always suspected food intolerances in 3 year old...next step?

[*Becky*]

Henry is 3. I have always thought he has food intolerances but the doctors will not take it seriously...I guess because it is not serious enough.

H gets so many runny noses and always has done. I used to think it was teething related but he still has them and he has all his teeth now. He also gets dark circles under his eyes and his behaviour is all over the place.

I would like to see a naturopath but am having trouble finding one.

Just wondered if anyone had any ideas or had BTDT with their own children.

Thanks

Becky

[Shiv52]

R is MPI and I suspect M is too to a lesser extent.  We saw the paed and dietician a few months back for R and I asked about M as she gets terribly constipated if she has too much dairy and I do have to watch her intake.  Their advice was that unless there was a severe allergy often intolerance testing can be unreliable and say there isn't an issue when there is.  They said at this age the way to see if there is an issue to do eliminate the suspect foods (so usually 4 weeks for dairy and soy, 8-12 weeks for gluten) and see how symptoms fair and do they increase again.

Shiny, dark circles under eyes can be a big sign of allergy especially when linked to congestion.  I can't remember exactly why but is something to do with blood flow being restricted because of the congestion. 

Is there a particular food you think he is reacting to?

[Buntybear]

Hi Becky,

I would trust your mother's instinct if you think he has intolerances. When he was a baby did he have reflux, eczema or any of the other usual symptoms?

Do you have an inkling of what could be the root cause? I am not sure how conclusive testing for intolerances are. I would guess your best bet, as Shiv says, is to eliminate suspects.

x

[*Becky*]

I suppose dairy if anything but that would be very hard to eliminate as he loves it??

He was a very colicky baby maybe with a bit of reflux but we never had to medicate and he has no skin problems.

[Buntybear]

Might be worth taking it out his diet for a couple of weeks just so you know. If you found it was dairy would you be prepared for him not to have dairy again? If not and you are happy to continue with his symptoms then don't try it.

There are some good dairy alternatives - oat milk and cream, marg, alpro soy etc.

If he does love dairy then have lots of healthy treats as a replacement to get him through the trial!

[~Emma~]

Same here with mine. As you know D is dairy intolerant and when she is having a reaction its now REALLY obvious. Dark circles,congestion, eczema, horrid nappies and painful gas.

 Brodie was a reflux bub, we went on AR formula which helped the actual throwing up of milk and the refluxing but he was, and sometimes still is, a very congested, snotty wee man and his skin aint great either, he also gets dark circles now and again which I always had put down to OT.   I do think perhaps he had some intolerances although not the extent that D has.  

 I have seen a huge difference in him since we have cut most dairy out of our diet as a family. He only now has milk in his cereal, which I have now cut down to 1 bowl as he would some morning eat 3! He is offered fruit after instead. He will sometimes have a small cup of milk befire BT but rarely more that 3oz. He will also sometimes have a yohgurt after dinner. His behaviour is better and his BMs are better too. IN fact we are all alot healthier for it! No creamy pasta dishes covered in cheese for us!  

[clazzat]

With e we switched to soy for a while, although she didn't like cheese so I didn't have to deal with taking that out of her diet, and that made a huge difference to her congestion. I used goats cheese for things like pizza and cheese scones which she would eat.

Do you think he is mpi or do you think it is lactose intolerance? Both e and x are, I think, lactose intolerant as they are both fine on the lactofree products - the milk and yoghurt taste just the same and the cheese is like Swiss cheese. That also means that we don't have to look for hidden dairy so it is not really that difficult to deal with.

[Shiv52]

I suppose dairy if anything but that would be very hard to eliminate as he loves it??

The way I look at it is although M LOVES dairy if she is adversely affected by it then it has to be cut down or eliminated.  Its just the way it has to be.  My friends LO is diabetic and you can imagine the dietary restrictions in terms of no sweets, chocolate, biscuts and the like and it is so hard but they do it for her health.  I do think it the symptoms are so bad that you are questioning the intolerances and their effects then that will override getting H used to not having it.  And if you see a difference then you'll be more determined.  But it is one of those things that until you try the ED you will never know for sure.  H is a good age now that you can reason with him.  M knows she can only have yogurt once a day or it makes her tummy sore and is fine with it. 

And the alternatives are great too xx

[<Catherine>]

Ugh, posted and it disappeared

My GP wouldn't take me seriously when I suspected DS had an intolerance to cow's milk either. I made the switch and the effect was amazing (I also think he had reflux as a baby, and was constantly snotty/congested - there's so much to be said for Mother's intuition). His nappies were horrendous from day one of switching to cow's milk at 12mos. He can handle a small amount - cheese isn't popular anyway so was never an issue, yogurt is fine, and a small amount of cow's milk on cereal seems to be fine. It's large amounts as a drink that bothered him.

[Mom to M&M]

The most common sources of the symptoms you listed are intolerances to dairy and/or gluten. Soy intolerance can also have similar symptoms though. For my DS, he has those symptoms (but not the dark circles under the eyes) from dairy - as well as stomach cramps and loose frequent stools. Once we eliminated dairy from his diet - ALL cow's and goat's milk dairy, even trace amounts - from his diet he was SO much better. If he gets a little by mistake or when we've trialed the symptoms come back - stomach discomfort, stuffy nose, rashes, horrible behavior...

Coconut milk (by itself or mixed with almond milk) is a super yummy and healthy alternative to cow's milk!

[*Becky*]

see he LOVES his milk am and pm. He only has half a cup each time but that is still a whole cup a day...not sure what to replace it with. He does not like juice? He has a yoghurt every day plus probably some cheese and milk on cereal so it does add up.

I have no idea of he is MSPI or just lactose or neither tbh but I guess a good start is to remove dairy as a main food group. We drink goats milk as a family so what would be good to have on cereal??? I am a bit clueless. Do we go to soy milk or rice milk or something else?

It feels a bit overwhelming. I took him to the doc yesterday just to check him over as he looks so tired and pale but she said he is fighting fit and that is the thing. He has never had antibiotics or medicines BUT he always has this runny nose and sort of tired look about him.

[clazzat]

If you drink goats milk then you can just put that on cereal too.

[*Becky*]

yes I do, he only has goats milk. If I was going to cut out dairy what should I use for milk on cereal etc?

[clazzat]

I would just be cutting out cows milk for the time being so I would replace it with goats milk on cereal and goats cheese and goats yoghurt.

[*Becky*]

but he has not ever really had cows milk...we have always used goats milk.