Trying to identify intolerances - please help!

[jdancer]

Hello,

I am looking for some help identifying what my DS might be sensitive/intolerant/allergice to.

I EBF DS and he is 3.5 months old, and has definitely been identified as having MSPI.  However, after several weeks of cutting ALL dairy and soy (including hidden stuff like natural flavoring, soy lecithin, and soy oil) he STILL has symptoms (runny stool, mucousy stool, painful gas).  I'm trying to figure out if there is another food I should be cutting out, or if I might just be missing a hidden ingredient somewhere.  Below is my log for the last week or so, along with relevant family allergy history.  I would appreciate any insight, as this is all very new terrain for me. Thank you for any help you can offer.

Family history:

Father - allergic to beef, chocolate, LOTS of environmental allergies
Mother (me) - allergic to pork as a child (grew out of it); also dairy intolerant as a baby (grew out of it)
Grandmother - allergic to pork, gluten intolerant
Aunt (my sister) - allergic to pork

Food log and baby's symptoms:

4/23
Breakfast: eggs, spinach, pita bread (no dairy or soy additives)
Lunch: Salmon, asparagus, cauliflower, apple, banana, banana/oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate (no dairy or soy additives)
Dinner: Hamburger (no egg), rice, spinach, chicken, canned vegetables (at my parents' house - don't know if there were additives or not), dark chocolate (no soy/dairy)

Baby - no poop

4/24
B: eggs, avocado, banana, pita
L: groundbeef, cauliflower, asparagus, banana
D: rice chex, steak, rice/groundbeef/chicken with spices (from my parents - don't know about additives), spinach, apple, chocolate

Baby - no poop

4/25
B: egg, pita, apple
L: potato, ground beef, banana
D: hamburger (at a friends' - don't know about additives), fruit salad (no additives), tortilla chips (no soy/dairy), lettuce

Baby - no poop for 4th straight day; was in a lot of gastric pain so pediatrician advised a suppository, which we gave at 2:30 am on the 26; this helped immensely

4/26
B: eggs, spinach, bacon (natural flavor - celery seed), banana
L: ground beef, rice, tomato
D: steak, asparagus, apple, rice chex, rice milk, avocado, sliced ham (no dairy/soy additives)

Baby - see 4/25

4/27
B: rice chex, rice milk, banana
L: rice/chicken/ground beef and spices (from family - don't know about additives), sliced ham (no dairy/soy additives), canned vegetables (from family - don't know about additives)
D: pork roast, frozen vegetables, sweet potato, brown sugar

Baby - 8:30 - normal stool, but mucousy; 4:10 - normal stool, but mucousy

4/28
B: eggs, avocado, banana
L: spinach, olives, tomato, sliced ham, apple, carrots
D: apple, onion, broccoli, rice chex, rice milk, banana, meatloaf (made with eggs, ground beef, spinach, and spices)

Baby - 2:30 - normal stool; 5:40 - runny, mucousy stool

4/29
B: egg, banana, rice chex, rice milk
L: lettuce, sliced turkey (at a friend's - don't know about additives), carrots, parsnips, watermelon, meatloaf (see above)

Baby - mucousy, but not runny stool; LOTS of PAINFUL gas

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Hmm....while family history would make your lo more prone to allergies, specific ones are not usually inherited so I would probably pick the more allergenic foods and perhaps cut them (eggs perhaps?). Are you gluten free? Also is there any possibility it is something like oversupply/ overactive letdown or a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance?

[ZacsMumme]

Pork is high in oxalates. It may be worth trying slow oxalate diet. But, you want to be careful not to over do it YK? I'd personally try cutting out gluten first as it's a common intolerance food. t was terrible and we just cut all the top 8 allergens till he was 12 mths. But he has/had a lot of gut issues. You don't want to have to cut too much if itis unnecessary YK?

Maybe try gluten/mainly wheat first for a few weeks. Then if no improvement talk to a dietitian or specialist? Google oxalates if your interested in checking them out. I don't know an awful lot about them as T didn't have problems with them.

[jdancer]

I did have oversupply issues for the first couple months, but thought I'd gotten it under control...I was actually beginning to fear I had lost some supply since I've lost quite a bit of weight very quickly since changing my diet, but maybe I'll call my LC and see what she thinks...I suppose it could still be that.

I have also started to cut wheat as of this past week, so we'll see if things get better there. I'd hate to have to cut eggs, since I'm running out of breakfast foods, but I am going to try to limit them in the next few weeks and see if that might be it too.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I would run with the gf diet for a while then before cutting other things as that could take a bit to clear your system!

[ZacsMumme]

I would run with the gf diet for a while then before cutting other things as that could take a bit to clear your system!

I agree

Good luck hun

[Buntybear]

You don't seem to eat much gluten anyway so should be easy to cut out?

The only other thing that jumps out is that you eat eggs most days - might be worth cutting out as a trial?

[jdancer]

Thank you all for your suggestions.  I'm just wondering...

How likely is it really that my baby is actually intolerant to all these different foods (milk, soy, possibly corn, something(s) else)? Could there perhaps be a larger issue? I'm down to a really bare bones diet at this point, and while I am not sure yet if symptoms are resolving or not (waiting for the next dirty diaper), I'm starting to feel a little desperate.  I'm not even taking vitamins anymore, because they all have additives of some kind (soy, dairy, or corn) that I'm afraid he'll react to.  How is this livable?

Sorry, I'm really feeling overwhelmed with this...

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Have you tried cutting eggs yet? It could just be that the offending food is one you are still consuming or another issue entirely...did you explore the foremilk/hindmilk imbalance angle? 

[jdancer]

I am attempting a modified block nursing to see if that will help (that's what worked the last time). I haven't cut eggs entirely, but I am limiting them and trying Dr. Sears' elimination diet on Monday to really isolate things. Hopefully between the two approaches I should see some results soon. Thank you for the continued encouragement.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Fx one of those things does the trick then!

[Buntybear]

It is SOOOOO HARD when there are multiple food allergies or intolerances. Apart from the poorly baby, sleep problems, routine problems you then have to deal with not eating very much yourselves and so having less energy and no comfort foods and the worry of trying to figure out what is actually wrong. I totally get it xx hang in there. xx

[jdancer]

OK, I give up...I've been on an elimination diet for almost a week now (no eggs, wheat, dairy, soy, nuts, corn, citrus, acidic food, etc.) and LO woke up this morning with runny runny stool again Is it possible at this point that I'm misinterpreting it? He doesn't seem to be as gassy (so I thought I was making progress!), so could it just be because I'm eating so many fruits and vegetables to make up for what I'm not eating that it's making it runny? I know BF poo is supposed to be runny, but I vaguely remember it looking more like mustard and less like liquid...is this just a variation of normal? If it's not a food allergy, what else could it be? I definitely have my oversupply under control, so it's not that either.  Could it have something to do with his reflux meds (the only other thing he ingests)?

I'm at a loss.  I'm still going to start adding foods back in and watching other symptoms (spit up, trouble sleeping, gas pains, etc.), but I feel rather frustrated.

[stuckunderhere]

Dairy and wheat/gluten take FOREVER to get out of the system... if it's getting better, then keep at it. It wasn't until 6-7wks later that all my DS's  symptoms were gone

[Buntybear]

Hi, how are things now? If the gas has gone that is good. It does take a while for the gut to heal after it has ben exposed to something it doesn't like.