Toddler thread

[Marcus]

Little one turned a year old a few weeks ago.

We’ve since found out the hard way that she has a severe milk allergy. We always knew that she had a potential intolerance, having had to switch her to hypoallergenic formula at a few months old, but this was full-on anaphylaxis.

Any other parents in here dealing with food allergies? I’m nervous to try introducing her to anything else at the moment - if you’ve never been through anaphylaxis before, I can assure you it is not a pleasant experience - at least until we see an allergist in a month. At the same time, I feel under the gun here because she’s a year old and she needs to start moving off formula and into more and more regular foods.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Little one turned a year old a few weeks ago.

We’ve since found out the hard way that she has a severe milk allergy. We always knew that she had a potential intolerance, having had to switch her to hypoallergenic formula at a few months old, but this was full-on anaphylaxis.

Any other parents in here dealing with food allergies? I’m nervous to try introducing her to anything else at the moment - if you’ve never been through anaphylaxis before, I can assure you it is not a pleasant experience - at least until we see an allergist in a month. At the same time, I feel under the gun here because she’s a year old and she needs to start moving off formula and into more and more regular foods.

No food allergies here--yet. Knock on wood. Only celiac in the family, which shows up later in life.

 

[Marcus]

No food allergies here--yet. Knock on wood. Only celiac in the family, which shows up later in life.

I’ve heard that food allergies aren’t hereditary, but that being said, I also grew up with (and later outgrew) food allergies that would throw me into anaphylaxis.

It’s a shitty thing to go through for anyone, but it’s even worse as a kid.

 

[macbdog]

Little one turned a year old a few weeks ago.

We’ve since found out the hard way that she has a severe milk allergy. We always knew that she had a potential intolerance, having had to switch her to hypoallergenic formula at a few months old, but this was full-on anaphylaxis.

Any other parents in here dealing with food allergies? I’m nervous to try introducing her to anything else at the moment - if you’ve never been through anaphylaxis before, I can assure you it is not a pleasant experience - at least until we see an allergist in a month. At the same time, I feel under the gun here because she’s a year old and she needs to start moving off formula and into more and more regular foods.

Our middle one is allergic to peanuts. Her initial symptoms (swelling around her lips, some hives) were mild enough that we caught it early before it got confirmed by allergist. Thankfully that's been the only obvious one. If she really had an anaphylactic reaction, I personally would also be leery of introducing new stuff too. What did your doc advise? Peanuts and tree nuts are the most common food allergies, so I would avoid those definitely until then. Have you tried any foods so far?

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Little one turned a year old a few weeks ago.

We’ve since found out the hard way that she has a severe milk allergy. We always knew that she had a potential intolerance, having had to switch her to hypoallergenic formula at a few months old, but this was full-on anaphylaxis.

Any other parents in here dealing with food allergies? I’m nervous to try introducing her to anything else at the moment - if you’ve never been through anaphylaxis before, I can assure you it is not a pleasant experience - at least until we see an allergist in a month. At the same time, I feel under the gun here because she’s a year old and she needs to start moving off formula and into more and more regular foods.

You should consult with your pediatrician, because I do know that introducing new foods to your child early helps reduce food allergies. So protecting your child by not giving her new foods may actually make things worse later on. You'll probably have to do the "one new food" at a time thing, and observe her to make sure she tolerates it.

I have a bunch of food allergies, btw, and they're not the end of the world as long as you have liquid Benadryl and anything else the doc deems necessary.

But definitely consult with your pede, and probably do some research on your own as well.

 

[Marcus]

Doc recommended we hold off on new potential allergen foods until we see the allergist.

Wrote us a prescription for more epi pens, of which the pharmacy techs in their infinite wisdom and common sense filled exactly half.

Because of their mistake, we would have to pay out of pocket for the other half, as insurance will not cover it.

So… that’s cool.

 

[N7RobBob]

Doc recommended we hold off on new potential allergen foods until we see the allergist.

Wrote us a prescription for more epi pens, of which the pharmacy techs in their infinite wisdom and common sense filled exactly half.

Because of their mistake, we would have to pay out of pocket for the other half, as insurance will not cover it.

So… that’s cool.

For the for-profit medical system and the leeches that are the insurance companies....

 

[Marcus]

For the for-profit medical system and the leeches that are the insurance companies....

It’s not lost on me that I should be grateful that I even have medical insurance in the first place. Otherwise I’d probably be out hundreds and hundreds of dollars for life-saving medicine, a sad reality that way too many people in one of the world’s wealthiest nations face.

The discussion as to why it should even be necessary in the first place is one that should probably take place in another of our sub forums, however

I guess for now we’ll have to take her epi pens back and forth every day from daycare so that she always has two on hand, and wait for us to be “allowed” to get a refill.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

It’s not lost on me that I should be grateful that I even have medical insurance in the first place. Otherwise I’d probably be out hundreds and hundreds of dollars for life-saving medicine, a sad reality that way too many people in one of the world’s wealthiest nations face.

The discussion as to why it should even be necessary in the first place is one that should probably take place in another of our sub forums, however

I guess for now we’ll have to take her epi pens back and forth every day from daycare so that she always has two on hand, and wait for us to be “allowed” to get a refill.

Epi pens are ridiculously expensive -- I don't even carry one despite allergies. They also go bad fairly quickly, which may be why the pharmacist wouldn't fill the entire order. I just make do with guzzling a bunch of liquid Benadryl if I start to feel something, and that works.

 

[N7RobBob]

It’s not lost on me that I should be grateful that I even have medical insurance in the first place. Otherwise I’d probably be out hundreds and hundreds of dollars for life-saving medicine, a sad reality that way too many people in one of the world’s wealthiest nations face.

The discussion as to why it should even be necessary in the first place is one that should probably take place in another of our sub forums, however

I guess for now we’ll have to take her epi pens back and forth every day from daycare so that she always has two on hand, and wait for us to be “allowed” to get a refill.

I just hope you don't have to use them. I have a buddy whose daughter has a severe peanut allergy, and their daycare is supposed to be a nut-free facility but some parents sent in something with their kids. Daycare called them forgetting that they had already packed their EpiPen in the daughter's backpack just in case. It's not an enviable situation. I hope the trip the allergist gets some clarity for your family.

 

[2 For The Brew]

Epi pen cost - I wonder who the CEO of Mylan Pharma was and how she got her job?

It would be inappropriate on this thread to Manchin her full name.

 

[KevinLoveFan]

Medical costs are indeed challenging. Our son has phenylketonuria, and the medical formula he needs so that he doesn't consume too much phenylalanine is expensive and hard to find. Husband has done a lot of searching around the Internet for best prices. We're also very thankful for insurance, or else this would be much, much worse.

 

[Marcus]

Epi pens are ridiculously expensive -- I don't even carry one despite allergies. They also go bad fairly quickly, which may be why the pharmacist wouldn't fill the entire order. I just make do with guzzling a bunch of liquid Benadryl if I start to feel something, and that works.

Benadryl will work if it’s a mild reaction, and can help at least slow some symptoms, but if she’s hurtling towards anaphylaxis that’s a very short window. Unfortunately, epinephrine is the only thing likely to help in that case. As far as I can tell, the pens have a shelf life of a year or so.

We were lucky in that she didn’t exhibit the breathing problems this time, but the more often this happens the worse her symptoms are likely to get.

I just hope you don't have to use them. I have a buddy whose daughter has a severe peanut allergy, and their daycare is supposed to be a nut-free facility but some parents sent in something with their kids. Daycare called them forgetting that they had already packed their EpiPen in the daughter's backpack just in case. It's not an enviable situation. I hope the trip the allergist gets some clarity for your family.

I have been on the receiving end of them a few times. It took six fully grown adults to hold me down so that they could administer the shot when I was like eight years old. I hope it’s not something she ever has to experience, but at least we have something in case of an emergency and the daycare staff are trained in how to handle it. I also work from home and live only a few minutes away from the daycare, so it’s a bit of comfort knowing that I’m close by if something happens.

That thing fucking hurts.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Benadryl will work if it’s a mild reaction, and can help at least slow some symptoms, but if she’s hurtling towards anaphylaxis that’s a very short window. Unfortunately, epinephrine is the only thing likely to help in that case. As far as I can tell, the pens have a shelf life of a year or so.

We were lucky in that she didn’t exhibit the breathing problems this time, but the more often this happens the worse her symptoms are likely to get.

Right. That's just how I handle it because I know the foods to which I am highly allergic and avoid them. I got tired of shelling out $$ for epipens that I'd end up throwing out every year. Once in awhile it will sneak in somehow in small amounts (couldn't figure out why I was having reactions to Worcestershire sauce until I read the label and learned it was made with anchovies), so on those occasions, benadryl was enough.

But when I was in the military, I did carry them for obvious reasons, and used them on occasion.

Obviously, for a child, you've got to go the more cautious route.

The bright side of this is that food allergies do sometimes go away over time. I went for a couple of decades being unable to eat chicken, fish, and some other stuff, or to drink beer. Then the chicken and beer thing went away, though I still can't have fish. I guess the bad side is that they can also pop up out of nowhere. I ate fish regularly -- lots of it, which may have been the problem -- and the allergy literally popped up overnight. Ate a ton of fish the night of June 14, 1980 with no problem, had an allergic reaction the next day when I had fish (again...) at lunch, and that's been it ever since.

You guys have the referral for the allergist now, and that's what's most critical to keeping her safe. Good luck!

 

[Kouki]

Even with insurance, at least for me, the allergy tests themselves were expensive.

We suspected my daughter was allergic to eggs because she broke out after eating scrambled eggs. Went to do the test, confirmed that yes she is allergic. That cost like $400 out of pocket. Then the epi pens were like $200 for two I think?

LUCKILY she grew out of it. My approach was to avoid feeding her eggs entirely - whole eggs, baked goods, reading labels, etc - and re-do the allergy test in a year. My &*#ing &*^#) of a (*&@^ ^&@(# #@&^-@*$&# future ex wife thought that reading labels was too complicated so after some time she introduced egg-containing baked goods and eventually whole eggs and LUCKILY she never had any subsequent reactions.