newmum, I am so sorry to hear about all of your struggles! I am lucky to not have a very fussy baby, but when she is, it is so hard to bear. I know you are just hanging on for dear life! I wish I could come give you a hug in person. Of course you love your LO, but when it is such a struggle, it makes life hard. And of course you want the best for him! Don't listen to others - there is only one person in the world that knows your baby and that is YOU! I taught pediatric nursing for years and that is what I drilled into their head over and over - if Mom thinks something is wrong, SOMETHING IS WRONG.
Another suggestion...do you have anybody that can give you a break? I would in a heartbeat if you lived near here!!
I know he is fussy, but it sounds like you have been working so hard, a break might be nice.
I am not suprised by the soy - when I was trying to find out if I was lactose intolerant or if I had a milk allergy, I tried soy milk. Oof...that was worse than the milk!! Soy stuff still gets me, especially tofu!
The website of my doc is:
http://www.allergy-immunology.com/I haven't looked at it in a while, and I know she has been working on it still, so I don't know if it has much information on it. However, it does have her contact info and I will pm you my full name so you can tell her I sent ya. She is great on the phone if you can get a hold of her, and is also accessible via email.
If you have the means to travel, I highly recommend seeing her (sorry I have no idea where you live...). She is in California but treats people as far away as Japan. If you are in England, I know they also have great allergy treatments there, as she is always amazed at how much further advanced the docs are in England as far as allergy stuff goes. I'm sorry that you have lost faith in doctors...there are good ones out there though, I promise! This doctor actually started her career as a pediatrician until she started getting sick - her allergies were so bad that other doctors told her she was probably not going to survive (her lungs were bad), so she started treating herself. Lo and behold she is a genius in treating allergies!!
In any case, I can definitely vouch for the mood affects of allergies. I know when I was going through skin testing, I was extremely depressed. When I went on an allergen-free diet, I was the most irritable I have ever been in my life - more than when I was pregnant! LOL!!
If you think about it, our body is sooo connected. Allergies cause your immune system to work overtime (allergies are basically your immune system causing an inflammatory response), which can wear you down in many ways - hormonal, etc. It also makes you get sick a lot because your immune system just can't keep up - I used to be sick in bed at least once a month! Ever since I started treatment, I have been sick ONCE in two years!!
Please, please keep venting. I am here for you. I know going through this stuff myself was super rough, I can't imagine seeing my LO go through it.
{{{{HUGS}}}}
