way back in may, when bebe had her first allergic reaction, i called the allergy clinic at children's hospital to get an appointment. we had to wait over three months (!!! -- i could have gotten in somewhere else sooner, probably, but really wanted her to be seen by the best). since then she has had multiple reactions to many different things. we just finally had the appointment yesterday and, while i was dreading the skin test, i was really looking forward to getting some answers.
oh, ignorance is bliss.
the one piece of good news was that bebe is not allergic to avocadoes or strawberries, which we had thought she might be. the bad news is that, as i suspected, she is allergic to nuts, dairy, and eggs. she is highly allergic to all three, and all three are potentially highly dangerous allergies, with the chance of her going into anaphylactic shock upon exposure. an added piece of bad news regarding those three allergies is that, though she hasn't been reacting to them through my milk, the allergist still recommended that i avoid them as long as we're breastfeeding, because repeated exposure can damage her immune system. since she can't have milk, i plan to breastfeed her for as long as possible, so i have had to say goodbye to cheese and scrambled eggs and all those nut-containing goodies that i've been eating when out of the house without her -- and, worst of all, half and half. i am drinking a cup of black coffee while posting this and am choking it down like it's medicine.
that's not the worse news, though. the worse news, the terrible news, the very most worst news we could possibly have gotten, is that bebe is allergic to cats. and, according to the allergist (and confirmed by my own frantic googling last night), chronic exposure to allergens, especially pet dander and dust mites, in infancy and early childhood can result in the development of asthma.
so. needless to say, we are facing some sad times. it's not hard to figure out what the right decision is -- bebe's health comes first. but that doesn't mean that making that decision will be easy.
post skin-test, waiting for the nurse to come in and read the results. clearly, they were not good.
oh, ignorance is bliss.
the one piece of good news was that bebe is not allergic to avocadoes or strawberries, which we had thought she might be. the bad news is that, as i suspected, she is allergic to nuts, dairy, and eggs. she is highly allergic to all three, and all three are potentially highly dangerous allergies, with the chance of her going into anaphylactic shock upon exposure. an added piece of bad news regarding those three allergies is that, though she hasn't been reacting to them through my milk, the allergist still recommended that i avoid them as long as we're breastfeeding, because repeated exposure can damage her immune system. since she can't have milk, i plan to breastfeed her for as long as possible, so i have had to say goodbye to cheese and scrambled eggs and all those nut-containing goodies that i've been eating when out of the house without her -- and, worst of all, half and half. i am drinking a cup of black coffee while posting this and am choking it down like it's medicine.
that's not the worse news, though. the worse news, the terrible news, the very most worst news we could possibly have gotten, is that bebe is allergic to cats. and, according to the allergist (and confirmed by my own frantic googling last night), chronic exposure to allergens, especially pet dander and dust mites, in infancy and early childhood can result in the development of asthma.
so. needless to say, we are facing some sad times. it's not hard to figure out what the right decision is -- bebe's health comes first. but that doesn't mean that making that decision will be easy.
post skin-test, waiting for the nurse to come in and read the results. clearly, they were not good.
feeling better, finally, after the administration of some antihistamine cream and benedryl. she has no idea that they still need to take some blood from her. (which, by the way, was one of the more traumatizing experiences of my life. i really feel for parents with children who have serious illnesses or chronic conditions, who have to go through things like that regularly. i had a hard time falling asleep last night, remembering the sound of her crying so hard she choked and couldn't breathe.)_
2 comments:
Oh, I feel sick for you just reading this. The allergy to a family member is awful, and I don't know how I would manage it. I know some people can quantine the cats to one room or area, but I am not sure if it would work in your case (it wouldn't in ours). I honestly might make Dave live in a seperate house with the cats while I lived with the kids. Sending you lots of hugs.
We are3 going dairy free here too, so we should swap recipes when we can.
Oh Lize, I'm sorry aout this news. A big blow. A close friend of mine had to get rid of her cat when it started to act agressive with children, including their own toddler. I feel for you. Much love.
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