Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance - MSPI - READ HERE!!!

[First Time Mom]

lostmom, sorry to hear you're having a tough time. I can't answer about the formula as dd is bf but I'm sure someone else can. As for a routine with MSPI, I found our routine was great once we eliminated the culprit (milk), before that my dd was up until 4:30am every night screaming when she was younger. Could there be a chance you are eating something different that has milk products in it? I know with my dd, she had blood in her stool whenever I did, she was very sensitive- couldn't tolerate ANY milk product (I went a year without eating bread, only pita bread, had to read every label).

Have you started the solids yet? Just make sure if you start the cereal you read the boxes, many have milk or formula added. I made dd's cereal with water (I was never able to pump) and I made all her food just to be sure there was no milk added. Solids won't help with the nws, unless she's actually hungry, even then it's a while before solids are well established as at first it's only to get them used to taste and texture.

I'm not vegetarian but I'm not a huge meat fan, I eat lots of beans and legumes and peanut butter myself for protein, I'm sure you also eat tofu, I hate tofu but my dd (16 mths) likes it mixed in with other things (she often turns her nose up at meat). Oh, there's also eggs, which I can't tolerate the smell of cooking, lol, but dd loves.
 

[Mydreamcametrue]

If it were me, I would keep on pushing the Alimentum.  I would try a little bit at a time mixed with breast milk and then slowly increase it.    I would also cut all dairy and soy out of my diet while breastfeeding.  So many lo's (my son included) could not handle dairy or soy. 

You would be suprised the stuff that soy is in.  Almost all breads have either dairy or soy flour in it.  I did find an Iltatian bread that was safe.

If she is having a problem with the dairy, then the gentelease is not going to help her. 

Last bit of advice:  DO NOT EVER LET THE DOCTOR CONVINCE YOU THAT IT IS SOMETHING ELSE.. JUST GAS....  A MOTHER KNOWS BEST.  I went through the same thing for months with my son.  I also kept saying he had all the symptoms of reflux.  I had to switch doctors before someone took me seriously and not just saying that I had the new mommy syndrome. 

Good Luck, I feel for you because I have been there. 
Wendy

[fitfamily]

LostMOm, My lo did have problem with routine until I addressed his MSPI (8days ago).  He is sooo much better with a routine.  I read every label.  I also tried 1oz. Alimentum yesterday and he spit up a tiny bit with his burps.  He also had a few red bumps on his groin.  That made me think he might not tolerate Alimentum or nutramigen.  I'm not sure, if this is the case, but I can hardly pump anything.  I need to give my babysitter a bottle next week because I have to be out for a few hours 3x next week.  I am thinking that I will have to get neocate.

[motherof3]

Hi Ladies!

It has been awhile since I have posted.  Abby is MSPI and has reflux.  She is still on Prevacid and Neocate.  Every once in awhile I have been giving her some butter and other things that have small amounts of soy in them, just to see how she handles them.  She hasen't had any problems with it so far.  Well her GI suggested that we try some yogurt around her 1st birthday.  I want to try soy first b/c I am more leary with trying cow's milk since my other kids are allergic to it.  So yesterday we tried 2 spoonfuls of soy yogurt!   So far she hasn't had any problems!   So I am wondering, will it take awhile before I would see any problems, ie. does it have to build up in her system?  Or if she was going to have issues with it would I see it right away?  What have you ladies experienced?

Andrea

[GraceKellysmom]

When I intro'd milk to Grace, she would immediately show symptoms, within a couple days. Runny poops, not sleeping well, diaper rash. Once she tolerated it ok, no signs after exposure.

Now, my sister has a baby who is milk intolerant only. Her signs are excema, that's it. She loves milk stuff but the skin issues say there is something going on, no rash/dry skin when she's milk-free. So watch for other symptoms like that too, with prolonged exposure.

I'm milk-soy free again. Lots of more options this time, living in a big city. Thankfully, other people are realizing soy isn't the miracle food it's made out to be and more manufacturers and bakeries are not using it anymore!

[hayleysmum]

Haven't posted in a while but have a few questions which I wouldn't mind getting feedback on. 

Andrea - to answer your question - I think it depends on the child but once they get past a year, trace/small amounts are usually (not always) fine.  I'd slowly increase the amount you give Abby and as Stacy said, the reaction should show up pretty quickly.  Hayley had outgrown her intolerance to soy by the time she hit a year but is/was still intolerant to cow's milk.

I recently challenged Hayley on cow's milk yoghurt and we immediately returned to runny/stinky poos - I cut it out again and we're back to normal.  But Casey - this may answer your question, Hayley seems to be perfectly fine eating stuff that contains milk products and she also seems to tolerate cheese and butter.  But I think the best way to approach it would be to cut everything out for a month which should allow sufficient time for everything to clear her system and then for you to have a couple of weeks to monitor her soya/dairy free behaviour/moods/sleep patterns etc.  Then start introducing items back into her diet in a controlled manor and you'd be able to notice if trace amounts are affecting her.  Tell nursery staff to treat it like any other serious allergy so that they are extra dilligent in keeping it away from her as challenging as it may be.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience with their LOs being fine with some dairy products and not others?  Would the process of making cheese affect the protein somehow so that it's more digestable?  I haven't bothered trialing cow's milk, figuring if she couldn't tolerate the yoghurt that she'd probably not tolerate straight milk.  I'm not that bothered though as she's happy to drink soy milk...

steph

[motherof3]

Steph:  Abby's pedi GI said that yogurt and cheese have less protein in them so she told us to try those first.

Well we stopped all soy for right now.  She can't shake this chest and nose congestion and her GI thinks the soy might be making it worse.  We celebrated her birthday this past weekend and I made her cake but the mix and icing did list soy oil and it obviously bothered her b/c she threw up twice later that evening and was very restless through the night.  I so hoped she had grown out of it.   Yesterday I ordered a stool test kit for cow's milk and soy sensitivity from Enterolab in Dallas.  Her GI wants to order blood tests but I have read that the stool testing is much more reliable when it comes to GI symptoms then blood tests.  She has never had any skin symptoms.  I don't know if our insurance will cover it but I just want to know what is going on.

Andrea

[First Time Mom]

Steph, my dd can handle small amounts of some cheese (harder type, not creamy) and some plain yogurt but not any amount of milk. I read that allergy can turn into lactose intollerance after 12 months so I'm thinking that's what dd has. When she was younger we couldn't have any milk products whatsoever, she had blood in her stool.

Andrea, from my understanding, the stool test looks for trace blood in the stool while the blood test checks for counts and compares before and after a milk challenge. Also, my ped said that the blood in stool is more often present in younger los.

[motherof3]

This isn't the stool test that checks for blood in the stool.  Here is the link for the lab https://www.enterolab.com/Home.htm  I have talked w/a few moms who have had their lo's tested through there.  The blood test is to test for (I think) an allergy vs. an intolerance.  I have to confirm this w/her GI when we talk.  But I would rather do the stool test b/c from what I have read it is more reliable and much less invasive then the blood test.  She had to get blood drawn when she was about 2 months and it was horrible!   I don't want to put her through that unless I have too.

Andrea

[First Time Mom]

That sounds great! So much better than the blood tests. I had to do the blood test with dd, I was horrified to see how much blood they drew with one needle.

[Gabriella]

Hello, I'm new to here and haven't had the courage to waddle through 26 pages...

My LO is 10 months old and has had really soft stools since he stopped breastfeeding and started formula at 8 months. (My milk supply decreased a lot with my new pregnancy) He's also been sick continuously (runny nose, throat infection, ear infection, etc.). He's had fever several times. We went to the doc soooooo many times, I can't even care to count. He'd give all kinds of drugs, to no avail.

Last week we were visiting some family and my aunt took DS to a naturopathe, who said he needed come off cows milk (which I have suspected) and that as he had these digestive problems, the vitamins and minerals, especially iron, were not absorbed properly.

When we came home, I took him to a homeopath, to ask for more detailed advice. What a disappointment!!!!! I didn't like her at first sight, but I though I'd give it a go anyways. We spent about an hour there, not once did she look at the baby, didn't propose any solutions or diagnostic. When I said I suspected MSPI, she told me "you can start cow's milk at 10 mo". And I was like "well, that won't help, WILL IT?!?!" She also kept shushing DS who was getting impatient, having had to sit for so long without anybody paying attention to him. I was so upset. She was soooo utterly useless. I couldn't believe it. What a waste of time and money.  I am still fuming. She also offered some smart advice to help him sleep better, such as "does he have a night lamp" and "try PJs without feet, maybe his feet are hot". For heaven's sake!!!!!

Tomorrow I'll try and contact another naturopath, hoping for some more detailed diagnostic and a more sympathetic treatment of my baby. I still don't understand why doctors cannot get their act together and propose hollistic treatments, or at least refer patients to other specialists. I am doing all my research for specialists on my own, as there is no official listing.

I am thinking of switching to goat's milk. Any advice on that?

Thanks for listening to my rant. :-)

[First Time Mom]

Hi Gabriella! Sorry to hear of your ordeal, that's terrible about your visit and it's a shame you have to pay for that. I would suggest trying to eliminate his milk/formula intake and switching him to soy or rice milk (some can't handle soy, my dd can). For the first year when my dd had her protein allergy she could not tolerate goat's milk, apparently the protein is too similar. Could you first book an appt with your ped or doctor to see an allergist? If you make the switch from formula to rice or soy make sure your lo is eating a well balanced diet first and getting enough fats from other foods. As well, read the package, the soy I now use is fortified and unsweetened. Or switch to the hypo formula, don't know to much about it as we never did formula but others can tell you which one.

Also, if his reaction is due to milk, I would say he's lactose intolerant as opposed to having a protein allergy, if it were the full blown protein allergy he would have reacted to being bf'd if you took in any milk products.

Are you in Canada? Just asking because of the 10 month comment about switching to milk.

[Cassie]

Palmer is almost 17 mos and still can't even tolerate things that just have milk as an ingredient.  I gave him 1/2 of a cereal bar 2 days ago and he was up off and on from 4-6am that night ... he has not had a night waking in a very long time, so I can't imagine it wasn't the milk.  I had given him 1 Tbsp of soy milk in his oatmeal the day before and he was super crabby.  But no butt rash, so I guess that is an improvement.

I am really just so frustrated by this whole thing.  Everyone keeps telling me (including his GI doc) that he will start growing out of this by the time he is 2.  But he really shows no signs of getting better.

I don't care if he can't ever drink cows milk, I just want to be able to feed him some things with milk or soy as an ingredient.  This strict diet plus his pickiness has resulted in him eating the same 5 foods everyday.  It is getting REALLY old.

[GraceKellysmom]

Cassie, you have my sympathies! (although Max is 2.5 and only eats 5 foods, but that is by choice!) Let me know if you want some food ideas for him, I'm milk/soy-free again too, or if you just needed a vent. I think your doctor telling you he'll outgrow it by 2 was sorta foolish, because how is he to know if he will or not? I would just hate you to set yourself up for that and have it not be so.

Since I'm the one milk/soy-free in our family, I just cook that way and everyone else eats it, regardless of what they want.  It does get incredibly boring, especially since I've been avoiding eggs since they give Faith awful gas. I eat a lot of oatmeal and I like mine with just warm water. (Max eats oatmeal for lots of meals, not just breakfast)

What my big wish is, is that with all these kids getting food allergies and intolerances, that someone can uncover the WHY of it. I mean, why on earth are all these kids cows milk intolerant? Why do manufacturers keep insisting on putting soy in EVERYTHING that is processed? And these aren't even the bad allergies, one of the moms on another board I go to says that her sons school just went peanut/treenut free. The whole school. No one is allowed to bring peanuts in any form into the school. Can you imagine? That is all Max will eat, pb&j every single day.

[Gabriella]

Hello again!

Sorry for the long silence. I tried goat's milk with Elio, but it was a total disaster. I also gave him baby soy formula once, but it looked so lumpy and not appetizing that I didn't insist. So, he's back to his normal formula now. His stools are still really loose, but other than that he seems fine. He eats all kinds of other stuff and now he's down to about 25-27oz formula a day. He also drinks more tea, which he refused to do before.

I still have to contact the GP for allergy tests. I don't think he's really allergic, because then he'd have more symptoms besides loose stools.

Thanks for listening.
Gabriella