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Real Families, Real Stories, Real Success
Tuck began peanut OIT with Dr. Scott Nash (retired) in Raleigh, NC at 2 years old. I found hope in this treatment and by starting Tuck this young, hoped he would never feel the anxiety that I knew would await him if we did nothing. It was not an easy journey, not due to reactions during treatment, but due to a strong willed toddler who didn’t ever really seem to want to eat his daily dose. However, we took it one day at a time and here we are eating 5 grams of peanuts daily and have been for over 17 months.
We are currently under the care of Dr. Ruchir Agrawal in Peachtree City, GA and to say that this man cares for my kid is an understatement. He took us in immediately when Dr. Nash retired and has been caring for Tuck ever since. Throughout our 32 month journey, most of my support has come from my Facebook family. From first hearing about OIT on the Peanut Anaphylaxis Cure Facebook page, to being around for the creation of Private Practice OIT Facebook page (which was created just for those actively in OIT), to my local gals creating NC OIT…these groups have been my support.
We have laughed together, cried together, been scared together, but key word is TOGETHER. It was s… Read more
Come join our Facebook OIT support groups where all the Success Stories come from and see OIT in action, 24/7! Seeing is believing. Ask questions and watch families go through treatment. You'll see the real life successes and well as the challenges that come with medical treatments. It's not perfect, but #OITworks! Read all the OIT Success Stories here, and dispel all the misinformation and myths about OIT at Top 10 OIT Myths. Learn the basics of OIT at FAQS / Q&A. Follow OIT’s journey with 40+ family-written blogs. Read over 400 news stories, media coverage and medical journal articles in our Research & Learn Library!
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!
At the age of 16 months, I fed my son half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Within 20 minutes he was experiencing a full blown anaphylactic reaction. I did not know it at the time. Luckily, I took him to the emergency room at the hospital where they recognized right away from the massive facial swelling and the breathing difficulties what was happening. THREE doses of epinephrine and a few hours later, along with some other steroids, he lived. He had an overnight stay in the hospital so they could monitor him. It was determined that he had experienced a severe allergic reaction to peanuts. Our local allergist confirmed that diagnosis through both skin tests and blood tests. We were given a prescription for EpiPen Jr. (.15 mg) and told to have him avoid peanuts.
Michelle was diagnosed with a peanut allergy on her first birthday when she broke out in full body hives after lunch at a Thai restaurant where we went to celebrate her birthday. Her first year of life was riddled with random hives and eczema and now we finally had an answer on what was causing it. From then on, we tried complete avoidance (not very successfully) and she had a few instances of allergy induced puking after accidental ingestion! Year over year, her numbers got worse – she also tested positive for Cashew and Pistachio at 2 We first heard about OIT in the summer of 2013 when Michelle was 4, weeks after having an anaphylatic reaction after a meal at a restaurant. We were completely ill planned for the reaction, with barely any Benadryl on hand.
We were lucky to have had wonderful 
I didn’t think it would be too hard to manage my younger son’s multiple food allergies. He would be safe if he only ate food that I provided and made for him, and I would be able to protect him from exposure or cross contamination if we avoided places or situations that may have his food allergens. However, as he grew older and more independent, I realized that it was harder than I thought. As kindergarten drew closer, I became more and more anxious – how could I protect him when he was at school, with kids eating peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars, and anything else that contained nuts? How could I trust others to look after him, and know the appropriate action to take if he had an anaphylactic reaction? We also found out my older son had developed a peanut allergy at that time. Our stress levels were through the roof!
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.
I’ve burned through 7 allergists. Lucky 7 was 
I think the thing that made me most realize we needed to do OIT was reading about the tragedies of those who died. An underlying theme to the vast majority was that they had only ever had mild reactions and had always been careful about avoiding eating things with peanuts. Until they accidentally did eat peanut on the last day of their lives.
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.FROM OUR OIT NEWS BLOG
Wall Street Journal Covers OIT in another story of success
The Wall Street Journal featured OIT/Oral Immunotherapy in a featured health column by By Sumathi Reddy. Three of our allergists, Dr. Factor of New England Food Allergy Treatment Center, Dr Wasserman of Dallas Allergy, and Dr. Mark Weinstein of NJ were interviewed with several parents and children. We even made it into the story: "A growing … [Read More Here]
US News & World Report OIT Story: New Peanut Therapy Alters DNA
New Peanut Therapy Alters DNA By Shannon Firth A new experimental therapy creates changes in the DNA expression of peanut allergy sufferers. Using blood tests and DNA sequencing technology, researchers at Stanford University were able to successfully predict which subjects with peanut allergies would react to a peanut test. At the end of 24 … [Read More Here]
Umer: Listing data to copy and paste in each doctor’s listing
Mercy Medical Group: Dr. Rubina Inamdar and Dr. Binita Mandal Windom Allergy: Dr. Hugh Windom and Dr. Jean Ly Kansas City Allergy and Asthma: Dr. Derrick Ward, Dr. James Sterner and Dr. Mark Neustrom Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Care Center: Dr. Manoj Warrier and Dr. Josie Vitale Bernstein Allergy: Dr. Jonathan Bernstein and Dr. Justin … [Read More Here]
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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Over 400 published media articles, videos and medical journals about OIT
