Or better yet, Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis.
It's looking like Ty has it, and we have been referred to a specialist we will see either June or July.
So let's back it up a little and I'll explain how we got to this assumption.
Ty is a very eager eater, I've mentioned before how breastfeeding has been not so pleasant this time around so about a month ago I decided to try to introduce formula as an alternative on days when either he was extra hungry or I needed a break. Unfortunately for everyone involved after two types of formula I gave up. We tried enfamil and similac and both types caused him to have very violent projectile vomit approximately 2-3 hours later. I wasn't overly concerned but had planned on talking to our doctor about it when we go next week. Don't get me wrong, I was concerned with his reaction but he is a breastfed baby and aside from my own physical discomfort there is no real reason not to nurse. He is always hungry so approximately a week ago I decided to grind up some oats and make him oatmeal. Once again approximately 2 hours afterwards he got sick. This time was frightening it was so bad. It was extremely forceful, projecting out of him and he was choking on it when trying to breathe. This "episode" as well as the previous ones all last approximately an hour. This time he also turned a greyish colour, appeared very lethargic and almost unresponsive to stimuli around him. So off we went to the hospital. I probably should have called an ambulance so we could get there sooner but instead I waited the worst of it out at home and took him down once I felt comfortable having him in a car seat. Of course being that the worst was over the doctor decided he must have a virus.
That brings us to our clinic visit yesterday. I took Ty down with a sample of his poop from the evening before. This poor guy is constipated a lot. And he gets very uncomfortable, it's so different than Mav who poops multiple times daily. Anyways the sample I brought in had a bunch of black stuff in it, my main worry was he was bleeding inside for some horrible reason. Well talk about right place at the right time because the medical resident we saw works with the specialist we are being referred to. Once she got all the background info she decided we needed a referral (I should mention the doctor she was actually working with that day felt there was nothing wrong) and luck struck once again because once she left the room to call the specialist she discovered he happened to be in the building. So we met with him and were given some basic intro to FPIES and we will move ahead with his clinic. Apparently this type of allergy is rare and most doctors are unfamiliar with it.
Obviously being that it is a rare type of allergy I needed to go do some more research once I got home. This is what I have discovered.
"Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (F-PIES) is a type of food allergy affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract."
- symptoms include but are not limited to extreme vomiting approximately 2 hours or more after eating, diarrhea, and subsequently dehydration.
- symptoms can lead to lethargy, decreased body temperature, and lowered blood pressure. Reactions can have serious consequenes such as shock and need to be treated.
- unlike common (IgE allergies) , FPIES is a non IgE allergy and therefore can not be tested the same way. foods can test negative with a skin prick or blood test but still cause a FPIES reaction.
- Proteins in breast milk may or may not cause reactions in infants.
- children can have one or multiple trigger foods (trigger foods are the foods that cause the reaction)
- children are most likely to outgrow FPIES by the age of three.
I still have a lot of reading to do and am on the hunt for blogs, support groups, and basically any information I can find. From our initial meeting with the doctor we have been given the direction to go ahead and try rice cereal followed by squash, and sweet potatoes. All three of these foods are listed as being common FPIES triggers so that scares me a bit. It is suspected that diary and obviously oats have been the cause so far and I really would like to have a positive experience with the next food we try. So fingers crossed. I may try the rice cereal this weekend while my mother is staying with us. There's something comforting about having your mother around, even as an almost 30 year old. I really cant be trying new things on days when its just me and the two kids, if we needed to go to hospital I do not want to try to bring Mav.
So wish me luck I have lots of reading and planning to do!
Here are a few of the resources I've been reading so far:
FPIES Foundation
Kids with Food Allergies
Allergy UK
"Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (F-PIES) is a type of food allergy affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract."
- symptoms include but are not limited to extreme vomiting approximately 2 hours or more after eating, diarrhea, and subsequently dehydration.
- symptoms can lead to lethargy, decreased body temperature, and lowered blood pressure. Reactions can have serious consequenes such as shock and need to be treated.
- unlike common (IgE allergies) , FPIES is a non IgE allergy and therefore can not be tested the same way. foods can test negative with a skin prick or blood test but still cause a FPIES reaction.
- Proteins in breast milk may or may not cause reactions in infants.
- children can have one or multiple trigger foods (trigger foods are the foods that cause the reaction)
- children are most likely to outgrow FPIES by the age of three.
I still have a lot of reading to do and am on the hunt for blogs, support groups, and basically any information I can find. From our initial meeting with the doctor we have been given the direction to go ahead and try rice cereal followed by squash, and sweet potatoes. All three of these foods are listed as being common FPIES triggers so that scares me a bit. It is suspected that diary and obviously oats have been the cause so far and I really would like to have a positive experience with the next food we try. So fingers crossed. I may try the rice cereal this weekend while my mother is staying with us. There's something comforting about having your mother around, even as an almost 30 year old. I really cant be trying new things on days when its just me and the two kids, if we needed to go to hospital I do not want to try to bring Mav.
So wish me luck I have lots of reading and planning to do!
Here are a few of the resources I've been reading so far:
FPIES Foundation
Kids with Food Allergies
Allergy UK
