A Note on Allergies
As you all know, Ollie has some food allergies. He's allergic to wheat, gluten, peanuts and tree nuts. Read the whole story here, here and here.
A couple of weeks ago, we took Oliver to meet his new allergist in the Twin Cities. We searched around and found Dr. Michael Wexler, one of the best allergists here. Because of our past experiences working with both morons and the nation's leading allergist, Dr. Scott Sicherer, we weren't about to mess around!
Dr. Wexler was blown away when he found out that we had worked with Dr. Sicherer, so the appointment started off really well. It helps when your doctor knows you've done your research and you're at the appointment to learn. He listened beautifully and was able to recount our experience into his recording device exactly. He asked a lot of questions and we ended up being at the office for 3 hours. Thank you, doctors-who-take-their-time-and-make-appointments-worthwhile!
He and his staff performed environmental, treenuts, peanut and wheat scratch tests on Ollie. The nurses stood around and helped sing Elmo's Song to Ollie while we waited out any itching. We are happy to announce that Oliver is no longer banned from treenuts! He remains, however, very allergic to peanuts. Which is okay. I mean, we're a peanut-free family anyway in the house (I have a stockpile at work), but peanuts are often crossed with treenuts in manufacturing facilities. So that can get dicey. But still! He can have almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans...! Now, about that wheat...
As you know, wheat and gluten are in practically everything. It's been a hard road, but the recent upsurge in popularity of the gluten-free diet has made finding more gluten-free options in grocery stores much simpler. There are also restaurants giving gluten-free options a shot - and not just serving salad and calling it gluten-free, but selling hot dogs with gluten-free buns, or delivering pizzas on a gluten-free crust.
Last year, when undergoing a wheat food challenge at Dr. Sicherer's office, Ollie's face blew up about 2 hours after his last contact with wheat. We were definitely anxious about giving him a scratch test of wheat at this appointment, but we knew that we were safe if something were to happen, so we went ahead.
On a 0-4 scale with peanuts being a 3 and treenuts being a 0, Oliver's reaction to wheat was measured as between 0-1. WHAT?!? Doug and I looked at each other excitedly. Was this a sign that he had grown out / is growing out of his allergy? Possibly. Dr. Wexler then did a RAST (blood) test, which found that while last year's wheat counts were 40, this year's is 4.74. Significant improvement! Yes, he may be growing out of this gluten mess!
Just to be triple sure, Wexler's office made an appointment for us this coming Wednesday to have a food challenge presided by Minneapolis Children's Hospital. Already, my mind's conjuring up images of Chinese takeout, McDonald's chicken nuggets and Dunkin' Donuts. While I know not to put the horse before the cart, I'm secretly anticipating him being involved in classroom birthday parties and Perkins' pancake breakfasts.
Argh. The wait is going to be horrible. Will he react to wheat, or won't he? All I know is I'm planning to show up with lots of toys, books and an iPad for this 4 hour appointment. Oh, and some wheat-filled Triscuits. And maybe, just maybe, we will be able to knock 3 out of the 4 foods off his allergen list.
Can you just imagine? A normal kid who can eat candy bars and Cheerios and oatmeal and Christmas cookies? I think we may have to have a party to introduce him to all the wheat-filled goodness he's been missing out on.
But please - hold the peanuts!
A couple of weeks ago, we took Oliver to meet his new allergist in the Twin Cities. We searched around and found Dr. Michael Wexler, one of the best allergists here. Because of our past experiences working with both morons and the nation's leading allergist, Dr. Scott Sicherer, we weren't about to mess around!
Dr. Wexler was blown away when he found out that we had worked with Dr. Sicherer, so the appointment started off really well. It helps when your doctor knows you've done your research and you're at the appointment to learn. He listened beautifully and was able to recount our experience into his recording device exactly. He asked a lot of questions and we ended up being at the office for 3 hours. Thank you, doctors-who-take-their-time-and-make-appointments-worthwhile!
He and his staff performed environmental, treenuts, peanut and wheat scratch tests on Ollie. The nurses stood around and helped sing Elmo's Song to Ollie while we waited out any itching. We are happy to announce that Oliver is no longer banned from treenuts! He remains, however, very allergic to peanuts. Which is okay. I mean, we're a peanut-free family anyway in the house (I have a stockpile at work), but peanuts are often crossed with treenuts in manufacturing facilities. So that can get dicey. But still! He can have almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans...! Now, about that wheat...
As you know, wheat and gluten are in practically everything. It's been a hard road, but the recent upsurge in popularity of the gluten-free diet has made finding more gluten-free options in grocery stores much simpler. There are also restaurants giving gluten-free options a shot - and not just serving salad and calling it gluten-free, but selling hot dogs with gluten-free buns, or delivering pizzas on a gluten-free crust.
Last year, when undergoing a wheat food challenge at Dr. Sicherer's office, Ollie's face blew up about 2 hours after his last contact with wheat. We were definitely anxious about giving him a scratch test of wheat at this appointment, but we knew that we were safe if something were to happen, so we went ahead.
On a 0-4 scale with peanuts being a 3 and treenuts being a 0, Oliver's reaction to wheat was measured as between 0-1. WHAT?!? Doug and I looked at each other excitedly. Was this a sign that he had grown out / is growing out of his allergy? Possibly. Dr. Wexler then did a RAST (blood) test, which found that while last year's wheat counts were 40, this year's is 4.74. Significant improvement! Yes, he may be growing out of this gluten mess!
Just to be triple sure, Wexler's office made an appointment for us this coming Wednesday to have a food challenge presided by Minneapolis Children's Hospital. Already, my mind's conjuring up images of Chinese takeout, McDonald's chicken nuggets and Dunkin' Donuts. While I know not to put the horse before the cart, I'm secretly anticipating him being involved in classroom birthday parties and Perkins' pancake breakfasts.
Argh. The wait is going to be horrible. Will he react to wheat, or won't he? All I know is I'm planning to show up with lots of toys, books and an iPad for this 4 hour appointment. Oh, and some wheat-filled Triscuits. And maybe, just maybe, we will be able to knock 3 out of the 4 foods off his allergen list.
Can you just imagine? A normal kid who can eat candy bars and Cheerios and oatmeal and Christmas cookies? I think we may have to have a party to introduce him to all the wheat-filled goodness he's been missing out on.
But please - hold the peanuts!
Watching a video with his friends: Woody, Buzz and Elmo.
Love you!
Comments
You and Doug are the best parents ... I just love you. And that little turd, Ollie. What a dream.