How will I know whether my lo is tolerating dairy and wheat?

[charmie]

My lo might or might not be MSPI.  He still has reflux at 10 months which we are controlling well with a formula thickener.

I have been introducing solids to him as if he was MSPI.  But I did accidentally give him a taste of pasta one day, and didn't see any particular reaction.  So it does make me wonder whether I am taking all these precautions for nothing.

Initially he was suspected to be MSPI because he was throwing up his formula all the time between bottles.  Eg.  It would be time for the next bottle and he would still be throwing up the previous one.  We switched to Nutramigen (which he is still having) but it didn't make any difference.  At the time even the thickener was hit and miss.  His reflux improved drastically when I started him on solids at 6.5mo.  Gosh am  giving lots of usless info here?!

The question is; when I try to introduce wheat to him what's signs should I look for?

TIA

[clazzat]

Ds is mpi - not sure about s as I have never tried - and i have generally found that if I slip up a little (I am still bf'ing so I have cut out dairy) he is a bit unsettled, but if I slip up a lot then he is up all night screaming! When I accidentally gave him mashed potato with butter in it he was in a lot of pain for 2-3 days.

Not sure if that is any use, but I think what I am trying to say is that a little bit of pasta might not have been enough to upset him, but giving him more might. And I guess the only way to find out if he is still intolerant is to give him a little bit and then monitor over the next couple of days to see how he reacts.

[Buntybear]

Hi, just to clarify - your DS is having no milk, soy or wheat at the moment? What makes you think you would have a problem to wheat? Is he still vomiting a lot? Have you tried an elemental formula such as Neocate?

As with any trial you would look at out for signs of an intolerance or allergy - hives, vomiting in a fast reacting allergy, stomach pains, gas, eczema etc in an intolerance. It may well take a few days to show itself so worth not introducing anything else new for a few days after as it can then get confusing.

Does that help?

[charmie]

Clazzat that was very clear, thank you

Buntybear, ds is having a hypoallergenic formula where the milk protein is very broken down.  No wheat, no soy.  I have not tried Neocate as both the pediatric GI and the pediatrician I saw discouraged me from doing that.  The Pediatric GI assumed ds might be intollerant to soy too, based on the statistics that more than 50% of mpi babies cannot tollerate soy either.  And he also suggested we stay away from wheat until 12 months based on the suspicion of him being mspi.

I think I might try soy first and see what happens.

That was very helpful, thank you x

[Buntybear]

Hi, the elemental formula has proteins which are even further broken down than Nutramigen. Some LOs are sensitive even to Nutramigen. If you haven't seen an improvement on it then it might be worth a try?

If I was in your situation I would probably give wheat a go again. I *think* that an allergy is more common for wheat and so you would see that quite quickly. X

[charmie]

The Pediatric GI had really really discouraged me from trying Neocate.  He said that the baby's taste buds were too mature and he would never accept it.  I said I was willing to give it a go and revert to previous formula in case baby kept refusing it.  But he said it's not good for the baby's intestinal flora to keep changing formulas.  I had change quite a few already by that point.  So I had to agree with him.  Besides now he's 10months and things have improved drastically.

I have my doubts whether the bringing up of milk is due to an intollerance as there aren't any other signs now.  He used to get a mucousy nappy once a week, and a little dry skin on his cheek every now and then, but never lasted long.  I think it's just the reflux that's causing it.  Nutramigen is quite a thin formula too.

I wish it was more of a cookie cut case.  Eg if you get blood in the poo then it's more definite.  But with his few and sparse symptoms they wouldn't even do any tests on him.  Deep down I was never sure whether he was MSPI or not.  I just chose to act like he was to be on the safe side.  Does that make sense?

[Buntybear]

Absolutely makes sense hun x I always erred on the side of caution too. Even now at 2 years I am very careful with some fruits and they used to give him wind and kept him up at night. He hasn't had mango in nearly a year! Crazy isn't it? Still Mum's are there to look out for and worry for our LOs. You are doing a great job. x

[charmie]

Thank you  . Will let you know how it goes !

[clazzat]

I have no official back-up for ds being mpi - I just looked at the way he behaved when I had dairy and drew my own conclusions. You know your ds best, so you are best placed to judge what is bothering him whether he has classic symptoms or not. I think it is sensible to proceed assuming he has the intolerances you suspect - you can always reintroduce things later.

Hope your trial goes well.

[katyusha]

Hi, we are mspi but wheat is fine. Does you LO have egg? Our asthma specialist told us that mspi is often tied in with an egg alergy as well. We did the test and DS has egg and peanut showing as much more raised (most things tested were a bit raised).  I still did not get a call explaining the results but cut out eggs and peanuts from my diet and his. since then his eczema has been very good. Only flared up once or twice in last 3 weeks and only due to overheating (and possibly due to having antibiotics).

[charmie]

ds used to have a tiny patch of eczema like skin next to his cheek on and off.  But I haven't seen it in months.

I went for the wheat test.  I gave him a portion of wholewheat pasta yesterday.  And today I gave him multigrain toast for lunch and dinner.  So far I haven't seen any repercussions.

[clazzat]

Fingers crossed that he doesn't react.

[katyusha]

Hoping all goes well!

[charmie]

So far so good!  No reactions whatsoever.  His skin is fine, his poos are fine, he's not any fussier than usual.  He's quite happy actually.  I gave him toast and pasta everyday.

I also just realized that I had given him some mushrooms cooked in butter too!  No reaction then either!

[Buntybear]

Brilliant news - I secretly had high hopes for your wheat challenge!

Dairy I would be careful with as this can take a while to show itself. Go slow and watch carefully  x