Can't you give me specific info?

[rebeccaravit]

My 9mo son was diagnosed with a dairy allergy yesterday. I was looking forward to the appt with the allergist b/c I thought that she would provide me with information on how to move forward.

Did she give me a handout listing the ingredients to avoid?

Did she give me a list of substitutes for food containing calcium for both my son and myself since she told me to eliminate dairy from my diet?

Did she give me a list of resources or online websites to visit to get help?

Absolutely not! She gave me two brochures, one from the Epi-Pen company and the other a catalog from the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.

If it weren't for Google and the great moms on this message board, I wouldn't know what to do.

I am so annoyed with this doctor!

[Laurel]

Oh, hugs. That is really annoying!

Also, I completely recommend joining http://kidswithfoodallergies.org

HTH!

[hez]

Your allergist would tick me off, too. Ours did everything you expected :hug5:

We still google a lot when we're looking for alternative recipes-- eggs do seem to be easier to avoid than dairy.

[bubbaray]

I'd highly recommend getting a referral to an allergy dietician/nutritionist. OMG, I don't know what I would have done without mine....

You could check out these sites:

http://allergymoms.com/index.php

http://www.foodallergy.org/

http://www.anaphylaxis.org/

[ThreeofUs]

Geez, how frustrating! At the very least the allergist should have referred you to a dietician - I can't imagine not doing so.

ITA with Melissa - go out and get one for yourself. And let everyone you know about your experience with this person.

[LarsMal]

That's terrible! I can't believe an actual allergist wouldn't give you all the info you needed.

Our allergist gave us a handout of all the synonyms for the foods to avoid with DS. My guess is you've found that already on one of the allergy websites.

Food allergies suck, but once you figure out what to avoid and how to read labels, it's not too bad. DS has both dairy and egg allergies. We pretty much avoid eating out at all costs now (especially after he had reactions from sitting in restaurant high chairs) but we manage, and he is perfectly happy and healthy.

There is a great cookbook we use, which I've recommended here before:

http://www.dairyfreeeggfreekidpleasingcookbook.com/

A lot of her recipes have become staples in our house.

Good luck and keep searching. There is definitely great info out there. I hope you kiddo outgrows it soon, too!

[DrSally]

Sounds like your doc did a really superficial job. I would seek out a pediatric allergist and also visit kidswithfoodallergies.org. They have a list of milk ingred to avoid. Unfortunately, "natural flavors" sometimes incl. dairy. I also had to be very careful about lunchmeat as well as all packaged foods. Also, O'soy yogurt now has dairy in it. Silk and Whole Soy and Co. do not. You'll learn a lot as you go along. The applesauce cake receipe posted many times here is great to make into muffins, freeze, and bring to bday parties. I substituted shortening for the butter.

ETA: If you have a costco membership, they have cases of organic soymilk for about $1 a carton. Also, our first allergist was just terrible, but the second was heaven-sent. You might have better luck with someone else. Did she get tested for other things as well? Sometimes those that have milk allergies also have egg allergies.

[rebeccaravit]

He was tested for milk (positive) and egg, wheat, soy, peanuts (negative for all).

I am thinking about going to another allergist when the RAST test results come back. Since he doesn't have an anaphylactic allergy to milk I would like to see why I have to eliminate it from my diet. I would also hope that I can have him tested earlier than a year. Hopefully a second opinion can answer more questions and provide a clearer path to travel on then to "just avoid dairy".

[DrSally]

Yeah, our allergist said there is conflicting evidence on changing mom's diet, and I didn't have to unless DS seemed to be having problems. Me drinking milk made his cheeks bright red and he seemed more irritable to me, so I eliminated obvious sources and that seemed to be enough. I reintroduced it in my diet a year later, before he came back neg in testing. It's really great that your DS doesn't have any other allergies! I would def keep a lookout though, as his chances are increased now. DS broke out with a mustard allergy (seeds) when I gave him some for his hotdog.