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Real Families, Real Stories, Real Success
Before we saw Dr. Mayer, my son had an extremely limited diet. He had been diagnosed with multiple life-threatening food allergies since the age of 6 months. We lived in daily fear of our son having anaphylaxis yet again. I checked on my son multiple times a night to make sure he was breathing. He was airborne and ingestion allergic and we were terrified!
Dr. Mayer was the only allergist smart enough and brave enough to figure out my son’s allergies and treat them! Before Dr. Mayer my son was not eating most tree nuts, peanuts, milk (in all forms even baked into bread and cakes) and garlic (which is in everything savory that says flavor or spice if not outright listed). We had 3 places he could go to and safely eat with limited items at that. We had to pack boxes of food every time we went on vacation. We had to vacuum and wet wipe everything, everywhere we went. He had many allergic reactions everywhere we went (parks, kid’s museums, friend’s houses, grocery stores). It was a horrible, dark, scary time in our lives. I worried for my son and what his future would be like if he couldn’t even walk in a grocery store without having ANA. There had to be something out there to help him … Read more
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As I reflect on our journey through OIT, the famous quote from Nelson Mandela speaks volumes: “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears”. I think back to the night before my daughter began the biggest journey of her young life. Making the choice to purposely begin feeding her the very thing that could kill her. The fear was real. We had spent the past 7 1/2 years protecting and teaching this child to avoid peanuts and tree nuts at all costs.
We are a family of four and live in central Oklahoma, an area known for high allergens. With no known family history of food allergy, I never expected my baby would be “that kid”; and have a severe peanut allergy. When my son, Callen, (at 16 mo) vomited after his first real Halloween candy, a Reese’s Cup, I had a slight feeling it could be food allergy. He had chronic eczema and blood tests did reveal a peanut allergy but I knew the tests weren’t black and white and didn’t absolutely mean a true food allergy was present. After all, he could eat eggs just fine and those were on his panel too. So, one day I gave him 2 mini Ritz crackers with peanut butter. He got lethargic and vomited. Just like that Halloween night. It was confirmed. My husband’s grandma has since shared that she has some reactions to peanut but not anaphylaxis.
I never had any idea what life with food allergies was like – until I did. We found out with a tiny bite of a walnut at our kitchen table when our second child was ~18 months old. His face turned bright red, his eyes swelled, within minutes his voice went hoarse, his chest was welting up. We had called the peds after hours number and a neighbor with a son allergic to antiobiotics. We gave Benadryl and it did nothing to help while we were on the phone. The moment his voice changed we raced out the door to the local ER / Urgent care. That was the longest mile drive of my life at the time. Then came the epi-pens, strict avoidance, endless label reading, endless fear every time the phone would ring when he was out of our care. I became the hovering mom, the endless re-checker, the list maker, the epi pens everywhere, can’t have a babysitter, terrorized, running out of meetings to take a local phone call, stressed out allergy parent. People didn’t get it. We limited where we ate out, reviewed restaurants on allergy eats, called ahead, often brought our own food, grilled the waitstaff, grilled our family and friends.
To anyone who is considering OIT or who is on the fence….
I was first diagnosed with a peanut allergy as a small child. Growing up I had numerous accidental exposures that led to varied reactions including swollen lips, difficulty breathing, and vomiting. Many people with young children with food allergies often ask if I have ever had to use my EpiPen. I always tell them no, but I probably should have. I have only had one reaction as an adult due to strict avoidance but I did not like the limitations my food allergy had on my life.
Don’t let distance stop you. We travel 2,408 miles to see our OIT doctor. Although this requires a time and financial commitment, we discovered it was easier to overcome those hurdles than we thought. Long distance OIT can be done!
Kaitlyn has a life-threatening peanut allergy that truly dictates every aspect of her daily life. Her allergy is so severe, that she will go into anaphylactic shock if she ingests even the smallest particle of a peanut. This includes ingesting any product that has been produced at a facility that also produces peanut products, being touched by someone who has recently eaten a peanut, and even airborne particles such as those recirculated in a commercial airplane. Daily life is hard, and arguably harder on a such a young girl of 11.
Andrew was diagnosed with an anaphylactic peanut allergy around the age of 2. He was airborne and contact sensitive, and every RAST test he had came back “over 100” for peanuts. For 13 years, we took no risks and practiced strict avoidance of any and all peanuts.FROM OUR OIT NEWS BLOG
National Institute of Health: “Oral Immunotherapy Is Safe, Effective Treatment for Peanut-Allergic Preschoolers”
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016 Oral Immunotherapy Is Safe, Effective Treatment for Peanut-Allergic Preschoolers, Study Suggests WHAT: Nearly 80 percent of peanut-allergic preschool children successfully incorporated peanut-containing foods into their diets after receiving peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT), a clinical trial has … [Read More Here]
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