watching him.

This week I'm starting back on recording what he eats.

He is now on three supplements. He is allergic to the enzyme, so we are going to getting a different kind, and hoping it works.

Food Journal Week 19

2008-08-11T17:11:00.005-05:00

Monday, August 11th, 2008
B - Smoothie w/ supplements, rice milk, banana and peach.

L - Pork, rice, green beans

S - bananas

D - pork, peaches, blueberries. supplements

Some heat rashes and spots today.....either that, or he is allergic to something. But it wasn't too serious, and all cleared up w/o benadryl.

Tuesday
B- buckwheat cereal w/ rice milk. Raisins. Supplements

S - raisins, banana and almonds.

L - Pork, Carrots, Celery and a little Cantaloupe

D - Pork, Rice and Raspberries. Supplements

Notes: sneezy and itchy nose.

Wednesday
B - Banana and Peach Ice cream. Raisins. Supplements.

S - Bananas

L - Pork, Peaches, Blueberries

S - Raisins

D - Pork, Sweet Potatoes, Corn, Canteloupe. Supplements

Thursday
B - Buckwheat cereal. Rice Milk. Raisins. Supplements

???

Friday
Smoothie? supplements. Raisins.

Pork, Kiwi, ??

Raisins.

Banana/Peach Ice cream. Lentils. Supplements

Saturday
Buckwheat cereal, rice milk. supplements. raisins. supplements

Pork burgers, Grapes

Pork Burgers, Celery, almond butter, Canteloupe. supplements

Sunday
Banana/rice milk/ blueberry smoothie. Raisins. Supplements

Pork Burgers, Bananas, Grapes

Banana?

Pork Burgers, Carrtos, green beans, almond butter, supplements.

Food Journal - week 17

2008-07-30T12:59:00.007-05:00

Monday, July 28th, 2008
B - Cereal w/ rice milk. Raisins. glutaloemine, acidophilus and c bio fizz.

L - Rice, Lentils Grapes, Banana.

S - probably raisins.

D - Cod, green beans, corn.
glutaloemine and c bio fizz

Tuesday
B - Banana, rice milk, blueberry smoothie w/ acidohpilus, glutaloemine and C bio fizz. Raisins.

L - Cod, Green Beans, Celery and Almond butter.

S - banana.

D - Pork, Peaches and Grapes.

Another dose of glutaloemine and C bio fizz

Rashes: held hands w/ someone who had just eaten a sandwich, and had some hives. (I'm assuming it had mayo on it.) They cleared up in a short while, after I washed his hand.

Wednesday
B - Banana/Peach through juicer (frozen) Raisins. glutaloemine, c bio fizz and acidophilus.

L - Pork, Peaches, Almonds, carrots

D - Cod, broccoli and green beans
glutaloemine and c bio fizz

Thursday
B - buckwheat cereal w/ rice milk. raisins. acidophilus, glutaloemine, c bio fizz

S - banana

L - cod, raspberries, blueberries, banana, sprite.

D - rice, grapes, celery and almond butter. rice milk
glutaloemine and c bio fizz

Friday
B - rice milk, banana, peach smoothie w/ acidophilus, glutaloemine, c bio fizz and about half of his enzyme (the dose Dr. B said to give him per meal) Raisins.

L - Pork, Green beans, corn. A larger amount (still no more than half of the one capsule) of enzyme.

S - bananas

D - pork, small bit of rice, blueberries, celery and almond butter.
glutaloemine, c bio fizz and completion enzyme capsule.

some reactions to the enzyme today, i think. i'll write more later

Saturday

Food not recorded.
No Supplements today.
He broke out in a rash/hives after James touched him. James had eaten crackers w/ ranch earlier (which I'm assuming contains egg)
So, now I've realized how very sensitive he is to egg, and his skin will break out if touched with a residue of it.

Finally A Report

2008-07-21T20:14:00.002-05:00

well, where to start.
As far as new foods go, I've been stumped on two items for awhile now. Not able to figure out if they are causing skin irritations, or if it's just seasonal/other things irritating him. The two items would be: Rice Protein Powder and Lentils.

We got the reports back from the lab several weeks ago. It appears that we did NOT get a complete IgE testing done on him, which is discouraging, but oh well. At least we got some new foods and current ones tested. It was a little concerning to me to see that he is VERY slightly allergic to some of his current foods (I don't think the doctor even counted them as allergies, it was so slight though) because it made me wonder if him eating them all the time was making him allergic to them.

We also found out he is indeed allergic to dogs and cats. So those hives/irritations were not an accident after petting various animals.

I need to send the paper work in to Dr. B. I don' really understand it all, so after I hear from him, I'll try to post a better report on the labwork.

This week I'm planning to try and introduce a few of his supplements. Today we tried one. He had a lot of itching later on in the day, which made me wonder if it was the supplement.

He has been breaking out lots lately, which is very discouraging. God is really just trying to bring me to a point of giving it all over to Him and trusting Him fully.

Food Journal - week 16

2008-07-21T20:10:00.006-05:00

Monday, July 21st, 2008
B - banana, peach ice cream w/ acidophilus

L - Pork, Peaches, raspberries, a little of his supplement GlutAloeMine.

S - Banana

D - Pork, rice, lentils, corn.

Rashes: Today Patrick looked pretty good skin wise. after playing outside in the heat and sand, he got some sort of rash on his arm, but nothing serious.
Later in the day, his knees started to itch. Later he itched them and they got some hive resembling type rashes on them, which cleared up on their own. In the evening, his skin was itching a lot, and turning red. He also got some small hives on his side.
I'm not sure what it's from. It could be related to the heat, since it's hot even in the house.

Tuesday
B- cereal, rice milk w/ glut aloe mine and acidophilus. raisins

I don't remember exactly what he had today, however, I know he had GlutAloeMine twice today.

Wednesday
B - rice milk, banana, peach smoothie w/ acidophilus and glut aloe mine. raisins. banana

L - Pork, Peaches, Celery w/ almond butter

S - almonds

D - rice, lentils, carrots, blueberries, a little rice milk w/ a little glut aloe min. (he didn't want to finish it, he said "ow" about it, so we didn't make him, although I don't think it makes him sick...)

Thursday
B - banana/raspberry "ice cream" w/ glutaloemine in it. Rice milk

L - Cod, Raspberries, Grapes

S - celery w/ almond butter

D - pork, sweet potato, corn, broccoli
2nd dose of glutaloemine and acidophilus, in a blend of banana, rice milk and water. (planning to see if it makes his tummy hurt when he doesn't know he's eating it.)

Friday
B - Buckwheat cereal, Rice milk and Glutaloemine.

L - blueberries, peaches, pork.

S - Bananas

D - Bananas, Cod, Carrots, Celery w/ almond butter.

S - bananas/water and glutaloemine

Saturday
B - Banana/Raspberry "Ice Cream" w/ glutaloemine and C bio fizz

S - raisins, Bananas

L - Raspberries, Lentils and Cod

S - Bananas?

D - Pork, Rice, Broccoli and Corn. Banana and water or milk w/ glutaloemine, C bio fizz and acidophilus

Sunday
B - smoothie w/ rice milk, peaches, banana, glutaloemine, acidophilus and C bio fizz (vit. C) Raisins.

L - pork, grapes, bluberries

S - raisins

D - Cod, Carrots, Celery w/ almond butter, Rice milk w/ glutalomine and C bio fizz

Overal Rash etc. Review/Recent thoughts:
I don't think he is allergic to either supplement. He has been talking some about a tummy "ow" but not always after having the supplements. He has had a few rashes/hives come, but they have gone away on their own. Usually they are after something happens too, like contact with someone (they kiss him or something) heat or like today, blueberries on his tummy. Washing him off, keeping him cool etc. seems to help a lot.
We have determined also, to try and become more laid back about his hives etc.
Among many other things, we don't want him to grow up with the mindset that he is "sick."
We want him to be aware of his allergies, and able to deal with them....but be balanced, and take it for what it is.
We are going to try and not be so hyper about him touching things etc., too, as it doesn't really seem healthy.

Sorry about the lack of reports!

2008-07-17T15:04:00.002-05:00

I hope to make one soon....

Food Journal - week 15

2008-07-17T14:47:00.004-05:00

Monday, July 14th

B - smoothie w/ rice milk, banana and blueberrie and 1 tsp. rice protein powder and acidophilus

S - rest of smoothie

L - cod, corn, carrots

S - raisins

D - pork, peaches, blueberries

Tuesday

B - raisins, buckwheat cereal, rice milk

L - cod, banana and raspberry ice cream

s - rice milk?

D - pork, rice, celery w almond butter

Rashes: what a day! In the morning at breakfast, there were a few little spots that came and went. We went out to do the animals at the horans, and his neck and eye started to break out and or bother him. we went in and had benadryl.

Later that day, he was playing with water against their counter top, and his tummy broke out in a horrible hive rash. His wrists and arm had a few as well.) that mixed with water and messed up his skin. You aren't really supposed to come in contact with it on your skin.

I gave him benadryl and a bath, and he cleared up for the most part, minus the remaining "scars" (they do go away eventually) on his tummy (little red dots)

Wednesday

B- little bit of buckwheat cereal, raisins, rice milk

S - rice milk

L - cod, sweet potato, banana and peach ice cream

S - grapes, carrots?, sprite

D- pork, blueberries, sprite

Rashes: Same thing during breakfast, of little come and go spots. After his bath, he started getting more hives on his tummy. I gave him benadryl and he cleared up. Not sure why he was getting them again. We think there is something in the house that he may be allergic to? his nose is also running today, and he has been sneezing. It could just be normal seasonal allergies, or a cold? Unless of course it's the rice protein powder, taking days to bother him again.....

Thursday

after two days of intese problems, we decided to come home last night.

so far Patrick has not had any bad rashes. Not sure if it's because of a change of homes, or maybe seasonal changes, OR that something he ate and bothered him has worn off.....he does still have a runny nose, though.

B - raisins, banana/raspberry ice cream

L - cod, rice, lentils, broccoli

D - ???

Friday

B - banana, rice milk, blueberry smoothie, raisins.

L - banana, cod, grapes

S - raisins

D - rice, celery, cod, almonds

Notes: Acts very strange and un-like himself today. I took him to the doctor, and he didn't seem to have anything, but when he has tylenol he acts better. Later in the day I started feeling sick in my head and throat, so I'm assuming that's what was bothering him, too.

Saturday

B - Raisins, buckwheat cereal, rice milk

S - banana

L - rice and green lentils, banana/raspberry "ice cream"

S - bananas

D - Pork, broccoli, corn

Rashes: had some hives, redness, but it was after getting hot, and cleared up in the store, w/o any benadryl.

Sunday

B - smoothie w/ acidophilus, banana, rice milk and blueberries

L - Pork, grapes, carrots

S - raisins, 1 or 2 carrots

D - pork, sweet potato, celery w/ almond butter and left over smoothie.

Rashes: broke out in hives on arms, on way home from a long eating out time. I gave him benadryl.

Notes: I think seasonal allergies may be really bad right now. I woke up this morning with a red and somewhat swollen area below my eye.

Food Journal - Week 14

2008-07-07T12:54:00.004-05:00

Monday, July 7th, 2008
B - Banana Peach Ice cream, Raisins.

S - Bananas.

L - Rice, Green Lentils, Blueberries, Peaches.

S - carrots and rice milk

D - Cod, Green Lentils, Broccoli

Tuesday
B - buckwheat cereal, rice milk

S - Celery w/ almond butter

L - Cod, Sweet Potato, Corn

S - Raisins, banana

D - Cod, Raspberries, Grapes

Wednesday
B - smoothie w/ bananas, rice milk and peaches. Raisins and almonds.

S- grapes, raisins

L - Rice, Green Lentils, Broccoli, Carrots

S - raisins

D - Pork, Blueberries, Peaches

S - raisins

Thursday
B - buckwheat cereal, raisins, rice milk

S - two cups of smoothie w/ water, rice milk, raspberries, bananas and 1 tablespoon rice protein powder.

L - Celery w/ almond butter, carrots, pork

D - ???

Friday

B - Peach and Banana "ice cream"

L - cod, rice, lentils, sweet potato, grapes

S - raisins

D - Cod, peaches, blueberries

Rashes: After lunch, while we were in the pet store, i noticed P itching his neck, and some irritations. It eventually turned into a nasty rash. I may have irritated it though, by washing it with a baby wipe. Then I gave him benadryl. When we arrived home, maybe 30 or so min. later, it was worse. When he sat under cool air, it cleared up. Not sure if it was heat rash, something he ate, or being in the pet store....

Saturday

B - Smoothie w/ rice milk, raspberries, bananas. Raisins.

L - Celery, Almond butter, pork

S- Carrots, sprite

D - pork, raspberries, rice

Sunday

B - Raisins, buckwheat cereal

L - grapes, banana/peach "ice cream" w/ 1 large tsp. Rice Protein powder

D - cod, sweet potato, broccoli

Food Journal - Week 13

2008-06-30T22:06:00.003-05:00

Monday, June 30th, 2008
B - smoothie w/ rice milk, banana and blueberries

L - Cod, Peaches, Blueberries

Snack: Raisins, Grapes

D- pork, carrots w/ almond butter, lentils and broccoli

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
B - creamy buckwheat cereal, rice milk, raisins.

L - Pork, Rice, Grapes

Snack: few raisins. was offered almonds. doesn't seem to care for them anymore. Rice milk

D - pork, broccoli, rice and lentils.

Notes: Rather TMI, but Patrick had a lot of diarrhea once today. No fever. Not sure if it is just a passing thing, or if it could be related to the lentils. Also, he has seemed rather "stopped up" for the last couple of days, so maybe it's just that working out.

Wednesday
B - smoothie w/ rice milk, acidophilus, bananas and raspberries. Raisins.

L - Pork, Carrots, Almonds, Raisins

Snack: Grapes

D - Pork, Blueberries, Raspberries

Thursday
B - buckwheat cereal, rice milk, raisins

Snack: bananas

L - Cod, Pork?, peaches, blueberries

Snack: bananas rice milk

D - Cod, Rice, Broccoli.

Friday
B -Banana/Raspberry "Ice Cream" Raisins, Rice Milk

Snack: Almonds/ Raisins.

L -Pork, Sweet POtato, Celery w/ Almond butter

Snack: Carrots

D - Pork, Leftover Ice Cream, Grapes

Snack: Spirte, Banana, Grapes

Rashes: His eyes have been red lately, and he has itched some. This evening he broke out in hives on his arm and face. Could have been from falling in the grass, or it could have been because we were careless after eating stuff that had egg in it. He had benadryl and was ok.

Saturday
B - buckwheat cereal, raisins, rice milk.

L - rice, Smoothie w/ Rice milk, peaches, water and bananas

Snack: bananas

D - Cod, broccoli and ?

Sunday
B - buckwheat cereal, Raisins.

L - Cod, Raisins, Raspberries, Banana, celery w/ almond butter, sprite

D - grapes, Pork, corn

Food Journal - Week 12

2008-06-24T09:24:00.008-05:00

Monday, June 23rd, 2008
B - raisins, Smoothie w/ rice milk, Bananas, Raspberries and acidophilus

L - Pork, Banana, Carrots

Snack: Banana, little bites of celery

D- Pork, Rice, Raspberries

Rashes: had some little spots come and go throughout the day, also the back of his legs are red and splotchy-ish.

Tuesday
B- Raisins, leftover smoothie, Rice milk, Buckwheat cereal w/ 1 tsp. Rice Protein Powder

L - Cod, blueberries and ?

D- Cod, sweet potatoes, broccoli

Wednesday
B- raisins, smoothie w/ banana, rice milk, raspberries and peaches and acidophilus

L - pork, grapes, raspberries

Snack: bananas

D - pork, corn, rice

Thursday
B- buckwheat cereal w/1 tsp. rice protein powder, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus, rice milk. Raisins.

L - cod, almonds, carrots, raisins, blueberries, rice milk

S - bananas, raisins

D - Cod, celery w/ almond butter, broccoli

Friday
Rashes: He seems to be having some excema problems, and rashes on his neck. Also I should note that James has poison ivy quite badly, so we should be on the look out for any problems from that. He got into the stuff on Sunday.

B - buckwheat cereal w/ 1 tsp. rice protein powder, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus, rice milk. Raisins. Rice Milk.

Snack: Bananas

L - Rice, Sweet Potatoes, Green Lentils (small spoonful)

Snack: Raisins, rice milk

D - Pork burgers, Green Lentils, Raspberries

Saturday
B - Blueberry/Banana "ice cream" w/ 1 tsp. rice protein powder and 1/8 tsp. acidophilus. Raisins

L - Banana, Grapes, Pork

S - Bananas, raisins

D - Cod, carrots, corn

Rashes: His eye was looking red in the late afternoon, and about 6:30 he looked like he was getting some hives under the right eye. I went ahead and gave him benadryl. Not sure if it was related to our neighbors who have cats/dogs being over and in contact with him, or the fact that their table is now ours (just brought over today) and he was in contact with it, or it could possibly be the rice protein or lentils, I suppose.
Also, excema is up in some ways, and an itchy side. I'm hoping it's not poison ivy!

Sunday
B - raisins, rice milk, smoothie w/ rice milk, bananas adn raspberries, banana

L - pork, celery w/almond butter, raspberries

S - Bananas?

D - cod, sweet potatoes, rice, banana

Food Journal Week 11

2008-06-16T09:57:00.000-05:00

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Early this morning patrick woke up crying. A bad dream maybe? I had just made a sandwich for James' lunch, so I probably had mayo on my hand. P was crying and wanted me to wipe his eyes, which I foolishly did. (I think maybe just one eye)Soon after that he started breaking out around the eye, and the inside of the eye got red-ish.

I gave him benadryl and washed the eye, and it eventually cleared up.

Breakfast: Peach Ice Cream 2/ acidophilus, raisins, rice milk

Snack: Bananas and Raisins

Lunch: Cod, carrots, peaches, almonds and almond butter

Snack: smoothie w/ bananas, rice milk, peaches, raisins

Dinner: Cod, 1 bite sweet potato, rice, almond butter

Tuesday

B - raisins, rice milk, buckwheat cereal, leftover smoothie from yesterday

L - blueberries, almonds, pork

Snack: sprite, raisins

Dinner: pork, broccoli, corn, carrots, almond butter

Wednesday

B - raisins/ Smoothie w/ bananas, raspberries, peaches, rice milk and acidophilus AND 1/2 tsp. rice protein powder

Snack: almonds

L- Cod, sweet potato, celery

Snack: Almonds, leftover smoothie

D- pork, raspberries, peaches

Snack: almonds, rice milk

Thursday

B- raisins, rice milk, buckwheat cereal

Snack: raisins

L- Pork, Grapes, Carrots, Celery, Almond butter

D-Cod, Rice, Broccoli

Friday

B- Raspberry/Banana "Ice Cream" w/ acidophilus

L - Pork, Blueberries, Peaches

Snack: Almonds, Celery, Almond butter

D- Pork, Broccoli, corn, almonds

Saturday

B - raisins, smoothie w/ peach, banana, water, acidophilus

Snack: raisins, banana

L - pork, grapes,

Snack: bananas, raisins

D- Cod, Rice, Sweet potatoes

Snack: smoothie, banana

Rashes: neck had little splotches like it gets sometimes. around his eyes was kind of red, too. We spent the morning outside though, so it could have been allergies.

Sunday

B- Buckwheat cereal, rice milk, raisins

L - bananas, grapes, pork

Snack: bananas, rice milk

D - Cod, peaches, blueberries

Rashes: His neck continued to be splotchy some.

Out With The Old....In With The New!!

2008-06-10T21:11:00.004-05:00

I want to give a short report about his foods, too. We have officially eliminated ALL the foods he was sensitive too in his IgG test! YAY!! What victory! Thank You, God!
Now we can keep adding in new foods, hopefully filling out what he eats, and giving him all the nutrition he needs, and hopefully working on healing his gut etc.

Now the foods he eats are:
Pork
Cod
(still wonder if I'm not supposed to give him those every day, but at this point I feel the need to. Maybe when he has more protein sources we can start alternating them.)

Bananas
Raspberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Raisins
Peaches

Carrots
Corn
Broccoli

Rice Milk
Rice
Creamy Buckwheat cereal
Sweet Potatoes
Almonds
Raisins

Foods to iron out whether he is allergic to them or not are: apples, corn on the cob and grape juice
New foods we have to try are: Almond butter and a new rice protein powder (not made in a place that also does stuff w/ eggs)

The foods we eliminated were:
Avocado
Oatmeal
Chicken
Beef
Goat's Milk
Oranges

I think that's it. If I forgot anything I'll try to add it later.

And here are two pictures from Patrick's first Corn On The Cob! :) One thing about his limited diet, he sure is delighted when he gets to try something new!

Report about the Lab.

2008-06-10T20:48:00.003-05:00

Well, last week I was finally able to take Patrick to get his blood work done. YAY! So glad that is done. It was a bit of a fiasco, still, even though I'd already had a fiasco the first time I attempted to do it.
First of all, we were concerned at the amount they needed to take. So, we talked to my cousin who's studying to be a nurse, and she and her boyfriend helped us get some good info. Then the next morning James called the lab, to talk with the lady.
He felt good about it, so we went ahead and left for the lab. As I was preparing to put Patrick's shoes on, I asked him if he knew where we were going, and he said "ow" ! I guess he heard me talking to James about it! So, I talked to him about it, and told him that when we were done, we'd go get a sprite. He seemed to handle it better than the other time, and was very glad at the thought of a sprite :)

When I got there, the lady said something like "I talked to your husband and he asked me all those questions, then he sent you alone???!" :) Lol.

As she was going over the paperwork, she discovered a second page, which meant she would need more blood than she had told us. Then she said the other test didn't seem like what I thought it to be (We were trying to get a complete IgE food allergy test on him) It was kind of a pain about the two page order, because we didn't even WANT all the foods listed on it, anymore. That was our first set of paperwork - then the doctor sent us another set for what we thought was a complete IgE test (for food) however, the first order had wheat and some other thins like dog and cat hair, that we DID want tested - and they can't break up paperwork.
At this point it looked like my options were
1) to postpone the whole thing again, go back to Richardson to see Dr. Jiang (or call her) and request MORE and DIFFERENT paperwork.
2) to go home and call James and see if he was comfortable with more blood being taken
3) to go ahead and just have these tests done on him, and hope for the best.

I went ahead and chose three. I so wanted it to be done. I know I may need to go back again, but hopefully at least we'll have some answers because of this visit to the lab. HOPEFULLY.

Also, in the middle of me talking about this to the lady, and looking at her book that explains the tests (and not really understanding any of it) Patrick says "poo-poo." Which means that he needs to go. Thankfully he was able to wait until we were done, then we took a quick bathroom break before getting the blood taken. Talk about a lot of stresses at once! :)

So, we went into the room and climbed up in the chair together. We looked at the thing they tie around your arm, and Patrick wanted to put it on himself.
The lady came in shortly, and tied it on one arm. He started to whimper at this point, but was trying to be brave. Then she had to try the other arm, and that was just the straw that broke the camel's back. There was only the two of us, and she said next time she'll have a third. I mean, she has to focus on taking the blood, and I'm holding him etc.,....so he did end up moving his arm some.
Poor little dear was crying away. Sometimes he kind of looked limb, and maybe sort of closed his eyes, which made me nervous. I was afraid he might be losing too much blood, even though the lady said it wasn't too much.
Then his vein stopped giving blood, so she stopped, and didn't want to poke him again. It wasn't actually enough blood, but hopefully it will work out anyways. She got 7 4.5 (i think ) vials.

A funny thing about afterwards. She gave him two stickers, which happened to be spiderman. He really hasn't seen spiderman before, and I believe that he said "ew" about them!! How embarrassing!! I quickly tried to get him to like some features about them, pointing out colors, and a lion on the BACK of the stickers etc. :)

Oh yes, he broke out in pitikia quite badly pretty much immediately afterwards. At least, that's what I guess it was. I think he must just be very sensitive. It was all around the area where he was pricked. I think the lady was concerned, and thought perhpas it was a latex allergy - but he hadn't had problems with latex last time. His arm did look a little red besides the pitikia, but it went away, thankfully, with just the pitikia remaining.

So, we got his sprite, ran some errands and came home for rest time.
I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the test. I'll be sure to post them when we get them, too!

Food Journal, week 10

2008-06-09T20:48:00.004-05:00

Monday, June 9th, 2008
Breakfast: Creamy buckwheat cereal, raisins, rice milk

Snack: Smoothie (banana, raspberries, blueberries, rice milk)

Lunch: pork, grapes, 8 apple slices

Snack: leftover smoothie, almonds

Dinner: pork, rice, sweet potatoes, corn

Snack:

Rashes:

Pollen: grass/mod. mold/high

Notes:

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008

Breakfast: Banana and Raspberry "ice cream" (fruit through juicer) Raisins

Snack: Almonds

Lunch: Cod, Apples, Blueberries

Snack: Almonds, Smoothie w/ rice milk, raspberries, blueberries and banana, a little more than half a cup grape juice (not from concentrate - just grapes (concord) although it did come from a store (health food store) )

Dinner: Cod, Broccoli and Corn on the Cob

Rashes: Today while eating lunch Patrick had one small red spot on his chin. This has happened some time while eating, and goes away. and it did again this time.

Then this afternoon while playing outside, his neck was bothering him some, and a little red. It could have been from sweating. No terrible break-outs occured from this.

Directly after drinking his grape juice, I noticed a few small/light "hive" type spots (very small white dot, with light red around them) HOWEVER, he had just recently been kissed in the very spots where the rash appeared, and the person who gave the kisses had eaten eggs - although about 5 hours earlier.

About an hour after that (and after dinner where he had corn on the cob for the first time) he got more smiliar spots (with more redness) on his forehead. Then some appeared on his arm, and a little on his tummy. At this point I gave him benadryl. Below his nose looked a little splotchy after that, but everything cleared up pretty well after awhile (and a bath) althoug hthe ones on his arm were lingering, but not worsening.

I want to note also, that he began breaking out in new places the second time after being in contact again with James (who he was in contact with before the first breakout)

this could be a fluke, or it could be that James came in contact with something today, either edible or at work (he was at the warehouse today, where it's very dusty and dirty) that bothers Patrick. OR it could be the grape juice or corn. It could also be the apples. Since we know he is 1+ IgE allergic to them, that would probably be a good guess. Although he has had them other days and has not had problems. So, I don't know for sure. Please pray we can figure it out. I'd love to be able to continue feeding him apples.

Pollen: grass/mod. mold/high

Wednesday

banana/peach ice cream ??? acidophilus

pork

fruits and veggies

broke out in hive type rashes again AFTER James got home from work, after being fine all day. it wasn't anything horrible, and it went away and no more came - BUT James did change his clothes.

Thursday

ice cream or smoothie

pork, grapes, bananas, sprite

fish, broccoli, blueberries

raisins

almonds?

Friday

ice cream or smoothie

Cod, grapes, carrots

almonds

smoothie

Cod, blueberries, corn

Small bite of almond butter

Saturday

Breakfast: Smoothie (water, peaches, raspberries, acidophilus) Raisins

Snack:

Lunch:Almonds, Banana, Grapes, leftover smoothie

Snack: Raisins, almonds, bite of almond butter

Dinner: Pork, Creamy buckwheat cereal, broccoli, banana, raisins

Snack:

Rashes: Neck has that same splotchy rash that comes and goes throughout the weeks. Seasonal, maybe? or maybe eczema.

Notes:

Pollen:

Food Journal, Week 9

2008-06-02T09:54:00.011-05:00

Monday, June 2nd, 2008
Breakfast: Raisins, 10 almonds, peaches, banana/raspberry"ice cream" (frozen fruit through juicer)

Snack: 10 almonds

Lunch: Pork burgers, rice, corn, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack:

Dinner: Pork burgers, Grapes, Banana

Snack: 10 almonds

Notes and Rashes:The mold and grass pollens were high again today, and patrick was itchy. his eyes itched some, his knees itched (also sore from falling on the gravel yesterday) and got kind of raised up and red from either the itching or the falling/both (but cleared up) His neck also had some of it's little red splotchy itchy spots.

To me it seems like re ruled out the allergy to almonds today. He has been on them since Thursday, and ate ALOT today, without any severe problems. There was the itching, but it so easily could have been caused from the pollen, especially since I've seen P's skin like this before.

also, in refrence to P's breakout yesterday, he was in contact with several children, and got very excited, so it could have been from those things.

Tuesday
Breakfast: Raisins, almonds, two bites of creamy of buckwheat cereal (wheat/gluten free, but made in a plant that also does tree nuts and soy) with rice milk.

Rashes: Neck is splotchy and itchy around 9:40 am. also, a spot above his right eye bothered him off and on earlier.

Snack:

Lunch: Cod, Broccoli, 1 cup of rice milk

Snack: sprite, bowl of banana/peach "ice cream"
almonds, carrots

Dinner: cod, rice, blueberries, peaches, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus?

Snack:

Rashes: itchy legs and neck, but nothing terrible looking. His arm broke out in pitikia (sp?) after having his blood taken.

Notes: I should note here, that I've been able to identify how he reacts to mosquito bites now! When he gets biten, the next day it's usually a red dot. Maybe that's normal for some folks. One time he had two close together, and they looked pretty nasty. The dots seem to linger around for quite some time.

Pollen: grass is high today, and tree is moderate. Mold is high.

Wednesday
Breakfast: Banana/Raspberry "ice cream", buckwheat cereal w/ rice milk and raisins

Snack: Raisins

Lunch: almonds, raisins, pork, rice and grapes (not sure if he ate much if any of those last two)

Snack: Smoothie (rice milk, blueberries, raspberries, banana)

Dinner: pork, carrots, blueberries, almonds

Snack:

Rashes: itchy some, but no horrible rashes.

Notes:his eye seemed a little irritated before bed, but nothing terrible. a little redness.

Pollen:

Thursday
Breakfast: Smoothie (from yesterday) almonds, Rice milk (lots) and creamy buckwheat cereal. 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

rashes: his eye looked better this morning, but after having a fit over some things, the same eye turned quite red. Maybe he had scratched it the night before, so the area was more sensitive when he became upset.

snack: bananas

Lunch: cod, broccoli, corn

snack: raisins

Dinner: cod, grapes, blueberries

snack:

rashes:

pollen: both grass and mold are high.

Friday
Breakfast: Smoothie w/ rice milk, raspberries, banana and blueberries. Almonds and Raisins.

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Pork, Grapes, Blueberries

Snack: Rice Milk

Dinner: Pork, Rice, Carrots

Snack: Raspberries

Rashes: Today patrick had goosebumps in the morning. He was also itchy while we were at the midwifes, and got a few patches of exzema type dots/splotches. I gave him benadryl eventually.

Notes: I wasn't sure if it was related to the pollen. I believe grass was moderate today, and mold was high. I also wondered if P might be allergic to something at the midwifes (maybe there is mold there, or he was sensitive to a rug he was playing on....or who knows! He seemed to be splotchy prone and maybe a little itchy close to waking up - yet i noticed the exzema after splotches after being at the midwifes. They did re-appear later in the day (on his arms while we were out walking, I noticed) yet I didn't notice anything horrible on him when he was out playing earlier in the afternoon! Strange.
Also, while we were out walking, I got an itchy spot on my arm, that was red.

I should note, also, that this week, due to some circumstances, I have switched back to using a laundry detergent and dish-washer detergent from the store. Before I was using stuff that was pretty "sensitive" from Shaklee and Melalueca. I find this very interesting. It seems like perhaps they were making a big difference!

Pollen: Grass, moderat. Mold, high. I also read today about just a few of the many texas allergens. It seems like a lot of them can cause dermatitis and rashes and itching. Also, some are in summer and some in fall. It seems kind of hard to be able to track each one on a daily basis, to be able to tell which one in particular bothers Patrick. If anyone knows of a great website that could help me, please let me know! (maybe something that lists all the allergens, and if they are high or whatever on each day??)

Saturday

Breakfast: 8 small little "breakfast bites" of pork, creamy buckwheat cereal, rice milk, raspberries, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus, raisins

Snack:bananas

Lunch: cod, grapes, 3 slices of apple

Snack: smoothie w/ banana, water, rice milk, and raspberries and almonds

Dinner: pork, broccoli, sweet potatoes, apples

Snack:

Rashes: still itchy today some, and had a few patches of light eczema. around bedtime, after I washed his face, he had a red spot above his mouth, and some very light, perhaps beginning-hive type spots under his chin. later he had some on his arm and one on his wrist. they went away on their own. I had recently eaten some pineapple and strawberries, (which have casued him breakouts in the past) some perhaps he came into contact with some traces of those. Or maybe it was a reaction to the apple? or possibly heat or just a fluke.

Pollen: grass moderate, mold high.

Notes:

Sunday:

Breakfast: leftover smoothie from yesterday, banana

Snack: bananas

Lunch: pork, 4 slices apple, almonds, blueberries

Snack: raisins

Dinner: pork, rice, carrots, apples

Snack:

Rashes:

Pollen:

Notes:

Overwhelming!

2008-05-31T09:06:00.004-05:00

It is a little overwhelming to try and do Patrick's diet. I'm happy to have eliminated all the "bad" foods - yet, he still has such a limited diet right now. It takes so long to introduce new foods that he is ending up eating the same things over and over - which means he could be becoming allergic to THEM! so by the time I get enough new foods in to have a broad diet, he might be allergic to new things, that I might then need to eliminate! ACK!

Then sometimes I feel guilty, and think - "well, I haven't always done the best at keeping at introducing new foods....maybe that's the reason, and not that it takes so long to introduce them."

I looked over the notes from the nutritionist, 9 weeks ago, and saw how much I need to add in. Plus, I think maybe I'm not supposed to give him meat protein every day- yet right now he has such limited sources of protein, that he really NEEDS it.

But, I'm going to keep pressing onward! Sometimes introducing foods goes really well, and I can add in others quickly - but then sometimes something happens, and I wonder "was it this?"

To the Lab and Back Again!

2008-05-28T21:49:00.003-05:00

This week makes our 8th week since starting Patrick's "new leaf" diet.
Two whole months. In that time we have still not gotten Patrick's blood work done (aside from the IgG)
So, I had a car yesterday, and decided to do it. In the morning I tried to call the lab. and I tried to call them. and I tried to call them. NO answer.
Finally I decided to just drive there and ask them my question.
When I arrived and walked in, Patrick seemed just a tiny bit hesitant. It could of been that it was a "new" place, with new people around....or it could be he remembered what the place was.

I went up to the window and asked the lady about how much blood they would need to draw for the tests prescribed.
She said about 4 things. (viles, I guess???)
I asked if it was too much. I asked about how long it would take.
When all my questions were answered, I set off to try and talk to James about it. (and btw Patrick looked up at me while we were in the lab and said "ow" - apparently he remembered the place.)
We no longer have a cell phone, so I needed to find a pay phone. The gas station in the same shopping center didn't have one, but the lady inside said I could use her phone. But then I realized I no longer had James' work # in my purse. Ok. Not so bad. I could go finish my errands, go home for lunch and rest time, and then go back in the afternoon - that way I could call James at home, Patrick will have food in his tummy etc. etc. etc.

As it turned out, James and I both felt nervous about that much blood being taken. Even though the lady seemed to think it would be ok - so we had the brilliant idea of only doing half the tests -which would mean half the draw, right?

Weeellll, I neglected to call and make sure they could split up the paper work - which I later found out they can't do - but after I'd already driven to the lab again - and been nervous all afternoon, AND already given Patrick two big talks about what was going to happen - which resulted in a very serious faced little boy on our drive to the lab.
SO, the sweet, patient lady at the front desk tries to convince me that it's not really THAT much blood, and they take more from kids younger them him.

Yet I felt like I should talk to James first. Sooooo, off I set to find a pay phone. As we walked about Patrick was "talking" about how the "ow" again. I told him we had to call Daddy to talk to him about it, and we would come again. He obviously had truly understood what was about to happen, and was either very curious and or glad about it not happening.

But back to the pay phone. Apparently pay phones don't grow on every corner - but finally I found one. Of course I still hadn't put Jame's number in my wallet, so I had to call information.
5 calls later, after talking to the same information guy (i think) 3 times (and his supervisor) and attempting to call my husbands work, (they kept giving me a wrong number) I gave up.
I then proceeded to check the car for any paper that might have James' work number on it - then when I gave up on that, I noticed that it was already time for James to leave work anyway, so it wouldn't do me any good even if I found the number!

At that point I headed home.

Today we had plans, and it would have been pretty busy and stressful to add in blood work.
Tomorrow James will take the car again, unless I want to drive over an hour one way to drop him off (he will be taking training the next two days) and then drive back AGAIN in the evening (possibly during Patrick's bedtime) to pick him up.
and even if I do that, I may have a big errand to run tomorrow related to the new baby, which would make me want to wait on doing the blood.
So, it looks like it may be another week before I'll have the car and the time to do Patrick's blood work.
Either way, Patrick is ok with that :) when James came home from work yesterday, he was asking Patrick if he had gotten an owie. Patrick later told him "ah-i" (which means again, or another) - as if it was some thing to look forward to or something!

Meanwhile I can't give him any of his supplements (except the acidophilus, which I keep forgetting to give him! ugh!) because James wants to research them - yet he has been so busy lately himself!

But aside from all that, things are going well. Patrick has had some great rash free days - and he seems to be liking the rice milk a little more (and he doesn't seem to be having any problems with it!!! Thank you for praying!!!)
He legs have cleared up, too.

He has had several "events" where no rashes have occured. I'm always worried about "events" because it just seems so stressful - and sometimes he seems more prone to breaking out when he's exposed to more people/food/activity etc.
Each one of these "rash free events" make me so happy! Today he was even kissed several times by a lady at the assisted living home, and didn't break out from it!

Today I bought some new cereal to try on him, as well as almonds. Please pray he does alright with them!

Until next time!

Food Journal, Week 8

2008-05-28T21:40:00.006-05:00

Monday, May 26th, 2008
Breakfast: Raisins, Oatmeal, Rice milk

Snack:

Lunch: Pork burgers, carrots, grapes

Snack: Raisins?

Dinner: Pork burgers, rice, broccoli, blueberries, Sprite

Snack:Bananas?

Rashes:

Notes:

Tuesday
Breakfast: Raisins, Oatmeal, Rice Milk

Snack: Bananas

Lunch: Pork burgers, Carrots, Corn, grapes

Snack: Raisins

Dinner: Smoothie w/ rice milk, blueberries, raspberries, Cod, Sweet Potatoes, a few grapes

Snack:

Rashes:

Notes:

Wednesday
Breakfast: Raisins, Smoothie w/ rice milk, banana, blueberries, raspberries

Snack:

Lunch: 4 pork burgers (small :) ) grapes, banana

Snack: peaches

Dinner: Cod, blueberries, carrots, rice milk

Snack:

Rashes:

Notes:

Thursday
Breakfast: Smoothie (peaches, raspberries, blueberries, rice milk, banana) raisins

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Pork, Grapes, Banana?

Snack: Raisins, 2 Almonds

Dinner: Cod, Broccoli, Corn

Snack: Smoothie

Rashes:

Notes:

Friday
Breakfast: Smoothie, Raisins, Rice Milk, 4 almonds

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Pork, Grapes, 4 almonds, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: Raisins

Dinner: Cod, Carrots, Blueberries, Rice

Snack:

Rashes: some eczema type things on his feet appeared in the afternoon.

Notes:

Saturday
Breakfast: Smoothie (same stuff as in last one) Raisins, 4 almonds

Rashes: feet looks clear this morning. He had some spots by his eye soon after waking up, but they cleared. They were red splotchy type ones.

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Pork burgers, grapes, blueberries, 4 almonds, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: Smoothie, raisins

Dinner: cod, rice, broccoli

Snack: banana

Rashes: some neck splotches

Notes: Mold and Grass pollen was high today

Sunday
Breakfast: smoothie, raisins, 6 almonds

Snack:

Rashes: his eye was bothering him during church, and then when we arrived home, we noticed they were red, and there was a welt/hive type spot below one of them. One eye-lid seemed to be swelling, too, so I gave him benadryl. (1 tsp.)

Notes: the mold and grass pollen counts are high today, so we think it might be that or the almonds? we'll try to find out!

Lunch: grapes, carrots, peaches, banana ice cream (frozen bananas through juicer) 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: Raisins

Dinner: Pork burgers, blueberries, raspberries, grapes

Snack: banana

Rashes:

Notes:

A Hard Morning

2008-05-21T23:06:00.002-05:00

Today was not a good day with Patrick's rashes. At one point I was very discouraged. I felt as if I could not handle everything. It was probably made worse by a lot of things, one of them being that yesterday was kind of a hard day for me, and I was already feeling overwhelmed and tired - then add in strange rashes appearing, and not know what could have caused them.....anyways, Patrick's neck rash seemed slightly better in the morning, but as I said in the food journal, got nasty looking after his bath....so I gave him benadryl. He went outside with my mom and played while I did some stuff inside. Later I went outside and noticed several hives on his arm and wrist. They were pretty nasty looking - and he was already on benadryl!

I just felt so overwhelmed....like how was I ever going to figure this all out. What caused the hives? Something he came in contact with outside? Something in the air? The rice milk? There are even more possibilities! And I thought about having to deal with food allergies and two chidren (not nec. both our children having them - hopefully the rest won't - but still - then poor Patrick would be the only one different!) I just wanted to crawl in a hole and never have to deal with it all again.

I know that God doesn't give us more than we can bear, and I know He is faithful. I know that things could be much worse for Patrick. When I look at things with a bigger perspective, It seems like hives are a small thing....but I wonder why he gets them. I wish I knew!! If it was "only" from seasonal allergies, I think I would feel better.

I am having a harder time with sweet P's limitations. Maybe he is too. There are so few options in a way (even though it has improved!) and he gets hungry. It's hard.
It's hard to have to tell him "no" he can't have what I'm eating, too. I wish he could eat pizza right along with me and my mom. I wish I could go to a church meal, and just make him a plate from the tables, and not have to bring him the same old things every time from home.

Surely God has a reason for all this though. I know that He can heal Patrick. We pray nearly every night that God will heal Patrick of his allergies.

Thankfully things went well the rest of the day. He cleared up, and didn't have any big problems the rest of the day -even after the benadryl wore off. I think I'm going to give the rice milk a break, and see if he does better (course, if today's rash WAS from seasonal allergies, and the days I don't give rice milk the seasonal allergies aren't as bad... then I would think he was allergic to the rice milk....and not know it was seasonal allergies.....if that made any sense :)
so I guess I'll give the rice milk a break, watch him, then try it again - in bigger doses.)

Food Journal - week 7

2008-05-19T20:06:00.006-05:00

Monday May 19th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Rice Milk, Raisins

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Pork, Blueberries, Peaches, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: Smoothie with peaches, banana, rice milk and raspberries

Dinner: Pork, Corn, Rice

notes: had some rashes on his neck today....perhaps a heat rash, or from getting upset when I put water on him :) cleared up some, but still bothered him at bedtime. (itchy)

Rashes:

Tuesday
Breakfast: rice milk, raisins, oatmeal

Snack: banana

Lunch: cod, grapes, carrots, 1/8 tsp. (maybe a little more) acidophilus

Snack: raisins, grapes

Dinner: pork, blueberries, sweet potatoes

notes:

Rashes: in the morning his leg had a red spot on it. I thought it was a bug bite, because it was kind of raised. Then after lunch, to the right of his left eye, he got a spot - started out looking like a small hive type/red area - then turned into something that looked like the supposed bite on his leg. After his rest time, his neck looked splotchy red, with marks from itching. The spot to the right of his eye stayed all afternoon/evening. Below his right eye would sometimes be kind of purple, too, throughout the afternoon. I thought it might be seasonal allergies (my dad had a bad day, too. and sometimes he gets "welt" type things when allergies are bad) but I wondered if it was the acidophilus......or the rice milk, which he had more than usual of in his smoothie on Monday. Then of course on Sunday James didn't know and fed a whole BIG piece of cod to Patrick - much more than he usually gets - so I wondered if it was from a reaction to too much, since he had it for the first time again since Sunday.

Wednesday
Breakfast: rice milk, oatmeal, raisins (two bowls of cereal/milk)

Snack:

Lunch: cod, rice, broccoli, corn (didn't eat a whole lot - but he ate all his fish)

Snack: raisins, banana

Dinner: cod, rice, blueberries

notes:

Rashes: this morning he neck was a little spoltchy, but about 10:00 it got really bad looking. quite red, and possibly with some white bump type things. Again, I don't know if it's the rice milk, or seasonal allergies (one window was open, and when he went outside, he got circles under his eyes...) or what....his neck really bothered him, and itched. I gave him 1 tsp. benadryl.

About an hour later, after playing outside, I notcied hives on his wrist and arm....even on benadryl. I brought him in and turned on the air....they cleared up.

Thursday
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins

Snack: banana?

Lunch: pork burgers (3) grapes, carrtos

Snack: raisins, banana

Dinner: pork burgers (3) blueberries, part of a banana

notes:

Rashes: this morning, yesterday seemed to repeat, in a way. His neck was ok - not perfect, but around bath time, it started looking really red again. It lasted for a short while after the bad (and during) then the splotches went away. Later in the day it flared up some, but cleared up again later on....maybe it's from heat? (and maybe bath water? if it's warm enough? My neck turns red from hot showers....or maybe he's allergic to the shampoo?) He also got a hive type spot on his wrist after the bath.

Friday
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins, banana

Snack:

Lunch: cod, broccoli, sweet potatoes, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: smoothie w/ water, blueberries, raspberries and banana

Dinner: cod, carrots, grapes

notes:

Rashes: after playing outside, he had some rashes (little dot type ones on his wrists, small red splotches on head/and or neck?) I brought him in and gave him a bath, and he was fine. It must have been due to the heat (and getting water and sand on him, maybe - also, James noted he saw a spider in the sand box - and I saw a cat near the pool, so it occured to me that he could be reacting to animal hair on his outside toys.....just a possibility)

Saturday
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins

Snack:

Lunch: pork burgers, grapes, 1 small sprite

Snack: bananas, smoothie (leftover from yesterday)

Dinner: grapes, broccoli, corn, pork burgers

Snack: raisins

notes:

Rashes: Was outside in the morning, and got various spots, probably from the heat - they went away quickly. had some more various rashes on his arm at the end of the day -some little dots, but nothing horrible.

Sunday
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins, half a cup rice milk

Snack:

Lunch: Rice, Grapes, Cod, Carrots

Snack:

Dinner: ????

notes:

Rashes:

Report of Late....

2008-05-16T23:05:00.003-05:00

Things are going well! Although Patrick still gets rashes pretty much on a weekly basis, not all of them have been as bad - or at least I have felt better about them.

I'm wondering if some of the rashes he gets are from seasonal allergies, which although not good, is a good thing in the area of food allergies!

I finally got Patrick started on the Acidophilus, and he doesn't seem to have a big/if any problems with it!
Two of the supplements were also ordered, and it looks like two others will be soon, too!

As far as the elimination diet, I took out Goat's milk this week! Sort of - I had half a gallon open in the fridge, and I let poor Paddy have a cup of it today, then poured the rest down the drain. Patrick seems to do well with the Rice Milk (which has sea salt in it - something we thought he might be allergic to, since he reacted to two different foods at two different times with that as one of the ingredients) allergy wise - but he doesn't really like it :( I feel sad for him, taking away something he likes so much, when he already gets so little. Please pray he will learn to like it.

After that I think the last thing to eliminate is oatmeal. Then I can focus on adding in new things. I really need to get protein sources, and lots and lots of options for other daily foods, so I can give him more variety.

Hopefully soon we'll get the blood tests done. I've called the lab once to see how much blood they'll need to take, but they were busy, and then I never called them back again. It's been more complicated recently to get to the lab, since James can't carpool this month, leaving us without a car during the day. On the 25th the carpool should start up again, and maybe then we'll go to the lab. I dread going, and making P go through that again. So awful to have to hold him while he suffers and cries and then frantically cries out afterwards "all done"......

I'm so grateful for a new car with air-conditioning! That is such a wonderful thing for Patrick, as we go in to the hot summer months!!

Please pray for the rashes on the back of his knees....I guess it's eczema, but it's been acting up lately. I used to put cortisone on it quite a lot, but I've been trying to use neosporin instead, since cortisone can be so bad for you.

I guess it's my pregnant brain or something, but I've had a hard time recently remembering what Patrick ate! (if I wait a day or more to post it!) Or maybe the fact that now he has more foods....I guess that's a good thing!!

Food Journal - week 6

2008-05-13T10:48:00.008-05:00

Monday, May 12th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, g'milk

Snack:

Lunch: Cod, rice, sweet potato, broccoli, corn

Snack: banana

Dinner: pork, blueberries, peach, raspberries, grapes, raisins

notes:

Rashes: same rash on neck.

Tuesday
Breakfast: bananas, oatmeal, raisins, g'milk, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: bananas

Lunch: pork, carrots, corn, banana, small amount of Rice Milk

Snack: raisins, bananas

Dinner: cod, blueberries, broccoli

notes:

Rashes:

Wednesday
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins, rice milk, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: banana

Lunch: pork, peaches, raspberries, rice, rice milk

Snack: banana, rice milk

Dinner: cod, broccoli, sweet potato

notes:

Rashes: did ok today....had the rash on his neck some, although it seems to be improved some. had a nasty thing on his foot while playing outside (barefoot) but it went away. not sure what it was. It looked like a large hive or bite.

Thursday
Breakfast: oatmeal, rice milk, raisins

Snack:

Lunch: grapes, blueberries, pork, rice milk

Snack: raisins

Dinner: cod, broccoli, carrots

notes:

Rashes:

Friday
Breakfast:oatmeal, rice milk, raisins

Snack:

Lunch: pork, peaches, grapes, raspberries 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: raisins

Dinner: cod, carrots, i gave him corn, but he didn't eat much at all

Snack: bananas, raisins

notes: he had goosebumps twice today, which seemed kind of weird. There were a lot of them, and first they stuck around for awhile. Also, his arms looked kind of purple...it was strange. I thought maybe it was a side effect from a possibly tummy problem....but who knows. He also had a large hive/bite type thing on the underside of his right arm during the first round of goosbumps, but it got better w/o any benadryl.

Rashes:

Saturday
Breakfast: rice milk. oatmeal and raisins

Snack: banana?

Lunch: pork, grapes, blueberries

Snack: smoothie w/ raspberries, banana, peaches, water and rice milk

Dinner: pork, rice, carrots

notes:

Rashes:

Sunday
Breakfast: raisins, rice milk, oatmeal

Snack:

Lunch: banana, pork, grapes

Snack: banana, raisins

Dinner: cod, broccoli, carrots

notes:

Rashes:

Food Journal - week 5

2008-05-06T21:08:00.010-05:00

Monday, May 5th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Bananas

Lunch: Pork, grapes, rice ???

Snack: raisins

Dinner: Pork, blueberries, avocado, rice

notes: gave him a tiny little taste of his acidophilus.

Rashes: eye itched at bedtime, and he had some strange red spots on his leg - but they could have been eczema or something like that.

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack:

Lunch:Bananas, Pork, Blueberries, Rice, Grapes, Raisins

Snack: Grapes, G'milk

Dinner:Pork, Peaches, Broccoli, Corn, A few Raspberries

Snack:

Rashes: about two come and go hives - and red splotches on his face. Had a very itchy spot on his neck that bothered him this morning, but it cleared up well for quite some time, returning a little later.

Wednesday May 7th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack:

Lunch: grapes, blueberries, raspberries, 1 peach slice, banana, cod

Snack: raisins

Dinner:cod, corn, broccoli, raspberries, rice

Snack:

Thursday, May 8th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack:

Lunch: pork, grapes, raspberries

Snack: raisins, g'milk

Dinner: pork, corn, rice, carrots, raspberries

Snack:

Rashes:

Friday,May 9th, 2008
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins, g'milk

Snack: grapes

Lunch: cod, sweet potato, broccoli, corn, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack: grapes, g'milk

Dinner: (offered pork, he didn't want any) sweet potato, blueberries, peaches

Snack:

Rashes: he woke up with a red rash on his neck, and it came and went throughout the day. (and itched him some. I noticed one of the same areas itching him yesterday, too.) he had a few other spots that came and went. I also had an itchy red rash some (and a few spots) on my arms, so I'm wondering if it's some allergy (maybe the pollen is high or something...)

Notes: He has a runny, icky nose, and a cough - could be sickness, or could be allergies. Yesterday I noticed his eye being watery some, too.

Saturday, May 10th, 2008
Breakfast: oatmeal, bananas, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack:

Lunch: pork, blueberries, sweet potato, grapes

Snack: raisins, g'milk

Dinner: cod, broccoli, corn, rice, sweet potato

Snack:

Rashes: red rash on neck still there, had some red rashes on forehead, too. Quite itchy.

Sunday, May 11th, 2008
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins, g'milk

Snack:

Lunch: blueberries, grapes, peaches, raspberries, raisins, cod, 1/8 tsp. acidophilus

Snack:

Dinner: rice, sweet potatoes, pork, carrots

Snack:

Rashes: he has had a rash on his neck for about two or so days now. I think it might be from seasonal allergies (pollen, etc.) but I'm not sure. I suppose it could be from the sweet potatoes or raspberries - or it could be eczema acting up - especially since the peaches he has been eating have some citrus something or another on them. (to maintain color) I need to find a different brand to buy.

Food Journal - week 4

2008-05-02T21:01:00.005-05:00

Monday, April 28th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Raisins, G'milk

Lunch: 3 pork burgers, blueberries, grapes (lots)
(got some spots where James kissed him....cheek, ear - after J had eaten sandwich with mayo. cleared up w/o benadryl)

Snack:

Dinner: cod, avocado, carrots, bananas
5:30ish - got hives on wrist. gave benadryl. had been out on dock beforehand....

Snack:

Rashes: itchy today, come and go dots.

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk, Bananas

Snack: Banana

Lunch: blueberries, pork burgers, raisins

Snack: sprite snow cone at zoo. his first ever snow cone :)

Dinner: pork burgers, carrots, rice, blueberries, avocado

Snack:

Rashes: after we arrived at the zoo around 1:00, I put sun screen on him (stuff he has worn before some) a little while later I noticed a hive on his wrist - not sure if it was that or a bite, but I gave him benadryl, and it cleared up. we were out all afternoon, and his eyes bothered him a lot. watering, red. He also had red spots come and go on his face.

Wednesday April 30th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack:

Lunch: rice, pork burgers, avocado

Snack: 2 bananas, grapes, raisins, milk

Dinner:cod, corn, blueberries

Snack:

Thursday, May 1st, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack:

Lunch: cod, rice, grapes, blueberries

Snack: raisins, grapes

Dinner:2 beef burgers (ran out of pork) carrots, avocado, sprite

Snack:

Rashes:

Friday,May 2nd, 2008
Breakfast:Raisins, Oatmeal, Goat's milk

Snack:

Lunch:cod, rice, broccoli and corn

Snack: raisins, half banana (about 3:15)

rashes: very bad reaction on face around eyes. red and little white spots. hive on each wrist, too. this was while we were out fishing, and he had been in the sun, was sweaty, and had touched bread, hotdogs (and lots of juice from them) and a live fish. (which he had also touched earlier this week, more briefly, and was fine.) this was about 5:15. He got little red spots on face too. we gave him benadryl, and he got better.

Dinner:grapes, banana, blueberries, 1 peach piece, 2 beef burgers.

Snack:

Rashes:

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, small amount milk, raisins, bananas

Snack:

Lunch: 2 beef burgers, carrots, grapes

Snack:

Dinner:avocado, beef burgers, blueberries

Snack:

Rashes:

Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins

Snack:

Lunch: pork, grapes, corn, broccoli

Snack:

Dinner: pork, avocado, carrots, blueberries

Snack:

Rashes:

Vacation...

2008-04-26T12:16:00.002-05:00

We are leaving for vacation today, so I probably won't be updating for about a week....See you all then!

Good Report!

2008-04-23T14:31:00.003-05:00

Things are going well! Although Patrick still has some rashes, he hasn't had anything really nasty. Praise God! Patrick seems to be doing well with the new foods this week, as well as with the peaches from last week. We never got to try the pork last week, because it got left at James' work ;).....so, our things from last week were: peaches, grapes and a re-try at the rice protein powder.
This week the min. amount of new foods will be: pork and broccoli.

Talked to Dr. Jiang's office on Friday. Insurance will cover the whole blood test and results! I asked for a change of order form from them, requesting a whole IgE test to be done - as well as adding in grass to the mold, cat and dog already listed for testing. After/If Dr. J approves and sends the paper work, I'll call LabCorp and ask how much blood would need to be taken for a complete IgE test. Dr. J said it would be a lot - and we don't really want to do it if it is a WHOLE lot.

I need to eliminate Avocado from P's diet - but I don't want to do so. It seems like such a filling thing for him - not to mention easy, for me. Just cut it and give it to him or feed it to him. No warming up or cooking :)
However, after cutting out Avocado, the only things left to eliminate will be Goat's milk and oats! Of course there will still be a lot of new foods to try out after that - but at least the things that irritate his gut will be gone from his diet!!

We are trying to switch Patrick over to all organic foods. I think it will really help him.

We also heard back today about purchasing supplements. A friend was looking in to where to buy them for good prices etc....so hopefully we can order those and get him going on them. Speaking of that, I need to start him on the acidophilus we bought when we were in CO at Dr. Billica's.

Thank you all for your prayers and comments! We are so grateful!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
and, here are the results from his prick test, back in Feb. 2006: (these are IgE, not IgG)
Apple +
Chicken +
Egg White 4++
Egg Yolk 4+
Milk, Casein 3+
Milk, Cow's 2+
Pecan +
Potato, White 1+

He has also seemed to have trouble when eating strawberries and pineapple (hive type things after eating them.)

and here are the foods he was tested for and was not allergic (IgE) to:
Avocado
Banana
Beef
Codfish, Mix
Corn
Oats
Orange, sweet
Peanut
Peas, Green
Rice
Shrimp
Tomato
Wheat, whole
yeast

Food Journal - week 3

2008-04-23T14:16:00.006-05:00

Monday, April 21st, 2008
exzema has been pretty bad lately, (and coming in new places - like knees) and a rash about his neck, as well as things coming and going on his face. but no hive type things.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Bananas

Lunch: one pork burger (small) blueberries and grapes

Snack: Banana, milk

Dinner: 2 pork burgers (small) avocado and corn, carrots, raisins

Snack:

Rashes:

comments: started trying a new shampoo today......

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Banana

Lunch: two pork burgers, blueberries, grapes, bananas,

Snack: raisins, bananas

Dinner: 2 pork burgers, avocado, carrots

Snack:

Rashes:

Wednesday April 23rd, 2008
rashes: has some little pimple type dots on his arm, where I first tested the shampoo on Monday....maybe a little like the ones on his legs friday, too....his skin overall is dry, and kind of strange (little dots underneath it type thing, that you can see sometimes etc.)

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk, Banana

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Quite a bit of Cod, rice, corn and broccoli

Snack:grapes

Dinner:Pork burger, rice, blueberries

Snack:

Rashes: his eye got hives around it about 4:30 pm. I gave him benadryl and it got better. It was pretty nasty looking. Not sure if it was the cod, broccoli, or the fact that I used my shirt to wipe his eyes just a little bit earlier before his breakout (I was cooking dinner, so that and just living in the shirt could have gotten it dirty with something - then wiped it in his eye) Also, he had had a big fit earlier...so maybe that could be related, too....he was generally in an upset mood, and being upset can sometimes cause breakouts.

Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: bananas

Lunch: cod, corn, rice carrots

Snack: raisins

Dinner: cod, blueberries, grapes

Snack:

Rashes: got one hive type little dot on his face, with red around it. went away after a short while. his neck has a rash of some sort on it.....could be heat rash, or exzema, or most anything for that matter :)

Friday, April 25th, 2008
Breakfast:Raisins, Banana, Oatmeal, Goat's milk

Snack:

Lunch:3 Pork burgers, avocado, broccoli

Snack: Raisins

Dinner: Pork burgers, rice, blueberries, grapes

Snack:

Rashes:

Saturday, April 26th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, blueberries

Snack:

Lunch: Cod, Rice, Broccoli

Snack: Bananas, milk

Dinner:

Snack: 3 pork burgers, blueberries, banana, peaches, grapes

Rashes: one large hive in afternoon (possibly from a kiss from james, since he had had a sandwich with mayo on it earlier) and some more redwhite spots on forhead about 4:30. all cleared up by themselves.

Sunday, April 27th, 2008
Breakfast:raisins, milk, oats, banana, peaches
rashes: lots of little hive type things on chest - and itchy. right eye red below. forehead itchy. had diarrhea in morning, and has a cough mostly in mornings.

Snack:

Lunch: 2 pork burgers, avocado, carrots, bannana

Snack: raisins

Dinner: cod, rice, blueberries

Snack:

Rashes: nasty rash on back of legs. strange "line" rash on chest where hives were.

To Try or Not To Try.....(edited)

2008-04-18T08:22:00.004-05:00

Introducing new food can be such an emotional thing!!
For instance, I kind of think Patrick is allergic to this rice protein powder - yet, if he isn't allergic to it - it would be a GREAT addition to his diet. So I really need to give it to him...yet at the same time, I almost feel guilty giving it to him, because I almost expect him to get a rash from it. It almost seems like I'm trying to make him sick :( Which of course isn't true. So, here I sit, giving it a try first thing in the morning! I'm armed with prayer, benadryl, epi-pens and steroids :) But for now I better go make sure he eats all of it, so I can tell how he reacts to it :)

Report:

well, Friday went well. I was encouraged, because he didn't seem to show any negative signs all day long. Last week when I had tried the powder, it took an hour or two for him to break out, so after an hour or two had past, I kind of thought I was home free.

Then, when we were on our way to our student recital, (around 5:00 pm) I noticed his cheek being red and blotchy. It looked a little like a rash James had this last week, so I didn't totally suspect the rice protein powder. I went ahead and gave him benadryl, and it cleared up some. He already had a red dot type of rash on his leg, and at the recital I noticed it being very red and irritated. I'm not sure if he itched it much or not.

The next morning he looked pretty good. His leg had cleared up a lot. Around 11:00 am I noticed that the area below his left eye was red.

Later that day, when I went to get him up from his bed (attempting a nap, since we were going to have a late night) His eyes didn't look good. Around them was red, and there were little/faint hive type spots James said. It looked similar to what he had experienced after his first try at the rice protein. (please excuse the awful pictures)We gave him benadryl, a bath, prayed and he got some fresh air. He was looking quite good, and even fell asleep for part of our very long drive to denton (with a stop in at a friends house on the way) About 6:00 pm though, while still driving, his poor eyes looked so awful! Underneath them was very, very red. He may have been irritated by the heat, or the wind, or by the fact that he was upset to be in his carseat. Thankfully he did clear up a lot as the evening progressed. Also, his neck area had a rash on it.

Seeing all of this, I'm thinking he has a problem with this protein powder. Now that I've seen him after two different tries, I see similarities. The first week, it took time for him to react. He reacted on his neck, forehead/eyes, feet and hands. This week, it took a while to react (longer) and he reacted on his forehead/eyes, neck. Also, the first week, he had all kinds of trouble for days afterwards - and I didn't know WHY....no I'm thinking it was the protein powder, reeking havoc on his system for days.....like this week (how it took about 24 hours to bother him)

I don't really think it's any of the ingredients.....I think it may be that it was made in a plant that also processes eggs and milk. I remembered that he had his severe reaction, one of his symptoms was his body turning red.....when he has reacted these last two weeks, he turns red....it's not really just a hive reaction (some may come and go, or little faint traces appear--like a welt or something) but mostly just being red and irritated (and sometimes looking swollen)

So, we've determined never to give him this particular powder again. Please pray that we can find a protein powder that will work for him. If he is to truly do 'the plan' he will need some good sources of protein.

One week down...here we go on the second! (and a list of his food sensitivities)

2008-04-14T19:06:00.003-05:00

We received the notes from Dr. Billica on our phone consultation, as well as the names of the supplements for Patrick to take. It was encouraging to see the supplements he suggested, and why, as it seemed like they will be quite useful. It also said that Dr. B suspects a wheat/gluten allergy, which we do as well.

We also got some good news about the IgE test. Dr. Jiang sent us an order to have some of it done (what we had discussed with her, and requested - but, if possible we'd rather have the complete test done - not just certain foods. We need to check into something before we do that, though) As well as having his blood tested for mold, cat and dog allergies.
I also want to add grass to that list.
Anyways, when they called the insurance, they were told the test would be covered. We are supposed to call to confirm that. I also need to find out if the "interpretation" of the blood would also be covered by insurance....I'm kind of confused as to whether that's what Dr. Jiang was asking about or not.

On Saturday I also sat down when preparing my grocery list, and decided which foods we were going to try to add in/eliminate this week. Even with all the discouraging things that happened last week, I feel excited and encouraged. It seems like some progress is being made, and we are on the road to something better.

Before I mention what those foods are, I thought I'd go ahead and list the foods we need to eliminate, as well as how sensitive he was to them. He was extremely sensitive to any of them (his highest rating being a +2)
In the information that came along with the results, it said that the same symptoms can occur from a +1 sensitivity as to a +4....

Food Sensitivity List:
Avocado +1
Bean, Lima +1
Beef +1
Cheese +1
Chicken +2
Flounder +2
Grapefruit +1
Halibut +2
Lamb +1
Lemon +1
Lime +1
Milk, Cow's +1
Milk, Goat's +1
Oat +1
Orange +1
Pea +1
R. Seed Canola
Snapper +1
Sole +2
Tangerine +1
Tuna +1
Turkey +2
Yeast, Baker's +2
Yeast, Brewer's +2

So, last week we took out chicken and orange. We tried to add in blueberry, cod, rice protein powder and special bread.
At the end of the week, we had really only tried blueberry and cod on more than one day.
It looks like both of those are going to be ok for him, which I'm very excited about!

This week I hope to add in: peaches, pork....and that may be it. If he does ok with pork, I guess I will take out beef. He has actually had peaches in the past before, so hopefully I can figure out about those quickly, and then add in maybe another veggie to take the place of avocado.

Thank you all for your prayers. We are so grateful for them!!

Food Journal - Week Two

2008-04-14T18:53:00.007-05:00

Monday, April 14th, 2008
Rashes: Dry skin splotches on arms, irritation on feet, itching on hands where fingers attach.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Bananas

Lunch: Brown rice, Beef, Blueberries, 3 Peach slices

Snack: Banana

Dinner: Cod, Avocado, Carrots, Corn

Snack: Banana

Rashes: hive on check in afternoon, after being outside for over an hour. dry skin rash on arms (tummy and neck, too) continued, but better after using cortisone. on the right side of his face, kind of to the right of his mouth and below, he often gets "chapped" dry skin splotches. Those started showing up today again.

various notes: cough continues.

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
Rashes: had a few little red spots around forehead...nothing too bad.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Bananas

Lunch: Rice, Avocado, Beef

Snack: Raisins

Dinner: Cod, Blueberries, Peaches

Snack: Banana?

Rashes: very good day as far as rashes! Even was out and about with exposure to things, and did great!

various notes: cough continues.

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

Rashes:

Breakfast: Oatemeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Lunch: Cod, Blueberries, Peaches

Snack: Raisins, Goat's milk

Dinner: Beef, carrots, rice?

Snack:

Rashes: patrick got blueberry stains on his face, so after lunch I was washing him off with a paper towel. soon after that, his check (the one I washed) got a large welt or hive on it and some smaller ones around his eye - the areas were red, too, and itched. in about 15-30 min they were gone, but below his eyes was red some in the evening some. his chin was also red when I got him up from his rest-don't know if he had been messing with it or what.

A similar thing happened on Sunday with washing blueberries off and him breaking out....i wondered about reaction to blueberries on skin (but he gets them on his hands and is fine, face other times and is fine) or maybe he itched those spots and that made it break out combined with the blueberry? or perhpas he was allergic to the paper towel? Or it could have been the peaches or fish, I suppose....

Also, has dots on leg. Not sure if they are from sweating, or eczema, or something else. Yesterday we were out in the yard doin stuff, and I got a rash. Today James has some dots/line type things on his arm. Sometimes I wonder about this house and yard!

various notes: cough continues.

Thursday, April 17th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Bananas

Lunch: Blueberries, peach slice, banana, beef. I allowed him to stick his finger in the rice protein powder and then eat what he got.

Snack: Raisins. Water with 1/4 tsp. rice protein powder

Dinner: Avocado, corn, beef

Snack: Banana dipped in rice protein powder

Rashes: eyes itched from beginning of day, as well as head (for several days)

after he had the rice protein powder water, he seemed to get maybe a little more itchy, nad got a red spot above his eye....but it could have been a coincidence.

various notes: cough continues.

Friday, April 18th, 2008
Rashes: woke up with a rash on his neck. (the previous day a little spot of his neck had been red, but now more is.)

Breakfast: Oatmeal with a little less than 1/2 tsp. rice protein powder in it. Raisins and Goat's milk.

Lunch: blueberries, peach, beef, rice? water w/ 1/2 tsp. rice protein powder

Snack: bananas or raisins

Dinner: beef, carrots, corn

Snack:

Rashes: about 5:00 he broke out in a rash on his cheek. It was little red dots type. Also, the rash on his leg is still there (little red dots) and itches him lots at times. I gave him benadryl.

various notes: I wasn't sure if the rash was related to rice protein powder, or the sickness that's been going around. James had a red splotchy rash on his chest up to his neck and parts of his head, along with a cough, runny nose, congestion type of thing.

Saturday, April 19th, 2008
Breakfast:Oatmeal, raisins, goats milk

snack: banana, raisins

Lunch:peaches, blueberries, beef

Snack: raisins

Dinner: avocado, carrots, beef, rice

Snack:

Rashes: in the morning his eye was red below. around 4:00 pm he got a rash similar to what he had after the first try of rice protein powder. around his eyes turned red, and he had small and faint hive type spots. we gave him benadryl, and things got better, but around 6:00 he looked really bad again. very red below his eyes. Also the excema on his feet is really bad.

various notes: his head continues to itch on and off this week. cough continues some.

Sunday, April 20th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, goats milk

Lunch: blueberries, peaches, grape, beef

Snack: raisins, banana

Dinner: avocado, lots of grapes, beef

Snack:

Rashes: excema. rash on neck and itchy underarms, arms. he had benadryl around 9:30 am.

Latest Update

2008-04-08T21:41:00.007-05:00

Doctor Billica says that Patrick cannot handle protein, dairy and citrus well. He believes that Patrick's gut is having lots of trouble. He suggests eliminating all the things Patrick is sensitive to, giving his gut a break. While doing that, we w0uld try to build his system up and help it out with various supplements, then try to re-introduce the old foods again, and see how he does.

Patrick is sensitive to 24 foods, including beef, chicken, several fish types, several citrus types and both cows and goats milk. He is also sensitive to various veggies. Apparently these "slow response" allergies (IgG) are more related to skin issues (like eczema) and other things, whereas the "fast response" allergies (IgE) show themselves quicker and more severely (hives, sometimes breathing problems etc. - his egg and milk allergies are IgE)

Patrick was already on an extremely limited diet, so when we found out we had to cut out so much, you can imagine our despair - made worse by the fact that introducing new foods is an extremely complicated and scary thing for us, since Patrick is so sensitive to new things.

I often get the feeling people don't understand our dilemma there. When they say "does he like this" etc. - I try to explain he has never even eaten it.

So many "normal" foods have seldom or never touched his mouth. It seems silly sometimes when trying to tell people "oh, he never eats bread" (or some other "normal" food) but yet they don't have to watch hives pop out on his arms and face, after he consumes the said piece of bread, and wonder if they are going to have to take him to the emergency room.

So in order to do "the plan" we need Patrick to be eating lots of new (and I might add rather exotic, strange!) foods. (taking the place of the old foods - and quite needed to give him a balanced and healthy diet)

But, in order for these new foods to be consumed by Patrick, they first have to be tested out on him. and SLOWLY is the best way to do that.
If I give him blueberries in the morning, and cod for lunch - then when he breaks out a few hours later, I don't know which food was the culprit.

Yet, he could be breaking out from all the current foods he is eating - sense he is sensitive to all but 5 of them.

We went to see Dr. Jiang yesterday, to request an IgE test (to help us figure out what we could feed him, hopefully aiding in the adding in of new foods - or at least helping us feel a little more peaceful when doing so)

She was rather discouraging. She didn't think it was necessary to do a complete IgE test. She said that 40% of the time, the tests can contradict with when you actually eat the food. (which I had generally heard was true, for all allergy tests - you never can fully know one way or another)

So, not sure what we are going to do there. We'd just go ahead and do it, but there are a few issues we want to check out before doing so.

As far as "the plan" - we went to Whole Foods and bought about 5 items for Patrick, totaling about $35.00 :)

We decided to slowly replace some of the old foods with new ones, and see how he does. It isn't ideal for helping his gut quickly, but it isn't ideal for him to drop dead from reacting to a zillion new foods, either.

So, on the way home, we gave him about 1/4 of a piece of yeast free (sensitive to yeast) egg free, milk free bread. Only about 3 ingredients in the whole thing. About 45 min. later, his ankle was red and had several hives on it. It appeared to be swelling too. It reminded me of when he ate an egg free milk free cake (a small piece, that is - i was testing it out, in hopes of using it for his birthday the next month) and broke out in a horrible hive rash on his neck and other places. Then I realized both recipes used wheat (which on the prick test in 2/07 he tested negative for) and sea salt. So, he could be allergic to either one of those, or possibly something else (food prepared by someone else could be contaminated)

The next day we introduced blueberries. No terrible reactions from those.

Today we continued blueberries and added some brown rice protein powder and cod. He broke out in a nasty rash in the evening, so apparently he is allergic to one of those - but the question is, which?

The protein powder was processed in a plant that also processes eggs and milk - so there's always that option, too. and of course, yesterday James and Patrick were out mowing the grass....so we could throw that option in there too.......ugh.

It's times like today, when my son is sitting in misery from all his itching or with his skin blotchy red and with hives - after eating something so terribly "normal" - and I sit watching earnestly to see if things are getting better or worse, that I just want to get up and and yell out at the world....."THIS is what I have to deal with - do you not understand!?!! I need someone to HELP me!!!" so often I feel nobody truly understands, not even the doctors. So many times I've tried to explain the situation....but so often it seems like they just don't get it.

....and, it's times like today (I realize that Patrick didn't have anything life-threatening happen today, but it's still scary, and these things can turn into something big. Not to mention the frustration for my son and his future, and myself, as I try to figure out what to feed him. I never, ever thought feeding someone could be so complicated!) that I'm so grateful that the Lord hears and answers prayer. He is there each step of the way, and I'm comforted by that. We will continue to pray too, for Patrick's complete healing. I know God can do anything!

........and on a lighter note, here's precious Paddy, greatly enjoying his new food: blueberries! (and we love the "blueberry face" !! :) )

and, as he grows (and gets to try more new foods) he is becoming more assertive about asking for and getting food! Today the fridge was open while I was doing something, and he grabbed the tomatoes off the shelf, opened them up and ate two! Then this afternoon, he got the oats out of the pantry, opened them up (and, thankfully, after making eye-contact with me, which I guess passed as permission to go ahead...(i actually may have nodded to him to go ahead :)) began stuffing hand-fulls full of dry oats into his mouth! The poor child. It's so sad sometimes :(

Food Journal - Week One

2008-04-08T14:18:00.012-05:00

Monday April 7th, 2008
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk.

Lunch: Brown Rice, Beef, Blueberries.

Snack: Avocado
Blueberries
Raisins

Dinner: Beef, Carrots, Corn, 1 grape tomato, Blueberries

Rashes:
broke out in rash on neck around 3:00 while at allergy doctors.
had one small hive on wrist sometime during dinnertime

various notes: Doctor said he has very sensitive skin, and is warm blooded - thus he breaks out in various rashes from heat (and getting upset or excited or whatever sometimes) thus she wasn't worried about the rash on his neck, or other similar ones. (and small hives)

Tuesday April 8th, 2008
Rashes: when he woke up this morning, he had the rash on his neck still, and it seemed to have spread around the neck more. After breakfast (later on in the morning ) it seemed to get a little worse - particularly noticed just seconds after giving him the rice protein. It seemed to get better after playing outside where it was chilly, although it's still there some. (including spreading to back of neck and looking pretty red - but cleared up some)

Breakfast: Oatmeal, blueberries, Goat's milk

Snacks: Bananas and rice protein

Lunch: Cod, Brown Rice and Carrots

Snacks: 2 grape tomatoes, half of smoothie (made with goats milk, blueberries, bananas and 1/2 tsp. brown rice protein powder)

Rashes:about 45 min. later, he looked good, so I went ahead and gave him the rest of the smoothie (little yellow cup size - previous helping had been in the froggie cup size)
About 20-30 min. later, his right eye was bothering him, and his left food was getting red and spotty. Then his right hand started itching. I waited, and about 20-30 min. later, he seemed to be getting better - then in about 10-20 min, he started to be extremely bothered with the itching, and the red was spreading on his forehead and around both eyes, with some small hive type bumps in a few places. -he right eye seemed to swell some, too. About half way into this, I decided to give him benadryl (1 tsp.) it took about 20 more min for it to all calm down.
(note: right before all this started, Patrick had been helping me prepare dinner. I cut up potatoes that were wet from being washed, and he threw them into a pot. I know he rubbed his feet before I had washed his hands - I don't know about his face area)

snack: dug into the oatmeal canister and ate several hand-fulls of dry oats :)

dinner: beef, avocado

snack: About half a banana
dug into the oatmeal canister again, and ate several more handfulls of dry oats.
blueberries

Top Left: Awhile after the first introduction to rice protein.

Top Right: After the conclusion of his smoothie, containing the rice protein.

Bottom Left: About an hour after finishing off the smoothie containing rice protein/blueberries/bananas and goat's milk.

Wednesday April 9th, 2008

Rashes: had rash on his neck and top of chest this morning, as well as irritation inside part of elbow.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Blueberries and Goat's milk.

Snack: banana?

Lunch: Beef, blueberries, banana.

Snack: Blueberries, goats milk, bananas, raisins.

Dinner: Beef, rice, avocado, 2 grape tomatoes, carrots.

Snack:

Rashes: Came and went throughout the day. He neck had some red splotches on them, but they faded in the afternoon. Then around 7:15 he started having problems like yesterday. First the right foot itched him like crazy, and got very red/swollen and hive type patches. Then his right eye/forhead started really itching - along with red splotches around his eyes/on forehead, and some faint hive type splotches. Then his right eye lid swelled some. His neck also had red splotches on it in the front. Again I gave him benadryl. i noticed that both yesterday and today, these similar rashes/irritations appeared a few hours after eating the grape tomatoes.

Thursday, April 10th, 2008
Rashes: About an hour or so after patrick woke up, he was already breaking out in rashes and hive type spots. Around his neck and on his chest.

(some of those "spots" are water droplets, so don't be confused)

Breakfast oatmeal, goats milk, raisins

Snack: banana, raisins

Lunch: carrots, rice, beef, avocado

Snack: raisins, oats

Dinner: corn, beef, blueberries

Snack:

Rashes: this was a horrible day for rashes. It seemed like all day he was breaking out and itching. around 1:00 I gave him benadryl, and it helped some, but he still was a little rashy and itchy. we repeated the benadryl around 7:00

Notes: I was told the pollen count was very high today, so I'm wondering if that is an issue. His poor eyes looked allergy-ish. He also started coughing today.

Friday, April 11th, 2008
Rashes: still has a light rash around his neck and chest - but it isn' terrible looking. His feet also started itching him yesterday (his fingers itched, now his feet - it seems to be spreading...) so he has little itch marks on his hands and feet :( BUT he has been doing great all day. The weather cooled down a whole lot in the night....I wonder if that (and possible pollen type changes?) are what affected him??

Breakfast: oatmeal, raisins, goats milk

Snack: bananas

Lunch: beef, bluberries, banana

Snack: goats milk, carrots

Dinner: Raisins, Beef, Carrots, a little rice

Snack:

Rashes: Today was really a great day for Patrick's skin. Praise God!

Notes: His cough has continued.

Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Rashes: Although there are still remainders of his old rashes, Patrick woke up with his skin looking good!

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Cod, Rice, Corn

Snack: Raisins

Dinner: Tiny bit of Cod, Carrots and Raisins.

Snack: Banana and Goat's milk.

Rashes: Praise God for another really good rash day. Some rashes did come and go, including splotches on his right arm (and some on left) and his eye bothered him some (and the white part looked kind of red - both these being towards the end of the day) but I am encouraged.

Notes: I'm thinking that perhaps all these rashes are seasonal things - or grass/some other outside thing allergy. Last Monday Patrick was out with James during the grass being mowed - then this week he had horrible rashes.

I remember another time we had been outside during mowing, and the next day P had rashes on his arms.

Also, something very interesting. Yesterday James broke out in a rash very similar looking to Patrick's (on his arm) It was while we were at the park. It also looked like there were tiny pieces of grass in the hives. Then James told me how he used to break out when he was younger after playing in the grass. We kept P inside today while James mowed (but he did get some contact with the air)

.....of course i wondered too, if maybe there is a virus going around that causes this rash. Patrick is also getting one of his molars, i think - wonder if they can be related to rashes???

Sunday April 13th, 2008
Rashes: starting on the afternoon before, some 'dry skin' type rashes started appearing on his arms. They continued today.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Raisins, Goat's milk

Snack:

Lunch: Blueberries, Banana, Avocodo

Snack: Raisins, Oats

Dinner: Rice, Cod, Carrots

Snack: Blueberries

Rashes: Kinda itchy and more dry skin looking splotches.....after a very messy lunch I washed him off with COLD water and Maleluca dish soap - and he had some little hive-type spots and a red nose for a bit after that - but they went away. Some more little hive type spots that came and went throughout the day.

Notes: cough continues

A Little History

2008-04-08T14:12:00.000-05:00

When Patrick was born, he had Group B Strep. After a 2 week hospital stay, and lots of antibiotics, he went home.

He has struggled with eczema since he was an infant.

He has various rashes/hives that come and go.

In October of 2006, he had a severe allergic reaction to lasagna, and was taken to the emergency room.

after that he ate an extremely limited diet until
February of 2007, when he was tested for food allergies. He tested 4++ and 4+ for Egg white and Egg yolk, as well as 3+ and 2+ for Cows Milk (and some small allergies to other things)

After the testing, we added in some things to his diet, but it was still limited.

He continues to break out in various rashes, eczema and hives from time to time, and seems very sensitive to lots of foods.