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Real Families, Real Stories, Real Success
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 Dr. Nash only 20 minutes away. We made our consult appointment and got on his super long waiting list. We finally got the call in February of 2014, with a start date on April 8th – the day before her 5th birthday. Since Michelle was still young, it wasn’t too hard for us to convince her to trust us on this. She was scared and reluctant but agreed nonetheless.
Day 1 was full of anxiety, m… Read more
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My son, Logan was diagnosed with a peanut allergy when he was less than 2 years old. We managed for the most part ok but around age 8 he became more or more nervous. One week he came home from church with an activity they did about worry—-and his top worry was: dying. This hit us hard. The more we talked about it the more it became clear that he truly was worried about this….all the time.
Then we decided based on testing to start OIT. Logan was excited. I was excited and scared. We have had a ve… 
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!
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.
If you would’ve told me nine months ago that my severely peanut allergic kindergartner who had reactions to peanut dust on someone else’s hands is now eating 8 peanuts a day I would have thought you were insane! I mean I would’ve been excited but incredibly skeptical. But here we are and exactly 5 months from his day one we graduated peanut OIT with 
I have to say now that the stress and worry for starting was so much worse than it was in real life. He had a very easy time in OIT despite having very chaotic schedules, activities, full-time working parents AND blood tests well over 100. Yet here we are. Maintenance has been relatively easy adaptation to our life and any schedule changes we have to make a well worth it to ha… 
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.
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.
My daughter was diagnosed just before she turned 2 years old with a severe life threatening peanut allergy. To learn that your child could die at any moment from even trace amounts of peanut, changes your word completely. I began to immediately research what a peanut allergy meant for my child and how to keep her safe. She grew up knowing she could NOT eat many foods that we all ate, and she became fearful of food, peanuts, and reactions. She was upset at parties, she wanted to be like everyone else. She went to special peanut free preschool and private kindergarten to keep her safe.
My son Nicolas is 14, diagnosed with peanut allergy at 20 months (post reaction) and we were living in San Diego. Our world changed and my learning curve was huge, I was just told to avoid peanuts. We didn’t have social media back then and found that people didn’t understand. We were strict avoidance but he still had reactions. His last one was major (to a “safe” food) and his Epipen fell apart in my hand. When medics arrived the Benadryl had kicked in and he had thrown up, they took us to the hospital for prednisone and observation. He still talks about how scary it was to not be able to breathe and I still (8 years later) can’t write this without tears, I was terrified beyond words.FROM OUR OIT NEWS BLOG
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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