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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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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.
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.
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!
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.
Fathers Day 2010: The day started pretty simply, I had made my husband two pb&j sandwiches for lunch. As he was eating and watching sports, I was playing “tea party” in the other room with our 18 month old daughter, Emersyn “Em”. As Em and I played she would bring “tea” out to her Dad to share. At one point Em reached for his sandwich and he pulled off a tiny piece of the crust and gave it to her. As soon as she ate it she started to cry hysterically. I went to her and she was pulling at her tongue and it looked as if she had been scratched from her cheeks to her lips. At that point we headed to the ER and put a call into her pcp. The on call Dr responded and asked if she was having a difficult time breathing. “No” was my answer. She had calmed and the streaks had lightened. We were advised not go to the ER, but to give her Benadryl, and watch her. Thankfully she did not have further symptoms that day.
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.
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!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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