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Severe Dairy Allergy


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Are there any others out there who are seeing severe allergic reactions to Dairy in their kids? ie -though not the usual sympytoms of hives etc- Stomach issues, abrupt mood shifts- rages,mania,lability, fatigue,inability to sleep, instant irritability without provocation, severe acne- we have tried everything-disorgnaization, inability to retain detailed instructions, poor memory

We are now trying to go dairy free and it is NOT easy- dairy is such a main stay of our culture, who knew it could be so poisonous for some people...

 

I am getting tired of being told my Daughter is just going through puberty - there are days that I dont even recognize her personality for all the symptoms of her allergies and PANDAS- though she is managing to maintain her grades, her friendships are failing miserably this year.

 

Would really like to hear from others about the dairy

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My son does not have a dairy allergy but he was "anti milk" for a long time. I just took it as his body's way of letting him know it wasn't good for him at the time. Now that he's better, he occassionally asks for a glass of milk but I never push it.

 

As for allergic reactions to things, it wouldn't surprise me if your child doesn't have a "classic reaction". I've heard that from other people on here with other allergies. Follow your gut...you're probably right.

 

Also, with seasonal allergies, they may cause PANDAS symtpoms to surface so I don't see why that would be different with a food allergy.

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yes, I agree with Vickie. There has been a recent post on the TS forum too about whether both food allergies and external environmental allergic factors can trigger OCD in TS kids.

 

from our experience with my son (genetic TS, probable PITAND component) he definitely has triggers from some foods Primarily chemically "enhanced" ones

 

He did not test allergic to any of the food groups, and seemed to come out of elimination diet trial showing just corn and peanut sensitivity. However, because he also has Crohn's Disease, he made a personal decision to try going gluten, dairy, corn free and has sensed a real benefit in his overall health and "brain" stuff, especially OCD symptoms. Interestingly tho we have not noticed a significant reduction in his tics, tho they are in a relatively mild state already.

 

it really does seem that anything that triggers an immune or inflammatory response in many kids with neurological disorders, can also seem to amplify whatever symptoms they have. At least that seems to be the case for my son, and from what I read in so many posts.

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Are there any others out there who are seeing severe allergic reactions to Dairy in their kids? ie -though not the usual sympytoms of hives etc- Stomach issues, abrupt mood shifts- rages,mania,lability, fatigue,inability to sleep, instant irritability without provocation, severe acne- we have tried everything-disorgnaization, inability to retain detailed instructions, poor memory

We are now trying to go dairy free and it is NOT easy- dairy is such a main stay of our culture, who knew it could be so poisonous for some people...

 

I am getting tired of being told my Daughter is just going through puberty - there are days that I dont even recognize her personality for all the symptoms of her allergies and PANDAS- though she is managing to maintain her grades, her friendships are failing miserably this year.

 

Would really like to hear from others about the dairy

 

Did you find out from an allergy test? Or are you doing the elimination diet? Is going dairy free helping your daughter? I'd love to hear more about how you and your daughter are handling it.

 

I've thought for a long time that both my boys and myself are likely having trouble with dairy. My PANDAS son has the typical history or a million and one upper respiratory infections since 6 weeks old (he's 10). My younger son has always had GI issues. When he was a newborn he was failure to thrive while I breastfed and had the most horrendous gas! When we switched to formula he had GERD for the first year. I tried switching to soy but it didn't help either. He has always been severely constipated and we have struggled with encopresis as a result. Even now (he's 7) I generally have to administer a glycerin suppository every other day to help him have a bowel movement. I suspect he has IBS, which my sister has and I'm pretty sure I do too. He has the standard seasonal allergies as well.

 

Both LOVE milk based foods. Ice cream makes me ill almost immediately, though I don't see an immediate problem with milk or yogurt. It seems to be anything that is both dairy and high fat will do a number on me. I have been struggling with adult acne for about a year now and wonder if milk isn't the culprit, though it seems to be hormonally related as well. I'm guessing dairy messes with my hormones. I don't mind milk alternatives, and since we've gone exclusively to organic dairy products, the price really isn't much different. My boys however are extremely resistant to trying dairy free for awhile. Both claim to hate any of the milk alternatives I've bought. II would just go dairy free myself, expect I hate buying both diary and dairy alternative items. When I have some more money I plan to have us all allergy tested. If I had a doctor's authority to back me up, I think they would be more responsive.

 

I've also wondered about gluten. I know I feel better on a low grain diet and suspect my husband and PANDAS son would too. Both tend to be rather hypoglycemic, which is definitely a trigger for PANDAS problems for my son. My husband also gets really grouchy if he hasn't eaten in awhile and I become a carb addict if I eat too many.

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It's really common for autistic kids to be allergic to casein, the protein in dairy. My friend, who's older son is autistic, has kept her 2 1/2 year old dairy free his entire life, just to be safe, and he's doing great. I think with autistic kids, the allergy is expressed through behavior and attention, so very similar to what you're describing.

 

I became sensititve to dairy a couple of years ago - it gives me pretty bad headaches. It's hard to find good tasting substitutes for milk and ice cream, but I finally found a couple I like. For milk, I use Almond Breeze, which you can find at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and I think Safeway has it too. They have chocolate, vanilla and regular, which I use on oatmeal. It's MUCH better than soy milk.

 

There's an ice cream substitute that's pretty good. I think it's called "Decadent." The packaging is brown and you'll find it in with the soy ice cream, at Whole Foods and Safeway.

 

Keep working on it. It can take time to go totally dairy free, and it is really hard. Just keep chipping away at it.

 

I think there are message boards out there for parents who's kids are dairy-free. You might want to look at those for ideas.

 

Have you tried digestive enzymes? I think these sometimes help kids with food sensitivities.

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Are there any others out there who are seeing severe allergic reactions to Dairy in their kids? ie -though not the usual sympytoms of hives etc- Stomach issues, abrupt mood shifts- rages,mania,lability, fatigue,inability to sleep, instant irritability without provocation, severe acne- we have tried everything-disorgnaization, inability to retain detailed instructions, poor memory

We are now trying to go dairy free and it is NOT easy- dairy is such a main stay of our culture, who knew it could be so poisonous for some people...

 

I am getting tired of being told my Daughter is just going through puberty - there are days that I dont even recognize her personality for all the symptoms of her allergies and PANDAS- though she is managing to maintain her grades, her friendships are failing miserably this year.

 

Would really like to hear from others about the dairy

 

Hi Lori

 

My daughter has a severe anaphylactic allergy to dairy that we have known about since birth (she will be 8 this summer). I was dx'd with Fibromyalgia a few years agos and because of that I recently have adopted a GFCF diet as well. I can tell you that when I eat dairy I have severe diarrahha, brain fog, my hands and feet get really cold, and fatigue to name a few. I have had a much harder time going without dairy then her because I know what I'm missing. However, cooking dairy free has become second nature. If your daughter can still have soy, there are two mainstream margarines that are available without dairy. With these products I have been able to use many of my normal recipes and keep them dfree. Eating out has been the hardest.

 

Last September we found out that my daughter has an additional ten food allergies that we were unaware of. After doing some new research, I discovered that it is quite common for individuals who are allergic to dairy to also be allergic to cow and/or pork. There is also evidence that connects dairy allergies with cat allergies.

 

There are different types of food allergies. Some of IgE mediated which are generally found through skin or blood testing. There is another type which is IgG mediated which is more difficult to test for. There is also something called Eosinophilic Disorders which are allergy cells that are found in the esophogagus, tummy, and colon (Not sure-these may be IgG mediated as well). My daugher has both IgE allergies and an Eosinophilic Disorder. I do not have IgE allergies-mine are more likely IgG.

 

I don't post often or visit latitudes much because my daughter is recovering from her Pandas quite well. However, if I would be more than willing to share any dairy free tips that I can with you. Just send me a PM if you're interested.

 

Sam

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